2018 NFL Week 12: Packers vs. Vikings Preview & Prediction

Guess what, Packer fans? We were actually spot on in our score prediction for last week's game at Seattle: 27-24. Only problem was we had the Pack with 27 and Seahawks with 24. As we sadly know, it was the other way around, with the Packers garnering their fifth road loss of the season. Yup, Green Bay hasn't won a road game yet this season.

The Packers will need an MVP effort from QB Aaron Rodgers tonight at Minnesota.
(Photo: Jim Matthews/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wis.)

So where do we find our beloved Green Bay Packers tonight? On the road. At Minnesota. Where they are 0-2 in the new stadium of whatever name.

The ViQueens are 5-4-1, the Packers 4-5-1. That one tie for both teams, as we know, was in the first match up. Pretty much representative of the parity, unfortunate as that may be at this point in the season, between these two NFC North rivals. Both of which, as we also recall, were supposed to be competing for the Division championship. So much for that idea; Da Bearz look well positioned to lock that up fairly soon...which will make my good friend, Billy Da Bearz Fan, most happy indeed. (The horror...the horror....)

As for Minnesota, it has become obvious as the season has gone on that QB Kirk Cousins is obviously overpaid, and the Packers defense can hopefully make him look that way again tonight, albeit as wounded as they are. RB Dalvin Cook hasn't broken out quite as much as they'd hoped, either. Defensively, Minnesota isn't all it was cracked up to be this season.

The story of the Packers this season, especially in their road losses, has been one of "close but no cigar". Late errors, penalties, bad play-calling and clock management...pretty much you name it and it has been just enough to keep the Pack from coming away with a win in those tight games they've been playing and losing.

Bottom line is that we have seen the Packers have no room for error. A near-perfect game is needed not only from QB Aaron Rodgers who, thankfully, seems to be getting healthier, but from the rest of the team, as well. But WR Randall Cobb is questionable, as is TE Jimmy Graham, continuing the potential limitation of Rodgers' receiving options (and, no, preseason receiving fave, Jake Kumerow, was not activated for this game, as some may have wished). Still, if RB Aaron Jones can be schemed and targeted as a receiver coming out of the backfield, we saw his potential in that area of the game on display against Seattle. Regrettably, as we have seen for most of this season, head coach Mike McCarthy has been reluctant to fully utilize the talent of this young running back. Tonight would be a very good time to change that approach.

The Packers are banged up on defense. DT Mike Daniels is likely done for the year and the team placed LB Nick Perry on injured reserve, ending his season and, perhaps, his career in Green Bay, as well. Defensive backs Bashaud Breeland, Kevin King, Kentrell Brice, and Raven Greene are questionable for tonight. But if LB Kyler Fackrell can keep up his sack-meister ways, along with inside pressure from Kenny Clark and others, problems in the secondary may not be quite as pronounced. Maybe.

The Prediction

We've been giving the Packers the benefit of our Green 'n' Gold-colored view for the road games this season, only to be disappointed. They've been close...but that counts for nothing. There is probably no game in this woefully mediocre season that counts for something bigger than this game tonight. Yes, every game is big. But when you are 4-5-1 and have six games left...and you probably need to go at least 5-1 over the course of those games to maybe have a shot at the playoffs...this game would be a good game to finally -- FINALLY! -- grab a road win. If they don't do it tonight, Packer fans, while the fat lady may not have sung, she's certainly warming up. They need this game.

Minnesota is favored by 3.

We're calling it Packers 24 - ViQueens 23.

Go Pack Go!!!

After the NFL Draft, Packers get ready to welcome rookies

As Packer Fans United, we know that the 2016 NFL Draft finished up its three-day extravaganza on Saturday evening. The Green Bay Packers went big. Head coach Mike McCarthy had said in comments long before the draft that he liked big guys. Check. What he didn't say, but that also apparently was part of the criteria this time around, was also get big smart guys. To that end, two of the Pack's seven picks are from Stanford and one is from Northwestern; both schools have a reputation for nurturing brainiacs. In his comments after the draft, General Manager Ted Thompson said, essentially, that big guys are great but big smart guys are even better. Check.


The 2016 Packers Draft Picks

By way of a quick recap, here are the Pack's picks...


NT Kenny Clark (left); OT Jason Spriggs, OLB Kyler Fackrell and ILB Blake Martinez (top row, left to right); DE Dean Lowry, WR Trevor Davis and OL Kyle Murphy (bottom row, left to right).
Photo from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

• 1st Round (#27): NT Kenny Clark, UCLA
• 2nd Round (#48): OT Jason Spriggs, Indiana
• 3rd Round (#88): OLB Kyler Fackrell, Utah State
• 4th Round (#131): ILB Blake Martinez, Stanford
• 4th Round (#137): OT Dean Lowry, Northwestern
• 5th Round (#163): WR Trevor Davis, California
• 6th Round (#200): OL Kyle Murphy, Stanford

Of course, acquisitions don't stop there. Reportedly, the Packers have the following undrafted free agent signings:

• QB Joe Callahan, Wesley College
• P Peter Mortell, Minnesota
• ILB Manoa Pikula, BYU
• RB Brandon Burks, Troy
• OLB Reggie Gilbert, Arizona
• RB Don Jackson, Nevada
• CB Josh Hawkins, East Carolina
• WR Geronimo Allison, Illinois
• S Demond Smith, Georgia Tech
• CB Brandon Gatewood, Alcorn State
• CB Randall Jette, UMass
• S Kentrell Brice, Louisiana Tech
• ILB Beniquez Brown, Mississippi State
• CB Makinton Dorleant, Northern Iowa
• WR Dennis Parks, Rice
• WR Devonte Robinson, Utah State
• OT Josh James, Carroll (MT) College
• WR Herb Waters, Miami (FL)
• TE David Grinnage, North Carolina State
• DL Brian Price, UT-San Antonio
• DL Tyler Kuder, Idaho State

A number of players have also been invited in for tryouts. Perhaps most intriguing among that list is WR Patrick Donahue from the German Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. While you probably haven't heard of Donahue, you had to have heard of his teammate, Moritz Boehringer. MoBo generated a lot of pre-draft interest because of his story as well as his speed and apparent skills as a receiver. He wound up being the first player to be drafted from Europe -- and not an American college -- as the Minnesota Vikings selected him in the sixth round of the draft.

There could be other additions or deletions, of course. This is a period of time in which things are greatly in flux.

Rookie minicamp, by the way, will be held May 8-9. It will be a make or break time for some of these young men looking for their shot at a career in the NFL. Good luck, gentlemen.

Packers Shareholder Meeting Scheduled

Yes, we know you are more interested in the OTA and minicamp schedules -- May 23, 24, 26 (with open practice on May 24), June 1-3 (open practice June 2), June 6-9 (open practice June 6), and minicamp on June 14-16 (open practice every day) -- but we wanted to alert you to the Annual Shareholders Meeting scheduled for July 21 beginning at 11 a.m. In Green Bay, of course.

Now's the time when we can start to once again feel the juices flowing, eh Packer fans? Ohhh yeah.

Go Pack Go!!!

We're baaaaaccckkkk! And so's the NFL Draft.

Hello, again, Packer fans! After our extended hiatus -- brought about by the Packers' heartbreaking loss to the Cardinals (per my last post) -- we're back. Hope you've been keeping abreast of all the Pack's goings-on on our Amazing 2nd Page, which is a real-time compendium (look it up!) of Packers news, NFL news, and more from around the globe. It's a really good, quick, overview of everything (or most everything) you're probably going to want to know. Really.

Anyway, here's a quick Reader's Digest review of just a few things that have transpired during our hiatus...B.J. Raji has unofficially retired, might come back, might not, who knows? Mike Pennel is suspended for the first four games of the 2016 regular season. Jared Cook is a new tight end courtesy of the Rams not resigning him. Jordy Nelson continues to progress ahead of schedule. Aaron Rodgers had a successful knee clean up There's a few other things, of course, but you probably already know them so no need to rehash them now. Let's move along, shall we?

2016 NFL Draft Underway
With the 27th pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft, the Packers chose UCLA NT Kenny Clark. With Raji's "retirement," a big hole existed in the Packers' defensive line. If Raji was back, the Pack would have make another selection. But the team needs a big man to anchor that 3-4 scheme and Clark fits the bill quite well. Read more here.

UCLA NT Kenny Clark is the Packers 2016 1st round draft pick.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Day Two of the draft saw Packers GM Ted Thompson do something he rarely does: trade up. Sitting with the 57th pick, Thompson obviously felt that the player he wanted would be gone if he waited. So he packaged fourth and seventh round picks in this year's draft to move up to the 48th slot. With that pick, Thompson secured a huge left tackle from Indiana in the person of Jason Spriggs.

Indiana OT Jason Spriggs is the Packers' 2016 2nd round draft pick.
Photo Credit: Sam Tongue/The Elkhart Truth
Spriggs will be able to work behind the Pack's current tackles and could be the heir-apparent should current LT David Bakhtiari decide to walk during next year's free agency period. Anyone who questions why Thompson would trade up to get an offensive tackle should only reflect back on the disaster that was the Packers' offensive line when both Bakhtiari and Bulaga were out last season. Remember? Remember??? Yeah...that's why.

With the team's third round pick, Thompson pulled the trigger on Utah State linebacker Kyler Fackrell. Just less than two years removed from an ACL tear, Fackrell now finds himself as part of the Pack's outside linebacker crew. At 6'5" and 245 pounds, Fackrell's rehab went well enough that he had the best statistical season of his college career last year: he started all 13 games he played, thus continuing his streak of starting every game in his collegiate career. He finished his senior season with 82 tackles (15 for loss), had 4 sacks, and recovered five fumbles. Not bad. Certainly got the attention of Ted Thompson. And, obviously, the prior ACL injury was not a concern for Thompson and his staff.

Utah State LB Kyler Fackrell is the Packers 2016 NFL draft 3rd round pick.
Photo Credit: Utah State
One can imagine Fackrell will be given opportunities to use his speed rush ability in third down and blitz packages, bookending Clay Matthews.

Fourth Through Seventh Rounds Today
In about an hour from this posting, the final day of the draft will commence. The Packers enter the day with four picks, although you never know what wheeling and dealing Uncle Ted might do. The Packers have the 33rd and 39th picks (both compensatory and not available to trade) in the fourth round, numbers 131 and 137 overall, as well as the 26th pick in the fifth round (163 overall) and the 25th pick in the sixth round (200 overall). Remember that the Pack traded fourth round and seventh round picks to move up in the second round to get Spriggs.

Enjoy the continuing unwrapping of our Christmas-in-April gifts, Packer fans! We'll be back again later this weekend to get caught up on these later rounds.

Go Pack Go!!!