Some great words of wisdom tonight from the Press-Gazette’s Mike Vandermause, who tells rabid Green Bay Packers’ fans something I’ve repeated many times already this week: Calm the heck down people!
Admittedly, this is quite the turnaround from Vandermause’s Sept. 20 column “No quick fix can solve this mess,” which may have even spurred some of the nail biting and teeth gnashing among fans following the Green Bay Packers god awful 31-24 loss earlier that day to the lowly Cincinnati Bengals at Lambeau Field.
But maybe even Vandermause had a change of heart after having a few days to swallow that bitter pill. I know I have.
There’s no question the Packers stunk it up last Sunday – in virtually every facet of the game. But two games (and hey, the Packers WON the first one, remember?) does not a season make. Far from it.
In fact, I think a stunning loss like this is just the kick in the ass the Packers needs to get off its collective preseason laurels (division champs, anyone? Super Bowl bound??) and get back on track to take the NFC North by storm.
I also wholeheartedly agree with Vandermause’s final musings re: stupid-ass Minnesota Vikings’ fans, which is something I, unfortunately, am pretty familiar with around here.
And whatever you do, don’t take too seriously what Vikings fans like this one are saying:
We’re 2-0 with Brett Favre and you guys just lost at home to the Bengals. I love my life. It must really be terrible to be a Packers fan. You guys have an awful offensive line. What’s going to happen with Jared Allen and the (Pat and Kevin) Williams Wall? Ha ha, that will be funny. Vikes are going to rout the Green and Gold in two weeks and do it with the greatest quarterback of all time — our quarterback.
It’s especially important after reading comments like that to remember the big picture. Just like the Packers won’t receive a trophy for their impressive preseason, the arch-rival Vikings will get no hardware for beating the lowly Browns and Lions to open their season.
Now granted, the Packers have got two huge games coming up at home and at the MetroBarn against the Vikings. But other than that, the next few weeks could be smooth sailing for Aaron Rodgers and Co. as the team recovers from some untimely injuries and the offensive line gets its collective head out of its ass.
The team travels to St. Louis this weekend, then heads up to Minnesota before the bye week. After that, the Packers are home against the Lions and go to Cleveland to beat up on the lowly Browns again. What could be better?
Long story short, the book is far from written on this season. Don’t jump to conclusions.
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