Benster and D Pick Your Games --The Vikings Are In A Tight Spot With Their Quarterbacks Edition

The Vikings came into Lambeau with a lot of intentions, but as it turned out the Packers have pushed more questions on the Vikings and if made the right decision with the JJ McCarthy gamble.

I  have it on good authority that Kwesi is getting a little queasy.

Meanwhile, the Packers don't have to play on Thanksgiving every single year.

The NFL seems to disagree. Maybe they could try the Jaguars, who have never appeared on Turkey Day.

What could be more traditional than teal-colored predator cats?

Blue and silver predator cats?

Yes. And the Lions are looking for revenge after what happened in September. I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work. 

Glorious Green Bay Packers (+3) vs. Detroit LOLions Okay, Geritol Fan, let's get this out of the way. Do you have Grumpy Lions guy ready?

As you wish.

You know him, you love him, you can't live without him

Good job - have an extra Carter's Little Liver Pill on me. The Packers are banged up, but thanks to the special teams actually doing something and the pass rush making the Vikings offensive line rethink their life decisions, last week was an emphatic statement. Also, the Packer defenders doing the Skol chant was the funniest celebration I've seen from the Packers since Jaire did the Griddy in the face of the Griddy Man. The Lions struggled against the Giants, and in September looked very helpless against a motivated Packers team. The problem is that because the Bears won't stop winning, the Packers have to win out to win the division. This won't be easy, but the key difference is that this time Micah Parsons is fresher and will not be on a snap count. I like the Packers in this one. Packers 27, Lions 13. 

The Lions are still (a) enormously talented and (b) boneheads. The Packers defense will have to win this game and the key is keeping the Lions running backs from going nuts. If Jared Goff has to think about Micah Parsons on a regular basis, you'll know it's gonna be a tough one for the Kitties. Packers 27, Lions 26.

Beloved Wisconsin Badgers (-1.5) vs. Minnesota Golden Elite Rowers of the Boat The Badgers being a road favorite in conference play seems strange to me. After what the Badgers did last week, it shows that the young guys want to win and turn this thing around. The Gophers have nobody to blame but themselves for what happened against the Purple Nerds, and I get the sense that they are going to be tight because winning the Axe is important. Fickell has earned back a little goodwill, but getting the Axe back would really give him some goodwill. If you remember, the Gophers winning the Axe in 2018 gave PJ some credit in the bank to kickstart their 2019 run. Just remember that and don't be surprised by this score. Badgers 37, Row Row Row Your Boat 15. 

Before we proceed, a musical interlude:

Now there's a zoot suit for ya.

Old dude, you're not getting better, you're getting stranger.

No lies detected. Can I be honest with you? If the Badgers win on Saturday, I will be surprised. I do not dispute they are playing better than they had earlier in the season, and no one is going to confuse the Gophers with the Oregon Ducks or the Ohio State Buckeyes, but they have talent on both sides of the ball and a competent (if supremely irritating) coach. Would like to see the Axe leave town, but I don't think it will. Gophers 24, Badgers 17.

Minnesota Vikings (+11.5) vs. Seattle Seachickens In a twist of fate, the Vikings are going to be seeing their old buddy Sam Darnold for the first time as an opponent. Now, you can't judge the decision that the Vikings made to move on from Darnold based on what happens on Sunday. But that won't stop people from making that comparison. I asked Mrs. D aka Mom about who should be the QB next year, and she indicated that there is a 50/50 chance it is a QB on the roster or the Vikings could get someone else. The Vikings need this one badly, as they are in danger of being cut adrift in both the NFC North and playoff races given how good the Seachickens, Niners, and Rams are. The bottom line is that the Vikings better win and outplay Darnold with either Brosmer or McCarthy because then the heat on KOC and the front office will get lava hot. Thankfully, something tells me that Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are going to put the team on their back and get it done. Vikings 29, Seachickens 16. 

I am not conviced the Seahawks are a great team, but right now the Vikings are a hot mess and asking a rookie quarterback to win in Seattle seems like a bit much. Maybe Max Brosmer is capable of being a junior grade Brock Purdy, but I think he could just as easily be Shaun Hill. And that's not the hill to die on. I bet Darnold coughs up a hairball or two, but in the end... Seahawks 20, Vikings 13.

Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy the football this weekend. Ben out.

Benster and D Pick Your Games---Is JJ McCarthy Already Fighting For His Job Edition

So old dude, the Packers almost got bit by the Giants, but thankfully got enough plays to escape New Jersey with the win. The problem is that there are too many injuries. 

Did they play the game at MetLife Stadium, or on the New Jersey Turnpike?

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike

They've all come to look for America.

 

I'll say this, old dude - you're no Art Garfunkel.

Thanks, I guess.

As for the Vikings, they lost a game that they needed because the special teams and defense couldn't help JJ McCarthy change the narrative, and are going to come into Lambeau with a lot of desperation.

Yeah, that was not good on multiple levels.

I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work. 

Minnesota Golden Elite Rowers of the Boat (+3.5) vs. Northwestern Purple Nerds. The Gophers already have bowl eligibility squared away, and are going to be playing at Wrigley against a Wildcat team that has been feisty against some good teams in the conference. The Gophers should win this one based on talent, but the Purple Nerds always save their voodoo for someone. With them having to face the Illini next week, they would love to not have to play for a bowl bid in a rivalry game. This game could get very scrappy, but the Gophers are going to win a game that is going to be close and pretty low scoring. Row Row Row Your Boat Elitely 24, Purple Nerds 23. 

It might actually be beneficial for the Gophers to play at Wrigley. Northwestern doesn't have a football stadium right now and they've done the vagabond bit this season. I agree with your pick, but I don't have a great feeling about this game. Gophers 27, Northwestern 24.

Illinois Cheating Illini (-8.5) vs. Beloved Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin at least fought Indiana for a half, but pulling off a second miracle was asking too much against the Hoosiers. Illinois probably isn't going to get in the playoffs because realistically there are only a couple of at larges that aren't seemingly set when you consider that the ACC and Group of 5 reps are going to be ranked lower than 10th. For the Badgers, the way to save this season would be either get the Axe back or beat Illinois. Either would be a fun result, and I'll take my chances on a night game at home. As a side note, the Big Ten needs to mandate that every conference team should have to play night games in November and play on Fridays at home. Badgers 35, Illini 20. 

The Badgers are playing a little better down the stretch, but I don't think they've exactly turned the corner, either. Illinois is not a great team, but they are solid and while it pains me to say it, Bret Bielema can coach 'em up. Illinois 31, Badgers 17.

Minnesota Vikings (+6.5) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers The Vikings are in a really tough spot right now, and the knives really have come out for JJ McCarthy. I've certainly been critical of McCarthy, but Vikings fans should be questioning if the front office has set KOC and McCarthy to fail. You might remember that Mrs. D aka Mom mentioned that success for McCarthy would be beating the Packers twice and winning a playoff game. Now is the chance to do that. What is going to help the Vikings is that the Packers are banged up and the Vikings finally have an intact offensive line. I'm wondering if the Packers team that looked so dominant against the Lions, Steelers, and Commanders shows up. Or will the team that has struggled against divisional opponents show up? We are going to learn a lot about the Vikings on Sunday. Packers 27, Vikings 20.

You mentioned the key to the game - is the Vikings offensive line up to snuff? If they can get the Packers blocked, I think they have a decent chance to win on Sunday. If the Packers defense gets McCarthy off schedule, it will be a very long day for the Purple. The Packers have an injury list the size of the Mankato phone book, but I suspect most of their guys will play. The Vikings can cause havoc on defense, but Jordan Love has been getting better and he'll have chances for some big plays. Packers 27, Vikings 17.

Enjoy your football this weekend. Ben out.

Benster and D Pick Your Games -- Once Again, The Packers Really Have Some Explaining To Do Edition

Old dude, I'll say this much. The Packers are very lucky that I can't do Very Special Comments every single weekend.

They did send this response:

So wait, the Packers hired Dana Carvey?

They've made worse hires.

True. I'd also mention and the Badgers put me in a really good mood. 

Your mood is like a circus wheel, it changes all the time.

Is that one of your song lyrics again?

Yes. Source material:

If you keep interrupting me, you'll be looking at this one:

Good point - this is starting to turn into an old school Guilty Pleasures video with Fearless Maria. Maybe I should ask her if she wants to do one of those again sometime....

That's a good idea, but set that up on your own time, okay. Meanwhile, as a clarification to last weekend's post, I screwed up when mentioning Mike Shanahan, when I was discussing what LaFleur is trying to emulate in Packers history. I meant to say Mike Holmgren, who of course did coach the Packers to a championship. Mike Shanahan of course denied the Packers a championship. That should make a lot more sense with what I was trying to do. I had no problem being called out for a pretty bad mistake. 

It's how we grow, grasshopper.

I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. I know that this is going up while the Gophers are playing, but by the time this goes up the fate of the Gophers out in Eugene should be clear. Watch me work. 

 Beloved Wisconsin Badgers (+29.5) vs. Indiana They Win, Google Them Last weekend was one of the most shocking Badger wins I have ever seen. How the Badgers won a game when their punter was the leading passer and played 4 quarterbacks makes no sense. You would do well to find a more shocking upset in college football this season. What really impressed me was that it looked like Badger football. The defense played tough, the offense was able to do enough, and beating a ranked Washington football team can hardly be called a fluke. The problem this week is that the Badgers have to go to Indiana. The Hoosiers have a great argument to be ranked first in my view because they beat Oregon on the road. I figure that Google Me Cignetti isn't going to fall into the same traps that Washington did. But you know what, the Badgers have nothing to lose at this point and are playing with confidence. I've been really critical of Luke Fickell, but he has already made me eat some of my words at least for one week. If he beats Indiana on the road, this will be the most shocking win in college football since the 2003 Big XII title game. For reference, that was when a very good Oklahoma team got manhandled by Kansas State. Call me delusional, but strange stuff happens in November in college football. Badgers 21, Google Them, They Win 14. 

If that prediction happens, if you Google them they'll have lost. But it won't. Indiana has been on a mission to destroy their previous tormentors. They hung 60+ on a ranked Illinois team. Despite the encouraging win last week, the Badgers aren't ranked. They're just rank. Historically, the Badgers have crushed the Hoosiers. That was then, and this is now. Indiana 83, Wisconsin 20.

The Bronze Turkey Bowl: Knox College Prairie Fire, Baby! (NL) vs. Monmouth College Scots Longtime readers know exactly why this game shows up every single year. If you are new here, I am a proud graduate of Knox College, and Monmouth is the school a few miles away. Now, I will admit that Knox hasn't gotten the Bronze Turkey back since the current students were born at this point, but streaks are made to be broken. I made a salad one day at the Knox cafeteria, and Monmouth awarded me a degree in nutrition, with highest honors. If you expect me to pick against my alma mater, then you are sadly mistaken. Prairie Fire 500, Scots -100 

Ah, the Turkey Shoot. Monmouth may be lacking in academic rigor (actually not true, it's a perfectly good school), but they have really good football players and have already clinched the conference championship. The Scots have been crushing every team in their path all season. And that's quite likely to happen again. Monmouth 52, Knox 7.

Bear Down Chicago Da Bearz Still Suck (+2.5) vs. Minnesota Vikings The Vikings ended up losing last week because they failed to finish their drives, and the Ravens are a good enough team to take advantage. I asked Mrs. D, aka Mom, who she thought was going to be the key player for the Vikings to win. She indicated that the key to her is going to be JJ McCarthy taking care of the ball and finishing those drives. The Bears are out for revenge after melting down against the Vikings back in September to start another round of Is Caleb The Guy. With the NFC North looking more scrambled thanks to recent events, the Vikings have to be thinking that keeping their head to head and divisional record tiebreakers intact is critical. This feels like a type of game that the Vikings can win. Vikings 31, Bears Still Suck 30.

They can, but will they? The Vikings are weird; they go into Detroit and look like world beaters, then get a toe tag in their own building against a middling Ravens team. So who shows up? Vikings 27, da Bearz 24.

Glorious Green Bay Packers (-7) vs. New York Football Giants While it is true that Brandon McManus missed the game tying kick, he isn't super high on the blame list. The Packers are a team that confuses me offensively. There are games where they look really good, and there are games where the defense does incredibly well and the offense vanishes. If you had told me that the Packers would play well against an explosive Eagles offense, I would have assumed that things would have gone swimmingly. If LaFleur was really serious about changing things, then he should give up calling plays and let someone else do it. As for Love, I wanted him to throw more instead of trying to prove that they could outtough the Eagles. The Giants are a team that just fired Brian Daboll and have to go to Jameis Winston after Jaxson Dart got injured; meanwhile it's apparent that Russell Wilson is washed. I'm surprised that Joe Flacco wasn't signed to face the Packers once again. The Packers are facing a game that they got to have if they want the noise to go away. Thankfully, the Packers know this and should win if they avoid playing with their food. Packers 45, Giants 17. 

The Giants aren't very good and they also have critical injuries on both sides of the ball. This is absolutely get-well week for the Packers. I think they figure it out. Prop bet - Jameis Winston throws a pick six to Xavier McKinney. Packers 31, Giants 14.

 Enjoy your football this weekend. Ben out.

Benster and D Pick Your Games -- Seriously, Chris McIntosh? Edition

So before yesterday afternoon, I was planning to do a Very Special Comment about the disaster that the Packers served up. Don't worry, the Packers are still going to get that treatment. But as it turns out, the Badgers decided to keep Luke Fickell around. Even the Pohlads would think that is a bad decision that alienates the fanbase.

And no one alienates the fan base quite like the Pohlads.

I'll say this, old dude. You have to respect expertise in sucking.

Who knew the giant sucking sound would come out of Madison?

You might have something else in mind, Geritol Fan, but I take your point. We will also discuss that later because it's never a good thing when a fanbase is mad that a coach is staying and getting more "support" from their boss. 

That is called the Full Falvey.

Yes it is. I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work. 

 Washington Huskies (-10) vs. Beloved Wisconsin Badgers You would think that Washington is in a good spot. While they aren't going to win the conference, they are ranked and are playing the worst Wisconsin team in my lifetime. So somehow Wisconsin gave Oregon a good accounting of themselves and finally scored a touchdown. Don't ask me why the Badgers gave Oregon trouble, but more than a touchdown was needed to beat Oregon on the road. That is worthy of keeping Fickell around! Call me a delusional homer, but the Badgers are going to pull out one more win this season. And when you look at the opponents left on the schedule, Washington is the likeliest because cross country travel is hard and the law of averages indicates that the Badgers have some pride to play for. This is more because I am a homer after all. Badgers 10, Huskies 7. 

Haven't seen the Huskies at all this season. I've seen the Badgers. I've seen enough. Washington 23, Wisconsin 3.

 Baltimore Ravens (-4) vs. Minnesota Vikings JJ McCarthy ended up causing me to eat some crow because the best way to make me shut up about calling the Vikings paper tigers is to go into the Lions den and pull out a good win against the Lions. As you can probably guess, I was watching the Packers game and didn't see much of the Vikings game. The Ravens are a lot better with Lamar back, and are always a tough team to beat. Given that there isn't a team that is 100% great this year in the NFL, the Vikings are going to have to play well at home in order to avoid a "Vikings Gonna Viking" game. The Ravens are going to need to play very good to beat a good Vikings team on the road, and this weekend is the classic Desperate Team At Home theory. Longtime readers know exactly where I am going with this one. Vikings 24, Ravens 23. 

I did watch some of the Vikings against the Lions and the key was the job the defense did against Jahmyr Gibbs, which was impressive. Derrick Henry will be in Canton some day, but it's not clear he has much left in the tank. The one thing that gives me pause is the Vikings defense is built on speed and the Ravens have an absolutely enormous offensive line. If the Ravens get on their blocks, the Vikings will be in trouble. But I'm going to agree with you. Vikings 28, Ravens 24.

Philadelphia Tush Pushes (+1) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers Boy, I wish I was wrong about the Packers having trouble against the Panthers, but last week is for later on in the blog post. This game is going to be very hard and everyone knows about what happened in January. The Eagles coaches have finally figured out that Jalen Hurts has very good wideouts to throw the ball to, and are actually using their best weapons. The Packers are banged up and I think I speak for the Old Dude when I say that they have a lot to answer for after last week. One of the most frustrating things about the Matt LaFleur era is that the Packers play down to their competition but tend to play up to their competition. I really hope that the Packers who dominated the Steelers, Commanders, and Lions shows up instead of the team that showed up last weekend. Packers 22, Cry Eagles Cry 10. 

You don't know which Eagles are going to show up, either. I think the Packers do bounce back, through - this Eagles team isn't as dominant as previous versions and the Packers will have answers for the Eagles, especially on offense. Tough to lose Tyler Kraft, but I think the Packers have the edge in team speed and it will come to the fore this weekend. Packers 27, Eagles 19.

And now, it is time for a double feature edition of A Very Special Comment. 

Okay, everyone, better get ready:

That's right, kids, getcha popcorn. Here I go. Before I get into the Packers, I acknowledge Carolina deserves credit for playing hard and being prepared. Dave Canales had a great gameplan, and you would do well to find a better coaching performance in the NFL this season. The Packers on the other hand lost that game because they were not prepared for a game of few possessions. Moving the ball wasn't the problem, but what cost the Packers was leaving a ton of points on the field in the red zone. You cannot turn the ball over in the red zone, and settling for field goal attempts 3 times isn't excusable. For the record, I didn't have a problem going for it on the fourth down because that was trusting the offense and McManus had missed a field goal already. What really frustrated me was that LaFleur kept calling predictable run plays and slow developing screen plays that were not working all day. LaFleur keeps talking about how he needs to be better, but at some point he needs to stop talking about getting better and well, you know, get better. I get that sometimes teams lose to teams that they aren't supposed to, but this is a problem that has happened multiple times under the current coaching staff. This isn't a young first time staff anymore. You don't fire LaFleur because he wins a bunch of games, but Packers fans judge how successful you are by winning championships. If LaFleur wants to go from the Mike Shanahan level of good coach to the Mike McCarthy level of great coach, that means winning a Super Bowl. This team is all in, and it's time to act like it. 

Shorter Benster - stop playing with your food, Packers. And I agree.

Now, let's talk about the Badgers. The reason that a lot of Badger fans are frustrated about keeping Fickell on is that he hasn't struggled for resources. Fickell was a hot coaching candidate, and has gotten plenty of help. There are improvements to facilities and the Badgers pay salaries that are pretty comparable to the rest of the Big Ten. The bottom line is that fans are frustrated because things have gotten worse and this is year 3. I can't sit here and pretend that Fickell has gotten better. The Badgers don't have any Big Ten caliber QBs, recruits aren't likely to sign, and it's hard to see what Wisconsin can offer guys in the portal. The Badgers also get Big Ten television revenue, and spending the money to get a coach who can improve things would be the right call. At some point, McIntosh needs to open his eyes and realize that the Badger job is going to be intriguing to someone even if it isn't as sexy an opening as an LSU, Penn State, or Florida. Remember, Curt "Google Me" Cignetti wasn't a "sexy hire" either, but was the right one for a Hoosier program that wasn't great for decades. 

At some point the Badger administration needs to make the decision that the football program isn't doing well, and that the best way to fix it would be to fire Fickell. But nobody wants to admit that there is a problem in the athletic department. That is a screwed up situation and a slap in the face to people like me who have been loyal fans for a long time. All I ask is that McIntosh leaves the men's basketball program alone. Greg Gard is doing a great job in making the program more modern while keeping things that are familiar. I'd rather worry about the Badgers getting back to the Sweet Sixteen then worry about if football can make a bowl game in the near future. 

My solution would be for the administration to fire Fickell and McIntosh and go get Scott Woodward and let him cook as AD. For all the crap he got on the way out at LSU, Woodward at least is willing to dare to be great and get great coaches. 

That would be daring. Not sure it's gonna happen, but why not?

 Enjoy your football this weekend. Ben out.