Surviving Sunday: Packers news, notes and links for the football deprived
By adamczech
Welcome to Surviving Sunday, Packers bye week edition.
It's always too early to make bold declarations about specific teams after only three weeks. Whenever someone asks me whether Team A can win the Super Bowl or Team B is good enough to make the playoffs, I always tell them to ask me again at Thanksgiving.
But three games is usually enough of a sample size to at least have some idea about where a team is at. Not so with this year's Packers squad.
The offense is either out of sync and lost, or going on quick and dominant scoring drives. The defense is either sacking the quarterback and shutting down the running game, or getting torched in the secondary and giving up first downs on third-and-long. On special teams, Crosby has been solid, but the punter is meh and there hasn't been much of a return game
Will the Mike McCarthy-Aaron Rodgers combo of offensive minds insist on holding the ball and focusing on deep passes? Or will we see the formation variation and precise timing routes that were so successful in the first half against the Lions?
This has been a tough team to read so far. Hopefully we have a better sense of what the 2016 Packers are at Thanksgiving.
Packers news, notes and links
- The folks at Acme Packing Co. have a new game: "Mike McCarthy's 3-minute Mania." See how you fare here.
- Here's a nice story from Jason Wilde on T.J. Lang straightening out his life.
- Kelly Hodgson writes about the newfound leadership of Nick Perry over at PackersTalk.com.
- Ryan Wood writes about the Packers remaining patient with Damarious Randall despite his recent struggles.
- Here's the official "trailer" for Jeff Pearlman's upcoming biography on Brett Favre. The book is called "Gunslinger" and comes out Oct. 25.
Non-Packers links and other nonsense
- Lots of newspapers that have traditionally endorsed republicans are endorsing Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump this election. If I ran a newspaper, I would endorse nobody in this election and encourage voters to leave the presidential section blank when they go to the polls.
- The Dallas Cowboys have their own version of "The Wolf" who comes in to quietly solve problems like the Harvey Keitel character from "Pulp Fiction."
- Book recommendation: "Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency." If you enjoy movies, television shows, Hollywood insider talk and business success stories, check out this book.
- Whenever Wright Thompson writes something, I stop what I'm doing and read it. His latest on Theo Epstein is no exception.
- Joe Gagne's Funtime Pro Wrestling Arcade remains my favorite YouTube channel. It's a great way to kill time on this non-Packers football Sunday. A local arcade recently opened here in Minneapolis and they have the WWF Wrestlefest game. Yes, I've already played it. And yes, I will be playing it often.
Comments (34)
stockholder
October 02, 2016 at 06:16 am
No comment about the Michigan win? I'm sure TT won't draft any Badgers in the 2017 draft.
dobber
October 02, 2016 at 01:16 pm
Biegel is a pretty good player. I like him better than Joe Schobert at OLB.
fastmoving
October 02, 2016 at 06:21 am
If I ran a newspaper I would endorse just the same as most of them did.
anyway......pretty sad that clown get that far...
Handsback
October 02, 2016 at 07:44 am
You shouldn't say such things against Hillary Clinton.....
Hematite
October 02, 2016 at 06:26 am
It's irresponsible to encourage people not to vote for President of the United States.
MarkinMadison
October 02, 2016 at 08:04 am
I'd really rather we didn't start diving into politics here.
Savage57
October 02, 2016 at 08:50 am
If you abstain from voting, you waive your right to say a damn word about how things play out.
Personally, I'm not crazy about the choices among 'the big two'. So, I can express my discontent by voting an alternate party or a write-in candidate. Or, I can choose the lesser of two weevils and vote for Clinton.
One thing I can guarantee: I will not give my endorsement to a life-long joke of a human being masquerading as a presidential candidate. After seeing how he handles confrontation, adversity or challenges, I lose sleep at night thinking about this man having control of the most powerful military in the world.
No matter how much you hate Hillary, increased taxes are a slight price to pay to prevent a child from becoming the most powerful person on the planet.
And if you have a problem with me talking politics here, take it up with Goodell. I didn't make the schedule that gave the Packers a bye this week.
WKUPackFan
October 02, 2016 at 09:11 am
Candidate debates aside, there are fundamental and logical problems with saying it is "irresponsible" to encourage people not to vote or saying people who don't vote can't complain.
As a US citizen I am free to exercise my franchise as I choose. That includes not voting, if that is my form of expressing my feelings regarding the choices. Further, as a citizen I retain my right to contribute to the discourse post election, regardless of whether I voted or not. To say otherwise is the logical equivalent of saying those who voted for the losing candidate also cannot complain.
PortlandMark
October 02, 2016 at 10:29 am
I understand the disgust people have with our presidential candidates. Perhaps this is because we know so much about them. Voters surely didn't know as much about the candidates in generations past.
During this last year my wife had a battle with cancer and I could see first hand how important health care and health insurance are. I believe the Hillary, whatever faults she has, will continue to move us towards all Americans getting access to health care which is why I support her.
rdent
October 03, 2016 at 10:50 am
Write in Willie Nelson for president
Lphill
October 02, 2016 at 08:51 am
TT should draft TJ Watt next year if he is in the draft . He is awesome.
Ferrari Driver
October 03, 2016 at 12:17 am
If TJ comes out in the draft, the Packers will be required to have one lousy season if they are to draft him. (or trade away a bunch of picks to move up)
dobber
October 03, 2016 at 07:39 am
This is where tradable compensatory picks will make things all the more interesting. Now, if you lose veterans by FA and get a couple compensatories, you've got ammunition to move up without mortgaging an entire draft. I'll be curious to see how the old JJ pick value chart changes to account for this shift. If anything, I think it will shift value toward rounds 1 and 2 and away from the middle rounds.
WKUPackFan
October 02, 2016 at 08:53 am
A couple of former Packers on the field in this Jaguars/Colts game: Devon House starting for Jax, Erik Walden for Indy.
PortlandMark
October 02, 2016 at 10:24 am
I'm really surprised that Walden is still in the league. He looked terrible in his last year in Green Bay.
Cwoodson21
October 02, 2016 at 12:36 pm
Great article on Theo Epstein.
Since'61
October 02, 2016 at 01:04 pm
We will know about our Packers after the next three consecutive home games. We should win all three games. It will difficult to win three consecutive road games which follow, regardless of the opponents.
As for the upcoming election, while I don't like either of the primary party candidates I would still encourage everyone to vote. If not for Trump or Hilary then vote for a third party candidate. It may seem like a wasted vote but it is still important to exercise your right to vote and participate in the process. Even if your vote is just to send the message that you are not satisfied with either party candidate. You may not want to vote in this election but think of our veterans, deceased and living, who made the sacrifice so that we can vote and think of how hard we would fight to preserve our right to vote if someone tried to take it from us. End of politics on this site for me. Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since '61
dobber
October 02, 2016 at 03:43 pm
"Even if your vote is just to send the message that you are not satisfied with either party candidate."
I respect anyone's right to do what they choose with their vote, but the "sending a message" by going third party didn't work with Ross Perot or Ralph Nader, and it won't work now. No message works if no one is willing to listen.
Oppy
October 02, 2016 at 06:25 pm
When do we get to start taking guesses at who is getting cut from the 53 to make room for Pennel?
croatpackfan
October 03, 2016 at 04:02 am
No, 14 days - he is suspended for 4 games, not 4 weeks!
rdent
October 03, 2016 at 10:58 am
Pennell can come back for the Dallas game at such time either Price or Ringo will be released
Oppy
October 03, 2016 at 08:20 pm
I don't want to say I 'hope' Ringo gets cut, because I have seen improvement in his play this season and I root for the guys who have to take the long road to get on the 53, but I think in Price shows more raw talent and flashes as an undrafted rookie FA than Christian Ringo shows today in his second season.
Price has shown me repeatedly that he's able to absolutely maul offensive linemen. He can walk single blockers back and he drives back doubles, too.
Maybe they can cut a WR. A defensive-minded boy can hope, can't he?
:)
rdent
October 04, 2016 at 08:00 am
They could cut a wide receiver,I mean they only use the same three
Oppy
October 03, 2016 at 08:19 pm
Great point, I would have not caught that subtlety.
Oppy
October 04, 2016 at 03:11 pm
Croat,
the part of the quote I was intending to highlight was where it says that Pennel is not allowed to practice with the team until after his suspension is fulfilled.
dobber
October 02, 2016 at 10:28 pm
Someone will hit IR by that point...
Lphill
October 02, 2016 at 06:29 pm
Will patriot fans be calling for their coach to get fired today? A shut out at home? This is a strange season so far , I think we will need half a season to see who is a pretender or contender .
TommyG
October 02, 2016 at 10:04 pm
Brady is back next week. No one gets fired once these first four games are distant memories.
dobber
October 03, 2016 at 07:40 am
As long as you don't play yourself out of it in the first 8 weeks, it's all about where you are in those last 6-8 games. NE might have looked pretty lousy yesterday, but they'll be good when it matters.
rdent
October 03, 2016 at 11:01 am
Strange indeed,whats up with Carolina?and even the Bears won yesterday
PatrickHelms
October 02, 2016 at 08:42 pm
Actually, not voting and participating in a system that is completely broken is the responsible thing to do. Personally, I think it would be more irresponsible to vote for a candidate just so the other one does not win. The "lesser of two evils" is bullshit. It's like choosing between a kick in the head or a punch in the mouth, you are still going to get hurt. The only reason 3rd party doesn't have a chance is because the media says so and people are brainwashed. Most people refuse to even consider both parties are the same and are actually in bed with each other because they are two busy pointing at the other one, just follow the money, it all comes from the same corporations.....ok, enough of politics for me here...lol...go Pack!!!
Ferrari Driver
October 03, 2016 at 12:19 am
I prefer to leave political discussions to a political forum.
Handsback
October 03, 2016 at 07:00 am
Over the weekend, I kept seeing little stat boxes talking about coach's win record. Of course MM's record is pretty impressive in that regard. So I thought to myself, never a good thing BTW, why hasn't he won another SB? It's because of LOFT. He does have the major building blocks, but to get over the hump and into a SB you need some difference makers. Since the last SB, this may be the first year they can shake that from the defensive side of the ball. They will need some breaks on the injury side which almost never happens, but if they can stay together....this team can make it.
dobber
October 03, 2016 at 07:42 am
Agreed: just about any team that can shake the injury bug is bound to be ascending at the end of the season.