Monday, October 16, 2017

Crunch time

As another sailing season draws to a close, our attention strays to Wisconsin's other love: football. As most in Packer Nation already know, QB Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings and may be lost for the season. Last year we predicted that Green Bay would never again make it to a Super Bowl with Rodgers at QB, and they won't--but oddly enough, that doesn't mean the Pack can't still make it to the big show this year.

After the game, Coach McCarthy said what he had to say: that Brett Hundley will be the guy going forward. At least through next week, that is. Hundley looked serviceable filling in for the injured Rodgers but is unproven. In six days we'll know for sure (and a few of us already know) whether he'll be the starter for the rest of 2017. Beat the Saints and he probably is. Get embarrassed, and GM Ted Thompson picks up the phone.

Who will he call first?

Tony Romo. A native of Burlington, WI, the injury-prone Romo, 37, played 14 years for Dallas, never winning a Super Bowl. Would he fare better in Green Bay behind an injury riddled offensive line? Probably not, and Romo, now a broadcaster with CBS, probably says no.

Colin Kaepernick. Led the San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013, but four years later, the mobile Kaepernick, 29, is out of football because management didn't like his use of the national anthem as a platform to protest police abuse.

Brett Favre. Favre led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game in 2009 at age 40 but got beat up by cheap shots from New Orleans players motivated by illegal bounties. Then he played hurt in 2010, and then "retired". At 48, is he too old to play? George Blanda played quarterback at age 48, although Steve DeBerg is the oldest ever to start a game, at 44. Will Favre rewrite that stat as he's done with so many others? If he were a mere mortal, the answer would probably be no. But,...

Incredibly, two of the above--Romo and Kaepernick--grew up in Wisconsin as Packers fans--watching Favre! Clearly there is a convergence here, and one of these three will be wearing green and gold (again) come Week 9.

The Packers are, after all, a business, and the product they had to offer just got hit by a truck.

1 comment:

  1. BREAKING NEWS!

    Yu Chen: The sheriff's office just completed their investigation and handed the case over to the DA's office before the holidays. The DA hasn't made a decision on the case yet, but will soon.

    ReplyDelete