Thanksgiving Day Cheese Curds: Thankful for Aaron Rodgers

Happy Thanksgiving, APC readers!

We here at Acme Packing Company hope you enjoy your day with family and friends and are thankful for each and every one of you who visit our site.

Thanksgiving is also a big day, as is tradition, in the NFL. While the Green Bay Packers may not be playing, there are still three games today with one in particular of interest to the Packers as the Chicago Bears face off against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

Meanwhile in Green Bay, the Packers are enjoying a mini-bye following last Thursday’s game in Seattle before heading to Minneapolis Sunday night to face the Minnesota Vikings in a game that could all but end their season if the Packers lose.

Thanksgiving and the holiday season in general is a time many people take stock of things in their lives and count their blessings. Packers fans are thankful the team has Aaron Rodgers under center, even during a turbulent season such as this one. Rodgers showed just how good of a human being he is yesterday when he announced he was donating $1 million for fire relief in northern California where the quarterback grew up. The man continues to be all class off the field and Packer Nation can truly be thankful for that.

As for Rodgers on the field, he took time this week to reflect on his own performance and what he can do to get the offense operating at heights we have seen spurts of this season but not yet for a full game.

Rodgers, as any good leader does, took it on his shoulders and said he needs to get the offense playing faster and with more energy and that it starts with him. Judging by the results so far, it’s easy to agree with this assessment. While Rodgers is having a good-to-great season statistically overall, his completion percentage is down and just above 60%. Review any length of film of the quarterback this season and you can see he is missing open receivers and his accuracy is a bit off.

The Packers offense operates best at a fast pace and with quick precision throws by Rodgers. It was on display in the season opener against the Bears when Rodgers came back from his knee injury and it was also showcased during the early stages of the game against the New England Patriots.

So why has the offense gone away from this? Some blame does lie at Rodgers’ feet for thinking home run too much and not taking a checkdown or a smaller chunk play. Yet most of the problems stem from the play caller who also happens to be the head coach. Mike McCarthy is clearing on the hot seat and would clearly be fans’ nominee for Green Bay’s Thanksgiving “turkey” this year.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, nothing goes better with turkey than some cheese curds so here is a nice helping of them for your holiday.

Aaron Rodgers: ‘The energy and the tempo starts with me’--Packers.com

Rodgers is putting the offense’s struggles on his shoulders as he always does, but everyone knows his head coach isn’t doing him any favors either. Getting their first win at US Bank Stadium on Sunday could be the ‘galvanizing’ moment Rodgers thinks the team needs and it’ll take every effort by the quarterback to make it happen.

Behind the scenes with Aaron Rodgers’ rookie understudy--PackersNews.com

Undrafted rookie quarterback Tim Boyle impressed enough people that he earned a spot on the active 53-man roster and not the practice squad, a departure from how the Packers handled their quarterbacks in the past. Since then, Boyle has watched and learned from one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.

Who the Packers should be rooting for on Thanksgiving Day--Packers Wire

Green Bay can gain ground in the division and actually regain a playoff spot in Week 12 should the Packers win and the games today fall a certain way.

Packers DL Tyler Lancaster high on life with the team: “Can’t help but smile”--Fox 6

A lot of attention is paid to the stars of an NFL team but there are some great stories near the bottom of the roster. Lancaster is clearly making the most of his time on the Packers and is just soaking up the experience of being an NFL player. It’s hard to root against someone with that kind of optimism especially with how ruthless life in the NFL can be.

12 Funny Thanksgiving Day Memes that will make you LOL--Bustle

May your Thanksgiving gatherings be filled with laughter and friendship and may none of you become a meme for next year’s Thanksgiving.