OFFICIAL Bye Week Thread

Questions?
Comments?
Concerns?
Predictions?

After this weeks bye the final stretch looks to be a divisional battle between GB, the Lions and the Bears..... (Sure the Vikes are in there too but it looks like the wheels are starting to finally fall off).

Biggest game is no doubt the NYG game....

Enjoy the off week!

What do we have for injury outlooks is my biggest question of the bye week. How many guys are we going to get back after this week off and 1 more of prep. Hopefully all of our players stay out of trouble during their week off and we can get healthy and get back to work.

I would disagree about the biggest game remaining on the schedule. It is without a doubt in my mind the bears. Our biggest rivalry, and possibly the last obstacle between us and NFC north champs. Dont get me wrong the Giants will be a big game and huge test for the packers. But chances are if we lose to the Bears the hopes of winning the division are gone.

From here on out, every game is a big game, we are chasing the Bears, only chance for any kind of home field is if we win the Division. Hope the injury bug leaves us alone the second half. I guess I am going to have to wash the windows this week.

I'm putting up Xmas decorations outside (kinda dangerous because I live near an airport and the damned planes keep trying to land in my driveway -- ok ok... so I exaggerate a million times a day). I predict that the Pack's defense will have a solid outing against the bye.

McCarthy promised the team the entire week off if they won this past Sunday.

Perhaps Rodgers should host Finley for the entire week...sunshine, hijinks, bonding.

Seriously, just get healthy and get ready for the Lions.

HOU @ CHI and DET @ MIN should be interesting.

I don't know if anyone could tolerate Finley's word vomit for an entire week..

I disagree, I don't think the Giants game is the most important game remaining on our schedule. The 5 remaining divisional games are far more important, especially our final matchup against the Bears.

One thing I find myself griping about during this bye is the tendency for MM to downplay the severity of the injuries to some of our players.

Most notable is the case of Nick Perry. He went down 3 weeks ago. MM said they were "very lucky" that it wasn't a serious injury. He hasn't played in 3 consecutive games. Now he's going to a specialist for a 2nd opinion on his knee...after all this time. Word has it that privately he told a friend/teammate that he has a torn LCL.

Wait...that's not serious? I think MM needs to be a little bit more up front about injuries. Otherwise it creates false expectations. Another thing, does it take 3 weeks to finally decide that he needs a 2nd opinion? It just makes me wonder.

I wouldn't say so much that the Vikings are imploding, but that Christian Ponder is, well, Le Suck. If he played halfway decent, the Vikings would be a force to be reckoned with. Adrian Peterson just simply amazes me.

I think that 10 wins will secure a WC berth. That means going 4-3 in our final games. If we sweep one NFC North team, the Lions, Vikes or Bears, and split with the others and win against Tenn, we're good. And that's a pretty safe bet. After the Packers, the next teams with the most wins are Seattle and Minnesota at 5-4. Tampa Bay and Detroit could make a push, but at 4-4 their chances aren't great. I can't see any one of them going 11-5 unless they get super hot. And I don't see that happening. I don't even see 10-6 as very likely. They'd have to go 5-2 or in the case of TB and Det, 6-2.

The other WC team will most likely get in with a 9-7 record

I just want to see the injured get healthy, the bears get their butts kicked....that's all I ask....and the giants to lose out. lol

I think that the rest of our schedule should be considered "important". There are a couple real tough teams that we need to beat and the bulk of the schedule is divisional, so they are all must wins IMO. The bears game will be like a play off game during the regular season and the giants game by being an NFC game is important, I just want some revenge on those bastards......on their own turf at that.

Well I was watching last nights game and at the bottom of screen they had a message saying M.M. Clay will be out a couple of weeks hamstring,we have lions after bye week so that is worrisome.

I just hope we're playing our best football in December, regardless of the injuries. The owner of the Green Bay Packers says we will win the division.

He has always been like that. Very bill belichick in that reguard.

TB is Looking like a WC team right right now... even the games they lost they were in until the very end....

Im not worried about the Bears. We have their number.
NYG is a playoff team and that game (in NJ) will show us how we do against SB caliber teams....

But I do agree with all of you that are saying that the division games coming up will be huge.
Time to find out who is for real... Detroit or MN....

Im taking the Lions this week Det 34 Vikes 21
also GO TEXANS!!!

I predict the "pain" starts this week for Chicago. They have eight games left and seven of those games are against teams with legit playoff aspirations (Arizona being the exception IMHO).

Here's Houston's record:

MIA 10 @ HOU 30

HOU 27 @ JAX 07

HOU 31 @ DEN 25

TEN 14 @ HOU 38

HOU 23 @ NYJ 17

GB 42 @ HOU 24

BAL 13 @ HOU 43

BUF 09 @ HOU 21

Many of the wins are against losing teams, (just like all the Bears' wins), though they did soundly defeat Baltimore and also got the win against the Peyton-led Broncos.

Both teams enter this game at 7-1 and the one beautiful stat is both teams were embarrassed on National TV by the Green Bay Packers...(BOOYA!!!!!!!!!!). lol

Well, I hope that the Bears, Vikes, and Lions all go on a losing spree. However, as long as the Bears lose 3+ of their remaining schedule (Houston will be #1.) and we only lose 2 we are winning the division. I don't see Minny catching up, but the Lions seem to be coming on. However, we will subdue them in our two games with them.

I expect Clay and Jordy back after the bye. Greg Jennings will be at the half-way back point (I hope.). I don't know about Perry.

I think this will be a very positive bye, with Chicago and Minnesota losing, and Detroit losing the following week for sure! We can really make up some ground! Also, here is hoping (and I honestly believe it will happen.) that the Bears also lose to SF.

I

Isn't he seeing a specialist on his wrist not his knee?

Someone pointed out that we need 2 threads for the bye week. Actually, we need 2 BYE weeks. We are at the tipping point in regard to injuries. Our next opponents are not the Rams, Jags, and Redbirds. Better teams with a better QB would have beaten us in each of those games. You just cannot replace a Woodson, Bishop, Matthews, or a Perry.

When Matthews went out Sunday Skelton had all day with our D playing a soft zone.
Fortunately, he is a sub par QB who could barely find Fitzgerald.
Stafford and Manning will destroy us with Megatron and Cruz. This could be a very ugly second half. And without Benson, Jennings, Bulaga, Nelson, and Kuhn it will be difficult to put up 35- 40 points against those teams. Other than Tennessee and one Viking game we could lose the other 5 by some substantial margins.
If I were MM I would continue to pound the rock with whatever backfield he has. Try to keep our defense off the field as long as we can.

I see Clay Matthews coming back after the bye week. Possibly Nelson too! Maybe that is just me being over optomistic?

Heal Baby Heal!

He had that knee injury, but I think that since he was playing with that black cast type thing on, the wrist turned out to be more serious and needed surgery.

Anybody going to the Vikings game on the 2nd? If so, who wants to be on TV cooking up some tailgate food outside Lambeau on Saturday morning?

Eric Perkins (KARE-TV) NBC Twin Cities
e mail me at: eperkins@kare11.com

Just wanted to share a few thoughts about what I learned in the bye week:

- Rumors of the Vikings demise have been greatly exaggerated. (Hey Cam, Superman is over there and his name is Adrian Peterson)
- The Bears still suck.
- Eli Manning is not elite, and neither are the Giants.
- Tampa Bay is looking seriously good. (Hey Cam, take a lesson or two from Josh Freeman about just shutting up and letting yourself grow.)
- There's a reason why not everyone is convinced that the Falcons are the team to beat and NO showed why.
- It's Tebow time! . . . and it won't make any difference.
- New England has one helluva balanced offense, but their defense still sucks.
- Seattle is scary.
- The Colts and Luck are this year's team from out of nowhere that will make the playoffs.
- I marked Tennessee down as an easy win for us. Not any more.

They don't call him the Purple Jesus for nothin'.