5 reasons why the Packers will beat the Panthers (and 1 reason why they might not)

I am going to miss this week’s Packers vs. Panthers game because I will be out in the Minnesota wilderness holding a shotgun,waiting for that elusive 30-point buck to come strolling by.

Deer hunting is a lot like going to a Packers game.

Don’t laugh.

Hey,clean up that coffee that just came spewing out of your nose.

I said stop laughing!

Let me explain:

Hunters invest a lot of time in their craft,hoping that they end up with a few moments of excitement. All that time spent sitting in an uncomfortable tree trying to prevent your fingertips from freezing pays off when a nice buck walks within shooting range,or a doe and a couple fawns spend 20 minutes in front of your stand eating and playing while you watch and wonder if they realize how lucky they are that you only shoot bucks. All that time hunting also pays off when you have fresh venison in the freezer,especially those cheddar snack sticks that cost a fortune to make but taste oh so good.

When you go to Lambeau for a Packers game,you sit in bleachers that are about as (un)comfortable as a tree stand. Actual moments of excitement are few and far between — most of your time is spent sitting through TV time outs,breaks in the action and routine runs up the middle or incomplete passes. But it’s all worth it when Aaron Rodgers connects for a touchdown,Clay Matthews gets a sack and the Packers walk off the field victorious.

You also have to deal with some nonsense when you hunt or go to a Packers game. Buck fever is a real thing. A lot of otherwise normal people get goofy during hunting season. Jealously causes them to try and ruin the hunt for others. Laws are broken in pursuit of that big buck. Safety measures can be forgotten in the heat of the moment.

At Lambeau,you have to deal with 80,000 other people in the same venue that you are. That means long lines for the bathroom or to get a beer. It also means idiots who can’t handle their booze and stick-in-the-mud types who yell at you to sit down during a big third-down play.  

Sometimes you wouldn’t mind having 80,000 other people in your deer stand with you to help pass the time. Sometimes you wish you were the only on in Lambeau Field so you could stand up and cheer whenever you wanted,be the first in line to get a beer and not have to miss half of the second quarter waiting to pee.

See,I told you hunting and going to a Packers game were similar!

About today’s game…
Hunting and the Packers also provide a nice escape from reality. I tend to forget about that stack of unpaid bills on my kitchen counter when I’m decked out in blaze orange and watching the sun rise from my deer stand. When the Packers play,I’m completely engrossed in the on-field action for those three hours. I couldn’t care less about what else might be swirling around the team. Those three hours of gametime are meant for football,not the reality TV type of drama that makes up the rest of the NFL week.

Normally,I mock and ridicule the other team in these “5 reasons” posts before getting into a couple of X’s and O’s points about why the Packers will win. I’m not doing that this week because 1) I’d rather write about deer hunting and 2) We all know what the Packers have to do to win.

There really isn’t any additional insight I can provide you. The Packers have to slow down the Panthers power running game,not get eaten alive by Greg Olsen,do a better job of scheming their receivers open against another tough secondary and hope their offensive line returns to its 2014 form. Resurrecting their dormant pass rush after a fast start would also help.

The Packers should also view today’s game the same way I view hunting: as an escape from reality. All week they’ve been asked about why they’re playing so poorly,especially on offense. They’ve dealt with weird stories and old-man “get off my lawn” columns from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Rodgers has been reminded over and over again that he only threw for 77 yards against the Broncos. Every armchair QB wearing foam cheese on their head is chiming in with their ideas on how the offense can get back on track.

If the Packers view Sunday’s game as an opportunity to tune all of that nonsense out for three hours,they’ll roll. The Packers have handled regular season adversity really well under Mike McCarthy:

  • Sitting at 4-4 and losing twice to the Brett Favre-led Vikings in 2009,Green Bay responded by winning six straight.
  • A late-season injury to Rodgers put the Packers behind the 8-ball in 2010. They responded by winning their final two games and,eventually,a Super Bowl.
  • In 2012,the Packers followed up Fail Mary with a win over the Saints. After losing to the Colts,the Packers were 2-3 and responded by throttling the Texans on the road,prompting Rodgers’ famous “Shhhhhh” line during the postgame interview.
  • The Packers needed a win in the season’s final game to make the 2013 playoffs and they got it.
  • The Saints pounded the Packers 44-23 before the bye week in 2014. When the Packers returned,they went 7-1 and earned a first-round playoff bye.

Today’s game will tell us a lot about what kind of team the 2015 Packers are. I think we’re going to find out that they’ll be just fine.