Life is good for the Green Bay Packers and their fans right now.
Back-to-back 50 point performances against your most hated rival and then one of the best teams in the NFC will put a little spring in your step. Aaron Rodgers continues his torrid pace with 28 touchdowns on the year and only three (THREE!) interceptions.
Green Bay remains tied with the Detroit Lions for first place in the NFC North but given how the Packers are blowing opponents away and that the Lions consistently need last minute heroics to win games, it’s clear the Packers are truly the ones in the driver’s seat.
The Packer faithful have been downright giddy. Memes are all over the internet mocking the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles and pumping up Rodgers in his pursuit of a second NFL MVP award. Short of winning a Super Bowl, Packers fans are having the time of their lives.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy has publicly stated his staff needs to keep the team focused and not become overconfident.
The same could be said for the fans.
Chew on this statistic for a moment: Green Bay could finish the season 7-9. They could also finish 13-3. While fans are already gleefully talking playoffs, the reality is the Packers have not clinched a thing yet. Sure they’re hot now but playoff spots are not handed out in Week 12. There is a very good chance the NFC North comes down to Week 17 when the Lions play the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Detroit isn’t going to collapse again. They have a grown man at the helm in Jim Caldwell now instead of man child Jim Schwartz. These are not the same old Lions.
On any given Sunday any team can win any game. The Packers also remain one hit on Rodgers away from having the season go down the drain. This isn’t news as it has been the same for every game the past few seasons. Last season saw a promising start derailed by a Rodgers injury.
Packer fans often bemoan the arrogance of other fan bases but the moment the Packers get on a hot streak like they are now, Packer Nation becomes perilously close to what they despise about other fans.
Enjoy the run they’re on but don’t rub it in other people’s faces. Football is a fickle game and the hand of fate can make a turn very very quickly.
McCarthy says he is having the team take the rest of the season game by game.
Fans would be wise to follow suit. Save the Super Bowl talk for January. In fact don’t even look ahead to the New England Patriots. The Minnesota Vikings are up next and they very well could beat the Packers Sunday afternoon.
Any given Sunday.
——————Kris Burke is a sports writer covering the Green Bay Packers for AllGreenBayPackers.com and WTMJ in Milwaukee. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) and his work has been linked to by sites such as National Football Post and CBSSports.com. Follow @KrisLBurke
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I can’t and won’t speak for others but IMO at least,the majority of those who frequent this site are realist.Though,some may at times fall one way or another to an extreme,myself definitely included,are tuned in to how fast things can change.
As some will look for the bad in a victory just as some look for the good in a loss and for such doings,often get called out as not being a fan or being a lover of kool-aid,we seek the same solace that our team will come out on top when it counts and win what its all about…The Lombardi Trophy. 🙂
This is totally spot on!!! The Packers needs to take every game like its a division title game and not get cocky or it could all turn south on them…And I agree about the fans we all need to enjoy the wins but not lose sight of reality that any team can step up and win…look at the Raiders against KC if you dont think it can happen!
Treat It for what it is, a game. Win or lose, it’s still just a game. Enjoy the ride. If your only happiness is derived from a Super Bowl victory, you’re missing out on twenty weeks of fun with friends, buffalo wings and beer. Enjoy the ride, it makes the Super Bowl victory that much sweeter. GoPack!
Meh. I don’t buy it Kris. This team is playing excellently right now and, short of a catastrophic injury, I’m really not worried about making the playoffs. I’m worried about getting a bye. The Lions may not be the “same old” Lions, but they’re not going to beat New England on Sunday and they’re not going to beat GB in GB in week 17 either. That gives GB 1 game of wiggle room. Dallas will choke in December (as always). ARI is starting Drew Stanton – seriously – let that sink in. And they have a BRUTAL remaining schedule. And only 1 of SEA/SF looks like it’s going to make it in.
Giddy sounds about right. GB has a REAL shot to win it all this year. For the first time since 2011.
I’d be calm if we had drafted Chris Borland… I can’t get over it! GAH!!
Relax, we made up for it with Adams and a freebie in Mike Pennel. I’ll take Matthews over Borland any day.
Sometimes that’s just the way the draft falls. Borland would have been great. But IMO Adams was the right move in the 2nd round. And all the TEs and Borland were gone by the 3rd.
Please get over Borland. Repetive postings get old. I am still upset about Rolle, but I promise to limit the number of times I complain about TT’s utter mismanagement of that situation.
Completely agree. Lot of fans acting like we already won SB. It is long and hard path to the XLIV SB i Arizona. I take advice from Aaron. I’m relaxed and enjoying every game. Game by game. Hopefully, all weeks up to the February, 1st 2015 when I will be happy the most. But we still have to beat lot of good teams, lot of good players. Some of them are hot, some of them are desperate, but all are dangerous. We have to take care of our business because we have talent, strength, knowledge, system and good leadership. If we will rtake care of ourselves, everything else will fall on right spot….
Enjoy the ride. I for one have not forgotten, that there was a time when I had to settle for and was happy to see several games on TV , thrilled when we won one , a time when you had to search hard to find a star player. when Thanksgiving stopped including the Packers.
As they say, “Don’t get cocky kid”.
Following the Vikings, assuming we are not looking past that game, we have arguably the top team in the NFL – the New England Patriots. That game will tell us a lot and may bring the team and its fans down to earth.
Time for a reality check.The Packers need to run the table, MM needs to tell his troops that the NFC north title is not enough.The Packers should set their site’s on having the Best overall record in the NFC conference. The road to the Superbowl must go through Lambeau Field.
Like to think he is telling them that, just not the press
If memory serves correctly, McCarthy was saying basically the exact same things to the team back just a few years ago when we went into the post season at 10-6. ONE-GAME-AT-A-TIME. Nothing more, nothing less. You don’t dwell on mistakes, you learn from them. You don’t celebrate wins, you learn from them. Take what you learn, go on to the next game and play as if it’s your first and last game of the season. What works in one game, doesn’t in the next.
As to the writing of this article, I wouldn’t even be mentioning the Lions when that game is 5 games away! If they show-up ready to play or not, the game gets played. Whether or not the Packers or the Lions are headed into the post season, or if they ‘sit’ their starters doesn’t matter. The game gets played.
Personally, I don’t see the fans as being the ones talking Super Bowl as much as I do the sports writers. Cripes … each year VEGAS and the sports press puts out a Super Bowl Contender list before the season evens starts! LOL