Author: Evan Sandberg

The preseason is that magical time of year when football season starts to ramp up. Rookies looking to prove their worth, veterans looking to make themselves known, and some trying to establish themselves in a new location. For the Packers, one name made a splash in a big way in their 20-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints. That player is third-string quarterback Danny Etling. Late in the game, Etling made the decision to keep the ball on a zone-read play, dashing 51 yards to a Lambeau Leap. At the time, Aaron Rodgers was being interviewed and had nothing but…

The NFL Hall of Fame has released its list of 54 semi-finalists for the 2023 class. Among them is former Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, who, in my opinion, has long been snubbed from Canton. It has been nearly 30 years since his career ended, so let’s take a look back at Sharpe’s illustrious career. The Beginning of a Sterling (Sharpe) Career Drafted with the seventh pick of the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft, out of South Carolina, Sterling Sharpe began his career with a bang. He started what would become an incredible 112-game streak, never missing a…

“With the first pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Joe Burrow, quarterback, LSU”. Those words rang out nationwide from Roger Goodell’s basement, signaling a new era in Cincinnati.  Joe Burrow quickly embraced Cincinnati, and the city reciprocated. The city was abuzz with excitement for their new starting QB. Heading into Week 11, Burrow was having a great passing season. Through the air, he recorded 2,688 yards and 264 completions on 404 attempts, good for a 65.3% completion rate. Then, Cincy’s worst nightmare became reality. In the 3rd quarter, versus the Washington Football Team, Joe Burrow went…

Pac-12 on Brink of Collapse? With the reports of a mass exodus from the Pac-12 conference, it seems like the conference is in a state of near collapse. So, if that is the case, what does the college football landscape look like without the Pac-12? In this article, I’d like to lay out a hypothetical scenario in which this does happen. But first, some ground rules. The Rules This scenario takes place in 2025 so that all confirmed (as of writing) realignments (e.g. Texas and OU to the SEC) will have taken place. All confirmed FBS-Independents (e.g. Notre Dame, Army)…

After the Davante Adams trade, a very glaring hole appeared in the Packers’ offense. Not one that you can plug overnight either. When you lose a player as prolific as Adams, few players can patch that, even fewer can fill it. While the Packers did bring in a few wide receivers via the draft, it’s clear they need a veteran presence in the wide receiver room. So who is the odds-on favorite to be that presence? Julio Jones The Packers are currently the betting favorites (+325) to land the versatile wide receiver. After an elite run with the Falcons, Julio…

When the Packers traded Davante Adams to the Raiders, it sent shockwaves throughout the NFL. Widely considered one of the top wide receivers in the league, the thought of trading him seemed unthinkable. Even Aaron Rodgers, who called Adams the best player he has ever shared the field with, seemed to be taken aback by the news. As Davante Adams was approaching the end of his current contract at the end of the 2021 season, rumors of a massive extension began to circulate. The numbers Adams put up with Rodgers under center put him right up there with the elite…

In a previous article, I mentioned that the Big Ten reportedly has an offer on the table for Notre Dame to join the conference. The Fighting Irish have been fiercely independent of any conference for a long time. For them to join a conference, it would likely require an offer they can’t refuse (aka a Godfather offer). The biggest single criteria a College Football Playoff hopeful needs is a victory in their respective conference championship game. More than once, that has kept the Irish out of the playoff. Notre Dame is currently classified as “FBS-Independent”, as they are not associated…

Broken Records We all know the story at this point. The Packers traded up in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft to pick Jordan Love. Aaron Rodgers wasn’t happy. I’ve heard it so much that I’m about to rip that record off the turntable and shatter it against a wall. That decision kicked off two seasons’ worth of drama, in both the fanbase and organization. Before I get too deep, I do acknowledge that the Packers’ front office was absolutely in the wrong for leaving Rodgers out of major personnel decisions. Letting defensive pieces like Micah Hyde walk…

Coming into the 2021 season, Baker Mayfield was undoubtedly the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. That proved not to be the case by the end of the season. As tensions mounted between the Houston Texans and embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson, the rumor mill began to turn regarding former number one pick Baker Mayfield’s future in a Browns uniform. Those rumors, though yet to come to fruition, have picked up steam since Cleveland’s acquisition of Deshaun Watson. Once regarded as the franchise player Cleveland desperately needed, Baker Mayfield has found himself tossed to the side like last year’s toy on…

We are in an era of expansion. Last summer, it was announced that the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns would be heading to the SEC. Rumors began to swirl regarding if and how the Big 12 would survive such a loss. The SEC’s move to add these schools sparked discussions of how competing conferences would counter the perennially contending conference. Would the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and Pac-12 respond? That answer came on June 30th, 2022. The Big Ten’s Addition News broke that the University of Southern California Trojans (USC), and the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins (UCLA)…