Cheese Curds, 8/30: Decision time has arrived for Brian Gutekunst & Packers

The most difficult 36 hours of an NFL personnel department’s season is officially underway. With apologies to day three NFL Draft, which has four rounds and an undrafted free agent frenzy to follow, the weekend of roster cuts must be the most stressful time for general managers and scouts as they work to cut rosters down from 90 to 53.

The Green Bay Packers and Brian Gutekunst have their work cut out for them. There’s no easy way to deliver the news to 30-plus players that they won’t be making a roster, and the decision making process to get to that point must be one of the most arduous in the sport.

This year, the Packers have difficult decisions up and down the roster. Who has earned the backup quarterback job, and is there any justification for keeping three players at the position? What will the team do with the depth at the running back position? With injured players all over at inside linebacker, how will the team scrape by until players return?

Our final 53-man prediction is here, as we try to project what will happen by 4:00 PM tomorrow and posit some potential surprises as well. What do you think will be the biggest surprise tomorrow afternoon?

Quarterback decisions still to come for Packers | Packers.com
If anyone says they know what's going on, don't believe them. We projected DeShone Kizer to be the guy in our final 53-man roster prediction after Thursday's game, but we're pretty well split on him and Tim Boyle, and it would be no shock if Boyle gets the job instead.

Which players on Packers’ roster bubble improved their stock in preseason finale? | Packers Wire
A bunch of young players helped their causes last night, most notably some running backs. Keith Ford may have locked up a practice squad invite with a punishing run late in the game, while Dexter Williams had a productive fourth quarter to probably make his way onto the 53.

Packers' J'Mon Moore resigned to fate with final cuts looming | Packersnews.com
Moore says he "got the real short end of the stick," which seems to imply that he is not at fault for the expected cut that should be coming. It's true that other players on the roster simply outplayed him, but Moore made a number of mistakes in preseason games, including stopping on his route last night -- which led directly to an interception.

Eddy Pineiro: Bears kicking woes continue after botched PAT | SI.com
We can't say too much since Mason Crosby missed a PAT as well, but it's still hilarious to see the Bears losing their minds over their kicking game. Meanwhile in Minnesota, the Vikings have not seen Kaare Vedvik lock in the kicking job he was expected to when the team sent a fifth-round pick to Baltimore for him. He went 1-for-2 on Thursday and will probably lose the job to Dan Bailey.

Man assaulted with hockey stick in bank lobby | CBC News
Canada is weird. There's no word on whether the men committing the assault apologized while they were doing it.

Finally, Packers offensive tackle Gerhard de Beer knows that a tough few days are coming. He had moments in camp, but struggled at times in games, and it looks like he is probably going to be getting his release today. Here he is weighing in on the impending cut weekend:

Good luck to Gerhard this weekend; if nothing else, he probably deserves serious consideration for a practice squad spot.