🏈COURTSIDE SPORTS — THE AARON RODGERS SELF-CREATED DEBACLE: Taking One For The “I in Team!”

Jerry Brewer @ WashPost:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11/05/aaron-rodgers-vaccines-ivermectin-ego/

By Jerry Brewer

November 5 at 6:30 PM ET

You can trust Aaron Rodgers only to do what’s good for Aaron Rodgers. On a football field, his independence can be tolerated, and often preferred, because few quarterbacks have ever played the game as divinely as he can. For 17 seasons, the Green Bay Packers have benefited from Rodgers doing things his way because his way keeps them at a level hard to maintain in the parity-driven NFL.

This does not make him trustworthy, however. The Packers can trust his talent and stretch the definition of team to accommodate a player so stubborn and extraordinary. But they cannot trust him, not on matters that require deference or social responsibility or faith in anything other than his big ol’ ego.

No one can trust Rodgers to be more than what we have allowed him to become: a superstar in love with himself. Greatness has long been his shield. Now, as he uses it to plow through the saddest controversy of his career, it should be clear why Green Bay is wary of riding on his back for much longer.

[Aaron Rodgers lashes out against NFL, ‘woke mob’ in defense of vaccination status]

Rodgers — sometimes charming, often patronizing, always selfish — has caved to expectation for a change. On Friday, he provided what many had demanded all week after he was exposed for misleading the public about his coronavirus vaccination status: an explanation.

He should have kept his mouth shut.

“I realize I’m in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now,” Rodgers said during his regular appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “So before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I think I would like to set the record straight on so many of the blatant lies that are out there about myself.”

When a preamble uses “woke mob” and “cancel culture” as a throat-clearing exercise, buckle up.

Rodgers proceeded to paint himself as a victim. Instead of limiting his argument to a legitimate concern — he said he could not take either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine because he is allergic to an ingredient in them and also shared concerns that many have about the Johnson & Johnson shot — Rodgers drifted into conspiracy theories and tired, facile anti-vaccine opinions.

[Sally Jenkins: Aaron Rodgers is entitled to stay unvaccinated. He is not entitled to lie about it.]

“I go back to these two questions for the woke mob,” Rodgers said. “If the vaccine is so great, how come people are still getting covid and spreading covid and unfortunately dying from covid? If the vax is safe, how come the manufacturers of the vaccine have full immunity?”

His comments included a revelation that he had taken ivermectin, an anti-parasitic widely used in large animals and dismissed as an ineffective covid-19 treatment by the Food and Drug Administration. So the former guest host of “Jeopardy!” is now mangling facts.

. . . .

In a pandemic that has killed more than 750,000 Americans, Rodgers is unwilling to abandon his recalcitrance and think about the team. He didn’t care enough about the Packers to follow the NFL protocols for unvaccinated personnel because he didn’t believe in them. He doesn’t care enough about everyone else to trust facts because he doesn’t agree with them.

. . . .

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

Read the complete article at the link.

Rodgers had largely redeemed himself from an embarrassingly bad opening performance in a loss to the Saints by helping lead the Pack to seven straight victories. Now, his leadership, integrity, and reputation are in tatters, probably irredeemably.

Without Rodgers, the Pack lost a potentially winnable game to the KC Chiefs on Sunday afternoon behind rookie QB Jordan Love, who frankly didn’t look ready to replace a three-time MVP.

Sure, it’s only one game, and the start was on short notice. But, performing at a reasonably high level on short notice is what being an NFL backup is all about. That’s particularly true for someone who is the “designated heir apparent.” I would have expected more from Love, even under difficult circumstances.

Some have opined that Love’s lackluster performance gives Rodgers more “leverage” in his relationship with the Packers. Assuming he recovers from COVID and isn’t suspended as a result of a league investigations into the incident, Rodgers is likely to be back on the field soon and might well get his team in the the post-season again.

But, his leadership and integrity will probably never recover from his gutless, selfish, and inexcusable self-victimization, as well as spreading of lies and conspiracy theories (not surprisingly, Prevea Health abruptly severed its relationship with “Mr. Ivermecton.”)

For better or worse, the public, particularly young athletes, do listen to what superstars like AR say. In no way is getting vaccinated against COVID “just about one’s personal choices.” No, it’s about building trust, setting good examples, social responsibility and creating a safer society for everyone. On those counts, the “sure-fire Hall of Famer” has forever established himself as a “Hall of Shamer.”

PWS

11-08-21

🏈 COURTSIDE SPORTS: AFTER UGLY START, AR & PACK ROLL TO 7-1 MIDSEASON MARK WITH 24-21 ROAD WIN OVER PREVIOUSLY UNDEFEATED ARIZONA CARDINALS!

🏈 COURTSIDE SPORTS: AFTER UGLY START, AR & PACK ROLL TO 7-1 MIDSEASON MARK WITH 24-21 ROAD WIN OVER PREVIOUSLY UNDEFEATED ARIZONA CARDINALS!

Courtside Exclusive

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Oct. 28, 2021

Missing three top receivers and their Defensive Coordinator, the Pack and Aaron Rodgers gutted out a 24-21 nail-biter over Kyler Murray and the previously undefeated Cardinals in the Arizona desert Thursday night. The much improved Packer defense did a decent job against the talented and elusive Murray. Meanwhile, in the absence of a dynamic passing game, Pack backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon ground out 137 yards and “ate lots of clock” behind a rugged offensive line.

The Pack looked to be on the verge of putting the game away late in the fourth quarter when Aaron Jones apparently scored from one yard out to give the Pack a 30-21 lead. But, the TD was reversed on video replay and the ball placed one inch from the goal line. The Pack then totally flubbed three straight plays, including a delay of game, and came away empty when a weak fourth down Rodgers’ pass was batted down.

Murray then proceeded to lead his team on a 94 yard drive and seemed poised to cap it with a game winning touchdown, or at least a field goal to send the game into overtime. However, with only a few seconds left, Murray’s errant pass was picked off in the end zone by former Cardinal Rasul Douglas to save the Packer win. It was the third turnover for Arizona, each having a major impact on the game.

Next, the Pack will visit the 3-4 Kansas City Chiefs in what some have dubbed the “State Farm Bowl,” for the first time pitting insurance pitchmen, buddies, former Super Bowl winners, and previous league MVPs Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes against each other!

PWS

10-28-21

👎🏽GARLAND’S BIA BLOWS ANOTHER: “Divide and conquer is a good military strategy but a bad judicial one. Judges must consider how related facts weave together into a narrative,” Says 3rd Circuit In Cha Lang v. Att’y Gen.

https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/203353p.pdf

Key quote from opinion by Circuit Judge Bibas:

Divide and conquer is a good military strategy but a bad judicial one. Judges must consider how related facts weave to- gether into a narrative.

Chinese officials caught Cha Liang practicing his faith, so they beat, jailed, and then threatened him. When he sought asy- lum, the Board of Immigration Appeals minimized the threats and physical abuse as discrete incidents. But Liang’s twenty- minute beating and fifteen days in jail made the later threats more menacing. Because the Board should not have ignored this context, we will grant the petition and remand.

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

Perhaps unwittingly, Judge Bibas’s use of a military analogy for EOIR “judging” is very, very apt! After four years of corrupt, White Nationalist, Stephen Miller inspired “leadership” and “judicial selections,” far, far too many judges and others at today’s EOIR view immigrants and their attorneys as “the enemy.” By contrast, they think of their “partners” at DHS as their “comrades in arms” against Stephen Miller’s fabricated “alien invasion” — a euphemism for “replacement theory” and other racist tropes that were seldom far below the surface of Trump-era immigration policies and actions.
It’s tempting to blame this entire mess on theTrump regime. But, sadly, manifestations of this problem were present well before 2017.
I remember an Immigration Judge Conference where, strangely, a recently appointed IJ, a former government prosecutor, was given an “instructor slot” at small group training. This Judge proceeded to repeatedly refer to the the DHS as “we” and the respondents and their lawyers as “them” as he enthusiastically described Government litigation “victories” while ignoring or downplaying Circuit Court decisions that had found serious flaws in EOIR judging and DHS legal positions.
That individual went on to a “judicial career” at EOIR that consistently demonstrated a disturbing and inappropriate inability to view those humans coming before the Immigration Court and their lawyers as anything other than “the enemy!” So, the ethical, cultural, and quality control problems at EOIR are very deep-seated.
Remember, this is a broken agency that once, but no more, was supposed to stand for “through teamwork and innovation, become the world’s best administrative tribunals guaranteeing fairness and due process for all.”
As the recent “John Gruden Episode” in the NFL shows, “corrosive culture” remains a huge problem in professional football. Similarly, EOIR’s “culture of denial with a heavily dose of racism, misogyny, and xenophobia” remains every bit as much of a problem as those plaguing the NFL. Disingenuously “minimizing threats” to asylum seekers, as in this case, is “business as usual” at Garland’s anti-immigrant, anti-asylum EOIR.
While the response of the NFL’s leadership has obviously been not fully effective, it’s still much better than Garland’s “what me worry, hear nothing, see nothing” approach to the crippling problems at his dysfunctional EOIR.

Garland’s inept approach to the ongoing due process disaster at his EOIR has been perplexing, to say the least!
PHOTO: Wikipedia Commons
Gruden actually was promptly forced out when the full extent of his misconduct finally surfaced. By contrast, with overwhelming public evidence of systemic failure, Garland has catastrophically failed to replace the problematic judges and inept senior leaders at EOIR with better-qualified, progressive, practical scholar-expert judges unswervingly committed to due process, fundamental fairness, and equal justice!
Although not cited by the 3rd Circuit, the BIA and the IJ also ignored the leading BIA precedent of Matter of O-Z- & I-Z-, 22 I&N Dec. 23 (BIA 1998) (Panel: Hurwitz, Rosenberg, Schmidt) on the importance of considering harm cumulatively.
The concurring opinion by Judges Jordan and Ambro on past persecution as a “mixed question of fact and law” subject to a “two-step review process” is also well worth a read, particularly for those practicing in the 3rd Cir.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

10-13-21

🏈😎 JOY RETURNS TO GREEN BAY — AR Throws Four TDS & Aaron Jones Scores Four Times As Pack Romps Over Lions 35-17 On Monday Night Football @ Lambeau!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Sports Exclusive

September 21, 2021

Green Bay, WI. Aaron Rodgers and the Pack chased the memories of last week’s 38-3 prime time debacle against the Saints with a convincing 35-17 win over the Detroit Lions in their home opener at rainy Lambeau Field Monday night. Rodgers threw four TD passes, three of them to running back Aaron Jones and another on a dart to tight end Robert “Bobby” Tonyan. Jones, playing in memory of his father who died of COVID, added a rushing TD to his three scoring receptions.

Some of the Packer faithful among the 77,240 who packed Lambeau for the home opener had been engaged in “pregame warm-ups” on their tailgates since the morning. For the first half, they feared at least a partial repeat of last Sunday’s disaster in Jacksonville.

While the Packer offense finally woke up with their first TD drives of the season, the defense did little to stop the Lions offense behind “LA Rams refugee/transplant” Jared Goff. The visitors scored on their initial drive, and took a 17-14 lead into halftime, much to the shock of the announcers and most of the crowd.

The Lions’ attack featured former Packer all purpose running back and Green Bay fan favorite Jamaal Williams, although he was held to 37 total yards. Former Wisconsin Badger standout receiver Quentez Cepheus had 63 yards receiving for Detroit, including a TD and a 46 yard reception.

The second half, played largely in the rain and drizzle, was a completely different story. Rodgers and the Pack scored after taking the kickoff to assume the lead and were in charge thereafter. Green Bay shut out the Lions in the second half while scoring three touchdowns en route to their first win of the season, 35-17.

The Lions dropped to 0-2. The Pack evened their record at 1-1, moving into a tie with the Chicago Bears for first place in the NFC North. Next, the Pack travels to San Francisco for a Sunday Night Football date with the 2-0 49ers.

At least for now, things are back to a more even keel here in Green Bay!

PWS

09-21-21

🦨🤮STINKER IN THE SUN — SANS ATTACK & DEFENSELESS, PACK IS NOT BACK, AS A.R. & FRIENDS FTA FOR OPENER👎🏽 — Winston, Saints Romp 38-3!

Aaron Rodgers 2021 — “New look” Aaron Rodgers appears to have head somewhere other than football field! Is he looking to become Willie Nelson?
PHOTO: USA Today

🦨🤮STINKER IN THE SUN — SANS ATTACK & DEFENSELESS, PACK IS NOT BACK, AS A.R. & FRIENDS FTA FOR OPENER👎🏽 — Winston, Saints Romp 38-3!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Sports Exclusive

September 13, 2010

Reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers vs the Brees-less New Orleans Saints was supposed to be one of the prime-time “marquee matchups” of a generally exciting NFL opening slate. Someone forgot to tell A.R., sporting a new look — “retro-70’s” beard, scraggly hairdo, and head scarf — and his buddies in green and gold that there was a game on.

After a tumultuous off-season, featuring threats to sit out the 2021 campaign, Rodgers looked every bit like a guy who would rather be: 1) chatting with Erin Andrews, 2) strumming a six string for State Farm, 3) hosting Jeopardy, 4) chilling on the beach with latest gal pal Shailene Woodley, or 5) doing almost anything else not involving a football. After throwing only five interceptions last season, he threw two key interceptions, one in the red zone the other setting up a Saints’ score. His miserable 36.3 QB rating probably was generous.

The rest of his buddies from the NFC North followed AR’s lead, acting as though they were on vacation in Jacksonville, where the Saints’ “home game” was played because of hurricane damage in New Orleans. The receivers got no separation. The line didn’t block. The runners couldn’t run. The defense let the Saints have their way, en route to 322 total yards total offense.

The only reason the Saints didn’t pile up even more yards was because they were efficient on offense and defense and didn’t have to. But, on Sunday, this looked like a Packer “D” that could have 600 yards laid on them. Easily!

The Pack coaching staff, including new defensive “wizard” Joe Barry, looked like shell-shocked zombies. And, the “strategy” of resting all all the starters for the entire preseason played out every bit as dumb and ill-advised as it appeared to many pundits.

Lest anyone think that “relief is on the horizon,” the Pack’s “QB of the future,” Jordan Love looked like a “permanent work in progress” as he completed five of seven passes, but fumbled in the red zone in his unimpressive NFL debut against the Saint’s “mop-up defense.” The only “bright spot” for the “visitors” was the tens of thousands of loyal “Packer-backers” in the stands who waited in vain for their guys to show up.

By contrast, Drew Brees’s replacement, Jameis Winston, a “refugee from Tampa Bay” who hadn’t started a game in more than a year looked worthy of being “the successor” in New Orleans. He was 14-20-148-0 with an astounding five TD passes against the hapless Pack secondary (thought be one of their “strengths” going into the season) and earning a Brees-like QB rating of 136. In a flip with the usually reliable Rodgers, Winston threw “smart passes” and avoided interceptions — the “Achilles heel” that ended his tenure with the Bucs.

The final score of 38-3 wasn’t indicative of how one-sided this game really was. Sure, it’s only one game. But, beyond “they couldn’t play any worse,” I didn’t see a lot to build on here! This team bore no resemblance to the group that was basically one play away from a possible Super Bowl last year.

Perhaps, as many assume, AR is merely “playing out the string” in Green Bay, with visions of signing elsewhere next year. But, despite clear Hall of Fame stats, the lack of leadership, enthusiasm, and effort by AR in this one might well give other teams pause as to whether he can do a “Tom Brady” in a different uniform.

So, since he decided to come back to the Pack for this season, I think AR would do well to play like he cares, even if it’s only to set up a deal for next year. And, the Pack might want to take a closer look at Love, who has yet to show that he can translate a sterling college career into “upper echelon” NFL QB performance.

Next week it’s the Detroit Lions in Green Bay. Normally, that’s good news for the Pack who have beaten the Lions the last four times at Lambeau. This is a “new-look” Lions team with Jarod Goff replacing Matthew Stafford at QB. While losing their opener at San Francisco, Detroit showed some energy and enthusiasm in closing a 28-point third quarter deficit to a 41-33 final. Although throwing a key interception, Goff looked much better than AR in the opener.

AR and the Pack need to shake off the sleep walk. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long, stormy season in Green Bay. The kind that will make you lose hair, rather than grow it!

PWS

09-13-21

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

**************
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.

Go Pack, Go!

PWS

04-07-21

CNN’S CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR INTERVIEWS NDPA SUPERSTAR 🌟 ANDREA MARTINEZ ON NEED FOR BIDEN’S IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL!

Amanpour & Martinez — CCN Anchor Christiane Amanpour & Immigration Attorney Andrea Martinez
SOURCE: CNN

Watch this video clip from CCN:

https://apple.news/A5fldUh3pTnWBhjhXUz6QOg

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

Thanks for speaking out Andrea! Andrea is a former Arlington Immigration Court intern and one of the “charter members” of the NDPA. As captured on this video, she was assaulted by ICE while trying to assist her child client in reuniting with his mother! A civil suit against the agent involved is pending.

🇺🇸🗽⚖️Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-27-21

🏈G.O.A.T.-BUTTED AGAIN — Pack Season Dissolves In NFC Championship Again As Tom Brady Takes Them Apart For The Second Time!

😢

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Sports Exclusive

Jan. 24, 2021. Last year it was the SF 49ers. This year it was Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs. Either way it was a big disappointment. Both times, the Pack relaid their “regular season egg” at the worst possible time — in the NFC Championship game.

After an MVP-worthy season, Aaron Rodgers and the Pack lost again to Tom Brady and the Bucs 31-26. To make it worse, it was at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The Pack never led in the game.

The “duel” between AR and Brady was really all about the latter. Brady was better! He simply “fried” the Green Bay defense in the first half. The “back breaker” actually came near the end of the first half when Brady threw a TD pass to Scotty Miller on an inexcusable (almost absurd) defensive breakdown by the Pack with one second left on the clock.

The Pack made a game of it in the second half. But, Brady was just better. Although he threw three interceptions, he outplayed Rodgers when it counted.

Indeed, Rodgers and the Pack “O” managed only a paltry 6 points off the three Brady turnovers. By contrast, the Bucs turned two Pack turnovers (one on a rare Rodgers interception) into 14 points. That essentially was the ballgame.

The previously stout Packer offensive line wilted under relentless pressure from the Bucs pass rush, just as they had in the regular season meeting. That left Rodgers clearly uncomfortable and running for his life for most off the game. However, he failed to show his usual “escapability.”

Meanwhile, for the most part, the Pack pass rush failed to put much pressure on Brady, allowing him to operate in his “comfort zone.” That was true particularly in the first half when he simply made the Pack defense look foolish on the way to a 21-10 halftime lead that proved insurmountable.

It didn’t help that on the first Pack possession of the second half, an Aaron Jones fumble (forcing him to leave the game with an injury) turned into a virtually uncontested TD. A Brady TD pass to a wide-open receiver put the Pack in a three-score hole from which there was no recovery.

Rodgers probably left at least one TD on the table when he threw an ill-advised incomplete pass inside the ten rather than running for yardage and a possible TD. Matt LaFleur was out-coached by Bruce Arians, going to his first Super Bowl. LaFleur made a bizarre choice to kick a FG rather than going for a tying TD on what proved to be the Pack’s last possession.

But, in the end it was all about Tom Brady, the greatest of all time! He showed that those who said that it was the Patriots’ “system” had it all wrong. He took a team noted for its hapless failures to the Super Bowl in his first season!

AR Is one of the best ever QBs, the likely MVP for the third time, and a “first ballot” Hall of Famer. But, nobody can deny that Brady is the GOAT!

For the Pack, another great season! Didn’t quite get it done. But, next year is a new beginning, and another chance to reach the Super Bowl with a great coach, spectacular QB, and a great supporting cast. Thanks for a great and entertaining season!

Go Pack Go!

Wait till next year!

And, of course, congrats to Tom Brady 🌟 and the Bucs🏴‍☠️!

PWS

01-24-21

🏈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!

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!

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!

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

PACKERS: Rodgers Letting His Play Do The Talking — Helping Team Win & Raising Level Of Everyone’s Play, Including His Own!

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/sports/football/aaron-rodgers-green-bay-packers.html

From The NY Times:

By Mike Tanier

Sept. 30, 2020

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a reputation as someone who always wishes to speak to the manager.

To the public he is the beer snob who turns up his nose at all 500 brewpub taps, the faultfinding co-worker whose arrival prompts everyone to politely excuse themselves from the break room with their lunches half-eaten. No pass route is ever run precisely enough for Rodgers, no game plan creative enough for his talents, and dissatisfaction radiates from him with the passive-aggressive fury of a million failed marriages.

Nevertheless, Rodgers’s 2020 season is off to an excellent start. The Packers are 3-0 after a 37-30 victory in Sunday night’s duel with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. Rodgers is tied for third in the N.F.L. with nine touchdown passes, ranks sixth with 887 passing yards and third with a 121.1 efficiency rating.

His success should be unsurprising for an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and former Super Bowl champion, except that 2020 was supposed to be the year that the perpetually disgruntled 36-year-old Rodgers earned his comeuppance at the hand of a rookie heir apparent, Jordan Love.

. . . .

In the wake of so much melodrama, this Packers season was expected to be part “All About Eve” and part “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” with a dash of “Sunset Boulevard.” But Rodgers has proved that he is still ready for his close-up.

He is also playing nicely with others: With his favorite receiver, Davante Adams, hobbled, Rodgers has been connecting with his secondary targets instead of heaving the ball out of bounds and lamenting his lack of weapons in postgame interviews. Rodgers is even operating comfortably within LaFleur’s system, distributing short tosses while waiting for ideal opportunities to unleash his (still magnificent) deep ball.

Perhaps Rodgers has become a model employee out of sheer spite, though if Rodgers were truly motivated by spite he might have conquered the world by now. Perhaps it took a rookie’s arrival to persuade both sides — Rodgers and the coaching staff — to work things out for the sake of a Super Bowl instead of plunging the team into free agency and a rebuilding era. Or, just maybe, Rodgers’s churlish reputation is somewhat overblown, as were observations about his deteriorating skills.

Whatever the cause of Rodgers’s resurgence, it has caught N.F.L. talk-show dramatists without a narrative arc for him. He is not yet a venerable warrior like Brees or Tom Brady. He’s certainly not a young hero like Mahomes or Lamar Jackson. He never fell far enough for comeback player of the year redemption and he won too many accolades to join Russell Wilson on a quest for validation. And he refuses to play the role of arrogant heel as cast. He is just a future Hall of Famer on the inside track toward a return to the Super Bowl.

Ho hum.

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

So far, so good.

Russell Wilson of the Seahawks, who transferred to the Wisconsin Badgers and “lit up” the Big-10 in his final season, is another grossly underrated player. Many pundits claimed Wilson was “too short” to play in the NFL. All he does is pass, run, score, win, and lead, under a variety of conditions! Seems like that should be enough to put him at or near the top of the “upper echelon” of NFL QBs.

PWS

10-01-20

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!

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

Jerry Brewer @ WashPost:

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