Make no mistake; what the Packers have accomplished so far this season is truly remarkable, on many levels.
First, to get to 13 wins in the regular season three years in a row is literally unprecedented in NFL history. It’s a testament to the quality of the coaching staff, which inherited a team coming off back to back losing seasons for the first time in decades and restored it to being a powerhouse.
Second, to come back from such a devastating end to the season in 2020 only to once again seal up the #1 seed, and this time even before the final week of the season, shows incredible mental toughness and maturity from this roster. Better teams have collapsed after heartbreaking postseason exits, simply because they lacked the camaraderie and mental toughness required to get right back to where they were the next year.
Then there’s Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is far and away the most deserving MVP candidate for the 2021 season. He could make history with his fourth MVP, surpassing everyone in MVP annals but Peyton Manning.
But ultimately, Packer fans everywhere are still holding their breath. No matter how much you’re enjoying the ride, you know that opportunities like the Packers have in front of them don’t come around very often, especially twice in a row (and certainly not three times in a row).
The Packers have the rare opportunity to atone for the mistakes of a year ago. A third consecutive exit before the Super Bowl (especially if it were to be a game before the Super Bowl) will only further fuel the “what if” crowd regarding the career of Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.
So will the third time be the charm?
Last year really felt like a team of destiny for the Packers. Everything was lined up perfectly for them to get to the Super Bowl and bring home a title.
This year has felt like anything but. It’s been, frankly, a slog. The team hasn’t really played a complete game to date, it’s dealt with a ridiculous number of injuries, there was the offseason drama. We’ve been through this all plenty of times.
The rest of the NFC certainly seems to be playing out in the Packers’ favor. The Buccaneers are hurting, not as good on defense as a year ago and dealing with distractions. The Packers have already beaten the Cardinals, Rams and 49ers and there’s little reason to think they can’t do so again. The Cowboys are inconsistent and led by a coach with a penchant for making poor decisions in critical in-game moments.
It just really feels like everything is in front of the Packers once again, ready for them to take. Will they be able to actually pull it off this year?
THere are enough veteran players on this team that know how rare it is to even get one crack at a Super Bowl. To get a game away two years in a row and still come back after that as the number one seed is special indeed.
There may not be a fourth chance.
Wisconsin Beer of the Week
I rang in the new year with a solid beer from my favorite brewery, 1840 Brewing Company!
Hoppy Resolution is a double west coast IPA, coming in at 8.5% ABV. I’ve been really into west coast IPAs lately. It feels like every IPA I come across these days is a hazy/New England style IPA. And I love those, don’t get me wrong, they’re delicious. But sometimes I get nostalgic for the days when IPAs were clear, no questions asked.
Well, this is a fun twist on the drinkable, refreshing west coast IPA style that used to be the predominant IPA variant until recent years. It makes it a little boozier and a little smoother while still maintaining a bit of a sparkle.
It’s exactly what you would want out of a New Year’s Eve beer. Tasty, drinkable, but still just a little bit of a punch to it.
Find it on tap or in bottles at 1840’s tap room in Milwaukee.
What can we learn from Week 18?
Week 18 is certainly a meaningless game with regard to standings and playoff seeding. It’s understandable to be completely bored by the prospect of tuning in to watch a game that doesn’t count for anything.
However, there is still some value to be had in this game, mostly in that it is likely we will get some extended looks at young players without a whole lot of experience.
The obvious name people will think of right away is Jordan Love. I have a very hard time believing Matt LaFleur will let his MVP candidate play past halftime. This means we’ll get some extended Jordan Love action against a bad team. Love can use all the in-game reps he can get, and the Packers will be watching them very closely as well as they figure out how they’ll solve the puzzle with personnel that is to come this offseason.
There are some other young players for whom Sunday could be a big opportunity. Patrick Taylor made the most of his chance coming off the bench late against Minnesota ,and could get quite a few touches. Amari Rodgers has not been able to work his way into the offense this year, but could get some extended looks in the slot. Juwann Winfree is another bubble player who has had few opportunities to show what he’s got.
The defensive side of the ball doesn’t have quite the same number of interesting prospects to watch, but it will at least be a good potential confidence-building game for players after a stretch of bad defensive play up until the Minnesota game. I love the guy, but if it’s TIm Boyle starting for Detroit, there’s not going to be a whole lot of fear in that secondary.
Think of it as another preseason game, with a little more meaningful evaluation after the players have all been in the program the entire season.
Pickled snacks: a true delicacy
So last week for New Year’s Eve my wife and I decided that we were going to pick up a bunch of snacks and just watch a few episodes of The Witcher on Netflix before passing out around 10 or 10:30 p.m. Great plan, right?
I picked up a bunch of stuff to make a charcuterie board, and also got some special stuffed mushrooms and bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers from the local butcher. We also had some cheese spread with crackers, teenie weenies and plenty of alcohol.
My wife’s special recommendation for the evening: pickled herring.
Now I personally do not partake in the pickled herring. But it is kind of hilarious how ubiquitous it has been in my holiday experiences throughout my life. My dad always had it around, his dad always had it around, my wife likes it, her family would always have it around.
I’m not entirely sure if it’s a regional thing or not, but I’ve definitely talked to people about it from outside of the state who get disgusted by the thought of it. Maybe not to the extent that they get grossed out by cannibal sandwiches, but certainly close.
That got me thinking about the various other pickled treats I partake in from time to time. While perusing the selection of pickled goods along the grocery store shelves i also picked up some pickled green beans. I’m a fan of pickled asparagus, and recently had pickled brussels sprouts for the first time. A pickled egg every now and then can be quite tasty, and who doesn’t love a good pickled onion?
Anway, a toast to the pickled hors d’ouevres. Often misunderstood and unappreciated, yet always a staple.
Around the NFC North
Here we go once again around the NFC North leading into week 18, the final edition of Around the NFC North for the 2021 season.
-The CHICAGO BEARS are one game away from ridding themselves of head coach Matt Nagy, and possibly general manager Ryan Pace. What does the future hold for this franchise? It’s hard to say. It depends largely on whether the Bears are able to get a hit with their coaching hire. Is the current ownership and front office capable of that? The first priority has to be getting a coach that’s going to put Justin Fields in position to succeed, if they have any belief at all that he’s going to be the guy long term. But Bears fans are sick of seeing coaches get hired and fired every three or four years. Is there any reason to expect anything other than failure?
-The DETROIT LIONS jare another team with an uncertain future. There’s no denying that Dan Campbell at least got these guys playing hard. But they have SO many needs on their roster before they can become a winning football team. This doesn’t feel like a roster that’s a year away from being relevant–it’s going to take a couple more offseasons for them to undo the damage that was done by the prior administration in town. Fortunately quarterback is not an immediate priority for this team, so they can focus on fleshing out the lines and getting good players at a variety of premium positions.
-The MINNESOTA VIKINGS once again spent a season underperforming their acclaimed talent level and now find themselves sitting at home for the playoffs for the second year in a row. It’s a near-certainty that Mike Zimmer is out as head coach. After that, who knows. This is a team that certainly has talent, but has not been able to gel for the last couple years. Kirk Cousins will probably be back just because the Vikings are so heavily invested in him. But what soft of tweaks will need to be performed to get this team to be a true contender again? It’s not going to be easy, but at least they’re closer than the Lions and the Bears.
Where did this season go?
August and September feel like an eternity ago. Long past are the days when Aaron Rodgers hated the Packers and was attempting to throw the season out of spite. It’s amazing what a few months and a lot of winning can do.
This will be the longest NFL regular season of all time, and yet it feels like it’s been one of the fastest in recent memory. Perhaps this is mostly in comparison to the 2020 season, which never really felt normal due to the lack of fans for COVID protocols and due to everything else that was still shut down or canceled at the time.
Life has been at least slightly more normal this year, despite the pandemic that continues to rage, and as such there have been many other things that have happened between SEptember and now that make it feel like time has passed much more quickly.
Now we come upon the part of the season that truly matters for the Packers. Can’t wait.
The prediction
This game, like almost every other week 18 game, doesn’t really matter. So, like, good job to the NFL for adding a meaningless week to the season, I guess.
The starters will play maybe a half of football before we get to see the real show that is Jordan Love vs. TIm Boyle.
Packers 20ish Lions 13ish I guess.
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Tim Backes is a lifelong Packer fan and a contributor to CheeseheadTV. Follow him on Twitter @timbackes for his Packer takes, random musings and Untappd beer check-ins.