+/- Packers @ Vajeens

- Injuries

+ Everything else.

+ Bo Melton

- Joe Barry

+ Sean Clifford

- Anders Carlson's missed PAT

+ Bo Melton, MVP

+ Wicked pass rush + shit QBs = Sad Jefferson, it was nice to see Barry dial up some pressure tonight. He was open a number of times but they couldn't get him the ball.

+ It was also nice to see Flores dial up some ineffective pressure tonight. Unlike the Vikings QBs, Love handled it well.

+ MLF's game plan and playcalling were on point tonight.

+ Bo knows football.

- There are a lot of bad teams in the league this year, and QB injuries have only made it worse.

+  J.Love, LaFleur play-calling, DL, DBs, WRs, Jones

-  I got nothin'

+ OL doing it’s job!

- JoeBa probably coming backin 2024

I'm not positive about the offensive mvp for Green Bay. Likely Love. Maybe 10. 33. 85. 11.

But 25 is our MVP for both defense and special teams.

+ Joe Barry

+ Some other people probably did some things, but mostly it was Joe Barry.

++++Jordan Love, Aaron Jones, Bo Melton, Tucker Kraft, Jayden Reed, our OL , we kicked Viking butt! MLF's play calling, Our D held them to 10 points. Sean Clifford! Ballentine!

--- Injuries, STs play.

+ Aaron Jones truly still is really damn good when healthy.  I admittedly was ready to write him off earlier this year, but he’s still worth keeping around in 2024.

+ Love and the offense have come a long ways these past 7 weeks or so.

- We are really beat up going into that Bears game.

+ Love - Best he's looked this year.  I'm not a fan of how often he throws off his back foot but it works because he's seeing the pressure and the gaps in the secondary.  And damn he looks cool navigating the pocket. 

+ MLF - he takes a lot of flac on this board but he called a great game tonight.  You could nitpik come of deep calls and the 4th down call but overall, very nice game against a decent defense on the road.

+ Bo Melton - Who is this guy and where did he come from?

+Gute - give him his due, he's brought in a lot of talent at WR and TE. Reed, Kraft, Melton, Heath, Doubs, etc.  Doesn't even include 3 of our top 5 guys who were out tonight.  Lot of teams are struggling to find WRs and TEs but Gute seems to pull them out of his a**. 

-Anders - dude, make your extra points.

I'll give Barry a neutral.  Hard to give him props when they played arguably the worst QB in the league tonight.  But defense did play well. 

- Injuries and Toure butterfingers

+ play calling and execution really good all night, kick coverage very good, BO, Jones, Kraft, Reed, Ballantine, Kenny, Preston, Love, Nixon, O-line. Love gets cider and a hat (still no turkey though)

+

Love

MLF

Bo Melton (signed to the roster soon).

Defense

-

ST

Injuries

Offense probably should have been in the 40s.

@CUPackFan posted:

-Anders - dude, make your extra points.

Gain some weight and practice...

Many positives tonight. All I'm going to add is the eerie collective silence that's been snowballing for a good six or eight weeks now, by national media and fans alike, who are seething at the thought of another vg Packers qb. Cheers to them all to start the new year!

+ The corners. Ballentine, Valentine and Nixon.

+ 2024 begins with a whole lot of Vikings fans gnashing their teeth as they leave to sit on their frozen lakes, inside their little huts. And that warms the cockles of my heart.

- absolutely nothing. All is right in my little world. Happy New Year everybody!

@Goalline posted:

+ The corners. Ballentine, Valentine and Nixon.

Hamlin, Hamlin and McGill.

+++ Love's longer throws were flatter and he did a better job leading his WRs; the TD to Reed was spot on. Love was great against pressure. Poor throw on the fourth down and a time he should have thrown it away, but what a different QB from the start of the year. Gute better start saving money from the sledding hill for Love's contract extension. 

+++ MLF. He's was at his almost-best making calls tonight. While the Vikings don't have a QB worth a darn, MN was the 12th-ranked defense. MLF had Flores' number all night; guys schemed open all over. MLF had the team ready to play.

+++ OL. Gave Love time; no sacks. Jones over 100 yards again. Bo for more than 100 yards, the first WR to do it this year in GB. Young guys showed drive and guts: Reed's smashing in, Love's crash and reach, hard running by RBs. Guys just look excited to be on the field together, and they are busting butts for each other.

--- Injuries, injuries, injuries. McDuffie, Reed, Myers, plus all the other guys who didn't suit up.

--- Bears next week will be licking their chops as it's a chance to knock their real rival out of the playoffs; MLF has to have this team ready to go, and Barry has to put together another good game. 

Playing with house money. Really did not expect this team to come out tonight and dominate after that recent bad stretch. Props to Gute for putting this team together, props to MLF for holding them together, and props to the players.

@lambeausouth posted:

+ 2024 begins with a whole lot of Vikings fans gnashing their teeth as they leave to sit on their frozen lakes, inside their little huts. And that warms the cockles of my heart.

- absolutely nothing. All is right in my little world. Happy New Year everybody!

Not so fast on those frozen lakes!  122 anglers rescued from Upper Red Lake

That was a lot of fun to watch.  I despise the viqueens.  

This Packer's season has already been a success.  We have our QB.  Our young skill position players have improved with some nice surprises from a few players no one knew existed.  There are definitely areas that need improvement, but I'm excited for the future.  

Happy New Year to all!

https://packers.timesfour.com/...3#717409967741320333

Nailed it Pakrz.

@Brak posted:

Hamlin, Hamlin and McGill.

They broke pretty good today.

Paws

- Dominated a division opponent on the road in week 17.  We’re trending up, they’re trending down.  

- Defense with a great performance and it started with pressure on the QB.  

- This WR / TE group is scary good.  

Negs

- Injuries.  Bears are playing well, it’s not going to be a cake walk like tonight.

+++Another big plus: vikings and their fans realizing that Green Bay has yet another, great QB!

- didn't see the game

+ read all about it in the game thread 👍

@H5 posted:

+  J.Love, LaFleur play-calling, DL, DBs, WRs, Jones

-  I got nothin'

Seriously .... 33-10 DOMINATING win over your hated rival IN THEIR PLACE!

other than the muffed punt....graciously giving the Vikings a TD (and me the over😁 Thank you! 42.5) Defense played like I thought they would ALL FUCKING YEAR!!

However .... It doesn't mean a f****** thing unless you beat the f****** bears next week. M***********!!

You like those edits?!?!

+   Whelan did a nice job punting.   But the real test is next week outside in the 30's.   Same for Carlson.

++ Team has cut way down on penalties.  Nixon had a stupid one, but the OL has really cut down false starts and holding.

I DVR'd the game and will watch it today but I had to add this. +

As many of you know I am on RC a lot and not just to troll. But what a bunch of pathetic fans most of them are. They were checked out after the game against the Loins. Hardly any chatter about the Packers game. Little trash talking , nothing. Just take after take on how their QB's suck and the draft. No enthusiasm about the game or the fact they were still in the playoff hunt.

Then they are in Denial and I don't mean the river in Egypt. The can't come to grips that Love looks like at least an above average QB. His success was do to the terrible defense the Vikings were playing. Some even want Flores gone. 3 weeks ago they wanted him to stay forever. We Packer fans bitch about our team when they play poorly but those Jamokes take it to another level. Read their game thread. It was like being at a funeral!

@mrtundra posted:

+++Another big plus: vikings and their fans realizing that Green Bay has yet another, great QB!

They won't admit it but they are shitting their pants!

"You don't want to be on the ice this year!" Lousy weather/climate change will make ice fishing a thing of the past--at least for this year. There is bad ice everywhere. I hate to think of anyone using the St Croix river ice road, from Hudson to Bayport, this year. Be smart people!

@mrtundra posted:

"You don't want to be on the ice this year!" Lousy weather/climate change will make ice fishing a thing of the past--at least for this year. There is bad ice everywhere. I hate to think of anyone using the St Croix river ice road, from Hudson to Bayport, this year. Be smart people!

+++

I did not see this coming (33-10) but MN did the Packers a huge favor by not starting Mullins

Love played another decent game.  If he was nervous or anxious I sure couldn’t tell.  His best trait may be poise - dude looked locked in and cool, calm and collected.

Aaron Jones looked incredible.  When he’s healthy and they make an effort to feature him this is a dangerous team offensively.

The WR/TE group continues to impress.  This week it was Melton coming up big time.   What’s crazy is these young cats are playing like this without Watson and Musgrave in the lineup.  

Defensively, not sure if someone hijacked the mic but I actually liked a lot of the playcalling especially the way they used Walker in blitzes.  I still don’t know if he’s a MLB, but they have to put him in situations where his size and speed can really show up.

Props to the young corners - and the happiest guy around is Gute as it may open the door to trade Jaire in the offseason.  They are still very thin at safety and honestly I think they should draft another CB high, but Valentine and Ballentine played well.

- - -

Disappointed they aren’t already in the playoffs due to some horrific losses this year, but at least next weeks game against Chicago will mean something.  Speaking of which, the Bores might be playing their best football in some time so GB will have their work cut out for them.

The safety play remains the weak spot on the roster.  Owens has looked the best but on a good team he’d be a backup.  Ford and Savage are not good at all.  They have to address this in the offseason.

Not thrilled about the injuries but man you look around the league and seems like everyone is taking hits to key players.  Survive and advance at this point.

Good point about Walker. He plays best when he doesn't have to "read and react", he seems to have "paralysis by analysis". Send him as a pass rusher, run blitzer, etc. as much as possible.

@Pikes Peak posted:

LBJ, such a jokester.

I agree on using Walker as a blitzer. Nixon too.

It’s interesting when I look at Quay Walker he sort of reminds me of Nick Perry.   Perry got a lot bigger and stronger in GB but going into the draft he was viewed as an undersized rush end.  The Packers liked his speed and athleticism so he ended up at OLB and made an impact as a pass rusher.

Walker is an even better athlete and but he and Perry were virtually the same size - when Perry committed to USC.  Perry probably ended up around 260-270 eventually but I do wonder if Walker could make the transition to OLB.  I think he’s an average MLB that has to think and react too much but man you get him in space or off the edge and you see what he can do.  

Jordan Love missed 2 gimme TDs and still finished with 256 yards and 3 TDs. Wowser. He has exceeded everyone's realistic expectations this season ... other than Bakersfield's own YA of course.

Jayden Reed is that quick, dynamic slot WR that GB has missed since well about forever. So fun to watch. Just hope, given his slight frame, he can remain healthy.

Bo Melton has played himself on to the 2024 roster and that spot is his to lose after the last 2 weeks. Great to see.

Tuck will get a special mention elsewhere.

Aaron Jones is approaching 30, expensive, and has been injured much of the year. He also makes the offense go when he is healthy. The difference between Aaron and the plodders behind him is unmistakable.

The OLine was superb. Zach Tom is becoming a stud and Rasheed Walker is playing better than anyone could expect out of a 7th round pick.

As for the D, I may not despise the Queens as much as Tundra or Packiderm, but I'm close ... and even I felt a twinge of sympathy for the obviously overmatched Jaren Hall. Damn, he was brutal.

Give Joe B credit for finally learning that blitzing/confusing a young QB is the right approach? Nah.

But I will credit CBs Valentine & Ballentine for looking no worse (if not better) than 1st round picks Alexander and Stokes.

(No negatives when exposing the rot that is the Minnesota ViQueens franchise and their fair weather fans on national television, but I will say that Toure is the anti-Bo Melton).