Packers 20 Santa Clara 37
I went on the Internet and saw a headline Monday. "What the Packers need to do about Aaron Rodgers", obviously written by someone with QB envy and hoping against hope that someone reads this article and thinks, "Yeah, we need to get rid of our HOF Quarterback who almost singlehandedly brought us back into the NFC Championship game and let Tim Boyle have the 'keys to the car'! Yeah, we should do that!" Not so fast!
Matt LeFluer is a first year coach. Mike Pettine is a second year DC. We went to the NFC Championship game. Wonder what they'll do for an encore! The blame for losing this game falls firmly on the defense. We couldn't stop the run. Jimmy Garoppolo threw the ball 6 times in the first half! We haven't been able to stop the run all year! We don't use good gap control and our linebackers are used to rush the passer rather than tackle running backs. They may get a shot but a lot of times they whiffed because they were lunging and missing and tripping rather than running at the guy wrapping him up and taking him to the turf! Like I said in the preview for this game; tackling drills for all linebackers!
Also, Hakiem Hicks of our erstwhile rivals duh Bears. Mentioned that Robbie Gould and Raheem Mostert were former Bears. So it was like the Bears beat the Packers for the NFC Championship. No, that didn't happen. You lost twice to the Packers this year. All of the NFC North teams lost to the Packers this year. That's why we're THE KINGS OF THE NORTH!
At halftime, we were behind 27-0. What adjustments did we make at halftime? Matt basically turned to Aaron and said, "Take us home A-rod. It's on you." Now I'm sure Matt's not going to say that, but that's what happened. Aaron threw for 326 yards and went 31 for 39. He got picked twice, and lost a fumble. He was harassed and hurried all day long and he still got us almost to the brink of bringing this game back.
So where do we go from here? We go to the draft board and we go into the HC's office. We sit down with Mike Pettine and we ask him, "Can you stop the run? What do you need to do it?" We draft to get those pieces. What else? We need another threat than DaVante. We need a stud WR. Jordy had Cobb, Jordy had Jennings, Jordy had Jones. DaVante needs someone. Obviously Aaron doesn't think it's any of the current guys, or he thinks it's not any of the current guys yet. We also may need a new Right Tackle. I don't know if Bryan Bulaga has played his last game in the Green and Gold. Time will tell.
Someone tell Steven A. Smith to shut his piehole! He knows not of what he speaks. He's supposed to report on ALL sports. That means that when watching Green Bay play he may only watch the highlights. He may feel that Aaron Rodgers has lost something. I don't watch ALL sports. I don't even follow professional football. I follow PACKER FOOTBALL! I don't care about the NBA. I haven't watched a complete game since Mike wore red and played at the United Center. I don't watch college sports, I may watch them play football, but I don't care, if I need to do something, I'll do it. Baseball is still a bunch of overpaid crybabies as far as I'm concerned. "They stole signals!" Who cares?!?! They managed to Jimmy-Proof NASCAR, so I don't watch that anymore. I watch the Packers. Aaron hasn't lost a thing. He was feeling his way through a rookie coach's system.
I think if we make these changes, we can win the NFC. This isn't a Ted Thompson team, where we have to hope the stars align and we might make it. This is a team that is designed and built. We managed to go from a team with a losing record last year to the NFC Championship game. Give Matt another year and we'll be saying "Go Pack!! GO!! in February 2021!! See ya next season!!
(Ken Hill)
GPB in our SPARE TIME
125 Packer backers met at Spare Time to cheer on and encourage the green and gold, but, alas, our voices just didn’t reach the west coast. This was a good season for the Pack and a great season for the Greenville Packer Backers Club. I don’t think a week went by without adding new members and Sunday was no exception. Please join me in welcoming:
592 Jeff Jacobs
593 Michlean Johnson
594 Anne Young, 595 Rick Bynum
596 Valerie Bynum.
Tee shirts were a popular door prize of the evening. They went home with 323 Celie Schilz, 438 Karmell Smith, and 556 Sherry Denman. Nodding to the weather were 287 Perri Bressman who will snuggle under her blanket, 566 Brittney Tomlin who will keep her hands warm with gloves, and 324 Larry Schilz who chose slippers to keep his toes toasty. 127 Kent Sargent chose earrings, and 557 Teri Denman will sip from his pilsner glass.
Although we would have preferred to put this off for a couple of weeks, some lucky members went home with some great “end of season” prizes. 324 Larry Schilz and 489 Kelly Wolff each chose a $50 gift card from Spare Time. Thank you, Spare Time for your generosity! 575 Alan Reed picked the $50 gift card to the Packer Pro Shop. 509 Stan Coleman will be using his cooler set while 507 Linda Bracke will lounge in her new bag chair. 423 Melody Cox can store lots of goodies in her backpack, while 185 Ken Hill will rest easy with his travel set. 572 Craig Phillips and 123 Craig Pringle each took home a snack set. Congratulations to the lucky winners!
We filled two $1 pools AND two 50₵ pools this week. Winners of the $1 pool were 185 Ken Hill (3), 243 Kaci White (3), 328 Marge Bramlett, and 575 Alan Reed. Winners of the 50₵ pool were 321 Sheila Chase (3), 105 Linda Wieloch (3), 243 Kaci White, and 557 Teri Denman. The winner of the Trivia Contest and recipient of a $25 gift card from our gracious hosts at Spare Time was 576 Lisa Reed.
Now is the time when I usually tell you about what’s coming up next, so I will remind you to save that Saturday in July for our famous (infamous?) Packer backer picnic. Be sure to spread the word about our club to any Packer fan you might meet in the course of the offseason and invite them to join us for the new year. I look forward to seeing you all in the fall as we raise a glass and a cheer for the greatest team on earth at Spare Time. And remember, we will love our Pack through thick and thin—Always!
(Marge 328)
First to ponder, our membership expanded from 86 in 2018 to 165 in 2019, 63 of which have signed up so far for the 2020 season. Our largest crowed this year was 178 (Seahags) and our smallest was 36 (Chief’s); compared to 95 & 15 from 2018. In fact, our smallest crowed was greater than 6 games from last year and we had 9 games greater than our biggest crowd from 2018. All this is testimony to what a difference Spare Time has meant to our club.
And now things to remember. First is the date for our Annual Packer Picnic. The date, as always, is set as the last Saturday in July, this year that is the 25th from 1:00 until 4:00. In the past we have had the picnic at a members house. If you wish to play host to 50 or so, we will hep you with set up, clean up and grilling. Just let me know. There has also been some talk about maybe Spare Time putting something on for us. Again, let me know what you think.
Secondly, there will be one last newsletter next week. This one is your chance to tell us your Packer memory, share some pictures or express your (positive) opinions about the Packers or our club. The staff at Packer Backer Bits have had a blast bringing you insight views and outlandish tales. It’s your turn to share the fun.
No experience is required, what is required is that you do submit your story/pictures to share.
Send them to me at:
GreenvillePackerBackers@gmail.com
by Friday if this week (Jan. 31st).
A big thank you to everyone who helped throughout the course of the year with set up, office, newsletter and MC. It has made mine and Linda’s year more enjoyable. Thanks to the droves of Packer fans that filled up Spare Time week after week. Another to the Staff and management at Spare Time for their service and support they have given our club all year long, may that continue for years to come.
A very special personal thank you for the club photo you gave me last Sunday. It meant a lot to me and will be proudly displayed in on home. This club is something special and hope I’m around for many more years to enjoy it with you, your fellow Packer Fan who will always
BLEED GREEN & GOLD MY FRIENDS!
(Packer John)
