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.
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