4th And 26 Are you ready for not watching Packers football?

In this week's 4th And 26, A.V. Club writers Jason Albert and Steven Hyden attempt to cool themselves down after a horrible game against the Minnesota Vikings heading into the bye week.

Jason: Hey Steve, I don’t know what you’re spinning in Milwaukee, but over here in Madison I have Craig Finn of The Hold Steady croaking “Lord, I’m Discouraged” on permanent repeat. This sucks. No, this really sucks. Or should I just say “we suck”?

First, a quick dispersal of Monday night: The Pack did exactly what they needed to do—shut down Adrian Peterson—and they still couldn’t win. That’s discouraging, no? Yes, Brett Favre was great, but switch Aaron Rodgers with Favre and the result would have been exactly the same for the Packers. Fans can hate Ted Thompson all they like, but they’re myopic bordering on insane if they hate him because the Packers let Favre walk. Drops, penalties, turnovers, and poor line play on both sides of the ball—these were Monday night’s problems. And to me they’re symptomatic of a lack of discipline, leadership, and in some cases, talent.

That said, the NFL season is long. And it’s very easy to become nearsighted and project a couple of shitty games onto the remaining schedule. Let’s not forget the Vikes did exactly what good teams do: They won at home. They’re good, and everyone knew that going in. And the freaking Bengals are 3-1. So even though our O-line falls somewhere between a pile of steaming excrement and a steaming pile of horse excrement, is there anything you’ve seen so far in the first four games that makes you believe we’re better than a .500 squad? I can’t come up with much. Then again, I think my losing-to-Favre hangover is turning me into one of those annoying fans who readies a noose at the first dropped pass. Tell me I’m at least a little bit off-base. Please?

Steven: Jason, what’s with you and all the negativity? The Brewers have a rough second half of the season and you’re looking for the next ledge to jump off of. Now the Packers start 2-2 and you’re looking for a razor and an Elliott Smith CD. Need I remind you that we already have a third as many wins as last year with 12 games left to go, and we haven’t played the Lions yet? We haven’t even hit Halloween and you’re already screaming like a little girl that got a bag full of candy corn instead of Snickers. Sheesh.

Yes, the loss to the Vikings was demoralizing. And, yes, it was worse because Favre was the one who killed us—as well as Jared Allen, who doesn’t look at all alarmed that he now has to share the Vikings’ supply of Skoal and Slim Jim’s with No. 4.

You’re totally right—we don’t look very good right now. The Packers can’t protect Aaron Rodgers or get a decent pass rush on opposing quarterbacks. If only we had a week off to get our shit together, followed by a couple of games against terrible teams.

Wait a minute! That’s exactly what’s in store for the Pack—after possibly the best-timed bye week in NFL history, the Packers play the Lions and the Browns before the Nov. 1 rematch with the Minnesota Favres at Lambeau Field. As inconsistent as the Packers have been lately, we ought to beat those teams, no? (The Vikings play at the Rams, the Ravens at home, and at the Steelers—I’d be shocked if they didn’t lose at least one of those games). So, have I prevented another Jason Albert hissy fit or what?

Jason: Okay, I’ll take out my pacifier long enough to agree with you: I do think we’ll win the next two. And I’m also on board with your thought that the Vikes will lose at least one of their next three, particularly if Brad Childress, Darrell Bevell, Favre or whoever keeps calling 3rd down bombs with 3:27 left when his opponents are out of timeouts. (In fairness to Chilly, he was preoccupied with hot fantasies about his post-game Brett Favre hot-oil victory rubdown.) And if all that goes down, then we’ll be playing The Biggest Game In The History Of The World for the second time in a month, to tie the Vikes in the loss column. Yes, even I think that’s doable, though watching it just might kill me.

Still, even if Rodgers makes it to Week 16 without being part of a life-ending sack accident, his internal organs will surely be gruel, and that has to affect his play. We’ve allowed 20 sacks so far! I’m not great with math, but I think that comes out to five a game. Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton’s return should help, but Tauscher is still a nine-year vet coming off an ACL injury. Although at this point, I think the current-day Jerry Kramer would be an upgrade. And that still doesn’t address the maddening number of penalties (speaking of which, Clifton’s always good for at least one false start a game). So IF we can stop the mental mistakes—which I’m not convinced McCarthy can—I think we could hide the O-line weaknesses with play-calling enough to scrape out a 9-7, or best-case, a 10-6. That sound better?

Steven: Aren’t you the guy that wussied out of making a pre-season prediction in the first 4^th And 26 column because pre-season predictions “aren’t worth any more than Brett Favre’s word?” Now you want to make a prediction about the rest of the season? Last year at this time, the Favre-led Jets were 3-1, with victories over the mighty New England Patriots and a thrashing of the soon-to-be-mighty Arizona Cardinals. The Packers started 4-0 in 2007 and ended up choking it up at home against the New York Giants (who started the season at 2-2) in the NFC Championship Game. This shit isn’t settled, man.

The Packers play five games against sure-to-be-lousy teams: the Browns, Buccaneers, Seahawks, and Lions twice. We play three games against teams whose lousiness is still marked TBD: The Cowboys, 49ers, and Cardinals. The remaining games look tough, especially the three-game stretch in December where we play the Ravens at home and Bears and Steelers on the road.

I think the Pack is capable of finishing out 9-3—or we could go 4-8. It’s way too early to tell. All I know is that I’ve never been more ready not to watch a Packers game than I am this week. Enjoy the break, Packers fans. Lick those wounds and let’s come back next week ready to kick some Lions’ ass.