Packers’ vs Eagles outing has injury frustration but shows promise

fpadmin | 08/31/2015

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By CHRIS HAVEL

While Green Bay’s pre-season game against Philadelphia on Saturday night at Lambeau Field was a little frustrating at times, it showed again how the Packers continue to mine new talent.
Yes, for the second straight week, the Packers’ offense lost its top receiver to injury in the first series, but this time the injury appears not significant. Randall Cobb went down, but initial fears and false reports of a season ending-injury proved unfounded. And a collective sigh of relief echoes from Packers Nation.
Initially, Cobb and the Packers feared a broken collarbone. But after the game both suggested it was a “bruised shoulder” and that Cobb would be listed as “day-to-day.”
If that’s the case the Packers sidestepped what would’ve been a very unfortunate injury in the wake of Jordy Nelson’s season-ender suffered the week before.
“We thought it could’ve been a collarbone or something … it’s not,” Cobb said. “So, fortunately enough, there’s a silver lining in it.”
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy needs to keep his focus on improving the special teams’ units, those having much room for improvement, but he also has to figure out how to maintain the offense’s potency without Nelson for the season, and perhaps Cobb for a game or two.
Defensively, the Packers seem to not yet have the football car in first gear. It’s hard to get excited about pre-season games, but a little better effort would have been nice. Here’s predicting that the talent-ladened “D” will show a lot more against the Bears in the season opener a few weeks from now.
With Clay Matthews, Mike Daniels and the rest of the No. 1 unit shaking off the rust, the D struggled. The allure of Bears on the menu should remedy that, however.
Clearly, the Eagles are going to be pesky in the NFC, but the Pack still is amongst the favorites to reach the Super Bowl, regardless of Saturday night. And let’s not forget, the Packers destroyed the potent Eagles last season, when things mattered.
One sports book has the Packers second in terms of a team’s percent chance to make the postseason.
The Colts have an 87% chance to make the playoffs, followed by Green Bay (83%), Seattle (81%), Denver (74%) and New England (65%).
And here’s the silver lining to Saturday’s contest: With Scott Tolzien missing practice due to injury, rookie Brett Hundley started and played extremely well. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns. The rookie from UCLA has progressed greatly, as he appeared considerably more comfortable against the Eagles than he did during the early days of training camp.
Hundley’s performance at least partially opens the door to the possibility of keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. The Packers must be down to 75 players by tomorrow, and then 53 one day after their Thursday night preseason finale at home against the Saints.
And it is likely that Packers’ fans will get to see plenty of Tolzien and Hundley in the preseason finale. Tolzien could allay any concerns about the backup quarterback position, although he’s may already have done that. And Hundley looks to have a bright future.
With both Nelson and Cobb out and a rookie QB at the helm, the young receivers stepped up. And now it seems that both Myles White (9 catches versus the Eagles) and Jeff Janis may stake claims to a roster spot.
In the running game, Raijon Neal played big. He appears to all but have locked up the No. 3 job behind Eddy Lacy and James Starks.
The Packers between now and the September 13 opener at Chicago need to:

Determine the 53-man roster;
Decide whether to keep two or three quarterbacks on the active roster. Hundley’s performance just made it a bit riskier to believe no team would sign him off your practice squad.
Find a way to motivate their defense to get it up to speed out of the gate. The Packers will see three top-tier NFL backs in the first three weeks: Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch and Jamaal Charles.

Let’s Go Green Bay.
Chris Havel is a national best-selling author and his latest book is Lombardi: An Illustrated Life. Havel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. CDT on WDUZ FM 107.5 The Fan, or on AM-1400, as well as Fan Internet Radio (www.thefan1075.com). Havel also hosts Event USA’s MVP Parties the evening before home games.

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Kudos to Amy for making sure that the tickets to the tailgate party were waiting for me at the reception desk! Your personal phone call and text messages went above and beyond customer satisfaction! I can't wait for the 2024 season, rest assured that my go-to Packer's game supplier will be Event USA for a long time.
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-Jean-Pierre Mallette, Montréal, Canada

"Thank you so much Cathy, greatly appreciate your help. As always, EventUSA has been awesome to deal with in booking the Lodge Kohler package for the Tampa Bay Game, particularly for me traveling from Sydney, Australia, it takes the stress out of the booking process. "

-Kayle

"Good Morning, Nicole - Everything you did turned out great. The seats were great. Access to the air conditioned club lounge was great. Lots of Packers fans in the club lounge and overall at the stadium. The tailgate party at the fancy restaurant in the hotel was fabulous. The servers just kept on bringing out different sliders and desserts. Good thing that I got in a 30-minute run along the river in the morning. So, thank you! You may be speaking with me in November if I can work out getting up to Green Bay for a game. It's been too long since my last time. One of the best aspects of this weekend was interacting with so many people from Wisconsin and learning their personal stories of things Packers. And we even met a couple from St. Petersburg, Florida (my home county) and were able to tell them about the Varsity Club tavern and Packers bar in Clearwater where Mark Murphy's mother is in attendance -- very nice lady whose retirement home is in Clearwater, which borders my little city of Dunedin. Pre-COVID, I always went to the Varsity when the Packers games weren't televised locally -- lots of Wisconsin natives there, too + they serve brats and sauerkraut during Packers games. I'm glad that you are working for Event USA. "

-- Martin Lawyer, Dunedin, Florida

"Dennis - I was blessed to join Amy and some of your customers at the Morton's tailgate as well as after the game. She does an amazing job for you. Every single customer I met praised Event USA for being able to arrange the hotel and tickets and fabulous tailgate party in such a quick time. Having been to some great tour tailgate parties in Jacksonville and Kansas City and old San Francisco, a lot can be said of the long-term benefit of having really great tailgate parties. Morton's was probably one of the best - amazing food, patio sitting on the riverfront, walk to stadium, open bar!!! It was first class fun!!!"

-Matt

"Hi Amy- Just wanted to say thank you for making Jacksonville happen! We had a wonderful time and looking forward to more Packers games with Event USA in the future! Even though the game was not what we expected- we are packers fans for life-lol! Go pack go!!"

-Julie Mastrianni

"I want to thank Event USA and in particular Amy Flores for the Jacksonville trip. We have used you before and always were very pleased with the packages you have set up and your service. My son who lives in Charleston, SC and myself who lives in Minnesota, decided we needed to do a guys trip and decided to go through your company to see the opener in New Orleans. I initially called and talked with Amy about some questions I had and booked our trip. After itinerary and info was emailed to us, it soon became apparent that the trip to New Orleans wouldn’t happen. In steps Amy, wondering if we would be interested in Dallas if the game was moved there and a package was set up. Then finally the move to Jacksonville and continued communication from Amy on our interest. It was getting late at that point and I was wondering if she would be able to pull off setting up a package in Jacksonville. She did it. We went to Jacksonville and had a great time. The accommodations and the tail gate were fabulous. If only the Packer team we were hoping for had made the trip. Thank you Event USA and in particular Amy Flores."

-Tom Sohrweide, White Bear Lake, MN

"Thank you for all your help. I had a great time at the Packer-Raider game opening day. I have already begun telling interested Packer fans in Sacramento about your service. The next time I come to Green Bay for a game, I’ll be sure to ask for your help. God bless you and God bless the Green Bay Packers."

-Frank Chavez, Sacramento

"I just wanted to say that I had such a great time. The whole weekend was so much fun. I enjoyed the Player Autograph Party and the tailgate party was just the best. After coming from a country that loves soccer, it was nice to mix with people who have the same interests as me. Thank you once again, Green Bay is one very special place."

-Beverley Moore, Lancaster

"My accommodations at the Best Western Midway were excellent. I was picked up at the airport and returned promptly. No problems at all. Your representative at the hotel on game day was very pleasant and helpful. The tailgate party was super, great food, great drinks and lots of fun. Obviously, Lambeau Field and the game itself was great. I will continue to use Event USA in the future, and I will definitely tell anyone who I come across to give you a call. One last thing, the hospitality I experienced in Green Bay was incredible. I have traveled to many places, and I don’t think there are more friendly people than the people of Green Bay. Thank you again and see you next year!"

-David Anastas, Worchester

"My wife and I booked the tour to Tampa. The trip was so well organized from start to finish. It started with the people in the office with their friendly help over the phone, to receiving the tickets in the mail, and meeting the tour guides with their upbeat personalities. Signs guided us in the airport and information was posted in our motel lobbies to keep us posted. Your people had everything in order. Talk about organization, you had it. Event USA made this a most memorable trip. Thanks for all involved."

-Dick Koerner, Neenah

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-Lara and Matt Appleton, Thornhill, Ontario

"Thanks for all your help, the great tickets and service, and the chance to help me make one of my son’s dreams come true, seeing the Packers playing at home in Lambeau Field."

-Sam Jones, Sedalia

"I just want to thank you for the wonderful job your staff did last weekend for the Packers vs. Lions game. This was our first time utilizing your program and we were not disappointed at all. In fact, we can’t wait to schedule and event for next season’s games. From my first experience with your staff placing my order until the very end at checkout of the hotel, everything was perfect. You truly out-do yourselves to please everyone. Thanks again for making our stay in Green Bay one of the best."

-Kim Ewing and Bruce DeMaine, Ann Arbor

"Thanks so much for the best weekend ever! You not only got us in all the Magazines, TV, WWW pages and even the big screen at Lambeau Field, but Disney World on the side? Nice job – You and your family are top notch – we were on the best tour for the Super Bowl! Seeing the Green Bay Packers win back the Lombardi Trophy was a life long dream of this Packer fan, and you all were so dedicated to the job of taking care of us that, like the Packers, we were a winning team! Keep me on your list."

-William D Lorge, Representative to the Wisconsin State Assembly

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By CHRIS HAVEL

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