Shelley enjoying the view on top!

After several weeks atop the standings, Britt has relinquished her lead to one of our most dedicated pickers, Shelley Vanderhoof. Shelley has been slowly climbing the ranks all year and emerged on top after several weeks of consistent picking. She shouldn't get too comfortable with her lead though, as both Casey and Steve sit only 1 pick back. Britt is now 2 picks back, which would be only 1 if she turned in all her picks. She is tied with son Willis (coincidence?) who leads our Junior division. Everyone's favorite tour guide is sitting just 3 picks back. 

We still have 9 pickers who are within 6 picks of the lead so it's still anyone's game! One quick reminder for our pickers...we're bringing back another Post Pattern picking tradition this season so it's in your best interest to do as good as possible otherwise you may be the beneficiary of a "unique" gift at our reunion next summer!

For those who aren't avid social media buffs, you may not realize that we've also entered a special time of year for Love. Starting in Week 12 the past 2 seasons, which happens to coincide with Toyotathon, Jordan Love has thrown 25 TDs with only 1 interception. This is the best TD to INT ratio for a QB since 1950. Throw in Watson's return (already averaging 20 yards per catch and caught two critical TD's last week) and Reed's designation to return from IR yesterday and Love will be primed for another stellar end of year performance.

There may be some in Packerland who have doubts about Love. These are likely the same people who thought Ron Wolf was ridiculous for trading a 1st round draft back for "Brett Favray" and that Ted Thompson was insane for drafting Rodgers. 

Back to the '80s - Uniform Edition: Part 3

Welcome back to our third entry in the "Uniform" series, our look at comparing traditional NFL uniforms to current era looks.  This week we visit two teams from the Northeast, the New York Football Giants and the New England Patriots.

The Giants opted to go with their "Vintage White" (away) look vs the Packers last week and have plans to rock their "Legacy" (home) uniforms in 2 games this season. The Patriots sported their throwback look earlier this season and will also wear them Week 13 vs the Giants. Sadly, the Giants will not follow suit for the game.

As a reminder, once we finish, our readers will stack rank their favorite uniforms of those we discuss and we'll publish the results.

Heard in the Crowd

• "Death. Taxes. Packers Special Teams" - after the FIRST missed XP

• Packers have lost 3 games by 3 points each. They missed a FG in each of those games

• Packers have tied 1 game this year. They missed an XP in that game

• "We are a bad football team"

• 85 years ago this week the Packers were the first NFL team in history to travel to a game by plane

• "Holy #$%@. We have a letter to the editor!"

Letters to the Editor

Its Own Worst Enemy

How the NFL Has Made Football Less Enjoyable

Football has been a part of my life, as it has been for many of us, since before I can remember. I don’t remember the first time I threw a football or attended my first Packer game. As the late, great Vince Lombardi said to his team in his now-famous speech, “There are three things important to every man in this locker room. His God, his family, and the Green Bay Packers. In that order.” Grandpa shared that same passion for our Savior, our families, and the Packers with all of us, and we took it to heart, evidenced by our now annual Cousins’ Tailgate and so many other wonderful memories and celebrations.

In recent years, however, I have noticed that that passion has begun to wane, and I have struggled to grasp just exactly why that is. It was a gradual process, and not one I realized right away. Each year, I watch fewer and fewer non-Packer games, which I always attributed to the busyness of coaching, teaching, and parenting, and that is certainly one of the reasons. Eventually, however, I had to acknowledge that I just didn’t care quite as much as I used to. At times, I feel guilty, as if I am in some way diminishing Grandpa’s memory by not having the same zeal for football that I used to have.

But, as I lay in bed after the Packers' loss to the Eagles on Monday night, the frustration of the loss and trying to answer the question of why that passion had faded kept me from falling asleep (yes, I am fully aware of the irony of that contradiction). I have concluded that, like almost anything in life, there is no one reason this has happened. So, Mr. Editor, here is your first letter of the season.

The most obvious reason, and the easiest one to explain, is as I mentioned earlier, life. When I first started coaching football at Fox Valley Lutheran, originally at the youth level before moving up to the Varsity coaching staff, I was so excited to start what has been one of the greatest blessings of my life for the last 19 seasons. At FVL, I was a volunteer; I showed up, coached my guys, and watched some film without any of the administrative responsibilities.

When I received the call to teach at Lakeside, being able to continue coaching football was a key component in accepting the call, and it continues to be a privilege. Yet, coaching is no longer a volunteer endeavor; it has become part of my job. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it, and the friendships I have formed with former and current coaches, along with the bonds I have formed with my athletes, will stay with me forever. But, each year, I take on more and more responsibilities as a coach in the Lakeside program. Two games a week (which is one of the reasons why I haven’t watched a non-Packer Monday night game in years), practices and game film, along with some administrative duties, take up more and more of my time each season. As a result, football has become less of a hobby and more of what I do for a living. With my job taking so much time away from my family, it became harder to justify spending more of that time with football on the weekends. 

The second reason is one that I have more control over. This morning at our regular faculty bible study, we read 2 Timothy Chapter 2. In verse 23, it reads, “Do not have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” It used to be easy to avoid the ridiculous complaints and ideas of some Packer fans. All we had to do was turn off the Packers post-game show on the radio. This way, you wouldn’t have to listen to fans suggest that Brian Brohm should be playing instead of Aaron Rodgers and other such words of wisdom. With the advent of social media and other communication technologies, however, it has become much more difficult. This season, much to the chagrin of some of my fellow Impeccables, I tried watching games without my phone nearby to avoid the constant negativity of Twitter, Facebook, and the weekly text from a friend who points out that he doesn’t think Love is “the guy.” This experiment has not been as successful as I hoped. As it turns out, as should have been expected, the only way to avoid this issue is to remove yourself from those apps entirely, as the Debby Downer, sky is falling fans you ignore on Sunday will still be there on Wednesday. As far as the text from your friend, you probably are stuck with that one.

I think the biggest reason, though, as to why my passion for the NFL has faded, is the NFL itself, which has become its own worst enemy. I don’t know that I can pinpoint one specific moment, but the NFL has slowly been killing itself for several years in a plethora of ways.

First, the scandals and controversies seem to grow every year. Whether it be Spygate, Deflategate, or Bountygate, the National Football League seems determined to kill the golden goose. Add in the myriad issues such as the Love Boat, Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring, the Aaron Hernandez case, and a wide variety of other legal entanglements, and the NFL image has been significantly tarnished.

Political scandals and ideology have infiltrated the NFL as well. The most prominent of course was the kneeling during the National Anthem protest started by Colin Kaepernick. The end zone and helmet messaging, along with the Rooney Rule and other politically charged causes, have turned some fans away.

The quality of officiating, however, is public enemy number one in driving me further away from the game. As technology improves and a company's popularity and income grow, one would expect the corporation to try to make life easier for its employees. But not the NFL. They seem bound and determined to make life as difficult as possible for the referees. Every week, we watch NFL officials struggle to determine what a catch is. We see defenders tackle the QB only to be penalized for, in the words of Packer reporter Aaron Nagler, “playing football.” Perhaps the most ridiculous is seeing the officials guess as to where the ball should be spotted as they run in from 25 yards away, hoping to see where the ball is amid 300 lb linemen. The solution to all of this is not to make the rulebook simpler or make things clearer. No, instead, the NFL adds additional subjective penalties for officials to watch for, such as the new hip drop tackle penalty. They also seemingly refuse to acknowledge when there is a problem, such as with the tush push I would not go so far as to say it is not a “football play”, but it is clear it cannot be officiated correctly, or, if you are more of a conspiracy theorist, that they refuse to officiate it correctly. (Editors Note: The NFL did address this is the offseason but the vote to ban the play was narrowly shot down. Our Editor predicts it will be banned this offseason).

An uneven implementation of instant replay has not solved the problem either. How can we forget the ill-fated attempt to use instant replay to review defensive pass interference? While many fans will argue, perhaps rightfully so, that things have improved, there is a long way to go. I don’t think any fans understand the current replay assist system the NFL has implemented this season. I don’t think the solution is necessarily more replay, but the current system doesn’t work.

All of these officiating challenges and difficulties have given rise to a contingent of fans who believe the NFL is rigged. You could argue that since fans of every NFL think the NFL favors their opponent, they must be doing something right. This belief has become so prevalent that studies have been done to determine if a certain team was favored over the others. One such study, led by a professor for UTEP, determined that penalties called in the playoffs were 23% more likely to result in a first down for the Chiefs. Patrick Mahones earned .412 roughing the passer penalties while the league average was .12. Subjective penalties, which include roughing the passer and pass interference, occurred 28% more frequently in favor of the Chiefs. Quotes like this from the lead author of the study will not help reduce the number of fans who believe the Chiefs are favored. “Our findings suggest that when the league’s financial health is at stake, rule enforcement may subtly shift to protect market appeal.” It does need to be noted that the numbers were reversed during the regular season, as the Chiefs were under the league average. The continual increase in gambling associated with the NFL only feeds these conspiracy theories. 

I have debated all of this regarding human error, the speed of the game, etc., with our wonderful editor, and I understand those arguments. Do I believe the NFL is rigged and that the winners of games are predetermined? No. Nor do I blame every Packers loss on poor officiating. I do, however, find it much less enjoyable to watch a game when the outcome is likely to be determined by a controversial flag or lack thereof, and I have little confidence in the NFL to get that call correct.

So what does this all mean? If you want to discuss the state of the team, expect me to give our coaches and play callers the benefit of the doubt because I know it is not an easy job. You can still count on me to be the optimist, predicting that Green Bay will win every game they play, because I believe they can. You can still expect me to be at Lambeau Field, cheering as loud as I can, because in the words of Eddy J Lemberger, “I Love My Green Bay Packers!” (Just don’t expect me to know who is on the roster of the opposing team, because I probably haven’t watched them play)

From Justin Vanderfhoof

(Letters can be sent to alspals1977@gmail.com, nicksimmons21@gmail.com, or texted to 608-335-8088.)