Bye Week Confidential: 2017

There has been a lot of doom and gloom in Packer Nation in the last week and a half. For most, the bye week couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s a least a little break from the funk that started early in the 1st quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Buck up, everyone. There are several positives that you can still fall back on. Don’t believe it? Well, consider the following.

1. Nobody is going to get hurt in a game this week. One or more starting corners may very well injure themselves exiting a vehicle or tripping over a curb at Outback Steakhouse, but at least it won’t be in a game!
2.  The stadium is still standing. At least THIS can never happen to Lambeau. Imagine if the Metrodome roof caved in during the game that day. Paul Allen’s radio call would have been something along the lines of,  “Adrian Peterson gets the handoff and follows his block toward the right corner AND HE’S BURIED UNDER AN AVALANCHE.” There’s a reason the old dome has since been replaced by a replica of the Sandcrawler from Star Wars and controls the local bird population as well as any herd of stray cats can.
3. Justin Timberlake, the halftime performer of the upcoming Super Bowl, reiterated his love for the Packers in a recent interview. Barring a miracle of biblical proportions, he won’t be performing while his favorite team draws up halftime adjustments.
4. Several guys from the Packers defense showed up at WWE Raw and had a blast, belt included.
5. Bart and Cherry Starr made an appearance at the game on Sunday. It’s safe to say Bart is on his final lap or two, but he’s making the most of it. Hopefully as many fans at the game were able to see him and will have an everlasting memory of it. The wise ones always acknowledge the past.

So, there are a handful of positives to reflect on during this bye week. No, none of them actually have anything to do with stuff currently happening on the field. That’s a natural result of the worst possible thing that could happen to a football team occurring the other week. While this author is a pessimist, he’s a fiercely loyal pessimist that will stick with the franchise well after #12 is gone and 2/3 of fans born after 1980 have long leaped off the bandwagon as the team inevitably sinks back to mediocrity. That’s fine. It’s the circle of life. There’s no finer team to be miserable with than the Green Bay Packers.

On that note, rest up, Packers. Surprise us against Detroit if you want. If Dom Capers takes two weeks off then quits, then the odds of that surprise will be much more probable.

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