Tuesday Cheese Curds: Packers were the class of the NFC in the 2010s

It’s the last day of 2019 which of course makes it the last day of the 2010s.

It was a dominant decade for the Green Bay Packers that probably should have been even better. The Packers had the second highest winning percentage of the decade behind the New England Patriots and made the playoffs in eight out of ten years

While fans may be disappointed with “only” one Super Bowl victory this decade, the fact of the matter is Green Bay was one of the elite teams of the decade and there’s no shame in finishing second behind New England who continues to be the exception and not the rule when it comes to a parity-filled NFL.

The 2010s will forever be known as The Aaron Rodgers Decade in Green Bay as the quarterback kicked it off with the Super Bowl XLV MVP award followed by two NFL MVP awards. Packers fans have been blessed with one of the most gifted throwers of a football and despite some recent hand wringing over his play, Rodgers’ performance this decade will go down as some of the best in league history.

Unfortunately for Rodgers and Packers fans, that dominant play didn’t result in multiple Super Bowl wins. The Packers made three conference championship games, only winning one on their way to Super Bowl XLV. While complaining about winning “only” one title seems a little bit entitled, the Packers were never able to surround Rodgers with a good enough defense to where he didn’t have to consistently play hero ball until this season.

While not winning more Super Bowls stings, the Packers prospered in the 2010s and with a revamped front office led by an aggressive general manager and a coaching staff led by a young and innovative head coach, there’s no reason to believe that the first half of the 2020s at least can be just as fruitful

Now on to today’s curds.

Green Bay Packers in the 2010s: A dominant decade by the numbers—Packers Wire

It fizzled out at the end, but Mike McCarthy’s offense was consistently among the league’s elite for the better part of a decade. That’s no easy task in the NFL.

The Patriots are the NFL’s team of the decade, and it’s not even close—SBNation

While the Patriots benefitted from mostly incompetent division rivals, there’s no denying their success in the postseason which is where Green Bay often stumbled.

Packers will put playoff bye to good use—Packers.com

There are a lot of things to learn from a lethargic first half last week and hopefully Matt LaFleur can diagnose what ailed them to ensure it doesn’t happen again because the Packers are done facing the David Bloughs of the NFL.

Packers center Corey Linsley hopes bye week helps ease back problem—PackersNews.com

Rodgers would love to not have to work with a backup center even if Lucas Patrick held his own against the Lions. Corey Linsley and Bryan Bulaga will need to be ready to go in the divisional round.

The Dankest Memes of the 2010s—The Thrillist

This decade could probably be summed up as The Meme Decade in terms of pop culture. Here are ten of the best from the 2010s.