Screwball and satirical comedy may be some of the best versions of the genre when it comes to cinema in the last 50 years. When you want nothing but brainless laughs, it doesn't get much better than that. Perhaps one of the top movies that could fit that description would be Monty Python and the Holy Grail, released in 1975—just an absurd parody of a medieval times movie. Despite this movie now being 50 years old, it still has some of the most quotable lines that are said every day, which people might not even realize come from the legendary film. Perhaps the top example would be the famous line "It's just a flesh wound!" said by the Black Knight after he has his arm dismembered comically while facing off against King Arthur. King Arthur proceeds to comically dismember the Black Knight further until he has no arms or legs left. To which the Black Knight continues to state that "Tis but a scratch!"
Of course, this scene is meant to be comically ridiculous. But, in a way, it can serve as a motivation of sorts, representing a mindset that no matter what you may be going through, you can still persevere. The Black Knight didn't care about the loss of his appendages, he was still going to fight King Arthur the best he could. While they didn't lose appendages, we found out this week that some Packers players were playing injured the majority of last season. But, like the Black Knight, they didn't care and pushed through no matter what.
Kenny Clark
Admittedly, I can't stand when word of injury to a player that may have hampered their season comes out after the fact. The reason would be that you have to listen to all the endless speculation around their performance. Have they regressed? Were some changes by the coaching staff to blame? Do they not care anymore? Are they discontent with their situation? All of this could end if it were just to come out that they're battling a bit of a hampering injury, where mid-season surgery just isn't worth it.
This was exactly the situation for Kenny Clark. All we heard in the second half of the season was, "Where is Kenny Clark?" and entering free agency and the draft, many talked about trading him or replacing him. Well, this past week, he shed a little light on the subject himself in an interview, stating that he underwent foot surgery in January for bunions/bone spurs. According to Clark, the injury occurred in the season opener in Brazil. When asked what it was like playing through that injury, Kenny Clark iterated that it's not just speed, it's every single step. You're taking every step, and your toe is busted. Clark spent the majority of the season on the injury list for a toe injury, but due to his consistent availability, no one paid any attention to the severity.
It can be argued that this may have severely impacted Kenny Clark during the 2024 campaign. Trying to get that initial burst out of your stance can be fairly difficult if you're dealing with a busted toe. Your footwork in general is thrown off as you have to account for that difference with every step. A leverage game that you may have usually won against an offensive lineman could put you at a disadvantage, as you're just not able to anchor yourself in ways you're accustomed to. It can completely throw you off your game a bit, so it's no surprise that Clark wasn't his usual disruptive self.
Many might ask the question, "Well then, why was he even on the field?" To that, I would argue that sometimes with a player like Kenny Clark, you take him at 70% over nothing at all. He can still manage a productive season, and you still want to keep him involved.
Now that we have a little insight into why Clark may have had an off-season by his standards, hopefully, we will see Clark back to his true form in 2025.
Lukas Van Ness
Kenny Clark isn't the only one who had the severity of an injury kind of kept under wraps. Lukas Van Ness played last season with a cast protecting a broken thumb on his right hand until week 10. Van Ness says that even after the cast was removed, he had a bit of a mental block learning how to use his hands again.
When you're a defensive lineman trying to elude a 300+ pound offensive lineman, your hands can be everything. You're trying to prevent them from getting a lock on you, get them a little uncomfortable so you can take advantage. The ability to use your hands to accomplish that is huge. As a result, Van Ness was mainly limited to the right side of the defensive line. Perhaps one of his best skills when the Packers drafted him was his ability to play all around the defensive line. Van Ness could play inside and outside in college. In Year 1, playing in a 3-4 with Joe Barry, Van Ness was sort of limited to being an Edge Rusher. In year 2, when perhaps Van Ness could move around in the new 4-3 with Jeff Hafley, he was instead hampered by injury, but he still carried on.
In OTAs so far, Van Ness has been spotted at DT during 2-minute drills. "I just think there's a different confidence level with him," Matt LaFleur said about Van Ness. He stated that Van Ness has been embracing a lot of the coaching he's received so far and is looking very good. Many wrote off Van Ness after a rough year 2, but we find out now that a minor injury may have had an impact. Hopefully year 3, we will see a different player that shows why he was chosen 13th overall in the 2023 draft.
Aaron Rodgers is a Steeler
How long has it been since Free Agency started? Three months? The rumors trying to figure out where Aaron Rodgers will end up after his departure from the New York Jets have been rolling almost from the start. After only a couple of days, it became fairly obvious that Pittsburgh would be the best destination for him. But days and even weeks went by with Rodgers still not making a decision.
Initially, I thought for sure that his decision would be announced on the first night of the NFL Draft. It would just be like Aaron Rodgers to try to take some of the spotlight off the hosting city of Green Bay to announce his future intentions. Instead, he waited until OTAs were just about over to make his decision. Some say this is due to individuals close to him undergoing cancer treatment, and he wanted to focus on that before his return to football. If this is true, it is a bit admirable, but at the same time, the timing seems a tad convenient for a guy who never really liked OTAs during his time in Green Bay. But apparently, he will join the Steelers this week for the remainder of their program.
To be honest, Aaron Rodgers has handled his departure from Green Bay much better than Brett Favre did. Rodgers still displays some Green Bay loyalty and talks positively about Jordan Love and the fact that he envisions the Packers being successful with Love for a while. Favre seemed like he wished for Green Bay to be buried in the seventh circle of hell up until he finally made up with them before his Hall of Fame induction. So, while we want to ensure the Packers have more success than their former QB, there's not as much animosity on the topic.
In Week 8, on October 26th, the Packers will travel to Pittsburgh to face Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers. Aaron Rodgers has defeated 31/32 NFL teams, with the lone remaining being Green Bay. We might wish him luck weeks 1-7 and 9-18, but when the Packers visit the Steelers, all bets are off, and we hope the Green and Gold embarrass the Steelers and their former leader.