My Take -> Week 13

4-6-1. 1-4 in the season defining 5-game stretch. And, while the Packers are not officially eliminated from the playoffs, it doesn’t feel like this team has a pulse. However, we must remember that in life, fear is contagious. But, hope carries the same weight. And, optimism exists within each of us. Thus, even though it appears as though we are living a time of great despair in PackerLand; I’m going to promote positivity until the Packers reach 7 losses. I’m going to cling onto the hope that 9-6-1 will somehow earn a playoff berth. Go Pack Go, baby!

As I write, I listen to the Movement's "Set Sail" album. If you're not familiar with the Movement, give them a listen. Set Sail and Habit are two beach-style vibes that cleanse the soul. The music will uplift you. I promise.

My quick vibes from the last week:

Mike McCarthy. I swear he’ll never learn that he should not call a timeout near the end of the half. McCarthy’s offense showed creativity, disguise and some misdirection. It didn’t show execution. They looked like they are trying to install a new offense and they’re still working on the kinks.

This team is the equivalent of the 1999 Green Bay Packers, which was one of my least favorite years as a fan. Both teams consistently underachieved. Both teams had a couple of dramatic early season victories. Both teams had former MVP QBs that battled lingering injuries for a large part of the season. Both of those former MVP QBs played significantly below the level of play that we were accustomed to seeing them play at. Both offenses ran an extensive amount of go-routes. Both teams had defenses that melted down in the second half week-in and week-out.

The Packers are built around Aaron Rodgers. In 2018, Aaron Rodgers has failed this team.

Aaron Jones runs really hard. I’m happy that he’s locked up for two more years.

If this season falls short of a playoff berth, I’ll forever wonder why the 2018 Packers didn’t go to the hurry up offense to try and increase the urgency of the unit.

Congrats to Davante Adams on eclipsing 1,000 yards. I’m happy that he, too, is locked up for years to come.

Why doesn’t Aaron Rodgers look to MVS more often?

Once again, Kenny Clark was tremendous.

Montravious Adams played a pretty good game. I liked to see the way that he stacked and shed at the line in the run game a couple of times. He showed good quickness, too. He was non-existent as a pass rusher though.

Before the season is over, I hope to see what our defense looks like with Breeland, King and Alexander at CB.

There has been one year in my life in which I thought it was in the best interest of the franchise for the Packers to lose games. That was 2005. In ‘05, Favre was handing the ball off to Samkon Gado. He was throwing the ball to the likes of David Martin, Robert Ferguson, Andrae Thurman, Donald Lee and Antonio Chapman. Adrian Klemm and Will Whitticker were blocking for Favre. These weren’t players that I wanted around in 2006. So, whether we won or lost wasn’t important. I wanted Reggie Bush. I viewed Bush as a game changer. A difference maker. Potentially, a generational player. In 2018, we have Aaron Rodgers. He’s throwing the ball to Adams, MVS, ESB and hopefully Kumerow. He’s handing the ball off to Jones and Williams. Bakhtiari, Bulaga, Linsley, Taylor and Bell are all players that I want on the team next year. Clark, Martinez, Burks, Jaire, and JJ all have a shot to be crucial components to the core of our defense for years to come. I don’t want them to experience a losing culture. I don’t want them to think this is the norm. I want them to experience wins. I want a platform for them to build off of into the future. Let’s rise up, Packers fans. Let’s help this team find a win!

With regards to a playoff push, we should think about this: Dallas still plays Philly. Philly plays Wash twice. In all of the things that are posted about the Packers qualifying, it never mentions the Cowboys, but it helps if Dallas loses 7 games; in case Wash or Philly does not. I'm confident that 2 of the 3 NFC East teams loses at 7 games. So, we turn our attention to MN, SEA and CAR. Oh, and I’m also the only person that you’ll hear say this: I’m not ready to give CHI a pass. NYG could beat them this weekend. After that, they’d still have the Packers, Rams and MN. They aren’t out of the woods yet. So, we'd need 3 out of 4 between CHI, MN, SEA and CAR to hit 7 losses. CAR would need to lose 2 games and they still have to play NO twice. MN plays both CHI and SEA, so someone has to lose. The bottom line is this; yes, we will be scoreboard watching, but if the Packers can somehow finish 9-6-1, there is a possibility of sneaking into the playoffs. Yes, I'm saying there's a chance!

In this week's Fanspeak Packers Mock Draft, I was able to draft two EDGE studs to kick it off and it opened up the Draft to focus on the best available player in addition to focusing on using the 3-player draft technique at a position of need in the late-to-mid rounds.

Round 1a: Jachai Polite, EDGE, Florida.
Round 1b: Josh Allen, EDGE, Kentucky.
Round 2: Greg Little, OT, Mississippi.
Round 3: Joe Jackson, EDGE, []_[].
Round 4a: Albert Okwuegbunam, TE, Missouri.
Round 4b: Taylor Rapp, S, Washington.
Round 5: David Montgomery, RB, Iowa State.
Round 6a: Alex Bars, G, Notre Dame.
Round 6b: Tanner Muse, S, Clemson
Round 7: Sheldrick Redwin, S, []_[].

This week - it's the Cardinals. One of my favorite Packers moments happened in January of 1983 when the Packers beat the Cardinals in the playoffs. It was a formative day in my life. I saw Lambeau Field living for the moment. Enjoying right now. Acting in spontaneity. And since winning was new, we weren't quite sure how to act. For a 5 year old boy, that was riveting. I was all-in. Hook, line and sinker. Gary Lewis blocking FG's. Lynn Dickey tossing tuddies. John Jefferson and James Lofton giving high fives. THAT WAS FUN! I'll forever cherish those memories.

For this week, I'm going to keep this simple. If the Packers can contain David Johnson and slow down the Cardinals pass rush, the Packers will win convincingly. If the Cardinals pass rush wins the battle or if Johnson controls the clock, the Packers could be in trouble.

Packers 34.
Cards 17.

Go Pack Go!

Talkin' S-Mac.
Talkins-mac.blogspot.com