The point is to play

The Green Bay Packers take on the Philadelphia Eagles tonight on Thursday Night Football, a game whose circumstances are an object of dread for any NFL team — the idea of cutting three days out of your workweek and being expected to produce the same quality of work would be laughable to anyone, let alone athletes whose reputation is built on a foundation of hard work. It’s like getting Yo Yo Ma to perform at your wedding but asking him to prepare for the performance in 20 minutes. We should be impressed that the players have even a vague idea what they’re doing.

Regardless, the Packers have a task in front of them that will account for a sixteenth of their record, (as do the Eagles) and the pitiful circumstances surrounding that task have no bearing on its concrete value toward their playoff aspirations. In other words, the game counts the same, even though it is played at a lesser level by both teams.

To that end, the Packers have an opportunity to ply their trade, an opportunity for which they must be ready. After last week’s game, against the Denver Broncos, there is much to work on and much in need of improvement. In this respect the task at hand on Thursday Night Football is really quite simple, that is, to play a football game and showcase football talents and improve football skills. There are things to work on. Matt LaFleur must work on his playcalling beyond his scripts. Aaron Rodgers must work on making timely and accurate throws. Aaron Jones must work on understanding his assignments and following his blocks effectively. Davante Adams must work on creating separation from defenders and catching more passes for more yards. Jimmy Graham must do the same. Bryan Bulaga and the rest of the offensive line must protect Aaron Rodgers from opposing defenders, as well as work to create running lanes for Jones and Jamaal Williams. On defense, the players must work to create turnovers, and prevent the opposing offense from advancing the ball into scoring range, particularly the end zone.

This exhibition can become quite entertaining, particularly when the scoring in the game remains close. After three contests apiece, the Packers and Eagles come in with much different records, one implies peak proficiency, 100% winning percentage, the other implies mostly failure, a 33% winning percentage. The Packers have the advantage in this respect, but must put forth a significant effort to maintain their high standing, because the Eagles will be increasingly desperate to improve their standing as their failures mount.

This is a game of football, taking place within a season of football. Perhaps the game is of lesser value than other games due to the dearth of preparation allowed, but it is of equal value to any other game in terms of its mathematical importance. There is a latent purity in a situation of mutual underpreparedness. It is a quick draw contest, rather than a regimented march matching of armed intelligences.

The keys to this game will be the Packers’ ability — relative to the Eagles’ — to execute the basic tenets of their football strategy; effective running, quick and accurate passing, sound blocking of defenders, and a lack of consequential mistakes such as turnovers, all loom large. The players enlisted to perform these football strategies are capable, perhaps more capable for Green Bay than for Philadelphia, it just comes down to playing the game out and seeing who wins.

To include the Tolstoyan perspective on tonight’s game, as is essential for any high-quality preview, the acts of a football team are not as simple as the acts of one great quarterback or coach, just as the acts of war are not symptomatic of the supposed great men ascribed to each side of said war. Aaron Rodgers will do what Aaron Rodgers does, all the while being entirely dependent on the acts and wills of the other 45 men suited up to play alongside him. And while Matt LaFleur will be credited with the win or the loss, his actions will have little to do with the outcome of the game, compared to the players executing some version of the plays he sends in on offense; which is to say nothing of the fact that LaFleur has little to no influence on the performance of the defense. The Packers are playing in front of their home crowd, which has the potential to inspire them to a greater degree than their opposition, and give them the requisite spirit to push themselves to victory. It’s also entirely possible that the home field provides no advantage and the game takes as natural a course as if it were played in the open sea, on a floating field, witnessed by no one.

Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s game, the season will continue for both teams as scheduled. Minor changes may occur for teams if certain players on their rosters incur significant injuries, but overall the campaigns will go forward in much the same manner irrespective of the result of tonight’s game. Nonetheless, the object of both teams is to accrue more points and be credited with winning the game, and so it is the profound and sincere hope of Packers fans that, at the conclusion of the fourth quarter, the Packers are the team that has accumulated the greater number of points, and that the season can go on without a concrete failure entered into the record. A secondary aim, underneath that of definite victory, would be for as many players as possible to submit excellent performances. While on the whole, the event would be reduced to falling within the category of a loss, there would be many positive moments to refer to upon remembering the game, should a high number of stellar performances take place among members of the team. A high percentage of good performances generally results in victory, but should victory not be possible, individual performances of note can build some positive momentum heading into the subsequent contests. At present, it seems the Packers have a good amount more positive momentum than do the Eagles, whose last two games have been lost.

With this in mind, it is reasonable to expect a victory tonight on the field of play from the home team, that being the Green Bay Packers. Hopefully this victory creates an enjoyable experience for fans of the team, who are hoping to watch a successful effort. Go Pack Go.

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