Packers 37 No Aints 30
Remember the game last season when we beat the Vikings on Monday Night? Booger McFarland made it sound like the Vikings were beating the Packers, they weren’t, it wasn’t even close, or that they should have been beating the Packers, they didn’t. We were a rowdy bunch, willing the Packers to win. I don’t know if the same was true for Sunday night, I’m still in enemy territory (Michigan). If Collinsworth was listened to, I’m sure it was.
Chris Collinsworth wants to have Drew Brees’ babies! At half time, he said, “The story of this game is Drew Brees.” He also said it was unfair that the Packers played the Aints in an empty stadium. Aaron Rodgers used his patented hard count to perfection in what would ordinarily be a raucous Superdome, but it’s not unfair. Collinsworth didn’t even mention that Aaron used an amalgamation of Allen Lazard and Robert Tonyan to make up for the loss of Davante Adams injury. “Tonard” anybody?
Lazard caught 6 catches, one for 48 yards setting up a score early in the second quarter and then the LOOOONG Bomb for 73! But no, the story of this game was Drew Brees, dinking and dunking to basically Alvin Kamara, and Latavius Murray doing most of the rushing duties. The Saints did move the ball, but their penalties ultimately doomed them. The story wasn’t Drew Brees, the story was Aaron Rodgers making the most of the weapons he had, defense, and using that snap count to perfection to get the defense in the position he wanted them. A complete game. Collinsworth didn’t see any of that, all he saw was the love he has for Drew Brees. I’m working dayshift so I didn’t see any ESPN coverage, but I’m sure the talking heads on there were all aflutter just like Collinsworth over Drew Brees.
Brees is good, Aaron is better. He’s long range and he’s deadly accurate. Too bad he doesn’t have a Jordy Nelson clone. MVS is fast, but he doesn’t have Jordy’s hands. Lazard is big, but he’s not as fast as Jordy was and he’s not as big as Jordy, by big I mean he’s tall, but he’s a bit skinny. It remains to be seen if he can handle the punishment absorbed by a standout wide receiver.
Aaron had a great night. He was 21 of 32 for 283 yards, 3 TDs, and a passer rating of 124.9. Now I have problems with this rating. Aaron was only sacked once. Brees was sacked twice, yet his passer rating was higher(127.8)? The Saints did gain more yards than us on the field, but their penalties like I said doomed them, as well as a fumble recovery by Zadarius Smith, the fumble stands out with me because I said to myself, “We need a turnover.” Zadarius was happy to oblige.
8 penalties from the Saints for 83 yards, 4 of them resulting in 1st downs though. In times past it would have been sufficient, but this is the Packers in 2020 they are 6th in Passing Yards , 2nd in Rushing, and 2nd overall in Total Yards per game. In other words, unstoppable.
If you were like me, you heard a lot of predictions in the preseason. “The Packers are going to be 3rd in the NFC North.” “The Vikings are the class of the NFC North.” If you were like me, you were thinking, “Why?!?!” What piece did the Vikings gain? the Lions acquire? or the Bears add? that made the Packers an also ran? NONE! The Packers went to the NFC Championship game last season, I saw nothing that has convinced me that the Packers won’t win the North again. Nick Foles?!?! If he was good, he would still be in Jacksonville. He was the right guy at the right time in Philly, same as Joe Flacco was for one brief moment in Baltimore. The Failcons were 1-8 before win-ning out and saving Dan Quinn’s job. The Chicago victory didn’t prove that they were good, it proved how bad Mitch Trubiskey is! So once again,
ALL HAIL THE KING OF THE NORTH!!
GO PACK!! GO!!!
(Ken Hill)
Just Sayin’
The offense is looking in fine form. It is evident that Rodgers and LeFleur are on the same page. Heck, I think they are in the same paragraph, maybe they are on the same sentence. As most of us Packers fans knew how bad the roster had gotten under Ted Thompson, the media constantly talked about how good the roster was until Rodgers went down. This past summer, the media was at it again, this time blasting the Packers for not drafting a WR in the draft. Now, we real fans know that some rookie receiver is NOT going to come into Green Bay and be an immediate sensation with Rodgers. A receiver has got to be a disciplined route runner and trustworthy. Lazard is both of those and Rodgers has shown his trust in Lazard. Also, the TE play was really good. Our TE’s were targeted 10 times and caught 9 of them. That was good for 104 yards and 2 TDs. All 3 guys contributed greatly. I think that is about as good TE play as the Packers have had in years. My feeling is that is going to be something that is almost like a new weapon in the Green Bay offense that no defensive coordinator has had to really worry about since Jermichael Finley. And what can I say about Aaron Jones? The guy can do it all. The one question I would ask Matt LeFleur about that game would be “When it was 1st and goal on the 2 yard line, why didn’t you run A.J.Dillon?”
The weirdest thing about that game was that strange onside kick by the Saints toward the end of the game. The way the ball just kept spinning and finally stood up on its end and just spun out of bounds before traveling the required 10 yards. Did anyone else think that had Brandon Bostick been there, he probably would have tried to jump on the ball. Yeah, I know. But you have to remember the bad times to appreciate the good times. You know, what we have going on right now. And BTW, speaking of Jermichael Finley, I got into Just Sayin’ by sending Packer John one little paragraph about Finley’s drops early in his career. So I am living proof that you don’t have to be an expert at writing to contribute to this newsletter. If you want to say something, write it out and send it to John. It doesn’t have to be weekly or on a regular basis. But I think the Packers have the most passionate fans in the NFL. So why not share some of those feelings with the rest of us???
Just Sayin’
(Jimmy Smith)
GBP In Our SPARE TIME
A wide variety in the 9 door prizes chosen by the lucky winners. 123 “Lewis” Pringle chose slippers, and 127 Kent Sargent gifted his winning number to 448 Diane Clapper who chose socks. 242 Christina Harrison chose a tee shirt. 505 Heather Sharpe chose earrings. 542 Kathie Mervyn will be keeping time with her new watch. 221 Barb Gambrell will be flipping the steaks with her new BBQ grill set, while 567 Steven Chancey will be ready to carve into them with his cutlery set. And all this is happening while 506 Sebastian Sharpe is playing Jenga with the game he won.
The winner of the Trivia contest and the happy recipient of the $25 gift card from our friends and sponsors at Spare Time is 448 Diane Clapper. We filled a $1 board for our football pool. Winners were 328 Marge Bramlett (2), 106 Packer John Wieloch, and 542 Kathie Mervyn.
Our next game is against the Phail-cons on Monday, Oct 5 at 8:20 p.m. I know, night games 2 weeks in a row is tough, but I’m counting on seeing you there. I love everyone’s company as we raise the roof for our team. This night-time game challenge is when you’ll hear me say, “C’mon guys—we can do this through thick or thin”….See ya Monday,
Marge 328
I have history and my life is forever wrapped up with Atlanta. Rabid readers know I was engaged in Centennial Olympic Park, shortly after the 1996 Olympics and during the Paralympics, and a day or two after we saw John Smoltz win his 20th game in his historic Cy Young campaign for the Braves (formerly of Milwaukee). On bended knee across from CNN Center in front of the applause of about a platoon of peaceful demonstrators, which in those days, were just there. I didn’t even have to bus them in or pay for their support…
Sadly, Atlanta is a fallen angel. The infrastructure is in shambles, the leadership is a disgrace, and racial strife has rocked the city. It’s probably a good thing we can’t even try to go to this game live, since the majority of the police have chosen to defund themselves and head to the sticks where at least they have some cover and (probably) won’t get spit on. The best of Atlanta was the Braves, and they split for The Battery up in Buckhead where the city machine doesn’t try to squeeze their proverbial tits until they’re purple…
We only have the greatest football franchise in the history of the sport. As a metropolitan giant, Atlanta has all of the major sports. Which have collectively set the bar for sucking. Hawks, Thrashers (Thrashers?). The Falcons and Braves were each originally marketed in the 60s as “The Team of the South.” It only stuck for Braves Country…
Tale of Two Cities (ok, One City and one Big Town). The Pack is dominating at (3-0). This means a 75% chance at the playoffs, which we ho-hum are accustomed to and certainly deserve. Going in to this Twilight Zone campaign of a season, who knew what to expect? I know I expected exactly this, since I’ve never gone into a game with either QB12 or his HOF predecessor QB4 thinking we would lose. Never. For the Falcons this year, at (0-3) it’s been “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights.” Atlanta has found more ways to lose than the French High Command. It’s seems like they’ve never really recovered since they choked away the Super Bowl in a collapse that only we can understand…
All roads lead to a Packers blowout, which is exactly why that will never happen. This is the NFL, the Falcons are a top-5 offense and a wounded animal. Lazard and possibly Adams will be out. Our defensive line is banged up. There’s been much talk of going out and signing some help, but there’s not much out there, We might be better off calling Muhammad Wilkerson off the buffet line (since it’s not Covid-friendly anyway), Gilbert Brown from digging graves or his podcast, or even Johnny Jolly, who might qualify for early release from the Texas State Penitentiary…
What I saw was probably not far from your collective speculation. I will not name names. One candidate
The other candidate had a small army attending to him, much like a NASCAR pit crew on a needy and ailing stock car. He was being wired for communication like a DEA snitch, but they were also pumping him with a performance-enhancing cocktail: Amphetamines for energy and euphoria, testosterone for manliness and aggressiveness, Ritalin for concentration and focus, Viagra to maintain what his campaign manager described as an “erect disposition.” They also had jumper cables hooked to his nipples as insurance. As a final fail-safe, they had a cattle prod device carefully inserted in an orifice to be named later, which frankly spoke volumes about his commitment...
The debate itself was a major disappointment. As a gentleman and a man of leisure, I found their behavior and language to be indelicate, crass, and frankly, common. I was slightly redeemed when each candidate was put on the spot, yet refused to denounce the Packers! We will Stand Back, and Stand By…
Which brings us to this week’s cultural/political reference. I was a child of the 70s and 80s, which means like many, I was in front of the TV for hours on Saturday mornings with my Raisin Bran, Chex, and Captain Crunch. From 1973 to 1984, “Schoolhouse Rock” brought the knowledge to those of us in the far reaches of the subdivisions. These were three-minute segments which strove to reach us in grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics. The original producer noticed his kid could memorize the lyrics to Rolling Stones songs but had trouble with multiplication tables, so they came up with animated shorts with catchy jingle tunes to try and sneak some school into Saturday morning. The pilot was “Three is a Magic Number,” which took off. Followed by classics like “Lolly Lolly Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here,” “Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function?” and “I’m Just a Bill, on Capitol Hill…”
OVERTIME: Sneak peek: “We the Packers, in Order to form a more Balanced Offense, Establ-ish Running and ensure a Much Better ‘D’…”
LOCKER ROOM: There was a skeleton crew of Packer Backers at the club for the Saints victory on Sunday night. As such, I was able to win my first door prize of the young season. I was supposed to have like a half-dozen guys show up, but they’re all named Neil, so obviously they didn’t come through for their wingmen. Historically, Clark had a few instances with grog, peyote, and lonely squaws which made him occasionally tardy for Reveille and morning roll call. That was tolerated, because it was important and crucial diplomacy. He still answered the bell. On Sunday, his alter ego didn’t answer the bell. But we must have mercy on the weak. Forgiveness. Hopefully, he’ll be back to wield his Packer tablecloth like the crazed Clintonese matador that he is, and we’ll all have a little more juice this Monday for the Falcons…
Elkhart High School is now (5-0) and ranked #5 in 6A. Viva los Leones!
Go, Pack, GO!!!
(Kraig Pringle)
Every week you get to read what Kraig, Ken, Jimmy & I have to say. But as much as we enjoy writing, we also enjoy reading, so it’s your turn. In this season of unknowns both on and off the field, we all have something to say, a story to tell, a Packer encounter or pictures to share. In the past we have heard how Larry Schilz played golf with Jordy, Ed Demuth’s childhood story about listening to the Packers on the radio, Barb Gambrell’s visit to the State Fair, Jim Gray, one of the survivors of the “Ice Bowl” and many more.
We are asking that you submit your story for what we call the “Mid-season” Edition. Maybe this year we will call it the “First Quarter” Edition.
Please take the time to send us something you want to share with the rest of us. Don’t think you need to be a professional writer; us folks at the Bit’s are living proof of that. What makes us look good is our passion for the team we all love, something we share with you.
Tell us your story, what you think about the club, the Packers and yes, even the NFL. All we ask is you keep as positive as possible and clean (remember our young Packer fans read this too).
Please send it to me by email:
GreenvillePackerBackers@gmail.com no later than next Friday, October 9th so I can release it that weekend. Thank you in advance and as always…
Bleed Green My Friends!
(Packer John)
Let us begin with a Shout Out to The Pack for another Win!
We're on a roll with this 3-0!
Now onto club business.... Let's wish Mr. & Mrs. Steven Hammersley a Very Happy 10th Anniversary!
May this year be filled with more love than the last! Cheers you crazy lovebirds!🥂 Help me in welcoming, a fellow Packer Fan and Wisconsinite, Bobbie Rogers to the game on Monday. She's visiting her good friend and club member Stacey Stewart. The Greenville Packer Backers Welcome You!
Chooo Chooo all aboard the W Train! Next stop Atlanta to clip those Falcons wings!
Stay Well and As Always.... GO PACK GO!
