Greg Goshaw was born in 1977 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved to Kenosha less than six months later. He graduated from Tremper High School and joined the United States Army on active duty one month after his graduation and served for four years. He is currently employed at Target.
Greg has been a Packer fan his entire life. One of his earliest and fondest memories of the Packers is the Instant Replay Game in 1989, where Don Majkowski rallied the team to a last-minute win over the rival Chicago Bears. Over the years, Greg's passion for the Packers grew, and he is now living his dream of writing for the team he loves and sharing his passion with millions of fans across the country and around the globe.
The Packers are hitting the road after their victory on Sunday as they prepare to face the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
The Packers are 4-4-1 and defeated the Miami Dolphins 31-12 on Sunday while the Seahawks are 4-5 after losing on the road to the Los Angeles Rams 36-31 late Sunday afternoon.
The Packers finally found a running game with Aaron Jones. Actually, they had one all along; they just decided to use it. Randall Cobb will be out on Thursday after missing the Miami game, so the young receivers will be counted on heavily once again. Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are quite a duo, and even though Miami tried to force someone else to beat them, Adams still found the endzone twice. Seattle is ranked 12th (how fitting) in defense, so they aren’t as dominant as they once were, but they thrive on taking the ball away. They are +8 in turnover ratio for the season.
Seattle still has Russell Wilson, and he is having a great year statistically with 21 TD passes and only 5 interceptions. None of those TD passes have gone to Doug Baldwin, but Tyler Lockett has caught 7 of them. The Packers don’t have Marshawn Lynch to worry about, but Seattle does have three capable backs, led by Chris Carson. Mike Davis and Rashaad Penny figure to get some carries as well. Seattle leads the league in rushing yards per game with 152.2, and the Packers are not very good at stopping the run. I expect them to run the ball as often as possible to keep drives going and to keep Rodgers off the field. The Packers cannot allow that to happen on Thursday. They also need to get takeaways. They are even in the turnover ratio for the season.
We all know that crowd noise will be a factor on Thursday night. Everyone needs to be on the same page on offense throughout the game. We cannot afford false starts and forced timeouts. It will be hard enough to move the ball without having to go 5 extra yards because of a dumb penalty.
Seattle is an uncharacteristic 1-2 at home so far this season. The Packers have their own road problems as they are 0-4 away from Lambeau Field this year. Besides, they have lost their last 3 games at Seattle, including the infamous NFC Championship Game. Something has to give, and the Packers need to start winning on the road.
The last time the Packers won a game in Seattle was in 2008, Rodgers’ first season as a starter. The Seahawks featured some notable players in QB Charlie Frye and RB Julius Jones. Frye threw for only 83 yards but had 2 TD passes. The Packers won the game 27-17.
This game will no doubt have the feel of a playoff game. With the Packers at 4-4-1 and the Seahawks at 4-5, the loser will have an uphill climb in order to make the playoffs this year.
This isn’t an ideal situation for the Packers to be in, but they have defied the odds before and won games in tough environments. It felt good to beat Miami and get back into the win column, but a loss on Thursday will give the critics a lot of ammunition once again. Mike McCarthy is still on the hot seat, and it will take a lot more than a win over an average (at best) Miami team to cool it down.
It is time for them to do more than just “hold their own” on the road. Losses are losses. They need to get rid of that goose egg in the win column on the road, and winning at Seattle could be just the thing they need to get on a roll. Wherever we may be on Thursday, let’s get behind the team and cheer them to victory!
In what was arguably their best performance of the season, the Packers defeated the Miami Dolphins 31-12 at Lambeau Field.
Aaron Jones had a career day with 145 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns and added 27 receiving yards, Davante Adams had 2 touchdowns, and the defense had 6 sacks and kept Miami out of the endzone.
It looked as if Miami was going to get on the board first as they were marching down the field. The graphic during the broadcast showed that Miami’s opening possessions this year ended in 8 punts and 1 turnover. Right on cue, a bad snap created a turnover. Brock Osweiler overran the ball and Reggie Gilbert fell on it.
The Packers wasted no time as Aaron Rodgers got Jones involved early and often, and ended the drive with a 7-yard TD pass to Adams.
On their next offensive possession, Adams broke free for a 67-yard run and then added a pair of 2-yard runs, the second one resulting in a touchdown.
The Packers’ defense was good but not great, although they did hold Miami under 300 yards of total offense. They did bend but did not break as they held the Dolphins to just 4 field goals and even got a turnover on an interception by Bashaud Breeland, his first as a Packer. They sacked Osweiler 3 times on Miami’s final drive, including 2 straight to end Miami’s final possession of the afternoon.
Not everything went well for the Packers though. Tramon Williams lost a fumble while returning a punt, giving Miami possession at midfield. They drove down for their first points of the game, making the score 7-3 Packers.
In an interesting call, the Packers were up 14-6 and faced a 4th and 2 at Miami’s 49-yard line, and Mike McCarthy decided to go for it. Aaron Rodgers got sacked and Miami converted the turnover on downs into another field goal.
Green Bay got the ball to start the second half, and a promising drive was wiped out on a personal foul by Equanimeous St. Brown, erasing a 21-yard catch by Adams. They were forced to punt, and rookie punter J. K. Scott had it partially blocked, giving Miami great field position and a chance to take the lead as they only trailed 14-9. The Packers held them to a field goal and had a slim 14-12 lead.
Trailing 28-12 in the third quarter, Miami decided to punt on 4th and 1 at their own 29, but they faked it with a direct snap to Leonte Carroo, who took off for 14 yards. They converted on another 4th down later in the drive, but a sack by Raven Greene forced Miami to punt it away.
The Packers pulled out their own bag of tricks as they faked a punt of their own while facing a 4th and 3 at Miami’s 49-yard line. Greene, who got the sack that ended Miami’s threat, took the snap and ran for 26 yards. Green Bay ended up kicking a field goal for a 31-12 lead and the final points of the game.
Overall, I was pleased with the balanced attack. Rodgers only threw for 199 yards, but when you get 145 rushing yards from Jones and 195 yards on the ground as a team, that is nothing to sneeze at.
Except for 3 straight possessions that ended in 2 punts and a turnover on downs, the Packers scored on every possession but the final one when they ran out the clock.
McCarthy has been heavily criticized lately, but despite that decision to go for it on fourth down in the second quarter, I think he called a pretty good game. Whether or not that will continue remains to be seen.
I realize that Miami is not a very good team despite coming into the game at 5-4, but the Packers did have 6 sacks and did not allow a touchdown. They deserve some credit for that. By the way, both AFC teams came into Lambeau Field this year and left without reaching the endzone as Buffalo was blanked 22-0 back in September.
So the Packers are 4-4-1 and now hit the road for the next 2 games. This win has settled things down for just a little bit, but they have a short time to prepare for their Thursday night game in Seattle. Let’s enjoy this win for a day or two and be ready to cheer the team on to victory this Thursday.
The Packers look to get back on the winning track after two straight losses when they face the Miami Dolphins at Lambeau Field on Sunday at 3:25 pm Central Time. (Note: This was originally slated for a Noon start, but it got flexed back.)
The Packers are 3-4-1 after their loss to the New England Patriots last Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are 5-4 after they defeated the New York Jets 13-6.
Knee brace or not, Aaron Rodgers is still out there battling. He knows he isn’t playing the way he is capable of right now. In order for them to make the playoffs, he needs to be better.
Aaron Jones was having a nice game at New England until that critical fumble. He has the potential to be a great running back, and hopefully he learns from this moment and doesn’t let it ruin a promising career.
Geronimo Allison is probably out for the remainder of the season. It’s a tough loss, but it gives more playing time to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. This Miami team is not good against the run or the pass, so the Packers need to get their offense going and score touchdowns when they get inside Miami territory.
Despite the low rankings on defense, Miami is getting takeaways. They lead the league with 15 interceptions and have a +5 turnover ratio. Ball security, especially in key moments of the game, is extremely important.
Brock Osweiler gets the start for Miami. Frank Gore is in his 14th season in the league, but he is still producing and he is still more than capable of having a 100-yard rushing day. Danny Amendola leads the team in receptions, but Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills are the deep threats. Like the defense, their offense (5th worst) is ranked in the bottom half of the league. That doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of putting together drives and scoring. Just ask the Chicago Bears.
Miami has a winning record at 5-4, but I doubt anyone takes them seriously as a Super Bowl contender. Their point differential is -38, by far the worst of any team with a winning record. They lost all 4 games by double digits while their largest margin of victory was 8 points, which they accomplished twice. They are very inconsistent. For example, a week after beating the Bears in overtime, they fell to the Lions at home, allowing Detroit to run wild on them.
Miami is trapped in mediocrity right now, but they used to be one of the top teams. They were the only team in NFL history to have a perfect season as the 1972 team finished 17-0, including the playoffs. They followed that by going 12-2 in the regular season the following year and winning the Super Bowl once again. Although many former players get together and celebrate whenever the last undefeated team in the NFL loses (such as this past week when the Los Angeles Rams fell to the New Orleans Saints), many of them will probably tell you that they think the 1973 team was actually better since they faced a tougher schedule and also probably because they felt the need to back up that perfect season with a Super Bowl Title the next year.
Former Dolphins’ Head Coach Don Shula is the winningest head coach in NFL history. Unlike many head coaches today, Shula was able to adapt his offense to the talent around him. He had a strong running game with Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris, and he would later have one of the best passers in the history of the game in Dan Marino.
Since Marino left, they haven’t come close to replacing him. Some of their starters include Jay Fiedler, Gus Frerotte, Joey Harrington, Chad Henne, and Jay Cutler. None of them are even close to Marino, especially Cutler, despite his arm strength. One of their biggest blunders since Marino retired was when they passed on signing Drew Brees. He suffered a shoulder injury while with the San Diego Chargers, and team doctors weren’t convinced that it had healed completely. They convinced the team to not sign him, and they traded for Duante Culpepper instead while the New Orleans Saints signed Brees. Moves like this can set a team back for a long time.
Miami hasn’t won a Super Bowl since the 1973 season, hasn’t been to one since the 1984 team, hasn’t made the AFC Championship Game since the 1992 team, and hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2000 team won 23-17 in overtime over the Indianapolis Colts.
The Packers are 4-10 all time vs Miami. They lost their first 8 games to Miami until they finally broke through in 1997. The last meeting in 2014 had a memorable finish. Trailing 24-20 late in the game with no timeouts left, Rodgers faked a spike in Dan Marino’s old backyard and fired a pass to Davante Adams, who got the first down and ran out of bounds. Rodgers would find Andrew Quarless in the endzone on the next play and took a 27-24 lead with 3 seconds left. Joe Philbin was Miami’s head coach at the time.
After a pair of tough road losses to legitimate Super Bowl contenders, the Packers get a “break” as they face Miami at home and are 9.5-point favorites as of Thursday morning. That of course does not guarantee a win. Just look at the San Francisco game, a game the Packers had to come from behind to win on a field goal at the end.
The Packers are entering the second half of their season. After this Miami game, they have two road games, including one on Thursday night. They need to take control of this game and win it handily. Fans are getting restless and are calling for changes. The time to respond is right now.
This is the only game at Lambeau Field in November after only one home game in October. That just means the fans will be hungry and ready to go. We need the players and coaches to do the same. Let’s get behind the team and cheer them on to victory this Sunday afternoon.
The Packers came up short on the road in New England as the Patriots won the game 31-17.
This game obviously had a lot of hype with Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady meeting for only the second time as starters, and the game was close throughout most of the game, but the Packers are now 3-4-1 after 8 games.
The turning point of the game was when Aaron Jones fumbled early in the fourth quarter during a 17-17 game. The Packers were driving into NE territory, and if they were able to take the lead, that obviously would have changed the dynamic of the game. It’s frustrating to lose two games in a row with turnovers at key moments in both games. It’s true that they could have lost both of these games anyway, but they needed to give the team a chance and hold onto the ball. They also failed to force any turnovers for the second game in a row.
They also suffered some key injuries with Bryan Bulaga and Blake Martinez both forced to leave the game. Jermaine Whitehead got ejected from the game for a helmet slap in the second quarter. I understand that a lot of fans don’t agree with the ejection, but you can’t get caught up in things like that.
The Packers are now 0-4 on the road so far this season. They are not out of it yet, but they need to correct their road woes and to stop the turnovers. The defense has played well at times, but we need them to get takeaways.
Finally, Mike McCarthy needs to find some answers on how to turn things around. He has done it before, but if they miss the playoffs this year, he had better be gone. He got a mulligan last year because Rodgers was injured, although a lot of fans wanted him fired anyway. He gets no such excuse this year.
It’s a frustrating time to be a Packer fan right now, but I will not give up on the season. They return home next Sunday to face the Miami Dolphins and then head to Seattle to face the Seahawks on Thursday the 15th. The margin for error is very small right now. It is time to rise to the occasion and start winning again.
In what is probably the marquee matchup of the year in the NFL so far, the Green Bay Packers travel to Foxborough, Massachusetts to take on the New England Patriots on Sunday night.
The Packers are 3-3-1 after that loss to the Rams last Sunday. The Patriots are 6-2 and winners of 5 straight after their 25-6 road win over the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
All eyes will be on the quarterbacks in this game, and Aaron Rodgers will be making only his second start vs New England. Statistically, the Patriots have the 6th worst pass defense, but that stat is often misleading since they force a lot of teams into shootouts with them and the other teams try to compensate by throwing the ball a lot in order to keep pace with them. Still, I like my chances with Rodgers throwing the ball.
There is a good chance that they may need someone other than Davante Adams to have a big game since the Patriots often try to take away the top receiver and force someone else to beat them. I hope Mike McCarthy finally realizes that Aaron Jones should be the feature back and give him a healthy dose of carries.
Tom Brady has a lot in common with Rodgers and not just because they both wear #12. Like him or not (and I am sure most fans reading this are in the latter category), he is a fierce competitor, even at age 41.
Rob Gronkowski has been battling injuries lately, but when he is out there, he is a matchup nightmare. Do not try to cover this guy with a linebacker. They have several big-play threats in Josh Gordon, Chris Hogan, and Julian Edelman. Sony Michel and former Wisconsin Badger James White make up a lethal running back combination. In other words, they have playmakers up and down this roster on offense. After facing the Rams’ offense last week, it gets no easier this Sunday night.
Packer fans may be familiar with Cordarrelle Patterson from his time with the Vikings. He is an electric returner who returned a 95-yard kickoff for a score a few weeks ago at Chicago. Punter J. K. Scott was having a great year until last week, especially that last punt that set up the go-ahead field goal for the Rams last Sunday. He needs to bounce back because giving Tom Brady a short field is only asking for trouble.
It’s a shame that this matchup doesn’t happen more often, but when it does, there have been some memorable games:
I mentioned that this is the second time Aaron Rodgers has faced the Patriots. The first time was in 2014, when the Packers came out on top 26-21 at Lambeau Field. Each quarterback had 2 touchdown passes and no interceptions, but Rodgers passed for 368 yards while Brady had 245. Davante Adams had 6 receptions for 121 yards, but he was not the #1 receiver at the time. That was Jordy Nelson, who had 2 catches for 53 yards, but one of them went for a 45-yard touchdown. I mentioned before how they try to take away the team’s leading receiver and force someone else to have a big game.
Even though the Packers lost, they had a memorable game in 2010 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night. Matt Flynn filled in for an injured Aaron Rodgers, who suffered a concussion the week before. Flynn had his hiccups, but he kept the Packers in it until the final play and ultimately came up short 31-27. The Packers would not lose again the remainder of the season and went on to win the Super Bowl. In fact, the final two matchups resulted in the loser of the game going on to win the Super Bowl as the Patriots won it after losing to the Packers in 2014. It almost makes you want to lose this game, although I won’t play with fire that way.
Did you know that the Packers were the first visiting team to win at Gillette Stadium? They did that in 2002, when they won 28-10. Brett Favre had 3 TD passes and no interceptions. William Henderson, Ahman Green, and Bubba Franks hauled in those TD passes. Tom Brady had a TD pass late in the game, but he threw 3 interceptions.
The Packers beat the Patriots 28-10 five years earlier. In 1997 on a Monday night, the Packers outdueled Drew Bledsoe and the Patriots in Foxborough. Pete Carroll was coaching the team at the time. It was a highly-anticipated game after their first meeting earlier that calendar year.
The most famous game between these two franchises happened on January 26, 1997. That game of course was Super Bowl XXXI. After 29 years, the Vince Lombardi Trophy came back to Green Bay after their 35-21 victory at the Superdome in New Orleans. Brett Favre had 2 TD passes, Reggie White had 3 sacks, and Desmond Howard was the Super Bowl MVP. That was the last game that Bill Parcells was New England’s head coach. Bill Belichick was the defensive coordinator at the time.
One of the most debated arguments the last several years in the NFL is who is the better quarterback between Rodgers and Brady? The stats favor Rodgers but the rings favor Brady. While 5 rings is definitely impressive, it doesn’t mean anything as far as who is better. Does that mean that Eli Manning is better than Dan Marino? It would be absurd for anyone to say that. The thing is that both Rodgers and Brady would point to the other QB. Rodgers admits that Brady does have him in the ring department and he can’t top that, while Brady said that Rodgers would put up much better stats as the QB of New England because he is so much more talented than him.
If you look at the stats on paper, most of them would favor Green Bay. However, New England more often than not finds a way whenever they are counted out. You can go all the way back to Super Bowl XXXVI vs the Rams. They were counted out, especially since many thought they didn’t belong there, especially after the “tuck-rule” in their playoff game vs the Oakland Raiders. They ended up defeating the Rams 20-17. In 2004, after playing several players out of position, they hosted the Indianapolis Colts, who had a dynamic offense led by Peyton Manning. This was a great opportunity for Manning to finally get the best of Brady and get that monkey off his back. The Colts were humiliated 20-3. In 2014, the Patriots were destroyed on a Monday night in Kansas City 41-14. That was supposedly the end of the Patriots as we knew them. Belichick would give his now-famous line 5 times in the press conference following the game, “We’re on to Cincinnati.” They would defeat Cincinnati the following week and end up in Super Bowl XLIX, where they would defeat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24, although Seattle basically handed them the game by making one of the all-time boneheaded calls at the 1-yard line in NFL history.
Even this year, the Patriots started out 1-2. Losses to the Jaguars and Lions (especially the Detroit loss) once again brought people out screaming from the mountaintops that the Patriots were finished. Five wins later, including a 43-40 win over the previously undefeated Chiefs, NE proved that they are still in contention. They thrive on proving the doubters wrong.
Does Green Bay stand a chance in this game? How do they bounce back after that heartbreaking loss to the Rams? Will it carry over into this game? The Packers have made a lot of headlines this week, and not only because of the loss to the Rams. They also traded away Ty Montgomery and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. GM Brian Gutekunst insists that they are not giving up on the season. They will find some way at the safety position to make it work. Mike McCarthy knows that the time for winning is now. I expect the team to come out motivated and ready to shock the world. They fell short last week, but they gave themselves a chance until that fumble on the kickoff return. If they play as a team for 60 minutes on Sunday, they have a great chance of coming away with a victory.
Brady once said that he enjoys watching Aaron Rodgers play. Let’s hope he won’t enjoy it too much on Sunday. Let’s get the offense moving and make Brady curse on the sidelines like he did during the game in Green Bay in 2014. It’s time for that signature win in 2018. The time is now. Let’s get it done on Sunday night!
The trade deadline has passed and the Packers made headlines before the deadline, but probably not the way we thought they would if anyone would have asked us before the season started.
Ty Montgomery has been traded to the Baltimore Ravens for a 7th round draft pick in 2020 while Ha Ha Clinton-Dix has been traded to the Washington Redskins for a 4th round draft pick in 2019.
I guess the timing of the moves was surprising, but both of these players have given the team headaches both in the locker room and on the field. Ha Ha stated publicly that he didn’t envision himself being with the team next year while Ty had his antics on the sideline, and more importantly, his fumble last Sunday cost them any realistic chance they had of coming back in the game and defeating the unbeaten Rams.
With the moves, I think this solidifies the backfield. Aaron Jones is the feature back with Jamaal Williams giving him a breather every now and then and perhaps at the goal line. The safety position is where the depth takes a hit. Do they move Josh Jones to free safety or Kentrell Brice? I think they seriously have to address this position on the field.
The reason for these moves is simple. This is a team that stresses team chemistry, and both of these players were a problem. No matter who you are, if your heart is not in the game or in Green Bay, the team is better off with you gone. Even though Ha Ha was having a decent season after a down year in 2017, it was clear that he didn’t want to be here in Green Bay, so you might as well get rid of him and get something in return. As for Ty, we can’t afford someone who makes boneheaded decisions like running the ball out when taking a knee is the best bet, especially when they fumble the ball and the game away. Players were furious at him and his decision, and the fans wanted him gone. He needed to be out of Green Bay.
I don’t think the front office has given up on the season quite yet. I think Brian Gutekunst still may have a move or two up his sleeve. Also, with these picks, I think they have a decent shot at using them in a trade package in order to move up in the draft. Mike McCarthy knows his job is on life support right now. If they miss the playoffs, he is likely gone. Even if they make the playoffs and they bow out meekly, that still might get him kicked out of Green Bay. That game against the Rams that slipped away did not help his cause at all. He needs wins in the worst way right now.
Aaron Rodgers is not getting any younger. The Super Bowl window will not stay open forever. It’s all about getting the right mix of players and putting them in a position to succeed. A huge part of that is making sure they are all on the same page. With these moves, that opens up two roster spots. The players who will end up occupying those spots may not be as talented, but if they show a willingness to compete and have a good attitude, the team will probably be better off overall.
Unless your name is Aaron Rodgers, your roster spot is probably not safe. If those two can get shipped out, it can happen to almost every other player on this roster. It’s time to get serious and go out there ready to compete and start winning games again.
All of this happened before their huge battle with the New England Patriots on Sunday night. Everything is right in front of them, but nobody will give it to them; they have to take it. They missed out on getting a signature win last Sunday, but if they get this win at New England, they will be in good shape. Let’s have this trade deadline be the turning point of our season.
The Packers had a shot to take down the NFL’s last unbeaten team, but they ended up losing in heartbreaking fashion 29-27 to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Packers jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but a safety put the Rams on the scoreboard and gave them momentum. GB withstood the Rams’ onslaught of points until they rallied and took a 27-26 lead in the 4th quarter. The Rams drove for a field goal, giving the Packers a final chance with Aaron Rodgers only needing a field goal and about 2 minutes left on the clock to do it. However, Ty Montgomery fumbled away the ball and the game on the kickoff, denying Rodgers and the offense a chance to win it at the end.
It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Ty is not in a Packer uniform within a few weeks. He is expendable since I believe the team has enough running backs and receivers, and there also needs to be some accountability for that fumble. It’s bad enough that he didn’t just kneel on the ball in the endzone, but to be so careless with the ball when running into a crowd is just totally inexcusable.
It’s true that the offense left some opportunities on the field and the defense had some breakdowns at times, but the fact is that the Packers were in the game with a chance to win it at the end. The crowd was full of Packer fans, and it seemed like they were the louder ones throughout the game. In the end, it was a tremendous disappointment not to even have a chance to put the offense on the field.
This loss hurts more than most, and they all hurt. I understand that nothing I write will provide any comfort. They are now 3-3-1 with 9 games left to go. Despite the way the game ended, there are some things I liked in the game. It was a welcome sight to see Jaire Alexander out there again. Blake Martinez had a good game. Clay Matthews, who has been heavily criticized this year, had a good game. It is not panic time yet, but the team needs to get some wins together, tough schedule or not.
The Packers are once again on the road next week as they face the New England Patriots. As with this game, I’m sure hardly anyone will give the Packers a chance to win. I may be frustrated with the team at times. I may be angry, or in this case, extremely heartbroken. One thing I won’t do though is abandon the team. I think they are more than capable of going into Gillette Stadium next week and coming away with a victory.
This loss will hurt for a while, but it’s on to New England, paraphrasing their coach who came up with the one-liner. Take care Packer fans!
The Green Bay Packers need to be physically and mentally prepared as they hit the road to face the undefeated Los Angeles Rams late Sunday afternoon at the LA Coliseum.
Both teams are coming off victories over the San Francisco 49ers. The Packers are 3-2-1 after a 33-30 home win over the 49ers a few Monday nights ago. The Rams defeated the 49ers 39-10 in Santa Clara last Sunday, improving their record to 7-0 and remaining the only undefeated team in the league.
Aaron Rodgers is practicing without his knee brace, welcome news for any Packer fan. Although Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison have been limited in practice, they should be ready to go on Sunday, and the Packers will need every body they can get. The rookie receivers got some valuable playing time the last few games, and even if Cobb and Allison are able to play, I think the rookies will still be on the field quite a bit and will be counted on to make some plays in the passing game.
Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams need to provide a running threat to keep the defense honest. The Packers cannot afford to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. I have said this many times before, but this is not the 49ers they are playing. They cannot miss so many scoring opportunities and expect to win on Sunday.
The Rams have made a lot of moves to improve the defense, and it has paid off so far. Sam Shields is back in the league and is one of the additions. Another major move was acquiring Packer nemesis Ndamukong Suh. Aqib Talib is another player who had numerous incidents both on and off the field. Marcus Peters has had success in the league with Kansas City and is now on the Rams. However, the biggest defensive move the team made is extending the contract of Aaron Donald, possibly the best defensive player in the league, although Khalil Mack is also in that conversation.
QB Jared Goff is definitely a candidate for League MVP, although Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs is probably the front runner right now. When he isn’t finding his talented receivers such as Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks, he is handing the ball off to Todd Gurley II, the league’s leading rusher. The Rams are a well-balanced offense, leading the league in rushing and 8th in passing. The Packers need to be extremely disciplined all game long. Getting some turnovers always helps.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the regular season since the Rams moved back to Los Angeles from St. Louis. This will be the Packers’ first game vs the Rams in LA since 1991, when they lost 23-21 at Anaheim Stadium. The Packers’ last game vs the Rams at the LA Coliseum was in 1978, a 31-14 victory by the Rams. The last Packers’ game at the LA Coliseum was a 29-16 victory over the Los Angeles Raiders in 1990. Of course, the biggest game at the LA Coliseum in Packer history was their 35-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the first ever Super Bowl.
The bye week came at a great time for the Packers. They are now at 3-2-1 and have shown a lot of flaws, even in their wins, and that includes the 22-0 shutout over Buffalo. Even though they won, they looked very underwhelming at times in their last game vs the 49ers. If that same defense shows up on Sunday, they will be in big trouble vs the Rams.
Mike McCarthy knows that he is a coach on the hot seat. Despite all of the success he has had in Green Bay, many of his critics point out that he always started the season with either Rodgers or Brett Favre at quarterback. Fans want another Super Bowl Title, and another season out of the playoffs might seal his fate.
McCarthy has responded to criticism before. In 2016, the Packers were 4-6 and looking terrible, especially on defense. However, they turned it around and ended up in the NFC Championship Game that season. If they are to make a trip to the playoffs once again, they more than likely have to do better than 1-4 in these next 5 games.
Entering last Sunday’s games, the Bears led the division. They ended the day in last place. That just shows that this division is there for the taking. Even the Lions added a defensive player in a trade with the Giants. Any team in this division can win the NFC North, and that includes Detroit.
The point spread varies from day to day, but the Packers are currently 9.5-point underdogs for this game. Whoever wants to bet against Aaron Rodgers, especially after a week off, do so at your own risk. The LA Coliseum will be rocking on Sunday, even though I expect a sizable amount of Packer fans at the game. The league was considering having these two teams play in London this year, but the Rams obviously did not want to give up this home game and these ticket sales for a game overseas.
The Packers are not quite the underdogs that the Bills were to the Vikings earlier this season, but Buffalo has proven that the games are not decided in the betting lines, but on the field. I expect the Packers to be very motivated and I think McCarthy has a trick play or two up his sleeve.
I hardly get butterflies when the Packers play games like this one. It’s when they play the winless teams where I get nervous. Let’s get a huge statement win on Sunday and show the rest of the league that we are for real and we are coming. Let’s get loud and energetic in Los Angeles and cheer the Packers to victory on Sunday!
What a football game this turned out to be! The Packers looked like they were in big trouble, but they rallied and defeated the San Francisco 49ers 33-30 on the final play of the game at Lambeau Field.
Playing under the bright lights in Green Bay on Monday Night Football, the 49ers got the ball first and wasted no time, driving down the field for an opening drive touchdown. The Packers answered back quickly, and it looked as if they might outlast SF on offense. No way would their offense hang with GB, right?
Unfortunately, the Packers took a huge step back on defense in this game. When they weren’t being gashed for huge chunks of yards on the ground, quarterback C. J. Beathard was looking like a polished veteran out there, not the turnover machine that he has been in games throughout the season. Of course, it’s easy to look good when receivers are wide open, and I mean seriously wide open. How does a team that lost at home to the Arizona Cardinals come into Green Bay and put on a show on offense? The Packers found themselves trailing 24-20 at halftime, and it was incredible that they weren’t trailing by more than that. The two fumbles by SF (1 on a punt return by D. J. Reed and 1 by receiver Kyle Juszczyk on a reception) kept the score close.
The Packer offense wasn’t much better this game. Aaron Rodgers was under pressure much of the night. When he wasn’t sacked, he was throwing the ball away, even getting called for another intentional grounding penalty, his third so far this year. There were too many breakdowns in the red zone once again, forcing them to settle for field goals instead of getting touchdowns. A good example of this offense that frustrates many Packer fans to no end happened in the fourth quarter. Trailing 30-23, they drove to the SF 11 with under 9 minutes to go in the game. They ended up burning a timeout, and after a scramble by Rodgers, they faced a 4th and 3, which they did not convert. Since the Packers couldn’t stop a dry tissue on defense most of the game, chances of victory seemed to fade away quickly.
It was at that point that the Packers actually started playing defense, forcing 2 punts. The Packers got the ball back and found Davante Adams in the endzone for his 2nd touchdown of the game. The 49ers got great field position due to a good runback during the kickoff plus a personal foul by the Packers for a late hit out of bounds. Beathard tried to hit Marquise Goodwin, who burned the Packers twice in the game for touchdowns, but Kevin King made a huge athletic play for the interception, the huge turnover the Packers needed all game.
For a moment, it looked as if the Packers would have to settle for overtime since they weren’t getting anything going on offense, but an illegal contact penalty by Richard Sherman (still strange to see him wearing anything but a Seahawks’ jersey) on a 3rd and 15 wiped out a sack and kept the drive alive. From there, Rodgers scrambled up the middle for 21 yards, spiked the ball, and then really went to work. The next 3 plays are as follows:
An 8-yard pass to Davante Adams
A 19-yard pass to Equanimeous St. Brown
A 19-yard pass to Davante Adams
All 3 receivers ran out of bounds to stop the clock.
After an incomplete pass to Adams, probably just to burn some more time off the clock, Mason Crosby was sent in for a 27-yard FG attempt, which he nailed as time expired and sent the fans home with a win.
After Crosby struggled mightily in Detroit, he was 4/4 on field goals in this game, including a 51-yarder, and was 3/3 in extra points. Hopefully this means that he got his groove back.
With the victory, the Packers are now 3-2-1. A win is a win. That doesn’t mean that the Packers don’t have some major holes that they must fix if they are to make any kind of a playoff run or to even make the playoffs for that matter. I know that many fans are calling for Mike McCarthy to be fired, and one win vs a team we should have handled easily won’t change their minds. I hardly feel like celebrating either, even though I enjoy Packer wins more than almost anything. Moving forward, I want to see the Packers start games like they are a team on a mission. They too often come out flat and very sloppy. This is unacceptable, especially when you are on a national stage like Monday Night Football. The Packers may have won this battle, but they are not out of the woods yet, and neither is Mike McCarthy.
Either way, the Packers got the win, and they now head into their bye week. That gives the players and coaches a chance to take some time off and get prepared physically and mentally for the huge stretch of games they will be facing. The schedule after the bye is no joke. They return to action on October 28 with a road game vs the Los Angeles Rams, the only undefeated team in the league.
We will see what this team is made of during the next month or so. For now, enjoy the win and the bye week Packer fans!
The Green Bay Packers will once again play under the bright lights, this time on Monday Night Football as they play host to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Packers are 2-2-1 after their rough performance at Detroit last Sunday. The 49ers fell to 1-4 after a 28-18 home loss last Sunday to the previously winless Arizona Cardinals.
The Packers need to finish drives with touchdowns. It doesn’t matter who is out there on offense. Aaron Rodgers is trying to tough it out with his knee injury, but he was nowhere near at the top of his game at Detroit, losing a pair of fumbles and missing some open receivers. Aaron Jones needs to be featured in the offense a lot more. He had only 7 rushes last Sunday vs the worst run defense in the NFL in Detroit. That simply will not get it done. The status of Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison is still up in the air as both receivers are listed as questionable on the injury report. If they can’t go, it is obviously up to the rookie receivers to make plays on the field. They got their feet wet last Sunday in Detroit. I trust that they put in a lot of time in practice this week with their timing with Rodgers and learning how to run their routes effectively.
The 49ers got a huge dose of bad news when their franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL earlier this season. C. J. Beathard actually has a higher completion percentage than Garoppolo, but he is turnover-prone, something that the Packers need to take advantage of on Monday night. SF doesn’t feature a lot of household names on offense, but they can move the ball effectively at times, but many of their drives end in turnovers or field goals. The 49ers have the league’s worst turnover differential with a -8 (a league-worst 3 takeaways and 11 giveaways, trailing only Jacksonville, who has 12.) The Packers are at -2 with 6 takeaways and 8 giveaways. I expect them to at least draw even for the season after this game.
Hopefully the Packers are kicking plenty of extra points instead of field goals, but Mason Crosby will have the spotlight on him whatever the situation is due to his 4 missed FG attempts and a missed XP at Detroit last Sunday. The Packers did not punt at all in the Detroit game. Teams usually win when that happens, but turnovers and settling for field goals (which obviously ended in misses before Crosby was sent out there towards the end of the game to make one and give him a dose of confidence) often lose the game for you, even if your punter never sees the field.
The bottom line is that last week’s performance was not acceptable. The team has yet to put together a full game on offense. At 2-2-1, the Packers are a mediocre team right now. There have been articles predicting the Packers to miss the playoffs. That does not sit well with Packer fans, who expect greatness out of this team, especially when you have a team with Aaron Rodgers. They have too often looked like a team poorly prepared at the start of games. Even when they win, like Week 1 vs the Bears, they often need to rally to do it. Many fans have been calling for Mike McCarthy to be replaced for some time now, and the calls will only get louder if the Packers lose on Monday night. There is no excuse whatsoever to lose at home to the 49ers. If they do that, they don’t deserve to make the playoffs.
I expect the Packers to come out like a team on a mission this Monday night. A 3-2-1 record would not be great, but it would be something to build on as they head into their bye week. Let’s have a great performance on the field and a great performance by the fans this Monday night. It’s winning time.
