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Cheese Curds, 10/13: Packers hope to be rejuvenated after bye week

Green Bay looks to be getting a few key players back just in time for one of their toughest stretches in 2020.

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NFL Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Photo by NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

When the NFL released its 2020 schedule, Green Bay Packers fans rightfully circled a four-week stretch as a make-or-break month. The four games following the team’s week five bye had the feel of a defining sequence, at least when the teams were setting up on paper.

Now, a few of those games seem a little less daunting; however, the importance of these games is still extremely high. Coming out of the bye, the Packers will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans on the road, return home for a date against the Minnesota Vikings, and then go to San Francisco for a Thursday night matchup.

Ugly, right?

Now, however, Tampa Bay is the only one of these opponents with a winning record. The Vikings and Texans have struggled mightily this season, both sitting at 1-4, while the 49ers are 2-3 having just been blown out by the Miami Dolphins.

Still, the Packers’ bye was a convenient one, helping the team to hopefully get back key starters like Davante Adams and Kenny Clark. Meanwhile, injured role players like Equanimeous St. Brown and Kamal Martin are on track to return soon as well, giving the team’s depth a boost.

The team’s 4-0 start exceeded most Packers fans’ expectations, but there is a real chance here for this team to continue its momentum, even through what we assumed would be the toughest stretch of the season.

Packers have ‘energetic day’ getting back to work | Packers.com
Practice resumed yesterday following the bye week and Matt LaFleur cranked up the heat in the Don Hutson Center in an effort to simulate the conditions in Tampa this Sunday.

Green Bay Packers' run defense could use another Howard Green | Packersnews.com (subscription required)
Green was a shot in the arm for the Packers' defensive line in 2010 and he made one of the biggest plays of the game in the Super Bowl, forcing a bad throw that ended up as a pick-six. But this article argues that his bigger impact was as a run defender over the second half of the season. Can this team find a role player as a midseason addition who could have a similar impact?

Why Equanimeous St. Brown has a chance to be a great fit in Matt LaFleur’s offense | Packers Wire
We discussed it yesterday, but EQ seems tailor-made as a drop-in replacement for Allen Lazard's role in this offense. Hopefully he'll be ready to go for Sunday's game.

With Martin’s Return, Which Packers Rookie LB Will Start? | SI.com
Well, it's not a foregone conclusion just yet that Martin will be back this week, but he's headed back soon. Can his impressive August get him the job over an undrafted rookie in Krys Barnes, who has had some very solid moments in real game action?

NFL postseason bubble an option as league works through COVID plans: Sources – The Athletic (subscription required)
The league is still considering a postseason bubble, with Los Angeles and Dallas among the leading candidate cities.

Researchers At Large Hadron Collider Are Confident To Make Contact With Parallel Universe In Days - Science world
If they make contact, will they be able to send people through to the other side? Asking for a friend.