You know, heading into the Green Bay Packers week 8 matchup, I hoped they’d pull this one out. But I just knew that thought might’ve been a pipe dream. Barring a couple mistakes and some questionable calls, they actually might’ve had a chance.
It’s been an interesting weekend for me. Got to take the kids Trick or Treating. My oldest switched off between Spider-Man and Batman. The youngest, even though he’s 1 and doesn’t really know what’s going on anyways, switched between a Tiger and an Iguana. Of course, they had a blast, so that was the good part of the weekend.
The bad part was I somehow ended up with a ruptured eardrum. It’s definitely painful, and the ear maintenance is undoubtedly a pain in the butt. But hey, I’ll live.
I can’t help but view my weekend as a picture of how the Packers defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills went. There were some really good parts that kept us in the game. But there were also some really crappy, or pain in the butt moments that kept us out of it. Let us discuss them in this week’s edition of Toasts and Roasts.
Toasts:
Well, it’s about time we see more Aaron Jones. Jones is the star of this offense, and he showed it vs a Bills team that’s usually very stout against the run. Jones had 20 carries for 143 yards. He also chimed in on the passing game with 4 catches for 14 yards. Aaron Jones is the lifeblood of this offense; you have success if you give Jones the darn ball!
I’m toasting Aaron Jones this week with CheeseheadTV‘s very own Carry the G cream ale by Gathering Place Brewing. Carry the G is an outstandingly smooth cream ale with kind of a hoppy finish. Of course, not to mention that can label design is pretty amazing.
Let’s just say that this week Aaron Jones kind of carried the offense. So, in essence, he carried the G. It was done very smoothly and at times looked effortless as he continued to move the ball down the field on the ground. It was a sight for sore eyes to see Aaron Jones rocking again, and hopefully it continues.
What, a catch. Romeo Doubs’ touchdown catch right over the defender in the second quarter was a beauty. That is exactly what I want to see from Doubs. Has a missed catch or mistake, comes right back and makes a huge play. Doubs led the team in receiving yards with 62 but you feel like it could’ve been much more especially with the missed targets he did have. Some more time and experience and I really think Romeo Doubs is going to be a star on this team.
I’m toasting Romeo Doubs this week with a Cinnamon Bun Ale from Boulevard Brewing. This beer is exactly what you think. Liquid cinnamon bun, and it’s amazing. You can taste the cinnamon and the vanilla frosting, and it transports you to the bakery as if you’re biting into the real thing.
I chose this one for Romeo Doubs because that touchdown catch was just simply delicious. It was as if he had sticky hands to keep hold of that one. Of course, everyone knows the sticky hands traits of a cinnamon bun. And the fact that he’s a young receiver on the rise to me, is that vanilla frosting on top. More cinnamon bun Romeo Doubs please!
You could take his 4th quarter interception away, and I’d still put him here. Before the game even started, Jaire Alexander was jawing back and forth with Buffalo receiver, Stefon Diggs. That attitude and fight never stopped. Jaire was endlessly jawing with and getting into receiver’s heads, and I was loving every minute of it. That’s exactly the fight this team needs right now. Stand up, be loud, be aggressive, and don’t back down. Jaire Alexander was the soul of the defense Sunday night.
I’m toasting Jaire Alexander with a Brandy Barrel-aged Pumpkin Ale from Lakefront Brewery. Yep, it’s another pumpkin beer, tis the season still! This beer isn’t just another pumpkin drink though, it slaps you in the face with its barrel-aged brandy and stands tall at an 11% abv. You may snort at its pumpkin wrapper, but this beer will get in your face and put you on your butt if you don’t respect it.
Jaire Alexander was definitely that Brandy Barrel-aged Pumpkin Ale against the Bills. Some might have looked at him as just another loud-mouthed defensive back, but he definitely made sure to get in their heads and make them pay for overlooking him when it counted.
Honorable Mentions:
I had to hand out some honorable mentions after Sunday’s game. One goes to Samori Toure for his first career touchdown catch on an outstanding adjustment on what could’ve been a broken play. Toure saw he’d be covered and tried to improvise and get his QB’s attention and it paid dividends.
The next is Yosh Nijman. Nijman faced premiere pass rusher Von Miller most of the game and held him in check the whole time basically rendering Miller a non-factor.
Roasts:
Zone Pass Defense
Yes, I’m fully aware that it’s necessary sometimes. But by God is it annoying to watch receivers just go uncovered in certain areas of the field simply because we were in zone coverage, and they weren’t exactly directly covered. Buffalo took advantage of this several times and it made me sick to my stomach watching it happen so often.
Zone Pass Defense, you get roasted with Michelob Ultra. In my opinion Michelob Ultra is a beer that’s just there. Is it good? Maybe to some people, but it’s honestly not in the wide world of beer. It’s one of those beers that you grab because you don’t really know good beer, and that’s what you’re going to drink.
The Packers version of Zone Pass Defense is just there, and it’s not good most of the time. It is kind of a necessary evil where you need to keep an offense honest. Like I feel with Michelob Ultra, it’s this big-name necessary beer that you’re going to see people drink, but you know it has its disadvantages.
I really hope our Zone Defense can tighten up a bit, otherwise we’re just going to continue to get gashed with those underneath passes.
Quay Walker has been a pretty decent shining star since camp started. He’s had ups and downs, but he’s shown signs he could shape into a good player for the Packers. However, he showed Sunday night that he needs to keep his emotions in check to get there. Late in the 2nd quarter Quay Walker was ejected for shoving a member of the Bills personnel on the sidelines. We don’t know if words were exchanged or why this happened, but it shouldn’t have.
Emotions like that need to be kept in check. Granted I feel the 15-yard penalty was necessary, but the ejection wasn’t, Quay needs to keep himself out of those situations.
Quay Walker, I’m just going to roast you with water. There was no reason to go after someone on the sidelines like that. No matter what, you’re going to get yourself in trouble. You’re going to cost your team. If you want to be a good player in this league, you have to insure you’re not prone to those dumb penalties or ejections. You have to work on that attitude before you can get the good beer, until then, you are put at the kiddy table with a glass of water.
In the end
I was actually impressed with this week. I feel like despite the loss, this team could be showing signs of life. We need to get plays down field though. Hopefully Doubs and Toure will help with that, and hopefully Christian Watson will finally catch a break to show off what he can do.
Next week we have a struggling Lions team. We need to get back in the win column this week.
Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to PackersTalk as well as CheeseheadTV. Follow him on Twitter at @gmeinholz. for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.
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