2019 Week 04

Packers 27 Broncos 16 

I have a confession to make... I was born in Denver and spent the first year of my life there.  You see, my mom had respiratory problems all her life.  Back then, modern medicine claimed that “mountain air” would work wonders on her breathing. 
After 18 months and the birth of their son, my parents moved back to Menasha, to be back with family was her story, but I suspect it was to be back with the Pack.  Besides, “Scooter” was gone and this guy named Vince Lumbago, or something like that, is now coach.
Don’t get me wrong, I was never really a fan of my hometown team but I did take an interest in them.  Back in the days of my youth the “Orange Crush” had a killer defense and a bruising running game.  Remember, they are the only team to make us feel like the viqueens in a Superbowl.  Thank God Elway bought the team, now any passing fancy I had for them is gone; I am fully cured.  Today the only connection my family has with Denver is our son Kyle, who like’s to go there because of the “Dispensaries”.
Sundays win was all about investments, in the free agency market and the draft.  We had 6 sacks on the day, 3 by free agent Preston Smith (plus a forced a fumble) and 2 by free agent Za’Darius Smith.  This pair also had a combined 4 tackles for loss.  The other sack was by our #1 draft pick Rashan Gary (in his NFL debut) who also recovered one of the fumbles.  Our only int was by our #2 pick Darnell Savage who also was credited with 1 of our 3 passes defended. The other two came from Jaire Alexander, our #1 pick from last year’s draft who also forced AND recovered a fumble.  These players combined, along with our other free agent Adrian Amos, accounted for 22 of our 45 tackles.  And let’s not forget our secret weapon, JK Scott (2018 round 5) who smacked another 65 yd punt; that’s an incredible investment return from our newest Packers; they were the difference in the game.
But before I’m “all in” on wearing my “Green and Gold” colored glasses, I still have a few concerns.  Our offense can’t seem to get past the first 20 plays.  Through three games, we have scored a total of 45 points in the first half but only 13 points in the second half through three games; with the second half TD because of a short field from a fumble recovery (This is also how we got our second quarter TD on Sunday).  The offense needs to find a way to keep the momentum going past the first quarter.
The other item, that was my pet peeve from past years, was the defense giving up drives of 10 plays or more.  There have been 6 so far this year, 4 last Sunday.  The first two, 13 plays from duh bears and 10 plays from the viqueens both ended with an int.  However, the first three from last Sunday were 15, 15 and 12 plays that resulted in all of their 16 points.  Their last was a 10 play drive that ended with a  our 6th sack of the day.  The “bend but don’t break” mentality may be working but it is increasing my Tums intake.
For the second week in row, we will play the same team duh bears played the week before.  We both won against the Bronco’s and I believe this trend will continue.  Playing at home on a short week is always an advantage (unless the Jets play the Giants).
In the words of Neil Diamond, “Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies and everyone goes, ’cause everyone knows,  that Spare-Time’s the show”, well maybe not exactly, but come on down for at least 30 minutes of football, get in on the pools and Trivia, have some great food, cheer with some Packer Fans and always 


Bleed Green My Friends.  
(Packer John)

 Just Sayin’

What a defensive effort, well, for the most part. They did allow some big plays, some on quick slants and some on bad tackling. But one can’t be too awful hard on a team that is 3-0 with the latest defensive effort including 3 takeaways and 6 sacks. Add into that would be the 2 first round draft picks having a combined sack, an interception, a fumble recovery and a tackle for loss. That was some good play by the rookies. And when they weren’t sacking Joe Flacco, much of the time they were putting a lot of pressure on him. The rush defense was where they struggled the most. Let’s look for Mike Pettine to work on that this short week.
Once again, the offense comes out and marches right down the field. They were on fire. Then came the rain and cooled them off. Now, I think the offense is still a work in progress. How many have noticed that AR12 is wearing a play arm band so far this year? To me, that is another sign that he is still learning the offense himself. The rushing attack is contributing this year. It is nice to see a coach NOT abandoning the running game. I am still expecting the offense to find their stride.
I’ll tell you, it is difficult to write these articles when there is not a lot to gripe about or the offense is not staying on fire for extended periods. And as long as we are winning, that’s fine with me.  HOWEVER, I will continue to try to improve as we progress through the season. As it is, let’s welcome the Eagles to Lambeau and clip their wings... 
Just Sayin’
(Jimmy Smith)

 GPB In Our SPARE TIME

Wowza! Another great game and another great day at Spare Time.  Our fan count was 132, but yours truly would bet there were bunches more than that as many came in after we made our count.  I believe our great new venue has something to do with these great numbers.  Speaking of great numbers, help us welcome 12 new members: 
545 Jeff Slavin
546 Vikki Slavin
549 Tony Dizinno
554 Tyler Cormier
555 Sadie Parri
556 Jerry Denman
557 Teri Denman
558 Kevan Parri
559 Kayden Parri
560 Dawn Joachim
561 Larry Joachim
562 Blair Burnett.
A wide variety of door prizes were awarded.  263 Patricia Zumbach chose a cheesehead tumbler, 290 Don Jordan has a coffee mug bearing a great Lombardi quote, and 369 Don Dandelske picked a pair of glass mason jars.  453 Leon Stenzel picked a tee shirt, 546 Vikki Slavin got a jersey, and 113 Russ Larson will be sporting a Green Bay polo shirt.  515 Grayson Boselie chose a necklace and earbuds, 559 Kayden Parri will keep feet warm with Green Bay slippers while sporting a new lanyard.  561 Larry Joachim got a pair of lanyards, and 506 Sebastian Sharpe will be flying a pair of Packer car flags.
We filled two dollar pools this week.  Winners were 537 Wayne Boyd (3), 120 Neil Petersen (2), 369 Don Dandelske, 532 John Blando, and 290 Don Jordan.  Congratulations to the winners of the Bart Starr hat raffle 219 Dan Blechl and 110 Bill Bunke.  This week’s trivia question was correctly answered by 120 Neil Petersen.  He received a $25 gift card from our friends at Spare Time Entertainment.  Thank you Spare Time for sponsoring this contest.
Our next game is this Thursday night at 8:20 against the Eagles with Barb on the mic.  I know this is a work night for many, but I hope you can join us for at least the first half of the game.  Cheering with our crowd of fans is way more fun than cheering alone, so come on down!  I gotta say that being 3-0 makes it way easier to say Through thick and thin…(love the thick!) 
Marge 328

Packers        vs.      E-gulls

 I wasn’t sure what to write about this week.  I could write a myriad of subjects:  The signing of the Declaration of Independence, 4th and 26 (sorry I just threw up a little in my mouth…again!), I could write about the Packers 2 wins over Philly in our Super Bowl XLV winning season.  No, I’ll go about this a different way.
Doug Pederson is the HC of the Philadelphia Iggles.  He used to be Brett Favre’s back up and kick holder for Ryan Longwell.  Then Doug became 84 years old (in football years) and the walker was in the way, so he couldn’t hold anymore.  Ryan got mad about it and became a Viqueen.  This was during the Brad Childress “I know I look like Major Dad and have no original ideas so most of my players will be Green Bay retreads” era.
Doug went on to become an Andy Reid assistant.  He studied hard and as the Iggles needed a new HC, they picked him.  Many doubted that he had the thing that all coaches had…a connection to Sean McVay!  j/k, not kidding.  Improbably, he kept his team together with baling wire and duct tape and won a Superbowl against the Patsies and the aging piece of soggy toast that is Tom Brady (apparently, he’s learned some kind of zen thing to where if you hit him, he goes limp and it’s like hitting a pillow).  He did it with a back-up QB who had few starts and impressed nobody.  Now we see if Carson Wentz is durable enough to last the season. 
He didn’t last long enough to beat the Lions last week.  He went 19 of 36 for 259 yards, rushed for 33 yards, threw 2 TDs and was sacked 3 times.  His passer rating was higher and he threw for more yards than Lions QB Matthew Stafford.  He didn’t have any turnovers, however the Eagles lost 3 fumbles, which contributed to a Lions win of 27-24, hopefully that trend continues Thursday night. 
It was a good day in Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood this past Sunday he went 17 of 29 for 235 yards in front of a furious pass rush in the likes of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb.  He threw for 1 TD and wasn’t sacked.  Aaron Jones scored the other 2 for offense.  Mason Crosby’s leg provided the balance of scoring. 
Aaron, never really satisfied, and disappointed with the team’s spotty performance on offense summed it up this way: “I want to play better,” Rodgers said, via the team’s website. “I want to score more points. I mean, obviously you love having a defense, but I don’t take any satisfaction in having an ‘oh, OK’ performance. No, I want to have greatness out there.”  Like I said in my first article of the season, game speed matters and luckily, the defense has kept us in these games.  Aaron has had 3 games, he should be up to speed and I expect the offense to come alive on a Thursday night and show out in front of a national audience.  I want to see Geronimo Allison prove that he can catch a football.  I would also like to see if our faith in Jimmy Graham is ever going to be rewarded or is it time to cut bait with him.
The Eagles come to the friendly confines of Lambeau Field so we don’t have to travel on a short week.  Brown County Schools will release students early in anticipation of the crowds so here’s school secretary Jan Rash.  “Good morning boys and girl, lunch will be served on GAME DAY!!! during normal times.  Lunch on Thursday will be Chicken nuggets, tater tots and milk.  Buses will run normal routes and cars are reminded to stop either way when a bus has its flashing red lights on.”  Thank you, Jan, and remember kids, Red means Stop, Yellow means Caution and Green means 
GO PACK!! GO!!!  
(Ken Hill)