We’ve sorted through dozens of articles about the Packers’ latest news, game results, rosters, rumors and other info that’s important to the team and to you. Check it out! By CHEESEHEAD TV By GregMeinholz It’s that time of year when NFL GM’s try to act like they have other plans. It’s lying season, people. Every General Manager worth anything around the league has a plan by this point. If they don’t, they’ll probably be finding themselves standing at the unemployment line pretty quickly. And with a little less than three weeks before the NFL Draft, with that plan, comes the task of throwing off the opposition. They have their list of options ready, but they want to make everyone else think they’re going in a different direction so most of those options are still available come their time on the clock. Every GM is trying to run that smokescreen even if it isn’t for who they pick. Perhaps they’re trying to gain leverage elsewhere. Look at the Bears a few weeks ago. They did a horrendous job of it considering they only received a conditional 6th-round pick for Justin Fields. Still, they were trying to run a smokescreen for whether or not they were going to keep Fields or draft Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. No one was falling for that, but hey, we’ll give the Bears an A for effort. Luckily, as Packer fans, we’ve been blessed with a General Manager in Brian Gutekunst who seems to know what he’s doing in that aspect. Nobody ever really seems to have a true grasp on what is going on at 1265 Lombardi Ave in the off-season. Let’s look at the last few drafts. Receivers, receivers, and receivers were on everyone’s boards for the Packers in round 1. But not once did they choose a receiver with that pick. To be honest I chalk it up to the draft industrial complex not truly knowing a team’s tendencies and just throwing their stock in the popular picks. Last year for the first time, I truly believed it was time to see that first-round pass catcher whether it be a receiver or tight end. Of course, I was wrong, and instead, they got a good tight end and receiver in the second round. One smokescreen in Brian Gutekunst’s repertoire appears to be the pre-draft visit. There have been situations where players the Packers have brought in for visits have been on the clock at their projected selection point and the Packers have passed on them for others. Occasionally the Packers even draft players in the first three rounds they never even interviewed or brought in for a visit. In fact, the Packers never interviewed Jaire Alexander before drafting him in 2018. That’s right, the Packers traded up nine spots and also sacrificed a third and fifth-round pick for a Louisville cornerback that they never even brought in for a pre-draft visit. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that this was a good trade in hindsight considering Alexander would go on to have a great career that is still in progress. But it tends to be forgotten that Alexander was Brian Gutekunst’s first-ever draft pick. His first-ever draft pick was a smokescreen. Many had the Packers choosing a DB in the first round, but not many chose Alexander. Some of that could be the lack of a pre-draft visit. Names like Minkah Fitzpatrick or Derwin James were brought up for the Packers in round 1, The Packers originally held the no. 14 pick in the draft. They eventually traded this to New Orleans for future draft compensation but the two DBs brought in for visits were not taken by the Pack. Alexander was still a first-round pick caliber player but perhaps not for the Packers even though he’s had an outstanding career despite. Even though Gutekunst has made it seem like this was his plan all along, we may never know if this was on purpose or not, but Alexander has been such a great feature in Green Bay, that it’s hard to ignore. This year, we may never know. There are so many options for the Packers in the first round that there’s bound to be some white lies here and there. Recently the Packers brought in Amarius Mims, an OT out of Virginia Tech for a visit. Mims checks a lot of boxes in terms of athleticism, but there is a lot of speculation that he’s being used as a smokescreen due to his lack of experience. Perhaps just before the Packers are on the clock a team will trade up and take Mims think they’re ahead of the Packers as the Packers smile and nod knowing they fooled another as they grab a Graham Barton, Cooper Dejean, or someone else anticipated. Smokescreens are used to ensure you receive the pick you want wherever you are in the draft. Hopefully, to the Packers’ success, they find another one that they prefer over the others but until then, Go Pack Go. Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to CheeseheadTV as well as PackersTalk. Follow him on Twitter @gmeinholz for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.
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The Art of the Smokescreen
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"Kudos to Amy for making sure that the tickets to the tailgate party were waiting for me at the reception desk! Your personal phone call and text messages went above and beyond customer satisfaction! I can't wait for the 2024 season, rest assured that my go-to Packer's game supplier will be Event USA for a long time.
-Jean-Pierre Mallette, Montréal, Canada
"Thank you so much Cathy, greatly appreciate your help.
As always, EventUSA has been awesome to deal with in booking the Lodge Kohler package for the Tampa Bay Game,
particularly for me traveling from Sydney, Australia, it takes the stress out of the booking process. "
-Kayle
"Good Morning, Nicole - Everything you did turned out great. The seats were great. Access to the air conditioned club lounge was great. Lots of Packers fans in the club lounge and overall at the stadium. The tailgate party at the fancy restaurant in the hotel was fabulous. The servers just kept on bringing out different sliders and desserts. Good thing that I got in a 30-minute run along the river in the morning. So, thank you! You may be speaking with me in November if I can work out getting up to Green Bay for a game. It's been too long since my last time.
One of the best aspects of this weekend was interacting with so many people from Wisconsin and learning their personal stories of things Packers. And we even met a couple from St. Petersburg, Florida (my home county) and were able to tell them about the Varsity Club tavern and Packers bar in Clearwater where Mark Murphy's mother is in attendance -- very nice lady whose retirement home is in Clearwater, which borders my little city of Dunedin. Pre-COVID, I always went to the Varsity when the Packers games weren't televised locally -- lots of Wisconsin natives there, too + they serve brats and sauerkraut during Packers games. I'm glad that you are working for Event USA.
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-- Martin Lawyer, Dunedin, Florida
"Dennis - I was blessed to join Amy and some of your customers at the Morton's tailgate as well as after the game. She does an amazing job for you. Every single customer I met praised Event USA for being able to arrange the hotel and tickets and fabulous tailgate party in such a quick time. Having been to some great tour tailgate parties in Jacksonville and Kansas City and old San Francisco, a lot can be said of the long-term benefit of having really great tailgate parties. Morton's was probably one of the best - amazing food, patio sitting on the riverfront, walk to stadium, open bar!!! It was first class fun!!!"
-Matt
"Hi Amy-
Just wanted to say thank you for making Jacksonville happen! We had a wonderful time and looking forward to more Packers games with Event USA in the future!
Even though the game was not what we expected- we are packers fans for life-lol!
Go pack go!!"
-Julie Mastrianni
"I want to thank Event USA and in particular Amy Flores for the Jacksonville trip. We have used you before and always were very pleased with the packages you have set up and your service.
My son who lives in Charleston, SC and myself who lives in Minnesota, decided we needed to do a guys trip and decided to go through your company to see the opener in New Orleans. I initially called and talked with Amy about some questions I had and booked our trip. After itinerary and info was emailed to us, it soon became apparent that the trip to New Orleans wouldn’t happen. In steps Amy, wondering if we would be interested in Dallas if the game was moved there and a package was set up. Then finally the move to Jacksonville and continued communication from Amy on our interest. It was getting late at that point and I was wondering if she would be able to pull off setting up a package in Jacksonville. She did it.
We went to Jacksonville and had a great time. The accommodations and the tail gate were fabulous. If only the Packer team we were hoping for had made the trip.
Thank you Event USA and in particular Amy Flores."
-Tom Sohrweide, White Bear Lake, MN
"Thank you for all your help. I had a great time at the Packer-Raider game opening day. I have already begun telling interested Packer fans in Sacramento about your service. The next time I come to Green Bay for a game, I’ll be sure to ask for your help. God bless you and God bless the Green Bay Packers."
-Frank Chavez, Sacramento
"I just wanted to say that I had such a great time. The whole weekend was so much fun. I enjoyed the Player Autograph Party and the tailgate party was just the best. After coming from a country that loves soccer, it was nice to mix with people who have the same interests as me. Thank you once again, Green Bay is one very special place."
-Beverley Moore, Lancaster
"My accommodations at the Best Western Midway were excellent. I was picked up at the airport and returned promptly. No problems at all. Your representative at the hotel on game day was very pleasant and helpful. The tailgate party was super, great food, great drinks and lots of fun. Obviously, Lambeau Field and the game itself was great. I will continue to use Event USA in the future, and I will definitely tell anyone who I come across to give you a call. One last thing, the hospitality I experienced in Green Bay was incredible. I have traveled to many places, and I don’t think there are more friendly people than the people of Green Bay. Thank you again and see you next year!"
-David Anastas, Worchester
"My wife and I booked the tour to Tampa. The trip was so well organized from start to finish. It started with the people in the office with their friendly help over the phone, to receiving the tickets in the mail, and meeting the tour guides with their upbeat personalities. Signs guided us in the airport and information was posted in our motel lobbies to keep us posted. Your people had everything in order. Talk about organization, you had it. Event USA made this a most memorable trip. Thanks for all involved."
-Dick Koerner, Neenah
"I wish to convey my sincere thanks and gratitude for providing my husband and I with, what he refers to as the greatest experience of my life, apart from my wedding day."
-Lara and Matt Appleton, Thornhill, Ontario
"Thanks for all your help, the great tickets and service, and the chance to help me make one of my son’s dreams come true, seeing the Packers playing at home in Lambeau Field."
-Sam Jones, Sedalia
"I just want to thank you for the wonderful job your staff did last weekend for the Packers vs. Lions game. This was our first time utilizing your program and we were not disappointed at all. In fact, we can’t wait to schedule and event for next season’s games. From my first experience with your staff placing my order until the very end at checkout of the hotel, everything was perfect. You truly out-do yourselves to please everyone. Thanks again for making our stay in Green Bay one of the best."
-Kim Ewing and Bruce DeMaine, Ann Arbor
"Thanks so much for the best weekend ever! You not only got us in all the Magazines, TV, WWW pages and even the big screen at Lambeau Field, but Disney World on the side? Nice job – You and your family are top notch – we were on the best tour for the Super Bowl! Seeing the Green Bay Packers win back the Lombardi Trophy was a life long dream of this Packer fan, and you all were so dedicated to the job of taking care of us that, like the Packers, we were a winning team! Keep me on your list."
-William D Lorge, Representative to the Wisconsin State Assembly