LouisEly

If he isn't ready by Opening Day that doesn't really mean anything. He could be really close, only 2-3 weeks away and be mostly ramped up. They may also not want him pitching in cold weather right away in April and may send him on a "rehab assignment" to Biloxi to keep him loose and bring him back up when it's warmer to be safe. Only real ones to avoid are the opening series at NYY, 3 at Colorado in mid-April (the two night games, not necessarily the day game), 4 at SFG, and CWS at end of April. Two of the three at STL are day games, so should be safe there.

I hear you on that, but if they play too far up and a WR gets over the top for a 30 yard gain then it's an easy chip shot FG. Even from where they were, a 51 yard FG is no gimme in GB in January. To your point though, if they give up a deep pass do they have enough time to get everyone 30 yards down the field and set before clocking it?

Agreed, and the guy who best fits that description came down with the flu on Saturday and didn't play.

1) Don't conditions often change during the game? I recall seeing flags fairly stiff at the beginning of the game and then right before the field goal I believe the announcers said that the flags on top of the goal posts weren't moving. What you plan ahead for at kickoff might not be the case at the end of the game. B) Doesn't the coach have other more important things to keep track of than what the wind is doing up until the kick? 3) How is the head coach supposed to know how many yards they will get on the previous play? It has to be an in-the-moment decision because he doesn't know how many yards and what wind conditions until it's actually time to make the kick. 4) A 55-yard kick in Green Bay in January in sub-20 degrees temperature is 50/50 even for the best kickers. It had to be right at the max point of which they would consider a FG. It was 4th and 3/4 - if they missed the kick, would you have been on here huffing and puffing that they should have gone for it because it was stupid to go for a 55-yard kick in January in Green Bay? Be honest... 5) They didn't lose the game because he called timeout with 54 seconds left instead of 44 seconds or whatever. They lost the game because: Reed fumbled deep in their own territory which led to a <30 yard TD drive (Bears +7 points) Trick play punt return for TD (Bears +7 points) Fumble by backup QB in FG range (Packers -2 expected points, 75% chance of making FG that distance) Pro Bowl RB who averaged >7ypc only got 6 carries and didn't play 2/3rds of the game (which had virtually no bearing because the backups averaged 6 yards per carry and Wilson had a great change of direction run for a TD) Pro Bowl alternate QB didn't play 2/3rds of the game due to injury The Packers outgained the Bears 367 yards to 224 and the only reason it was close was because of the four things above, of which the only thing MLF was responsible for was not playing Jacobs more. Blaming it on calling a timeout is tree vs. forest.

And those guys all made the Pro Bowl too or are in the AFC so they are ineligible for the NFC Pro Bowl roster, so what's your point? That Gary isn't the best pass rusher in the league? That seems like complaining for the sake of complaining.

And the Pats beat the Bills.

Seriously? A 55 yard FG in the cold weather is no gimmie. They wanted to think about whether to go for it on 4th down or go for the FG.

In addition, Gary is one of the league leaders in % of times being chipped. At one point earlier in the season he was 3rd in the NFL. That's going to affect sacks, pressures, pass block win rate, etc. If you're 3rd in the NFL in % chipped, the league knows you are pretty darned good. Gary is also excellent in run defense and does a great job of setting the edge. Yes, the Pro Bowl is based a lot on reputation, but usually it's earned. 2/3rds of the vote comes from players and coaches, and they know who is good.

Based on what?

i don't think so. His head was up and it appeared that he hit him with his facemask. Targeting has to be the crown of the helmet.

As much as I want ASU to show that they are a mirage and were propped up by their schedule, watching Texas choke this away is just as satisfying. If not more.

According to Adam Schefter, a "source" told him that Alexander had knee surgery: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43250547/source-packers-cb-jaire-alexander-undergoes-knee-surgery

Can they afford both Tom and Walker? If push comes to shove, easier to find a good RT than a good LT.

Not really true. They think highly of Myers, especially Love, because of how good he is at making the line calls for blocking. There's a reason that they have consistently been at the top of the league in lowest sack percentage and Myers is a big part of it. That's something that we as fans can't really see. The Monk pick was certainly a hedge against Myers leaving in FA, but also a hedge for their backup centers. Jenkins is getting expensive for a guard, and Tom is a free agent in two years and will get really expensive. With both starting tackles coming up on free agency, they can't afford to pay a guard what they are paying Jenkins and Tom might leave in FA.

MLF today said that knee swelling is the issue with Alexander. Cue the David Bakhtiari consternation. There is also the condition that a team can't cut a player who can't pass a physical due to football-related injury without paying him for the next season. Alexander is due ~$17.5M in cash next year including workout/roster bonuses, and it's unlikely that they'll bring him back at that salary.

So we don't want a coach who is good to develop young talent when we have the youngest team in the league, and we expect him to win big games with the youngest team in the league. Got it.

21 of the 46 were in the 3rd quarter. But I get it, those teams are so good that they weren't able to put the Packers away...

Because in the 2nd half of those games the Packers scored a combined 46 points. In their house.

One of those was a crap game on a crap field, one of those Love was maybe 70%, one of those they were missing three defensive starters and lost a fourth during the game, two were on the road by a combined total of 5 points, and all but one of those was by less than a TD. All but one of those games had one or two things changed and they could have won them. And I don't think that anyone wants to see the Packers in the playoffs.

Packers kick the FG, don't get called offsides on the missed FG by the Viqueens. That's the difference. If I'm the Packers, I feel good about this and that they can play with anyone, anywhere.

And if they would have kicked the field goal they would be going for the lead here. This is why you take the points when you can get them.

I thought that Minnesota wasn't supposed to be good.

BYU hung 27 on Colorado yesterday before Colorado put their first points on the board. Final score 36-14. Colorado played two teams that were ranked at the time (only one still ranked), and lost both, one at home and the other 36-14. Yeah, it's a bowl game, but all of Colorado's top players (both of Sanders' kids and Hunter) played the whole game. I don't hate Colorado or Deion or Deion's kids. I've seen a number of interviews the last couple of months between Deion and a local sports reporter (who used to be a Denver Broncos cheerleader... she's easy on the eyes) and I can tell that he takes a perspective and tries to impart wisdom well beyond the football field. I respect him for that. What I hate is how for two seasons in a row the media has gone gaga over Colorado after they won four games only to find out in both season that they really weren't that good.

I don't know about others, but I get this every year. It's called an annual performance review, where I get told everything I didn't do perfectly over the last year and why I only got the salary increase that I did.

Much has been made of Devin Williams and Josh Hader faltering in the playoffs, but Burnes in 2023 should be right up there with them.