Are The Packers a Good Football Team? And New Year’s Wishes for the Badgers

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, we end the year with a few questions. Where is Rashan Gary? Where are the punts? Where will Malik Willis go? And of course, are the Packers a good football team? We can start with Gary, who’s been M.I.A. for a while now and is turning into more than a bit of a disappointment. It’s been months since he recorded his last snap and he seems to simply lag behind most plays. We’ve seen him show some great skill, and we know he’s a workout warrior, so what happened? Unfortunately, we might not know by the end of the season. The next question is about the punting situation. The Packers are now the first team in the history of the Super Bowl era to lose three games without punting the ball in a single season. In fact, every other team that has gone an entire game without punting has been winning this year; the Packers hold the three puntless losses in the league. This spells all sorts of issues for Green Bay, from ineffectiveness in the red zone leading to field goals instead of touchdowns, failures to perform in fourth-and-one situations, and a defense that just isn’t coming in clutch.

Finally, as we come up on the final regular season game against the Vikings on Sunday, we reach the final question: are the Packers a good football team? They were at one point, thinks Oates, but today it’s hard to say. The Packers have been hit too hard by injuries this year, especially in their real difference maker players. Losing Parsons especially has seemed to deal a major blow to the defense (though that can’t excuse everything), and the offensive line has been rattled all year. The season isn’t over, and they have a guaranteed chance in the playoff, but if they don’t go on to win even one playoff game, a few people’s jobs might be in trouble…

Meanwhile, the college football playoffs begin in earnest this week without the Wisconsin Badgers. Remember the days of going down to Tampa to watch the Badgers play around this time of year? Hopefully those days can return in the future, but it won’t be with Billy Edwards Jr. He announced his entry into the transfer portal, which officially opens on January 2. Our two big wishes for 2026? The Badgers need to learn how to run the football again, and they need to figure out their quarterback situation.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.