Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur: “[i]t’s Halloween, huh?…I don’t give a s— if it’s Halloween, all right? We’re trying to win a game. Period.”
Halloween hasn’t been the only distraction lately for the Green and Gold. Last Sunday Night, Jordan Love and the Packers had to overcome one of the biggest storylines of the NFL season in facing their old Hall of Fame quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. They were successful in doing that. And now they’ll face the .500 Carolina Panthers. A decent team, but a team the Packers should be able to beat.
But with everything going on, some are pegging this game as a trap game. And in a lot of ways, I get it. Green Bay just came off an emotional game against Aaron Rodgers and a good Pittsburgh Steelers team. They’ll face the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and oh by the way, they just traded for the Packers former all-pro cornerback Jaire Alexander. And it’s Halloween weekend. And finally, the trade deadline is looming on Tuesday at 3PM central time.
The Packers might be a little distracted facing the Panthers. No wonder LaFleur came off a little spicy when a reporter mentioned Halloween on Friday.
However, Packers Fans Have Nothing To Worry About
I believe that the Packers will overcome all of the distractions. And even if the team is slightly distracted, so are every other team in the NFL. I mean the Panthers themselves are also trying to negotiate around the Halloween season as well as the trade deadline. And on top of that, they have to travel to Green Bay! The Packers don’t have to worry about travel.
The players have enough talent to overcome being distracted. They’ve already proven that earlier this year. Just look at how the team was able to overcome their deficit to the Cardinals a couple of weeks ago.
Matt LaFleur will have this team ready to go against the Panthers.
Prediction
I have the Packers beating the Panthers 30-17. The Panthers will find ways to score points especially since Bryce Young will be returning back to the starting lineup.
Chat-GPT’s Prediction: “Packers 31 – Panthers 20, Jordan Love stays hot, the defense keeps Bryce Young uncomfortable, and Green Bay pulls away in the second half at Lambeau.”
Packers and The Trade Deadline
And on the trade deadline, this is easy to explain. Don’t expect the Packers to make a trade. It’s as simple as that. And yeah, I get it. They traded for Micah Parsons. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are guaranteed to make a trade at the deadline.
If they were to make a trade, these are what I would expect but don’t expect, if you know what I mean:
Trade Away- If the Packers were to trade a player away, it would be someone that doesn’t affect their depth too much but could be desired by other teams. Only one player truly fits that mold, and that is Luke Musgrave. I can see someone like the Chiefs trying to acquire him.
Trade For- If the Packers were to make a trade, it would probably be to add someone to the team, not take away from it. Dianna Russini of The Athletic has mentioned that she has heard rumblings of the Packers in the market for a cornerback, which of course would make sense. I can also see them adding depth to the offensive line. Two names to watch for: Tariq Woolen and a name you all should be familiar with, Rasul Douglas.
But what do I know?
As always,
Go Pack Go!
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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