Well, I think now it's time to re-set expectations, if you haven't already. After another grueling defeat, the team's fourth in a row, the Green Bay Packers fell to 2-5 on the year with no signs of life yet again on offense. And now with the Rasul Douglas trade, maybe THE guy who brought some fire on defense now in Buffalo, it's time to start to embrace the rebuild with the foundation Brian Gutekunst has built. 

But enough with rebuild talk! This week's opponent visits from Los Angeles, where the Rams will make yet another trip to Lambeau Field. Let's look back to some brighter days, and there have been some bright ones in the recent history of these two teams. So why won't we raise up this week's periscope to look at the past, present and future of the Rams and Packers.

The Past

In the all-time series between the Rams and Packers, Green Bay holds a very slight edge at 49-27-2. Of late, however, the Packers have utterly dominated, winning 8 of the last 9 including a 24-12 win at Lambeau a season ago against the Baker Mayfield-led Rams team.

But the game I'd like to revisit today is not part of the 8-of-the-last-9 streak, but a huge game back in 1967, just before Christmas. On December 23, 1967, the Rams visited Milwaukee County Stadium - the lone playoff game hosted there - for the Western Conference Championship. The 11-2-2 Rams entered the game against the 10-4-1 Packers as the favorites, but the conditions and Lombardi/Starr factor would seemingly level the field.

The Rams jumped out to a 7-0 lead, on a Roman Gabriel connection to Bernie Casey for 29 yards. But the second quarter was owned by the Packers with a Travis Williams 46-yard touchdown run, and then Carroll Dale hauled in a 17-yard touchdown from Bart Starr to make it 14-7 at half. The second half was more Green Bay dominance, with Chuck Mercein plowing ahead for a 6-yard touchdown run, then another run by Williams, this time from two yards out. 

With the 28-7 victory, the Packers advanced to the NFL Championship against the Dallas Cowboys, a game that would be known in football lore as the Ice Bowl.

While highlights from that era are tough to come by, I did dig up this super cool old Super 8 video from a fan in the stands that was uncovered a few years ago. It contains some pregame action as well as a little gameplay. Check out this elite-level nostalgia from the glory days.

The Present

Well, safe to say this game wasn't going to get flexed into Sunday Night Football. The Rams come in at 3-5, fresh off a 43-20 shellacking at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys, in a game that wasn't even that close. Of note in the loss, however, was the hand injury sustained by quarterback Matthew Stafford. It's extremely unlikely that Stafford is ready to go, and thus, back-up Brett Rypien would be in line for the start. The Rams, with Stafford, at least, had been pretty feisty in their losses, save for the Dallas game. This is a defense that'd been playing respectably, and have some nice offensive weapons in Cooper Kupp and surprise rookie Puka Nacua.

The Packers, on the other side, limp in at 2-5 with yet another to-the-script loss with egregiously bad offense in the first half, a breath of life in the second, and ultimately an embarrassing loss. The youngest and cheapest offense in the NFL is playing like it. These young players are thrown directly into the fire, and have not responded nearly enough. This week, as has been the case for the last few, is another game the Packers are capable of winning. But as we've seen, it's the Packers who seem to be the beatable opponent.

And on the defense, as we found out in gut-punch fashion yesterday, Rasul Douglas is on his way to Buffalo. I just want to take a moment to appreciate 'Sul and everything he did for the Packers in his time, including his INSANE 2021 season, including a spicy pick-six against the Rams. See below for Sul love.

The Future

November 5, Noon Lambeau time, Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI. The Packers, shockingly, come in as 3-point favorites which is undoubtedly due to the QB change for LA. The over/under is 36.5, the league-low for the week so prepare for some fireworks this week! Jokes aside, this is a great opportunity for this offense to try to gain a little traction. Enough talk about "slow starts." They don't start slow; they don't start period. Matt LaFleur indicated that there would be some changes coming, which... yeah, it's about time. It remains to be seen if Yosh Nijman gets the nod at LT in place of the struggling Rasheed Walker, or maybe moving Zach Tom into center in place of the likewise-struggling Josh Myers. If I had to guess, we'll see Yosh at LT and that'll be it.

I really, really hope we can finally see a pulse on offense to start the game. If for nothing else, it'll be a bit a weight off Jordan Love's shoulders and some proof they can, indeed, make some plays in the first half. This team is young - let's keep that in mind - but it's time these players start doing their jobs and making some plays.