🏈 BEHIND LOVE ❤️, PACK STAYS IN HUNT WITH CONVINCING 33-10 TAKEDOWN OF VIKES!

Jordan Love
Jordan Love
Quarterback
Green Bay Packers
PHOTO” Packer website

🏈 BEHIND LOVE ❤️, PACK STAYS IN HUNT WITH CONVINCING 33-10 TAKEDOWN OF VIKES!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Special to Courtside Sports

Green Bay, WI, Jan. 1, 2024.  With quarterback Jordan Love leading the way, the Green Bay Packers (8-8) crushed the arch-rival Minnesota Vikings (7-9) 33-10 in a New Year’s Eve blowout at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Love is now one game away from accomplishing something that iconic Packer QB Aaron Rodgers failed to do in his first or last full seasons with the Pack — take them to the playoffs.  

Love was an impressive 24-36-256 with 3 passing TDs, another rushing, no interceptions, and a QB rating of 125.3, engineering all four of the team’s end-zone trips. Running back Aaron Jones added 120 yards rushing on 20 carries, as the Pack dominated from the opening whistle.

The much maligned green and gold defense pitched a near shutout, allowing only a field goal and a largely meaningless TD set up by a muffed punt inside the 10 years line. Surprisingly, the Vikings, playing behind their third and fourth string QBs, largely failed to show up in this rivalry game with the playoffs on the line. The margin could have been even bigger, as Packer receivers were running open all night, running backs were often into the Vikes’ secondary, and the only home team trip to the end zone was a gift. 

Left for dead after four straight mid-season losses, the Packers now have a clear path to the playoffs: Beat the 7-9 Chicago Bears at Lambeau on Sunday and they are in! On paper, that looks “doable,” given that Green Bay downed Chicago at Soldier Field 38-20 in the season opener in September. 

Yet, the situation is eerily similar to last season. Then, behind Rodgers, the Pack needed only to beat the Lions, who had already been eliminated from the playoffs, at Lambeau. However, the Lions didn’t roll over, besting the home team 20-16 to send Green Bay to a losing season and no playoffs in AR’s swan song. That was a precursor to this season which saw Detroit win the NFC North for their first divisional crown in three decades.

While the Bears are guaranteed another losing season, and are all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs (less than 1% chance), the Pack should expect a battle. The Bears have won four of their last five and two straight. Green Bay leads the NFL’s oldest matchup 107-95-6, but a playoff-elimination win over their rivals from up north would “make” Chicago’s season. 

While the Packers’ fortunes may not match Taylor Swift’s impact on the worldwide economy, they are still the biggest deal in this town — by far! The general mood rises and falls with their team. So, at least for today, it’s a Happy New Year from “the Bay.” 

🇺🇸😎🥳 Happy New Year and Due Process Forever from Courtside!

PWS

01–1-24

🏈😎 COURTSIDE SPORTS: JORDAN GETS OFF TO LOVELY START AGAINST BEARS, AS PACK PREVAILS  38-20 — So Far, So Good, As QB Throws 3 TDs, Converts 3rd Downs, No Errors, Shows Poise!

Jordan Love
Jordan Love
Quarterback
Green Bay Packers
PHOTO” Packer website

🏈😎 COURTSIDE SPORTS: JORDAN GETS OFF TO LOVELY START AGAINST BEARS, AS PACK PREVAILS  38-20 — So Far, So Good, As QB Throws 3 TDs, Converts 3rd Downs, No Errors, Shows Poise!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Sports Exclusive

September 10, 2023

For the first time in three decades, someone other than Brett Farve or Aaron Rodgers started at quarterback for the Packers in the NFL’s longest rivalry. The results were the same as the Pack downed “da Bears” for the ninth straight time, at Chicago’s Soldier Field on Sunday.

After three years as Rodgers’s understudy, Jordan Love (15-27-245-3-0, rating 123.2) looked much better than someone who had started only one previous NFL game (a loss vs the Chiefs). He threw three TDs, calmly converted key third and fourth downs, committed no turnovers, and looked like a poised veteran in every way. 

After a slow start that saw the Pack with a 10-6 halftime lead, Green Bay running back Aaron Jones dominated the third quarter with 105 running and receiving yards and a touchdown that essentially established the visitor’s control of the game. In a cautionary note for the green and gold, however, he left the game with an apparent hamstring injury. 

At least in the first game, the oft-maligned Packer defense performed like a unit that justified the large investment of draft picks over the past several years. The highlight was a 37-yard pick 6 by linebacker Quay Walker in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach. (Walker, however, may have sustained a concussion while crossing the goal line for he score.) They basically neutralized Chicago’s athletic quarterback Justin Fields and his supposedly improved offense until the game was all but over.

It’s only one game, and, with due respect, “it’s only the Bears” who appear to be nearly as bad as last year’s league-worst team. But, a W is a W in the standings. Next up for the Pack: the Falcons, 24-10 winners over Carolina, at Atlanta. 

Go Pack Go!
Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers

🏈 SPORTS: BREAKING! — END OF AN ERA! — Aaron Rodgers To Leave Pack, Will Play For Jets This Fall! — Future Hall-of-Famer Leaves After 15 Years, 1 Super Bowl Ring, 4 MVP Awards, & A Host Of Records!

Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Quarterback
Green Bay Packers

Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: 

https://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2023/03/15/packers-quarterback-aaron-rodgers-plans-on-playing-for-new-york-jets-next-season-pat-mcafee-show/69980713007/

GREEN BAY – The Aaron Rodgers Era in Green Bay is almost over.

A new era for the four-time MVP will begin in New York soon.

Rodgers confirmed it all Wednesday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” telling the host that after long contemplation and a meeting with Jets officials last week, he decided on Friday “to play and to play for the New York Jets.”

However, Rodgers said that no deal has been made and that the Packers are the ones holding up a trade and not him as has been speculated on social media and some news reports. He said he is ready to get back to playing football but remains in limbo until the trade goes through.

“I haven’t been holding things up at this point, it’s been compensation that the Packers are trying to get for me and are kind of digging their heels in,” Rodgers said. “So, I would just think it is interesting at this point. The whole picture.”

Rodgers went on to say he is coming to grips with the fact that his 18 years with the Packers franchise is coming to an end and that it is because the Packers want to move on without him. He said he won’t be bitter about the way things were handled, but he can’t completely move on because the trade has not been made.

. . . .

“You know, my side, love and appreciation and gratitude for everything that Green Bay has done for me. Love, so much love and gratitude and just heart open for the Packer fans and what it meant to be their quarterback, and also the reality of the situation,” he said. “Like, it is what it is; Packers would like to move on.”

. . . .

Rodgers said he went into his four-day darkness retreat 90% sure he would retire, but upon completion he heard the Packers were shopping him in trade talk. He said he was told after the season to take his time to make a decision whether he wants to play and wished the Packers had told him they didn’t want him anymore and wanted Jordan Love to be their quarterback.

He said he would have been happy with that.

“They’re ready to move on,” Rodgers said. “Jordan is going to be a great player. He’s a great kid. He’s got a bright future. I have so many great friends on that team and will be friends with. Fact of the matter is you have an aging face of the franchise that it’s time to do right by.”

. . . .

Packers’ trade of another future Hall of Fame quarterback harkens back to 2008

The Packers are following a familiar game plan for transitioning from a Hall of Famer to a young, first-round quarterback.

Three years after Rodgers was drafted in the first round of the 2005 draft, the Packers made their plans to succeed the retired Brett Favre with the guy they had been grooming for the job. When Favre decided he didn’t want to retire, the Packers stood with their decision to move on to Rodgers and traded Favre to the Jets.

Now, it’s Rodgers’ turn to leave the smallest market in the NFL for its biggest.

The Packers, according to multiple sources, were ready to move on from Rodgers as early as the end of last season when they felt they underachieved offensively. Rodgers failed to throw for a 300-yard game all season and couldn’t will the team into the playoffs despite needing only a victory at home against Detroit in Week 18.

The Packers had gone all in on 2022, setting an NFL record by guaranteeing all $150 million of Rodgers’ three-year contract extension, betting on him returning to the form that had earned him MVP honors in ’20 and ’21.

But the Packers finished 8-9 and general manager Brian Gutekunst saw enough improvement from Love in practice and a relief appearance against the Philadelphia Eagles to think he was ready to replace Rodgers.

Transitioning to Jordan Love may not go smoothly

The Packers were 6-10 when Rodgers took over in ’08. However, they made the postseason the following year and won the Super Bowl in ’10.

Love is entering his fourth season and the Packers now have every reason to exercise his fifth-year option before the May deadline. It will guarantee Love $20.2 million in ’24, but this season he will play for the $2,298,652 base salary in his rookie contract.

Though Love has three years under his belt, he has started only one game, played 157 snaps and thrown 83 passes. The Packers aren’t expecting him to win an MVP in his first year as a starter and know there may be growing pains.

More:If Jordan Love is the Packers’ next starting quarterback, his supporting cast will play a pivotal role

Dougherty: Matt LaFleur puts himself on the line bringing back Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry

“I think the one thing you see in this league, it’s very rarely are guys shot out of a cannon winning-wise,” Gutekunst said during the week of the NFL scouting combine. “There’s some great play, there’s instances you see flashes, but I think it takes most of these quarterbacks a little time to learn how to win.

“And it’s one thing to play well and make throws and, make plays, but then it’s another thing to lead your team to wins. And I think that takes time, but you don’t get a lot of that in this league. But certainly with any new quarterback that’s playing for the first time you’re gonna need some of that.”

**********************

Read the complete article at the link.

“AR” gave us Packer fans lots of thrills (and a few chills) over 15 years. I was fortunate enough to see him play three times in person at Lambeau! It seemed that things just were’t “clicking” for the Pack and Rodgers last year. Also, they can’t keep Love on the bench forever. And, AR’s “off the field antics” had become somewhat distracting. So, the move isn’t surprising.

We’ll see if AR has another Super Bowl season in him with the somewhat hapless Jets, who haven’t been there since they won with Joe Namath when I was in college. 

Meanwhile we’ll also see whether Jordan Love can follow in the footsteps of Hall of Famers Bart Starr, Brett Farve, and AR. Big shoes to fill, for sure! 

Thanks for the memories, and all the best to AR!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-15-23

SPORTS/ENTERTAINMENT: A.R.’s Jeopardy Debut A Winner! — “Who Wanted To Kick That Field Goal?” NOT The Correct Answer In Double Jeopardy!

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aaron-rodgers-jeopardy-host-joke_n_606c339fc5b6832c793b6572

Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Photo by: original: Mike Morbeck
derivative: Diddykong1130
Public realm

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aaron-rodgers-jeopardy-host-joke_n_606c339fc5b6832c793b6572

 

**************
Actually, the right answer was “Mr. Rogers” (as in Fred Rogers).

The internet is already ablaze in rumors that A.R. might combine a long term run on one of America’s favorite game shows with another run at the elusive second Super Bowl as the “Leader of the Pack” (an actual category when A.R. won “Celebrity Jeopardy” several years back!)

Since he is now engaged to actress Shailene Woodley, I suppose a “dual life” in Green Bay and Hollywood wouldn’t be out of the question.

Shailene Woodley
Shailene Woodley
American Actress
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0

Go Pack, Go!

Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers

PWS

04-07-21

 

 

🏈ON TO THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: PACK OVERPOWERS RAMS 32-18 @ LAMBEAU!  — “O Line” Shines In Mauling “#1 Defense”

Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers

🏈ON TO THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: PACK OVERPOWERS RAMS 32-18 @ LAMBEAU!  — “O Line” Shines In Mauling “#1 Defense”

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Exclusive

Jan. 17, 2021. The Green Bay Packers left no doubt in the perhaps overhyped “battle” between the #1 offense and the #1 defense. Likely NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, laying an impressive “juke” in a hapless L.A. Rams’ defender in the process, as the Pack rolled. 

Led by running backs Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, and AJ Dillon, the Pack gashed the Rams’ D for 188 yards on the ground, on the way to 488 yards of total offense. The defense sacked Rams’ QB Jared Goff four times and generally held the Rams’ offense in check when it counted.

The Rams basically were playing without their defensive leader and superstar Aaron Donald, ineffective in limited action (obviously should not have played at all) because of a previous injury. His only notable play was a really dumb 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that helped keep a Packer drive going in the first half. But, even a healthy Donald couldn’t have turned the tide on Saturday evening. 

An under-touted aspect of the Pack’s dominating performance was the offensive line. They actually were without their best player, All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtairi. No matter! His replacement Billy Turner, Elgton Jenkins, one of the most versatile and underrated players in the league, and his buddies Corey Lindsey, Lucas Patrick, Rick Wagner, Mercedes Lewis, and Robert Tonyan dominated the Rams’ supposedly fearsome defense. Not only did they open big holes at the line of scrimmage for the running game, but also gave Rodgers spectacular protection. 

AR has one of the “quickest releases” in football history. But, on Saturday he didn’t really need it. He had all day on most drop-backs. Indeed, except for a failed and flailing “jersey grab,” he was barely touched all night. And, when Rodgers has time, he almost never loses.

The Pack now needs to put this one behind them and concentrate on next week: The NFC Championship Game, one step from Rodgers’s second Super Bowl. Although the Pack also reached the championship game last season, they laid a big egg in getting literally run out of the stadium by San Francisco. 

Interestingly, many, including me, thought at that point the Pack would have to do a major offseason “rebuild” to remain competitive with the 49ers and the other NFC “up and comers.” But, much to everyone’s surprise and consternation, the was no such “rebuild” during the offseason. Instead, in a highly controversial and much criticized move, the Pack drafted QB Jordan Love, in what was (wrongly) thought to be the “beginning of the end” for Rodgers in Green Bay. 

What did happen, however, was that two of the “best minds in football” — Coach Matt LeFleur (28-7) and AR  — sat down with the coaching staff over the winter and designed what is now the best and most feared offense in football — nearly unstoppable! (And we can’t forget wide receiver Devante Adams, whose amazing talent and unfailingly great instincts have made  him and and Rodgers the most effective combination in football.)

Seems like the “pieces were there” all the time — it was the “melding of minds” between Rodgers and the coaching staff that was the “missing link.” Even the Pack defense, with most of the same players who too often came up short last year, is holding teams to under 20 points average over the last seven games — no mean feat an an offensive-minded league.  

No matter who wins between the Saints and the Bucs this evening, the Pack will be facing a formidable challenge and a future Hall of Fame QB next week in Drew Brees (Saints) or Tom Brady (Bucs). 

For the record, the Brady and the Bucs dominated the Pack earlier in the season in what was undoubtedly Green Bay’s worst outing. On the other hand, Rogers and the Pack narrowly out-dueled Brees and the Saints in a classic late-September showdown where both threw for three TDS.

But, this is January, where previous results don’t necessarily predict the future. It should be a great one at Lambeau next Sunday afternoon (projected 17-26 degrees with snow flurries). 

Go Pack!

🏈PACKERS’ “GOLDEN BOY” (& SOMETIMES “BAD BOY”) DIES AT 84! — Paul Hornung Was One Of NFL’s “Greatest Ever” All-Around Offensive Stars!

Paul Hornung
Paul Hornung
Halfback
Green Bay Packers
1960 Topps FB Card
Public Domain

https://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2020/11/13/do-not-publish-test-packers-great-paul-hornung-obit-xx-do-not-publish/503716002/

 

Pete Dougherty writes in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

Paul Hornung was a Vince Lombardi favorite and maybe the most important player on the famed coach’s early championship teams with the Green Bay Packers.

Lombardi loved Hornung for his versatile skill set and clutch play as the featured left halfback in the Packers’ offense, as well as for his fun-loving off-field persona that helped get Hornung the nickname “Golden Boy.”

Hornung, who also won the 1956 Heisman Trophy, died Friday in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky at age 84 after a long battle with dementia, the Louisville Sports Commission announced.

“The Green Bay Packers Family today is mourning the loss of Paul Hornung,” Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said in a statement. “Paul was one of our special alumni whose mere presence in Lambeau Field electrified the crowd during his returns. His performances in big games were unparalleled and over time were appreciated by generations of Packers fans. He played a key role in four of Vince Lombardi’s championship teams of the 1960s.

“With Paul’s passing, we are deeply saddened that we continue to lose our greats from the Lombardi era, a run of unprecedented success in the National Football League.

“We extend our deepest condolences to Paul’s wife, Angela, and his family and friends.”

Though Hornung never put up big rushing numbers in the NFL – his single-season high for rushing was only 681 yards – he filled the key position in Lombardi’s offense as a runner in the famed Lombardi sweep and option passer. He was a big back (6-feet-2 and 215 pounds) with a nose for the goal line and for much of his career also was the Packers’ kicker.

His 176 points in the 12-game 1960 season was an NFL record that stood until 2006, 29 years after the league had moved to a 16-game schedule. He was voted the NFL’s most-valuable player that season.

Hornung also was voted a member of the NFL’s all-decade team of the 1960s and into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 after a nine-year career that ended in 1966. But perhaps the greatest tribute to him came from Lombardi himself in his two-volume book, “Vince Lombardi on Football,” which was published in 1973.

RELATED: Packers should retire Paul Hornung’s number

“Paul may have been the best all-around back ever to play football,” Lombardi wrote.

. . . .

******************

Read the full obit at the link. More pictures of Paul’s career are also available on the link.

The man could run, catch, pass, and kick! Along with quarterback Bart Starr and running back Jim Taylor, Paul was part of probably the greatest Hall of Fame backfield ever!

His colorful off-field exploits included a one year suspension (along with the Lions’ Alex Karras) for betting on games; a stint as a “Marlboro Man” (obviously before such ads were banned); service in the U.S. Army (he got leave to play in the 1961 NFL Championship game — he scored a then-record 19 points); and numerous curfew violations.

I remember watching on B&W TV when Hornung broke the NFL scoring record on his way setting a new mark that stood for decades in a 1960 rout (41-13) of George Halas’s hated Chicago Bears in Chicago. One reason why the record stood so long, even when NFL seasons were expanded from 12 to 14 and then 16 games, was that Hornung was perhaps the last player to score touchdowns by running and catching passes while also kicking field goals and extra points that season. Hard to imagine in this age of specialization! And, I might add that the Packers scored lots of points that season!

Here’s a video clip from that famous game. The Pack are in dressed in their white away uniforms and Hornung is #5:

https://youtu.be/zPpgjhO6biY

R.I.P., Paul. Trust that you have finally made it to a place without curfews!

PWS

11-13-20

🏈R.I.P. HERB ADDERLEY 1939 – 2020 — Packer Hall Of Fame Cornerback Played On Six NFL Championship Teams!

Herb Adderley
Herb Adderley
Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame Cornerback
Running Against The Eagles
Creative Commons License
Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/herb-adderley-hall-of-fame-cornerback-with-lombardis-packers-dies-at-81/2020/10/31/dd78834e-1af3-11eb-82db-60b15c874105_story.html

By Associated Press

October 31 at 11:29 AM ET

Herb Adderley, a Hall of Fame cornerback who was a part of a record six championship teams with the Green Packers and Dallas Cowboys, has died. He was 81.

His death was confirmed by the Packers, but details on the date, place and cause of death were not disclosed.

Mr. Adderley played in four of the first six Super Bowls and won five NFL championships with Green Bay and one with Dallas during his 12-year career. But he was always a Packer at heart.

“I’m the only man with a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl ring who doesn’t wear it. I’m a Green Bay Packer,” he said in the book “Distant Replay,” a memoir by former Packers teammate Jerry Kramer.

Along with former Packer teammates Fuzzy Thurston and Forrest Gregg, Mr. Adderley was one of four players in pro football history to play on six championship teams. Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the other. Mr. Adderley was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

Bart Starr, the Hall of Fame quarterback and a former Packers teammate, once called Mr. Adderley the “greatest cornerback to ever play the game.”

. . . .

**********************

Read the full obit at the link.

What a graceful, thrilling, clutch player! And, he could return kicks!

Like many of the Packers from the “Lombardi Era” he went on to do other worthwhile things after retirement.

PWS

11-03-20

🇺🇸🏈👍🏼 FORMER PACKER SUPERBOWL-WINNING 🏆 HEAD COACH MIKE HOLMGREN WITH SOME GREAT ADVICE: GET TRUMP OFF THE FIELD BEFORE HE CAN DO ANY MORE DAMAGE!

Mike Holmgren
Coach Mike Holmgren
Lambeau Field 1998
Photo: David Wilson – Flickr: 19981213 24 Mike Holmgren, Lambeau Field,
Creative Commons License

https://madison.com/wsj/opinion/column/mike-holmgren-vote-to-take-president-trump-off-the-field/article_5857f1a8-6d58-56d2-acd5-19b8c1b1cac2.html

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

In more than three decades of coaching, I’ve come to learn one thing: You cannot be afraid to take a player off the field if it will help the team.

Donald Trump said he alone could fix the challenges facing our country. But as we’ve seen during these past four years, he’s in over his head — and we’re all paying the price for that. It’s time to take President Trump off the field.

Months into this pandemic, coronavirus cases are continuing to skyrocket in Wisconsin. More than 1,500 Wisconsinites have lost their lives to the pandemic. Green Bay, a city I love dearly, is seeing some of the highest infection rates in the country. Hospitals are overflowing, people are hurting, and families are needlessly suffering. More than 4,000 fewer people in Green Bay are employed now, compared to when President Trump took office. Far too many small businesses have had to close their doors for good. And the heart and soul of Green Bay — our game days with thousands of fans at Lambeau Field — are no more.

President Trump’s failure to mount a forceful response to the coronavirus pandemic will go down as one of the most consequential failures of government in American history. In Green Bay alone, the indefinite hold on fans at Lambeau Field — yet another consequence of President Trump’s failed leadership — is proving devastating to Green Bay’s small businesses. Each Packers home game provides $15 million in economic impacts to the city of Green Bay — but not this year.

. . . .

*****************

Read the rest of Mike’s op-ed at the link.

Trump is the biggest loser in US presidential history! Even now, he has no coherent plan for anything — just inane and largely fabricated personal grievances, insults, and childish, moronic chants and slogans! What kind of nation puts someone like this “on the field” with survival in the balance?

By contrast, Biden and Harris care about America and have intelligent plans for solving problems like health care, getting America back to work, addressing the pandemic in a scientifically credible way, protecting our environment, treating all persons equally before the law, ending racism and misogyny, and re-establishing our world leadership.

Vote like your life and the world’s future depend on it! Because they do! Get the maliciously incompetent loser off the field and put proven winners and decent human beings in charge!

PWS

10-18-20

SPORTS:  AR, DEVONTE SHARP AS PACKERS REPEL VIKES IN OPENER — Robust Offense Dominates In 43-34 Win!

Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Photo by: original: Mike Morbeck
derivative: Diddykong1130
Public realm

SPORTS:  AR, DEVONTE SHARP AS PACKERS REPEL VIKES IN OPENER — Robust Offense Dominates In 43-34 Win!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

September 14, 2020

Exclusive for Courtside

Pundits picked the Green Bay Packers as the team most likely to regress from last year’s surprising 14-4 season that took them within a game of the Super Bowl. Drafting QB Jordan Love rather than another wide receiver to pair with veteran Devonte Adams was widely viewed as one of the dumbest moves of the offseason. Many speculated that it would hasten the end of the “Aaron Rodgers Era” in Green Bay. Most picked the Minnesota Vikings as the upswing team to capture the NFL North title from the defending champ Pack. 

At least on opening day, Rodgers, Adams, Coach Matt LaFleur, and the entire Packer team, particularly the offense, made the pundits look stupid. Rodgers had one of the better days of his stellar career, throwing for 32-44-364 and four TDs with no picks. Adams caught two TD passes on the way to a 14-156-2 day that tied Don Hutson’s 78-yer-old franchise record for receptions (amazing, when you think about all the great QBs and receivers on the Pack since 1942). 

Wide receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard also caught TDs from AR. Six rushers chipped in a highly effective 158 yards on 32 carries, with Aaron Jones leading the way with 66 yards on 16 carries and one TD. The Pack amassed an impressive 522 yards of total offense, allowing them to dominate time of possession with more than 41 minutes.

On defense, cornerback Jaire Alexander stood out. His second quarter sack of Kirk Cousins in the end zone was a safety, leading to a field goal on the ensuing drive. Then, his interception of Cousins later in that quarter led to a Packer TD. Thus, Alexander helped set up 12 Packer points. Despite having to rely on some backups, the Packer offensive line kept Rodgers sack free and opened up some large holes for the runners.

What I liked most about this performance was the Pack’s aggressive, yet balanced downfield offense. Even in the Rodgers Era, past Packer teams have had a tendency to go into “offensive stalls” after getting a lead. Sunday the Pack punted only once. More important, they scored TDs on each of their three second-half possessions (not counting the “victory formation kneel down” at the end), putting together three drives of over 60 yards that wore down the Vikes defense and kept their offense on the bench.

As he often does, Kirk Cousins put up some big passing numbers while vainly trying to bring his team back from three-score deficits that he had helped cause by giving up a safety and an interception. That tendency to run up big stats without producing big wins is what probably has given Cousins some of the flashiest QB stats in the league without ever breaking into the “elite QB club.”

The game wasn’t actually as close as the score might indicate. Down 22-10 at the half, the Vikes punted on their first second half drive. Thereafter, thanks to the Pack’s aggressive offense, the Vikes never possessed the ball down fewer than three scores. Most of their scoring offense was generated against a fairly soft Packer “prevent defense.” I’m not a fan of the “prevent.” But, with the offense moving the ball and not trading TDs for field goals or empty possessions, it worked out this time. And, the margin should have been greater, because in the first half both Valdes-Scantling and Adams dropped sure TD passes from Rodgers.

Who knows whether this will be the start of something good for the Pack or just a high point in the disappointing season predicted by most pundits. But, so far, so good. 

This coming Sunday, the Pack takes on Matt Stafford and the Detroit Lions, who blew a fourth quarter lead against the Chicago Bears. It will be an unusual  “home opener” in a Lambeau devoid of fans.    

PACKERS: R.I.P. WILLIE DAVIS (1934-2020) — Hall of Fame Defender From Lombardi Era Went On To Successful Business Career!

Willie Davis
Willie Davis (1934-2020)
Hall of Fame Defensive End
Green Bay Packers

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/willie-davis-hall-of-fame-defensive-end-for-green-bay-packers-of-the-1960s-dies-at-85/2020/04/15/0ab063d0-7f41-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7_story.html

From the WashPost:

By Matt Schudel

April 15 at 10:43 PM ET

Willie Davis, a Hall of Fame defensive end and a team captain for Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers in the 1960s, when he helped lead his team to the first two Super Bowl championships, died April 15 at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 85.

The Packers announced his death, noting that his wife said he had been treated for kidney failure.

Mr. Davis played 10 years for the Packers, joining the team in 1960 and becoming a stalwart defensive performer at left end. He was one of the leading disciples of Lombardi, an intense taskmaster and perfectionist who is considered one of football’s greatest coaches.

“Perfection is not attainable,” Lombardi said, in one of many maxims attributed to him. “But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

Throughout most of the 1960s, the Packers reached a level of excellence that few teams in any sport have equaled, winning five National Football League championships in seven years. In January 1967, the Packers met the Kansas City Chiefs of the rival American Football League in the inaugural Super Bowl, winning 35-10. The next year, in Super Bowl II, the Packers beat the Oakland Raiders, 33-14. The Super Bowl trophy is named for Lombardi.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Mr. Davis led Green Bay’s pass rush in both games, and as the team’s defensive captain he was, in effect, Lombardi’s alter ego on the field.

“He told us this was a way of life, a game of survival, a test of manhood,” Mr. Davis told author David Maraniss for his 1999 biography of Lombardi, “When Pride Still Mattered.”

Steady, smart and seemingly indestructible, Mr. Davis did not miss a game during his 12-year NFL career. He never gave up on a play and often chased down runners on the opposite side of the field.

Before his Super Bowl heroics, Mr. Davis forced what Green Bay fans call the “million-dollar fumble” during a game against the Baltimore Colts late in the 1966 season. With the Colts driving for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas dropped back to pass, then tucked the ball under his arm and ran toward the goal line.

Mr. Davis caught him from behind on a muddy field and jarred the ball loose. Linebacker Dave Robinson recovered the fumble, and the Packers held on for a 14-10 victory. They then beat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL championship game before going on to the first Super Bowl.

“As a pass rusher, he was so quick off the ball,” Robinson said of Mr. Davis in an interview with Packers.com. “He was a good run player, too. He was so strong in the chest, he could hit the tackle and control them. Throw them or drive them.”

Mr. Davis played his first two NFL seasons with the Cleveland Browns, doubling as an offensive tackle and defensive end. Admiring his ability, Lombardi acquired him in a trade before the 1960 season, making him a full-time defensive player.

“In Willie Davis we got a great one,” Lombardi said in 1962.

During the team’s grueling preseason drills, Lombardi was known for loudly criticizing some players and quietly encouraging others, depending on what he thought was the best motivational tool in the moment. One year, after ripping another player, he unexpectedly turned on Mr. Davis, who was never unprepared for practice or a game.

The next morning, Mr. Davis asked Lombardi for an explanation.

“He said, ‘I’ve got to prove nobody’s beyond chewing out,’ ” Mr. Davis recalled to sportswriter W.C. Heinz for the book “Once They Heard the Cheers.” “I said, ‘Yeah, coach, but give me some warning.’”

Mr. Davis was a five-time all-pro and still holds the Packers record for recovered fumbles, with 21. Sacks of opposing quarterbacks were not an official statistic when he played, but historians have credited him with more than 100 during his career. He brought a tenacity to the game that made him, according to NFL Films, one of 100 greatest players in pro football history.

He was the leader of a defensive unit filled with Hall of Fame players, including defensive tackle Henry Jordan, linebackers Robinson and Ray Nitschke and defensive backs Herb Adderley and Willie Wood, who died in February.

Former Packers center Bill Curry called Mr. Davis, in an NFL Films documentary, “the finest combination of leader and player that I ever saw.”

[[Willie Wood, Hall of Fame defensive back for Vince Lombardi’s Packers, dies at 83]]

Beyond the field, Mr. Davis served as a leader for other African American players in the NFL and, as Lombardi instilled, a force for team unity on the Packers. As a white player from Georgia, Curry had not been on an integrated team until he joined the Packers in 1965.

Mr. Davis “didn’t just help me to play in the NFL for 10 years,” Curry said, “he changed my life because I was never able to look at another human being in the same way I had.”

William Delford Davis was born July 24, 1934, in Lisbon, La. He was 8 when his parents separated, and he moved with his mother and two younger siblings to Texarkana, Ark. His mother was a cook at a country club.

Mr. Davis earned a scholarship to the historically black Grambling State University in Louisiana, where his coach was Eddie Robinson, who prepared dozens of players for pro careers and was the first college football coach to win 400 games.

After graduating in 1956, Mr. Davis served two years in the Army before joining the Browns in 1958. While playing in the NFL, he also received a master of business administration degree in 1968 from the University of Chicago. He retired from the Packers at the end of the 1969 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

Mr. Davis was a football broadcaster for NBC in the 1970s and turned down several coaching offers. He operated a prosperous beer distributorship in Los Angeles before selling the business in 1989.

He was a key figure in planning the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and was reportedly recruited to run for mayor of the city. He later owned several radio stations and was on the boards of the Packers and several companies and founded a charitable foundation in Lombardi’s name.

His marriages to Ann McCullom and Andrea Erickson ended in divorce; survivors include his wife, the former Carol Dyrek; and two children from his first marriage.

In his business office, Mr. Davis kept pictures of his Packers championship teams and a framed portrait of Lombardi.

“There are days when I wake up and I don’t feel like getting up and crawling into the office,” he told Heinz in the 1970s. “I say to myself that I own the Willie Davis Distributing Company, and today I’m going to exercise my prerogative and not go in. Then I think, ‘What would Lombardi do?’ I get up and out of bed.”

********************

Willie’s spectacular defense was a treat to watch during the years of Packers’ dominance of the NFL. Seemed like he was always there with the clutch tackle or big fumble recovery when it was most needed. And, like many on Lombardi’s Packers, he went on to success in other fields after retiring from football.

PWS

04-17-20

SPORTS: WILLIE WOOD (1936-2020): Packer Great, NFL Hall of Famer, DC Native Helped Break The “Color Barrier!”

Willie Wood
Willie Wood
Packer Hall Of Farmer
1936 – 2020

SPORTS: WILLIE WOOD (1936-2020): Packer Great, NFL Hall of Famer, DC Native Helped Break The “Color Barrier!”

https://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2020/02/03/green-bay-packers-hall-fame-safety-willie-wood-dies-83/1650921002/

Michael Cohen in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

Willie Wood was a fiercely athletic safety for the Green Bay Packers whose interception in Super Bowl I remains a cherished highlight for the organization.

Wood died Monday at an assisted living facility in his hometown of Washington, D.C., the Packers announced. He was 83.

Wood had been suffering from advanced dementia for years.

“The Green Bay Packers Family lost a legend today with the passing of Willie Wood,” Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said. “Willie’s success story, rising from an undrafted rookie free agent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is an inspiration to generations of football fans. While his health challenges kept him from returning to Lambeau Field in recent years, his alumni weekend visits were cherished by both Willie and our fans. We extend our deepest condolences to Willie’s family and friends.”

The dynamic Wood was regarded as one of the best defensive backs in NFL history, a player whose vicious hits and plentiful interceptions dominated an entire decade in the 1960s. He played 12 seasons from 1960-71 — all with the Packers — and ranks second in franchise history with 48 career interceptions (trailing only Bobby Dillon’s 52). Wood is the Packers’ career leader in punt-return yardage with 1,391.

Wood was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.

“The game has lost a true legend with the passing of Willie Wood,” Hall of Fame President & CEO David Baker said. “He had an unbelievable football career which helped transform Green Bay, Wisconsin into Titletown U.S.A. Willie was a rare player who always fought to be a great teammate and achieve success. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent and became one of the greatest to ever play the game. The Hall of Fame will forever keep his legacy alive to serve as inspiration to future generations.”

Wood’s streak of 166 consecutive games played ranks fourth behind quarterback Brett Favre (255), offensive lineman Forrest Gregg (167) and long snapper Rob Davis (167), a testament to the durability and attitude Wood hoped would define his game.

“Determination probably was my trademark,” Wood said. “I was talented but so were a lot of people. I’d like people to tell you I was the toughest guy they ever played against.”

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Green Bay Packers safety Willie Wood almost intercepts a long pass by the Giants in the fourth quarter of the Bishop’s Charity game at Green Bay in 1969. Woods fell backward as he kept the ball away from Aaron Thomas on a pass from quarterback Y. A. Tittle. (Photo: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel files)

Wood, who began his career as a quarterback, followed a circuitous route to Green Bay. A year of junior college in California gave way to a three-year career at Southern California with modest numbers and little national buzz. Wood went undrafted as an undersized black quarterback and relied instead on Bill Butler, his coach at the Washington, D.C., Boys Club, to write letters to pro teams campaigning on his behalf.

“Mr. Lombardi, if you could see this kid unshackled you would really agree with me,” Butler said in a letter to coach Vince Lombardi in December of 1959. “If you hadn’t contemplated giving him a chance, just try him one time and I’ll guarantee you’ll be glad you did.”

Wood switched to defense and went through training camp with the Packers in 1960. He made the team as a rookie free agent and contributed immediately as a punt returner on special teams.

RELATED: Packers legendary quarterback Bart Starr dies at 85

RELATED: Hall of Fame Packers tackle, former coach Forrerst Gregg dies

RELATED: Packers Hall of Fame fullback Jim Taylor dies at 83

One year later, however, the legend of Wood was born. He replaced injured starter Jess Whittenton at safety late in the 1961 season and entrenched himself as one of the premier defensive backs in the league.

Wood made the Pro Bowl eight times in the next 11 seasons and led the Packers in interceptions five times. He earned AP All-Pro honors six times and was a unanimous selection in 1965 and 1966.

Wood retired after the 1971 season and took a job as an assistant coach for the San Diego Chargers. He went on to become the first black head coach in professional football by taking over the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League in 1975. Five years later he became the first black head coach of the Canadian Football League as well.

“The thing is, my dad never wanted to leave football,” Andre Wood, a son of Willie’s, told The New York Times in an article published in 2016. “He needed a stable way to make a living. But I know he would have stayed in the NFL coaching track had he been asked to. But he wasn’t.”

DOUGHERTY: Willie Wood took safety road to Hall of Fame

Perhaps his finest moment came in Super Bowl I when the Packers played the Kansas City Chiefs. Wood undercut an ugly throw by Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson for an easy interception that, after a 50-yard return, set up a touchdown in what finished as a blowout win for the Packers.

“My dad was so proud of his Super Bowl moment, but I used to tease him about being tackled from behind on the play,” Willie Wood Jr. told the Times.

“And his response would be, ‘Yes, but I was there.’”

Wood, however, had no recollection of that play and hardly remembered his playing career at all. As detailed by the Times, the aging Wood spent the last decade in an assisted living facility in Washington. While he originally entered for chronic pain in his neck, hip and knee, Wood eventually developed dementia that sapped his memory and limited his cognitive functions.

He sometimes went days without speaking, according to the article.

“It’s difficult to not be able to talk to him,” Willie Wood Jr. told the Times. “He was a great father. As good an athlete as he was, he was 10 times that as a father.”

Wood often wore a Packers hat during his time at the assisted living facility, even though he could not describe the exact connection between himself and the organization. But Wood knew he loved football, and when a reporter from the Times asked if he would play the sport again if given the chance, Wood’s answer was simple.

“Without waiting even a beat,” the article said, “Wood firmly nodded.”

“You liked it that much?”

“He nodded again.”

Wood is survived by his two sons and a daughter. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The Willie Wood file: Facts and figures

Born: Dec. 23, 1936, in Washington, D.C.

School: Southern California. Wood spent one year at Coalinga Junior College in the San Joaquin Valley before transferring to USC. He played quarterback all three years for the Trojans with modest success, finishing his collegiate career with 772 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. Wood had 330 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns as well. He made the Packers’ roster as an undrafted free agent in 1960.

Hall of Fame: Packers Hall of Fame, Class of 1977; Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1989.

Packers playing career: An undrafted rookie, Wood battled 24 defensive backs for a spot on the roster. He played mostly on special teams as a punt returner during his first season. Filled in for the injured Jess Whittenton in 1961 and made five interceptions in the second half of the year. Also led the league in punt return average (16.2 yards) and returned two punts for touchdowns. Wood took off from there and had a career-high nine interceptions in 1962 to earn the first of eight Pro Bowl selections (1962, 1964-70). He earned AP All-Pro honors six times and was a unanimous selection twice, in 1965 and 1966. Best known for his vicious hitting and iconic interception in Super Bowl I that set up a touchdown in a game the Packers won, 35-10. Played 166 consecutive games over the course of his career. Finished with 48 interceptions, two defensive touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns. Tackling statistics were unavailable during Wood’s era. He wore jersey number 24.

Post playing career: Wood retired after the 1971 season and took an assistant coaching position with the San Diego Chargers. Four years later he became the first black head coach in professional football when he ran the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League. In 1980, Wood became the first black head coach in the Canadian Football League as well. He was in charge of the Toronto Argonauts for two seasons. Wood spent the last decade in an assisted living facility in his hometown of Washington. He suffered from dementia and, according to an article in The New York Times, remembered almost nothing of his football career. He sometimes went days without speaking.

Quote: “Determination probably was my trademark. I was talented but so were a lot of people. I’d like people to tell you I was the toughest guy they ever played against.” — Willie Wood

*****************************

I was fortunate enough to see Willie Wood play in person several times when the Packers played some games at the old Milwaukee Country Stadium. Although small by NFL standards even for those days, he was known for his athleticism, toughness, and jumping ability. He could touch the crossbar with his elbow from a standing start!

PWS

02-04-20

49ERS ARE SUPER, PACK NOT SO MUCH: Green & Gold’s “Magic Season” Ends With Resounding Thud!

49ERS ARE SUPER, PACK NOT SO MUCH: Green & Gold’s “Magic Season” Ends With Resounding Thud!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Exclusive For Courtside Sports

Alexandria, VA, Jan. 20, 2020.  All week, Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur promised that Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium “would not be a repeat” of the Niners 37-8 blowout of the Pack in week 12.  They were right. It wasn’t a repeat; it was much worse!

With a ferocious defense and an unstoppable running game, San Fran turned this into a “yawner” with just under a minute to go in the first half by jumping to a 27-0 lead, thus topping their 24-0 halftime margin in November. They toyed with the Pack in a largely meaningless second half, coasting to a 37-20 victory that wasn’t nearly that close. The Pack won the opening coin toss, but that was the last moment that it looked like they might belong on the same field with the boys from the Bay.

49er running back Raheem Mostert, a fine and obviously underrated player, but by no means an NFL “household name,” raced to 220 yards and four touchdown as his team out-gained the inept Pack attack on the ground 285-62. So complete was the domination that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, thought to be the “potential weak link” in the Niners’ armor, only had to throw eight passes, completing six of them for 77 yard and zero touchdowns. It didn’t matter. 

Meanwhile, the Packer offense under Aaron Rodgers showed little resemblance to the relatively efficient machine that beat the Seattle Seahawks the week before. Fumble, interceptions, sacks, “three and outs,” inability to run, it all came undone.

Indeed, prior to the three largely meaningless touchdowns in the second half against a “relaxed” San Francisco defense that knew they had the game in the bag, the Pack offense looked eerily similar, if not even worse, than their week 12 debacle at Levi’s. But, even a better offensive showing by the Packers would have made little difference against a 49er attack that ran at will against the bewildered and outmanned Packer “D.” Indeed, the only reason that Mostert didn’t run for 300 yards and six touchdowns was because he didn’t have to.

So, for the fifth time in six tries in his otherwise storied career, Rodgers and the Pack came up short in the Conference Championship Game. That inevitably will lead to more criticism of the Packers’ signal caller as being unable to win the “big one,” notwithstanding his triumph in the 2011 Super Bowl. And, unquestionably first year Packer Coach LaFleur was outsmarted at every turn by his friend and former colleague Kyle Shanahan.

However, all is not lost for the Pack. Their 14-4 season, ending one game short of the Super Bowl, is nothing to be ashamed of. Indeed, it far exceeded expectations following last year’s 6-9-1 mark. 

While many say that the “talent gap” between Green Bay and Super Bowlers San Francisco and Kansas City is so great that this could have been Rodgers’s “last shot” at his second ring, it’s not necessarily so. There is no better example of that than San Francisco, which last year won only four game and was picked by most to finish behind the Rams, Seahawks, and even the pathetic Cardinals in the NFC West. 

The Pack needs to beef up the run defense and add a little speed to the offense during the offseason. But Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst has shown that he is perfectly willing and able to break from the often limiting “build from the inside” tradition by going into the marketplace and getting the players necessary to fill gaps and improve the team. The addition of the “Smith boys” on defense and their instant impact, as well as the hiring of Lafleur, were great examples of “immediate return on investment.” 

Sure, Aaron Rodgers is now in the “autumn” of his great career and probably can no longer legitimately be classified as among the “elite” who have ever played the game. But, he was no slouch this year, and is still very very good. Almost any team not named the Chiefs or the Ravens would drool at the chance to have him at the helm next season.

As for my Super Bowl predictions:  It’s hard to pick against the Niners with their powerful running game and overpowering defense. But, after watching the Kansas City offense the last two weeks, it’s difficult to see anyone catching up with quarterback Patrick Mahomes over an entire 60 minutes. So, I’m betting that the next batch of State Farm commercials will feature Mahomes sporting a ring like that worn by his buddy, Aaron Rodgers. Chiefs by 13.

PWS

01-20-20

  

“OLD MAN” A.R. SHOWS HE’S STILL GOT IT WHEN IT COUNTS, AS PACK REACHES NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WITH 28-23 VICTORY OVER SEATTLE!

Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Quarterback
Green Bay Packers
Devante Adams
Devante Adams
Wide Receiver
Green Bay Packers

“OLD MAN” A.R. SHOWS HE’S STILL GOT IT WHEN IT COUNTS, AS PACK REACHES NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WITH 28-23 VICTORY OVER SEATTLE!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Special to Courtside Sports

Jan. 13, 2020. January night darkness fell over historic frigid Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI. Late fourth quarter, third and long, from deep in Packer territory. Aaron Rodgers drops back and throws a strike to his favorite target, wide receiver Devante Adams for a first down in Seahawk territory.

 

Game over?  No way!  The Seattle defense stiffens and less than 20 seconds later, Rodgers and the Pack face another “moment of truth:” third and nine at the Seahawk 45 with two minutes left. Rodgers avoids the ferocious rush and shoots a pass to former Seahawk Jimmy Graham for exactly 9 yards and a game-ending first down. With Seattle out of timeouts, the Packers kneel down, run out the clock, and keep the dangerous Russell Wilson from getting another shot at late-game heroics.

 

Too old, too spoiled, overrated, lost his touch – Rodgers heard all the criticism during a 14-3 regular season where the Packers more often than not “won ugly.” They frequently relied on the running and catching of “the other Aaron” – Aaron Jones — and a “stout when it had to be” defense led by the newly acquired “Smith boys” at linebacker. With only a few exceptions, Rodgers and the passing offense were regularly accused of “underperforming” by the pundits and the media even as the Pack piled up wins en route to a NFC North Championship.

 

Another Pack veteran stalwart who “showed up” on Sunday night was Adams, who had been slowed by injuries during the regular season. He set a franchise playoff record with 160 receiving yards (including two touchdowns) on eight catches. Jones added two rushing touchdowns, bringing him within one of the season team record held by Ahman Green. He also added 62 hard-fought rushing yards on 21 carries to allow the “Pack attack” to remain “balanced” against a Seahawk defense keyed on stopping the run.

 

The heroics of Rodgers, Adams, Jones, Graham, and the Smiths overcame an amazing performance by Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, who finished out his collegiate career as a Wisconsin Badger. The vastly underappreciated Wilson wasn’t just Seattle’s best player, he basically was the franchise Sunday night.

 

He single-handedly willed and played the Seahawks back into contention, with a chance to win, in a game where they twice trailed by 18. The Seahawks couldn’t run, didn’t block well, putting Wilson under extreme pressure on nearly every down, dropped some key passes, missed a field goal, and had no answer for Rodgers and Adams when it counted. Yet, with 21 completions and a team-high 64 yards rushing, Wilson bobbed, weaved, evaded, ran, threw, and led the Seahawks to three second half touchdowns to close the gap to a mere five points in the fourth quarter.

 

Amazingly on such a cold night under so much pressure, there were no turnovers by either team and very few penalties, a tribute to Packer Head Coach Matt LaFleur and Seahawk Head Coach Pete Carroll and their respective staffs. Speaking of LaFleur, seldom has a “rookie” coach of a 14-3 team gotten so little credit or “buzz” in the media or from the fans.

Most of the focus this season was on his relationship with Rodgers, the struggles of the offense, the failure of either the offense or defense to rank among the league’s best, an “easy” schedule, “lucky” wins, and some embarrassing defeats. All the guy did was take a team that won only six games and was and in shambles after missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and lead them to within a game of the Super Bowl with only a few major roster changes, almost none on offense.

 

But, the lack of accolades is probably of little moment to LaFleur and Rodgers right now as they prepare for San Francisco. It’s a huge chance to avenge one of their worst moments of 2019 – a 37-8 creaming at the hands of the 49ers at Levi’s field back in November. In that game, Rodgers was simply horrible, passing for just slightly over 100 yards. And, Lafleur was thoroughly out-coached by Kyle Shanahan, as the Niners literally and figuratively ran all over the hapless Pack that afternoon on both offense and defense.

 

LaFleur and Rodgers promise that things will be different this Sunday. From the standpoint of “Packer Nation,” let‘s hope they are right! But, the oddsmakers in Las Vegas are having none of the “Packer hype.” They quickly installed the Niners as solid seven point favorites!

 

PWS

01-13-20

 

 

 

 

FOOTBALL WEEKEND IN WISCONSIN — LAMBEAU LEAP — Rainy Afternoon Doesn’t Dampen Enthusiasm As Pack Downs Broncs 27-16!

PACKERS
Approaching Lambeau Field, Oneida Gate, in the rain
Packers
Packers’ Pre-
Game Warm-up

Packers
Wonderful Packer Student Cheerleaders from UW Green Bay & St. Norbert College
Packers
Packers Take the Field, To Cheers of Enthusiastic & Highly Entertaining Fans in Front of Us!
Packers
TD Packers!
AR to Marquez Valdez-Scantling, 40 yards!
Packers -- Family Group-
Me, Wick, Nathaniel, Jospeh enjoying Packer win
Packers
Another Packer TD, right in front of us
Packers
“Lambeau Leap”

Packers
The scoreboard tells the story

A good time was had by all at the Annual Schmidt Family Visit to Lambeau on Sunday.

And, as an extra bonus, on Saturday the Badgers ran all over the Michigan Wolverines (literally and figuratively) 35-14 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. Badger superstar Jonathan Taylor ran for 205 and 2 TDS, despite playing only about half the game!

Oh yeah, and in equestrian competition on Saturday, Cassie Schmidt on “Rooster” takes a second!

Cassie
Cassie Schmidt & Rooster take second in jumping, West Bend, WI, Sept. 21, 2019

PWS

09-23-19

IN MEMORIAM: BART STARR (1934 – 2019): Packer All-Time Great Was A Winner On & Off The Field — Fierce Competitor, One Of The Most “Cerebral” NFL QBs Ever, Remembered As Respectful, Humble, Generous!

https://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2019/05/26/bart-starr-green-bay-packers-quarterback-dies-obit/513133002/

Pete Dougherty reports for the Green Bay Press Gazette:

The quarterback who guided the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships and was as popular as any figure in franchise history has died.

Bart Starr, who served as the extension of coach Vince Lombardi on the field during the Packers’ glory days of the 1960s, has died, his family said Sunday in a statement. He was 85.

Starr’s health had been in decline since he suffered a mini-stroke while giving a speech in Madison in 2012. After suffering another stroke, a heart attack and multiple seizures in 2014, he underwent stem cell treatments in 2015 and ’16 and rebounded to some degree.

“We are saddened to note the passing of our husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Bart Starr,” the family statement said. “He battled with courage and determination to transcend the serious stroke he suffered in September 2014, but his most recent illness was too much to overcome.

“While he may always be best known for his success as the Packers quarterback for 16 years, his true legacy will always be the respectful manner in which he treated every person he met, his humble demeanor, and his generous spirit.