Winners and Losers of the Hall of Fame Game Debacle

Shoddy field painting delayed the start of the Packers' preseason schedule, leaving them with the standard four preseason games. The loss of the fifth game isn't a disappointment to everyone, but there are certainly some winners and loser in the whole situation.

Let's take a quick look at who benefits from the game being cancelled and who misses out on a potential opportunity.

Winner - All of the players who actually had something to lose in this game.

If you're a regular season starter who was slated to play in this game, you are thanking God, your lucky stars, and the groundskeepers who used the faulty paint at midfield and in the end zone. There's really no reason to play as many preseason games as the NFL schedules already, and for the many players every year who find themselves sidelined after a preseason injury, adding a fifth preseason game just seems cruel.

Loser - The bottom of the roster

So many players need each and every available rep to catch the eyes of coaches. Several times over the past few seasons, players in Green Bay have made the final roster seemingly on the strength of their final preseason performance alone. Losing an extra opportunity has to sting a little bit.

Winner - Marquise Williams

Despite starting for a Power Five conference team last year, Marquise Williams found himself slated to enter the game behind Joe Callahan, whose last collegiate season featured games against Frostburg State, Southern Virginia, and Framingham State. With the Hall of Fame game cancelled, Williams has more opportunities to move ahead of his DIII rival on the depth chart.

Loser - Joe Callahan

The small school prospect is one of those aforementioned players who needs every possible opportunity to show what he can do. The Packers showed a lot of confidence in Callahan giving him the nod over the more experienced Williams, and he surely would have loved the chance to reward that confidence.

Winner - Fans of the Olympics

Count my wife among the people hoping the game would be canceled, and for good reason: Sunday night's Olympics slate was chock full of good stuff. The Hall of Fame game, however, was chock full of... less good stuff.

Loser - Fans of inside jokes

We have been deprived of inside jokes by the delayed start to the Joe Callahan era. His first start would have even been in Ohio, too. It was simply too good to be true.