Paragraph ten: “There’s a good chance of that happening”
Of finishing 3rd? Or winning the division?

A division win would be nice but just win and let the other things that are out of your control take care of themselves.

Keep shoving the ball down their throats till they cough one up.

If we can't win in the trenches on both sides of the ball (which includes penalties), we have no business in the playoffs anyway.

It's Detroit! Put them in their place. The fans are still used to it anyway. You can't wash that 70+-year-old culture away in a couple years

I liked the article at first, but then changed my mind. It is centered on attitude, personality and culture. It is pretty subjective...and then to go on and say that the two coachers are exact opposites. Hardly. And if they are, it isn't supported by actual football trend analysis on game strategy.
Several times it was mentioned that they win in different ways....and about the only data is the 4th down attempts, which is used to support the "gut" reaction thesis of Campbell. LaFleur does his own gut reactions at times too, which bewilder the fans at some of his play calls.
There are notable differences between the 2 coaches. More insight on game strategy and less subjective personality stuff would have made for better pre-game read.

PP, totally agree.
The article is a quick historical review of both organizations.
Nothing personal Cory, but how about a little depth?
I've heard the kneecap thing enough already.
These two guys seem like opposites on the sideline.
One leads with passion and fire and mlf can be a whiny, petulant child who sometimes seems unprepared for the moment.
A little harsh, but that's my take.
Hoping mlf totally redeems himself and has the team firing on all cylinders like he did in motor city last year.
Pack 26 - litter box trainees 23.
GPG

The question I ask myself is, would I prefer Dan to Matt as coach of my team?
To be honest, there are moments, I would.
They got less, since Barry is gone, but still..
Especially in the situations, where they try to run down the clock mid of third quarter instead of continuing to play offensive football.
But overall I think, Matt is the better coach (maybe not the better motivator).

Interestingly, an article out of Chicago basically says they want to hire a Dan Campbell type to be their next HC. Other commentators say that Chicago will look for a QB whisperer to try to grow Caleb Williams. Everyone wants Detroit's Ben Johnson....which takes me where I wanted to go here, which is that none of these HCs go anywhere without good assistants. The measure of the HC is the ability to maintain success when the rest of the league is poaching your quality help. So far, Detroit hasn't had to deal with that because Aaron Glenn and Johnson have stayed put.

The Packers have turned over defensive staff twice under LaFleur and undergone a youth movement. When Hackett was hired to run the Broncos (no loss) he took some assistants with him and Luke Getsy ended up leaving for the OC job in Chicago (again, was it a loss?). A HC is always judged by his ability to bring home the Lombardi, though, and LaF is still trying to climb the mountain. So is Campbell.

"And that’s why the Lions are so good right now. Let’s be honest, the Chiefs have won with smoke and mirrors and the Lions have beaten teams to a pulp."

Andy Reid has Lombardis, and he knows you don't win a championship in September, October, or November. Smoke and mirrors? They get the job done, and he'll have this team playing its best ball over the next few weeks and into the post-season. It's hard to play the way the Lions want to play for a full season without getting beat up. The Lions have already peaked.

"If the Packers have any designs on winning the division, they must do it now."

They have one chance at winning the division. It starts with beating the Lions in 2 days.

I believe after the way they played in that monsoon and beat themselves more then the Lions beat them, they are going to go into this game pissed off.

Since the Packers and Lions squared off the Lions have smoked some teams. They beat the Jags and Colts by a combined score of 76-12. But then played the Bears and should have lost to them. They should have lost to the Texans as well.
Packers had the win against the Bears. They beat the 49ers and then a surging Dolphins team.

I feel like the Lions have started to plateau a bit. where I think the Packers are starting to find themselves and are on the rise.

it should be a good game.

"The juxtaposition between these coaches is striking but both coaches have their teams headed in the same direction. The Lions are 11-1 and own the tiebreaker over the 9-3 Packers thanks to Green Bay committing 10 penalties at Lambeau Field in Week 9."

Mother Mary and Joseph! :::sigh::

The difference between my boots is striking, but the lawn needed to be mowed. My older dog will get the first treat thanks to the goats eating the buckthorn in September.

Another situation for the Packers to prove that they can defeat a good team. Even though they are playing on the road they are catching the Lions at a good time. The Lions are battered, especially on defense. They should have lost to the Bears on Thanksgiving but the Bears are still the Bears.

In any case the game will come down to winning the LOS as usual. Also it will help if Doubs and Alexander are back on the field. If the Packers win the toss they should take the ball and drive for a score to take the home crowd out of the game early. Once again they need to play with a lead and execute time consuming drives to keep the Lions offense on the sidelines. Hopefully we can make the Lions offense one dimensional.

A win against the Lions could build the Packers confidence to run the table and go into the playoffs as the "hot team" regardless of whether or not they win their division. All gas no brakes for 60 minutes. Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since '61

There has been more Defensive urgency and intensity in the last two games, which I have appreciated.
Looks to me like Daddy finally had a word with some of the lazier team members--yes, D-line, I am talking to you. Packer's Defense could use a steady dose of a Saleh or Campbell type. MLF has my permission to hold them accountable. Packers have paid the Defensive stars very well and it is high time to get some return on investment.
Alexander, Gary and Clark are in my doghouse, currently.
I also bet Saleh has had a word.

Campbell had the good fortune to have several high and talented draft picks to develop around. The Packers have been drafting low for several years so MLF's accomplishments are equal to Campbell's.
Once MLF decided the defense had to improve, and it has, the team has been on the cusp of returning to the top.
Thursday the Packers will need to show an attitude of toughness and competence. I'm concerned Detroit will exploit Walker at linebacker and the cornerbacks. Should be a good game.

Campbell is 40-34 with the Lions, and he presided over one of the worst 2nd half choke jobs I've ever seen in the Championship game last year.

If you want to crown him, crown him. I'm going to wait until Friday morning.

For better or worse, this game will illustrate where strengths and weaknesses lie. A team cannot improve without facing the truth-that includes the coaches and GM.

The odds of wining the division are small. To me it’s more important not to come third simply due to the likely matchups. Of course, the best way to maximize the chance of that is to beat the Lions.

The Lions are a good team. The idea that they are the same organization as 5 years ago is laughable. Did the Packers not do the same thing under Harlen? However, they aren’t perfect. What they have been is well organized, consistent and motivated. Campbell has proved that he can get his players playing for him.

However, that has come at a cost and there is a tipping point in this league whereafter a good team becomes a shadow of itself. The Lions style of play is a factor, along with luck (of which they definitely have had some) coming back to bite in terms of injuries. Can the Lions make it to the finish line healthy enough? It’s starting to look questionable. If their OL dominance recedes, we’ve seen what happens to their QB and overall play. Their rush is now essentially Z Smith.

Win or lose on Thursday, what I want to see is an aggressive game plan intended to take it to them at home, on both sides of the ball. Hafley’s plan last week would seem a pretty good template against a team that passes fast and likes to run. On O aggression doesn’t mean the long ball and Jacobs. It means getting Kraft involved and being physical at all levels and attacking different areas of the field. Their D isn’t as good as they think. Its best player has been their O. However, if we don’t vary our attack and confuse, it’s good enough to get us out of rhythm.

As to beyond that, let the Lions worry about limping over the line. They have not played great football for a few games, but they will be up for us. Whether they can now sustain that into the new year remains to be seen. We, on the other hand, need to drop the excuses and focus on playing to our potential throughout games. We need to worry about being as good as we can be, something we may have started to approach but have not really delivered this year.

The Lions have been on the ascent for 5 years. Their owner, GM, HC, OC are in alignment. This is not a fly-by-night organization. And, they play complete football where accountability is mandated.

The Packers, on the other hand, have not played complete football, in the aggregate, for a number of years, particularly the Defense and less recently, Special Teams. An enormous amount of resources have been invested in the Defense with marginal results. The over-stay of a failed coach (Barry), too many poor choices on 1st round defensive picks, personnel character issues, defensive player regression after big contracts has weakened the team. It's as if it is not allowed to be discussed. I do see changes this year, though with the signings of McKinney, Cooper, Williams, Bullard, Jacobs, et al. But these are recent signings-GB is still hampered by the above.

I just do not see a really successful team allowing the aforementioned to continue without prompt redress.

Question: How would Ben Johnson and Dan Campbell handle 3 under-performing players with huge contracts?
Would they have chosen to renew those contracts and have paid top dollar?

These 2 guys are different fundamentally. Campbell is a tough, hard nosed football guy. MLF is an OC who never played pro and, in my mind, a teacher on offense.

It's interesting now however that MLF is embracing physical football? With guys like Kraft and Jacob's, it's allowed him to move in that direction on offense. Moving on from the conservative, soft defenses of Joe Barry helped the defense to move in a similar direction. Being able to pivot his team's identity so quickly is something I don't believe Dan Campbell could have done so quickly.

I like the new, more physical Packers. GPG

Dan Campbell, Ben Johnson and the Lions's owner changed an entire culture in several years- that is phenomenal. Other teams have taken notice--the Commanders and if the Bears are smart they will choose a competent, tough-minded HC as well.

This is the first year I am taking the GB Defense seriously-the Lions are just ahead in terms of roster building and coaching by 4-5 years. The Packers have improved but they are not on the same level, though they should strive for it.
I am a believer is being objective.

Green Bay has built a perennial winning team the hard way- through the draft. As a winning team, they generally pick late in the draft order. They also use free agency sparingly, preferring to pay and retain their own players.

Detroit appears to be trying to imitate GB's template for success. They have also the advantage of making an excellent trade to acquire several high draft picks through the Matt Stafford trade.

Rams received-
QB Matthew Stafford

Lions received
QB Jared Goff
2022 first-round pick
2023 first-round pick
2021 third-round pick
The Lions turned those picks into the following players:

RB Jahmyr Gibbs (via trade with Cardinals)
TE Sam LaPorta (via trade with Cardinals)
DT Brodric Martin (via trade with Cardinals)
WR Jameson Williams (via trade with Vikings)
EDGE Josh Pascual

Detroit basically used the "draft and develop" strategy but with double the draft picks.

For once, the Lions actually "chose wisely" with their draft capital, and are now enjoying the rewards.

The sad part of this is GB could have done this same strategy with Aaron Rodgers and reaped an even bigger haul than Detroit got for Stafford.

Now, compare these two teams to the Bears. Chicago wastes draft capital like a politician wastes our tax dollars. And when they do stockpile draft picks, they almost always spend them on the "magic beans".

As far as coaching comparisons, I agree with earlier commenters who say that neither one of them has won a Lombardi Trophy, which is the ultimate measuring stick.

With that said, both of them are a million times better than Eberflus, or anybody the Bears have hired in the last 40 years.

The only thing I’m worried about is Ben Johnson landing the HC job in Chicago next year. Yikes!