My Take -> Week 14

Greetings, G-Force.

4-7-1. And, in the end, the 100th season in Packers history was a complete fuckin’ disaster. A colossal meltdown of epic proportions. A low point in the recent history of the franchise. One of my least favorite seasons as a fan. A year to forget. With the utterly embarrassing loss to the lowly Cardinals - at the once proudly adored Lambeau Field - the team and their fans got knocked out of their misery. Beneath the misery, resides a presently dark existence. One of curiosity. One of concern. One of hope.

Michael Franti makes me feel good. As I begin writing, I’m listening to Stay Human 2, his new song.

Here are my quick vibes for the week:

Thanks for the memories, Mike McCarthy. I’ll remember you fondly. Others will consider your time as stale. Those - that do - are highly entitled fans. Sure, we're all disappointed that we didn't win more Super Bowls. We all wish that Julius Peppers did not tell Morgan Burnett to sit down in Seattle. We wish Bostick had caught the onside kick. We wish HaHa would've knocked down the 2-point conversion. If any of those things happen, the Packers are playing in a 2nd Super Bowl. None did and we're all forever haunted. That game is Holmgren's equivalent to Super Bowl 32. With that said, I hope that stale for the Packers will always be a 13-year stretch that includes 9 playoff appearances, a Super Bowl win, a 15-1 season and 4 NFC Championship Game appearances. Mike, you gave us a magical year of Favre and helped to develop Rodgers into a 2-time MVP at QB. Additionally, Mike, through the years, you've twice had to endure playing without your star QB for the better part of the season. Mike, you also lost three integral pieces to the core of the defense while they were in their prime in Nick Collins, Desmond Bishop and BJ Raji. We dealt with game ending heartbreaks. It was a tall task to keep this team together. You always did so. It's been a great stretch. Someday - Packers fans will yearn for the success of this last decade. With that, Coach Mac, best of luck in the future. I'll always be cheering for you.

Aaron Rodgers was awful against the Cards. The pass to ESB in the first quarter made it look like he wasn't even trying. The same could be said with the swing pass to Aaron Jones. Again, on a crucial 3rd down in the 4th Quarter, Rodgers was dumping the ball into the dirt and at the feet of an open WR. Baffling!

If Rodgers plays like he did against AZ for the rest of the year, the Packers will not win another game and they’ll end up with a top 5-7 pick of the Draft. That’s sad.

I actually like the timing of the firing. Saved MM the questions for the next month. Team was unprepared against AZ. Packers can start the search now — before others who will be searching for a new coach. And, they can do so openly.

The Packers can save roughly $20,000,000 in cap space for next year by cutting Graham, Crosby, Spriggs, Bulaga, Tramon and Perry. The Packers will have a boat load of dead money to pay out, but they would’ve rid themselves of all bad contracts on the roster. With the draft picks in his arsenal and the pending salary cap space, if Gutekunst has a two year plan in place and the Packers hire a good HC (whoever that may be); they should be ready to compete again in two years. And, with that strategy, the Packers would never have to go through a rebuilding phase with an aging Aaron Rodgers.

If the Packers do indeed free up a bunch of cash, I hope that the Packers sign Landon Collins. The Packers need a hard hitting, play making Safety. Collins would fit the bill. Collins hasn't played as well in 17 and 18 as he did in 16, but I'd still be willing to pay him the money that he demands. Give the Packers Landon Collins and a couple of EDGE rushers in the Draft and the defense should be in position to close games.

I have full confidence that Mark Murphy and Brian Gutekunst will identify a quality Head Coach.

Aaron Rodgers' and Brett Favre's careers have so many similarities. I'm hoping that Rodgers can find the Brett Favre version of Mike McCarthy. The one that ignited a spark in the suddenly declining player. McCarthy brought Favre another life. The Packers need to find someone who can inject a fire into Rodgers.

We have had two Super Bowl winning coaches in 50 years. Holmgren couldn’t wait to get out of GB. He quit on the team before the Super Bowl and essentially smirked his way off the field after the devastating loss in SF the following year. On the contrary, here is McCarthy two days after getting fired, absolutely yearning for one last speech. Amazing!

I do not want Josh McDaniels as the next Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers. I don't think he can be trusted. I don't have a wish list at this point, but I know I don't want McDaniels.

The Cards game was another really good day at the office for Kenny Clark and Jaire Alexander.

Dean Lowry shows glimpses of being a really good football player.

I'm a fan of Mike Pettine, but it should be noted that his defenses have not been the same team in the 4th Quarter as they have been in the 3rd Quarter. Granted, he's playing with a makeshift lineup, so he deserves a pass. Nonetheless, consider this: Pettine's defense couldn't get off the field when it mattered most in the 4th Quarter against Minnesota, the Rams, the Patriots, the Seahawks, and the Cardinals.

I'm officially worried that Josh Jackson will be really limited as an NFL player. I want him to be great. The Jackson and Alexander vibe seems to be good to be a true. It seems like a dream. They're buddies. But, JJ looks to be a step slow and he doesn't look tough enough. Over the last 4 weeks of the year, I'd argue that a JJ interception is near the top of my wish list. I want him to build some confidence before the end of the year.

It's time to see a whole lot of Robert Tonyan and none of Marcedes Lewis and Lance Kendricks. Tonyan is in the future plans. Lewis and Kendricks are not.

I was bummed that Kevin King went to IR. I really wanted to see the secondary with King, Jaire and Breeland in it. King has really handicapped the Packers. When he's on the field, he's been a decent perimeter CB, but availability has been key and at this point, King has left the Packers with a hole at CB. With King being unavailable, I am hoping to see the likes of Will Redmond, Natrell Jamerson and Tony Brown on the field. Let's see if these guys can be in the 2019 plans.

I liked the Natrell Jamerson signing. Jamerson can run. He has the physique and intangibles to be a slot CB. Prior to the Draft, I wrote this about Jamerson: "Natrell Jamerson, Wisconsin. Round 6-7. Jamerson is undersized for a pure safety, but translates well as a possible mid-to-late round slot CB. Jamerson can fly. He ran a 4.4 and was super quick in his 10 yard split. He has good lateral movements and he's willing to throw his body in the mix."

With the Jamerson signing, I found this little nugget: Gutekunst has not added 4 of the top 13 speedsters in the 40 at the Combine last year. He also has 3 players who finished in the top 8 in the 20-yard shuttle at the Combine last year. He feels the need for speed!

I'm happy that Donnerson is on the 53-man roster. I want to see Donnerson, Alex Light, Oren Burks, Tony Brown, Will Redmond, ESB, MVS, Tonyan, Kumerow, Looney, Lancaster, Adams, Raven Greene and Jamerson getting snaps. Let's invest in our future and see if the kids can bring us wins. I want to see ESB with a 7 catch, 100-yard game. The same can be said with MVS or Kumerow.

I hope that Cole Madison reports to camp in 2019.

If I were Brian Gutekunst, I'd say; "Hey Randall Cobb. You've been a really solid Packer. But, availability is a key to success in the NFL. You weren't available for the better part of 2018. With that, you're going to be relegated for the rest of the year to our 5th string WR behind Adams, MVS, ESB and Kumerow. As you know, you won't be back with the team in 2019, so the only really exposure that you're going to see will be as the Punt Returner. Thanks for your commitment to the Green Bay Packers."

I will forever wonder why Mike McCarthy never went no-huddle to try and create urgency in the offense in 2018. We played without a pulse on offense. I kept waiting for the shift. It never happened.

Eddie Pleasant. Can he please be cut? Like, seriously. How can his teammates ever look the guy in the eye again and think that he can be trusted to make a play? I'd rather have a 52-man roster than to see him on the team for another day.

In this week's Fanspeak Packers Mock Draft, the board rankings fell differently. Most of the guys that I've been high on throughout the year have climbed the overall rankings. Josh Allen was a player ranked in the 40's, he's now in the top 20. Brian Burks was also in the 40's, he's now in the 20's. It forced me to alter my Draft approach. I went heavy on the OL in the top 3 rounds. Cajuste can likely play either RT or RG. Edwards looks like a starting RT. It's interesting to note that the Packers will likely have 6 of the top 120 picks heading into Draft weekend. Here's how it fell for me:

Round 1a: Josh Allen, EDGE, Kentucky.
Round 1b: Raekwon Davis, DL, Alabama.
Round 2: Yodny Cajuste, OT, Dub-V.
Round 3: David Edwards, OT, WI.
Round 4a: Landis Durham, EDGE, Texas A&M.
Round 4b: Osahne Ximines, EDGE, ODU.
Round 5: Kaden Smith, TE, Stanford.
Round 6a: Tanner Muse, S, Clemson.
Round 6b: Iman Marshall, CB, USC.
Round 7: Sheldrick Redwine, S, []_[].

This week - it's the Falcons. I'll always remember the Packers at Falcons Divisional Playoff game. It was one of my favorite days in Packers history. I was in attendance with my Brother Bob and my Brother-in-Law, Paul. It was a legendary day in Packers history.

Can the Packers cover the Falcons in 2018? Well, that depends on if Breeland can play. If he can, then the Packers might be able to match up well. If he can't, well, then Atlanta could put up a minimum of 35 points. And, unless Rodgers finds his old form, the 2018 Packers aren't capable of putting up points in bundles.

My hunch is that Rodgers plays carefree. He hasn't played in a game like this Sunday since 2008. Consider that? Yes, as fans, we've been that fortunate during the Mike McCarthy era. We have played highly meaningful, non-desperate December games every year since 2009. The only other team that can say that is the Patriots. We've been spoiled. Nonetheless, look for Rodgers to play without stress and to be gunning the ball all over the field. We see the Rodgers of old. The one that we have adored since 2008. There's that confident spark to his step. The CA swag is back. Rodgers catches fire.

Packers 31.
Falcons 30.

Go Pack Go!

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