Joe & Ebo Experience: Participation Trophies
Brewers Awards (0:00)
Owen Riese of Packers Report 247 (22:59)
Packers Insider Rob Reischel (32:28)
Brewers Offseason Spending (46:48)
Wisconsin announces the families of players and staff will now not be allowed at home games
Camp Randall Stadium will be as quiet as its ever been come Oct. 23 or 24 when Wisconsin hosts Illinois in the season opener for both teams.
After initially announcing it would allow the families of players and staff to attend games this fall, Wisconsin reversed course Wednesday. Now, instead of roughly 1,500 people in the stands, it will be limited to players, coaches, essential public safety and stadium operations personnel, along with a limited number of media members.
“It’s unfortunate that circumstances will no longer allow us to invite families to attend, but we support this decision and know that the safety of our students, staff and community has to be our top priority,” UW athletic Director Barry Alvarez stated in a release from the university. “We know Badger games are usually a time when we can come together, but right now we are urging everyone to watch our games safely and responsibly.”
The number of positive COVID-19 cases and the increase in the number of hospitalizations in the state of Wisconsin led to the decision by UW’s administration.
“Given the high rates of infection in the state of Wisconsin, we don’t want anyone in the stadium who doesn’t need to be there,” UW chancellor Rebecca Blank stated. “I’ve said that our fans should think about all of our football games as away games this year.”
UW stated families could be allowed in for future games, assuming conditions within the state improve.
UW also listed a number of changes that would make the downtown area around the stadium much different than on normal game days.
* Tailgating, loitering, and open containers will not be permitted anywhere on campus.
* Campus lots will be closed, except for UW employees with a baselot permit, using it for work purposes. Lots will be staffed to ensure that no tailgating occurs.
* During all home football weekends, there will be no game day sponsor activations or hospitality events
* Normal traditions, such as Badgerville and Badger Bash, will not be held.
* The Badger Band and Spirit Squad will not be present at the football game or perform on campus.
* Breese Terrace will be open to vehicular traffic for all games.
* Campus and City of Madison vending and merchandise locations will not be available along Breese Terrace or in the park area between Breese, Regent and Monroe. The main Bucky’s Locker Room at Gate 1 will remain closed during game days.
Joe & Ebo Experience: Peaks & Valleys
Rodgers & LaFleur Relationship (0:00)
NBA Ratings (18:52)
Wisconsin Football Question Marks (34:59)
Sports Director Zach Heilprin (47:49)
Packers Successes (1:02:43)
Wisconsin QB Jack Coan undergoes foot surgery, out indefinitely
Wisconsin will being without Jack Coan indefinitely.
The Badgers announced Tuesday night that the starting quarterback underwent successful surgery on his right foot and is out for an undetermined amount of time. The non-contact injury happened during Saturday’s practice as Coan was dropping back to pass.
Coan saw a specialist prior to the surgery. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out, but coach Paul Chryst knows the time away will hurt the senior.
“He’s incredibly unselfish. He cares about this team and doesn’t want anything to affect the team in a negative way,” coach Paul Chryst said Monday. “Obviously, the last thing any guy wants is to not be able to participate. It’s not about him and feeling sorry for himself. He does focus on the guys and this team.”
With Coan unlikely to be ready for the season opener Oct. 24 against Illinois, all eyes turn to redshirt freshman Graham Mertz. A 4-star recruit, Mertz is the highest-rated quarterback to ever sign with Wisconsin. In his senior year at Blue Valley (Kan.) North, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Mertz threw for 3,886 yards and a state-record 51 touchdowns. As a junior, he led his team to the state title by throwing for 3,684 yards and 45 touchdowns. He also had 722 yards rushing and nine more touchdowns in his career.
Mertz got playing time in two games as Coan’s backup last season. He ended up completing 9 of 10 passes for 73 yards. Coan dealt with several different injuries throughout the season, leading Wisconsin to give Mertz more practice time with the first-team offense. That was especially the case in the lead up to the Iowa game, though Coan ended up starting and playing the entire way.
Chryst said Mertz was taking all the first-team reps in practice since Coan’s injury, with sophomores Chase Wolf and Danny Vanden Boom getting the rest of the work.
Packers reportedly lose tight end Josiah Deguara to season-ending injury
Green Bay has lost a potentially important piece to its offense for the rest of the season.
According to ESPN, rookie tight end Josiah Deguara suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in Monday night’s win over Atlanta and is done for the year.
Deguara, a third-round pick out of Cincinnati, started against Minnesota in Week 1, playing 24 snaps and catching one pass for 12 yards. He suffered an ankle injury that would keep him out against Detroit and New Orleans but he returned to action against the Falcons. The 23-year-old got injured late while blocking on a punt.
Coach Matt LaFleur lamented the loss of his talented tight end when asked about the injury Tuesday.
“I hurt for Josiah. I love what he’s all about, the mentality he brings. He’s certainly someone we were really excited about,” LaFleur said. “It’s been tough but we expect him to bounce back from it and we still think he has a really bright future in this league.”
Deguara’s injury likely means more opportunities for second-year tight end Jace Sternberger and undrafted free agent John Lovett.
Packers put indefinite hold on allowing fans at Lambeau Field as virus cases and hospitalizations rise
While some teams in the NFL are allowing fans into their stadiums, don’t expect that to be the case at Lambeau Field anytime soon.
The Green Bay Packers announced Tuesday that it was putting an indefinite hold on hosting fans at games due to the high number of positive COVID-19 tests and an increase in hospitalizations in Brown County and the surrounding area. Northeast Wisconsin is among the hottest of hotspots for the virus in the country. Among NFL cities, Green Bay had the worst 14-day average of new daily cases as of Oct. 3.
"We are very concerned with the rate of infection in our area," Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy stated in a release. "We are trending in the wrong direction in terms of hospitalization and positive cases, and based on recommendations from community healthcare and public health officials, hosting fans at the stadium for games is not advisable at this time.
"We'd all like to resume safely attending games at Lambeau Field. We know enjoying gameday is an integral part of our community and recognize how important it is to our area. However, the health and safety of our players, staff and community is our priority. We all need to take the pandemic seriously and do our part to reduce the spread of the virus, which should lead to significant improvement in the rates of infection and hospitalizations. At that point we'll be able to experience games in person.
"We urge everyone to wear masks, socially distance and practice proper hand hygiene. When watching our games, please limit the people with whom you cheer to your small circle of family or close friends."
The Packers next home game is Nov. 1 against Minnesota and the team has said it definitely won't host fans for that game. They said the only way games can have fans at them is if the area sees "a marked improvement in the rate of hospitalizations, as well as the community infection rate and positivity rate."
Green Bay is on its bye this week and that has coach Matt LaFleur a little concerned. He trusts his players but he pleaded with the community to help them keep everyone safe.
"We've got to be smart. We've got to be very mindful of everything we're doing, be responsible. We've got to wear a mask," LaFleur said. "We would certainly appreciate it if everybody in this community would follow suit, because I think everybody enjoys watching the Green Bay Packers, and for that to continue we need people to do their part."
Packers' Rodgers: Down years for me are career years for most quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers is off to one of the best starts of his career in helping the Green Bay Packers to a 4-0 record. He’s got 13 touchdowns and no interceptions, while being the leader of an offense that has become the first in NFL history to score at least 150 points in the first four games without turning the ball over.
All of that has people talking about what a comeback Rodgers has made at age 36 after not playing at his normal Hall of Fame level the last two seasons. His quarterback rating was just 97.6 and 95.4 in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Those would be pretty good for guys not named Aaron Rodgers, but it was off by his standards. Now, he’s sitting at a career-best 128.4, and his QBR through four games is 92.8 — the best through four games since the stat started being tracked in 2006.
Still, Rodgers has apparently grown tired of hearing people talk about his down years in which he threw for 51 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
“I sometimes laugh when people talk about down years for me because a lot of times down years for me are career years for most quarterbacks,” Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show.
https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1313543611460603907
Whether you think the last two years were down or not, Rodgers is clearly playing at his highest level since at least the end of the 2016 season when the Packers had to win their last six games to make the playoffs and eventually went to the NFC title game. If he keeps it up, he’ll give Green Bay a very good chance of making another conference title game and potentially going even further.
Joe & Ebo Experience: 100% Efficiency
Mertz Time (0:00)
Packers Supporting Cast (18:22)
Packers Hottest Takes (35:39)
Grant Bilse from WKTY's The Wisco Sports Show (46:08)
Packers 30, Falcons 16: 2-minute drill
Green Bay built a 20-3 halftime lead and then held off a desperate Atlanta team 30-16 to stay unbeaten Monday night at Lambeau Field.
Game Balls
Offense: Aaron Rodgers
Playing without his top two weapons at wide receiver, the 36-year-old turned to his running backs and tight ends to get the job done against the Falcons. Rodgers went 20-for-20 for 241 yards and four touchdowns when targeting Robert Tonyan, Jamaal Williams, Aaron Jones and Tyler Ervin. The two-time MVP ended up going 27 of 33 for 327 yards as he helped move Green Bay to 4-0 for the third time in his 13 years as the Packers starting quarterback.
https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/1313299433602387968?s=20
Defense: Za’Darius Smith
The outside linebacker loves the bright lights of Monday Night Football. After tearing up Minnesota last December, Smith was back at it against Atlanta. He led the team in tackles (8), sacks (3), tackles for loss (4) and quarterback hits (5). Now in his second year with the Packers, the defensive team captain has five sacks through four games and is on pace to top his Pro Bowl campaign of 2019.
https://twitter.com/packers/status/1313328877394169861?s=20
Best tweets
Big Bob Tonyan edition after catching three touchdowns:
https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1313315927899996160?s=20
https://twitter.com/gkittle46/status/1313313940437266432
https://twitter.com/itsCrab/status/1313314422606225408
https://twitter.com/PFF_Fantasy/status/1313314478075916288?s=20
https://twitter.com/minakimes/status/1313314319006720001?s=20
And some others:
https://twitter.com/zachkruse2/status/1313307169719189504?s=20
https://twitter.com/MarkTauscher65/status/1313324754057785344
https://twitter.com/LilySZhao/status/1313304815754252288?s=20
In Case You Missed It
— Wide receiver Davante Adams (hamstring), wide receiver Allen Lazard (core), nose tackle Kenny Clark (groin), tight end Marcedes Lewis (knee) and linebacker Rashan Gary (ankle) were among the Packers not to suit up due to injury.
-- The Packers lost three more players to injury during the game: CB Chandon Sullivan (concussion), CB Kevin King (quad), linebacker Krys Barnes (shoulder) and tight end Josiah Deguara (knee).
— With Lewis not playing, the Packers used offensive lineman Rick Wagner as an extra blocking tight end in certain packages.
— Rodgers limped to the sideline after a fourth-quarter sack. He was seen stretching out his left leg on the bench, but said afterwards it was “more embarrassment than injury.”
https://twitter.com/Taylor12Malik/status/1313340731713560576
Inside the Numbers
17-3 — That’s Matt LaFleur’s record in his first 20 games as coach — the best in franchise history and the second-best in NFL history.
216 — That’s how many yards Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams combined for Monday night. They did it on 36 touches between rushing and receiving.
3 — That’s how many touchdowns Robert Tonyan had, tied for the most in a single game by a tight end in team history. He now has five touchdowns on the year, tied with Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans for the most in the NFL.
0 — That’s how many catches Atlanta’s Calvin Ridley had on five targets. He averaged seven catches and 116.3 yards per game in the first three weeks of the season.
128.4 -- That's Aaron Rodgers' passer rating through four games, which would be a career-best if he keeps it up. He's completing 70.5% of his passes and thrown for 1,214 yards and 13 touchdowns with no interceptions.
38.0 -- That's how many points the Packers are averaging per game this season, which is tops in the NFL.
+51 -- That's Green Bay's point differential this season, which leads the league.
6 -- That's the number of unbeaten teams left in the NFL. The Packers and Seattle are the only two NFC teams that haven't lost.
https://twitter.com/RobDemovsky/status/1313328409083248641
What’s Next
Green Bay (4-0) will hit the bye week before returning to take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1).
The Camp: Oct. 5, 2020
On this week's episode of The Camp, Zach Heilprin and Jesse Temple react to the Jack Coan injury news, talk about what it means for Graham Mertz, discuss over/unders for the season and debate whether Nakia Watson gave Illinois bulletin board material.
