Nationally, Packers get no respect

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

'Experts' write off Green Bay's chances
By ROB REISCHEL
Special to Packer Plus
Posted: July 19, 2006

Brett Favre returned. Charles Woodson was signed in free agency. And the Green Bay Packers appear to have drafted well.


None of that did much to convince the national pundits that the Packers would be anything more than roadkill in 2006.

In a sampling of some of the better publications Packer Plus found, the "experts" don't expect Green Bay to improve much on its 4-12 season of a year ago.

Here's a look at what others are saying about the Packers and their chances for success this year.

Pro Football Weekly
This is the Bible of pre-season publications, highlighted by insight from a large group of NFL scouts. PFW picks Green Bay to finish 4-12 and last in the NFC North.

The magazine lists Green Bay's Super Bowl odds at 35-1 and ranks them at No. 26 in the 32-team NFL. Its Super Bowl pick is Carolina over Indianapolis.

PFW's scouts rank the game's top 50 players, regardless of position. No Green Bay player is listed when just a year ago, quarterback Brett Favre was No. 7 and running back Ahman Green was 24th.

Favre was listed as the NFL's fourth-best quarterback, the highest finish of any Packer among their positional groups. Chad Clifton was listed as the NFL's fifth-best tackle and Mark Tauscher was No. 14.

Green was listed as the NFL's eighth-best running back and Bubba Franks was No. 9 among tight ends.

Al Harris was the 12th-rated cornerback and Nick Barnett was No. 20 among inside linebackers. No other Packer player had a top-20 finish.

The magazine had the following summary regarding Green Bay's outlook: "For the 14th year in a row, the Packers will go only as far as Brett Favre can take them. Everything would have to break perfectly for Mike McCarthy to do better than 8-8 in his rookie season."

The Sporting News
This publication picks Green Bay to finish higher than any other we could find, predicting a 7-9 record and a second place finish in the NFC North. The magazine predicts Chicago to win the division with an 8-8 record. It also picks Pittsburgh to defeat Carolina in the Super Bowl.

Of Green Bay, The Sporting News says: "Brett Favre decided to return, but it wasn't for growing pains. The Pack will be in the picture in a weak division, but it will be a long way from really contending."

The magazine also picks cornerback Charles Woodson as its "Thumbs Up" pick and the offensive line as its "Thumbs Down" selection.

Street & Smith
This publication picks Green Bay to finish third in the NFC North, ahead of only Detroit. Minnesota is picked to win the division, with Chicago second. The publication picks Carolina to beat Denver in the Super Bowl.

As for the Packers, the magazine doesn't predict final records. But it does have an opponent give a scouting report, and the one on Green Bay isn't rosy.

"This doesn't look so good," the report reads. "(Brett) Favre has good reason to worry. Look at the middle of their offensive line. Favre better practice his wind sprints. Plus, they lose their best receiver in Javon Walker, although Donald Driver had a heck of a year. If Ahman Green can come back strong, it will make a big difference, but who knows about his health?

"Mike McCarthy has to coach Favre better than Mike Sherman did. He might be an idol, but he needs somebody to keep the reins on him like Mike Holmgren did. I thought (A.J.) Hawk was the best defensive player in the draft; more production than Mario Williams. They needed playmakers on defense. If Charles Woodson can stay healthy, he'll help a lot."

Athlon's
This magazine picks the Packers to finish last in the division, with Chicago as champion. Its Super Bowl pick is Indianapolis over Carolina.

The publication assigns a point value between 4-10 to each position group. The Packers' defensive line received the highest score on the team (8.0) and their offensive line had the lowest (5.5).

In what the magazine calls a "Two-Minute Drill," it says the following about Green Bay:

"At first glance, it would appear that Green Bay is a franchise in decline. Detractors say the writing is on the wall - Brett Favre's skills are diminishing, Ahman Green's best days are behind him, an unproven coach is in charge and the team is coming off a four-win, injury-riddled season. Still, appearances can be deceiving.

"The offense boasts four former Pro Bowlers at the skill positions, the defense looks much better thanks to free-agent pick ups and the draft and eight of the team's 12 losses in 2005 came by seven or fewer points.

Given the parity of the NFL and the mediocrity of the NFC North, there's no reason the Packers can't be better in 2006. Still, achieving much more than .500 would appear to be wishful thinking."

Lindy's
We're not big fans of this publication, because it refuses to make predictions. But judged on ratings given to each team's positional groups, Green Bay ranks last in the NFC North. The magazine also lists running back Ahman Green as its player "On the hot seat."

The publication also does ratings of positional groups and individuals. None of Green Bay's units were ranked among the top five. And the only Packers to receive top-10 rankings as individuals were right tackle Mark Tauscher (No. 4), cornerback Charles Woodson (sixth), quarterback Brett Favre (10th) and defensive tackle Ryan Pickett (10th).

[Oscar]

I'm so ready for football. I think the Pack will be a lil better that most expect. Though, I'm a die hard Packer fan.I would have thought Seattle would have been given a lil more love. GO PACK!!!

[Creepy]

The same experst lasy year had the Vikings winningthe North and possibly the SB. The defense was going to be one of he best in the NFL and Culpepper was going to show everybody that he could do it without Moss.

The Bears would be cellar dwellers agains as they had no offense and with the Packers with Favre and Culpepper in Minnesota teh bEars woudl be lucky to win 5. The Lions owuld either be good or better, because if Harrington went down or didn't work they had Garcia. Heck, even I though Detroit would be better.

GB has injuryitis, Favre throws ints left & right and they finish 4-12 with a top ten defense. If Gb had been picked to have a top ten Defense last year, do you think they would have predicted a 4-12 season. IMHO, GB finally had the breaks go against them. Cheap wins and backing into the play-offs finally caught up with them. Now lets hope it was just a wake up call, as there are a lot of players who have been in the play-offs and never lost till last year. Maybe they will get hungry, and Fvare will be hungry enough to be coached and do the right thing.

All the experts will pick GB to finish last in the division, even though they have the same players that had them finishing first or second in the Division last year.

They will spout the same garbage as they did before, GB willgo as far as Favre will take them. With the additions on defense and if the offense can improve to the top 15, it will not have to lean as heavily on Favre. Maybe for the first time in years, the players will look to Fvare for leadership, and not just winning it all for them.

Can't wait for the seaosn to begin.

[Deputy Nutz]

It is any easy pick for the national writers and media. The Packers have been so good for so long, finally they have fallen back to Earth with their 4-12 record in 2005.

The National media fails to recognize the impact of severe injuries to this 2005 roster. The Packers lost their number one reciever in 2005 in the first game, they lost their pro bowl running back 6 games in, and the lost Bubba Franks for almost 10 games. Mike Flannigan was gone for four games, and then they lost their #4 wide reciever to a career injury in Murphy. Then the Packers lost their 2nd string running back in game 5.

The Packers were relatively lucky on defense, only losing linebacker N. Diggs for over half the games. they also lost Brady Poppinga for two games at the end of the season, Paris Lenon for a couple of games, and Thomas for 3 or 4 games.

The Packers addressed most of their weaknesses through free agency with the additions of Woodson and Pickett. They also picked up stop gab, in Ben Taylor. The Packers made a solid addition again in the secondary by signing a strong safety in Manuel. So far in free agency the Packers signed 4 starters for their defense, plus the addition of AJ Hawk. To pundit like myself I see the Packers front office has made enough moves in free agency to improve this defense to a legit top 10 defense in the NFL. Thats right, I didn't say a 26th rank defense like ESPN. If I am wrong don't listen to me ever again.

The Packers offense has gotten much younger across the offensive line. Especially in the interior. Which isn't a bad thing. The Packers decided to save some much needed dollars by not signing aging veteran in Marco Rivera two years ago. The Packers also decided to let Mike Sherman have aging and crippled center Mike Flannigan, although a funny personality his play has severely dropped off from his 2002 play. The Packers have a bright future in Daryn Colledge, Scott Well, Jason Spitz, Junius Coston, and White. I don't expect them to be perfect, but these young agile, athletic, and aggressive linemen will have to learn on the fly, but will exhibit the qualities needed to be successful in the zone blocking scheme.

The Packers get Ahman Green back from an injury that many have never fully recovered from, and they also get Davenport back as well. Samkon Gado also returns from a solid second half, but all three suffered season ending injuries at different points in the year. The jury is still out with this group, and with Thompson forgoing this position in the draft and free agency can only shed a little hope that Green and Davenport will be 100% healthy by the end of training camp.

With the loss of Walker the Packers actually clear a big headache, and a possible locker room misfit. The Packers will have to rely on Donald Driver to lead this unit once again with his workman like attitude. The Packers will have to pray that Robert Ferguson realizes that he was a second round draft pick earning 2.8 million dollars this year. The same goes for Rod Gardner, and a little praying might help Greg Jennings jmump ahead of these two underacheivers.

This offense can't rely on Favre to lead this team to victory, simply, others are going to have to take the load off his shoulders, and the easiest way to accomplish that is to get the running game going early and often. Yes Favre has to play within the system that McCarthy has set forth, but is this a big of a deal as the National Media wants it to be? I think not, every mag and tv reporter wants to point this out, but it is mainly smoke. Favre is going to call the play that he is told and he will execute that play to the best of his ablility, hopefully others will be on the same page.

The bottom line, is this team was 4-12, and your only as good as your record, but for the national media, and for that matter the local media to be chucking dirt already is a wee bit immature. The bottom line is this team has improved in the off season by getting healthy and making selective moves in free agency. The draft has added atleast 3 starters on paper, and with a possiblity of 5 starting on opening day.

[RashanGary]

The bottom line, is this team was 4-12, and your only as good as your record

Yep..That's what it is. The Packers have gotten better though. I think they are middle of the pack with Hawk, Woodson and Manuel. I think some of the young guys will step up too. 26th is selling GB a little short. Without Brett FAvre it's fair. With Brett Favre it's unlikely we finish that low.

[SudsMcBucky]

There are too many BIG question marks to expect national media to pick this team any higher that .500. Yes, MM may be able to install a Favre-friendlier version of the WC to eliminate picks, our new OL may get up to speed very quickly, Green and Najeh may be healthy, and a 2nd and 3rd WR may step up. Then again, maybe none of those happen.

GB certainly took steps to improve. I REALLY like the AJ pick in the draft. Although Woodson pi$$ed me off during the voluntary workouts, I think he will be a huge upgrade over Batman, provided he stays healthy. I also really like the Pickett signing, as well as Manuel. Our D should be much improved over last year.

Now, if Brett can quit trying to be a cowboy, our O can be decent enough to at least compete for the North. Did anyone else notice that last year's Falcons game seemed like a completely different O? The passes seemed much short. Quick slants, etc. Not the down field passing that often got Brett into trouble last year. If MM stays with that type of passing, Brett has the ability to shred D's, even with this WR corp.

[Creepy]

Green and henderson will be cating more swing passes out of the backfield and the TEs are to figure more prominantly in the passing attack. These two things will allow GB to run better and openthe 10-15 yard crossing patterens that Driver will excell at. The interior line isthe only weekness right now. I belive Gb will be rollibg Brett out more to avoid a rush up the middle, and a few well placed screens will also slow the DTs down.

With all the crap and junkl that happened last year the Packers had a #17 offnese. With the returning personnel and new system I don't see why GB cannot get back into the 10 15 or even the top ten in offense. They do this and the new GB defense will get turnovers. I feel that it will finish in the top 10 again, but will be a better all around defense than last year.

Gb is going to get sacks as the DBs will be better in coverage and withthe additin of Hawk we now have to LBs who can play the pass (Barnett). Still wish we had the Bears in week three instead of week 1. Wouldlike to havehad the OL play at least two fulll games before going against the Bear D.

Against the Bear offense I am not worried. We have more than enug defense to keep them down, just don't need the offense giving up stupid turnovers.

[Row 67]

Respect is earned, not granted. GB did nothing to earn any self-respect last year, so why should they expect any from others?

GB (and the whole state of Wisconsin) is a one-horse town to most national media types and most people in the bigger cities that hold NFL teams. They look at themselves as high and mighty. So naturally, unless you're dominating foes on the field, you're not going to get much attention or respect, because bigger cities with higher profiles and more media are going to be more familiar to those other media.

[Partial]

Respect is earned, not granted. GB did nothing to earn any self-respect last year, so why should they expect any from others?

GB (and the whole state of Wisconsin) is a one-horse town to most national media types and most people in the bigger cities that hold NFL teams. They look at themselves as high and mighty. So naturally, unless you're dominating foes on the field, you're not going to get much attention or respect, because bigger cities with higher profiles and more media are going to be more familiar to those other media.

see, but the thing is the media is so dumb.

The Broncos had the 29th ranked pass defense last year, yet are ranked 5th in upcoming season previews in pass defense despite not a single addition to improve that.

The Packers, ranked 1st, are ranked routinely between 20 and 30. I am not saying they should be 1, or even top 5, but they deserve more credit than what they are being given.

I am glad though, i'd rather be a darkhorse and sneak up on some guys early on.

[wist43]

It's not suprising the Packers aren't getting any love... they'll be better than last year, but they really don't have any play makers, and McCarthy is complete unknown.

They'll be better than 4-12, but I don't think they'll be playoff competitve by any means. 610 - 7-9 is more likely. Maybe 8-8 if McCarthy can get things figured out quickly and Favre can keep his head together.

[Zool]

WIST! 8-8? I'm shocked and amazed. I'm sticking with my 7-9. Early growing pains followed by some close losses and a general upswing by the whole team to end the season.

[MJZiggy]

Respect is earned, not granted. GB did nothing to earn any self-respect last year, so why should they expect any from others?

GB (and the whole state of Wisconsin) is a one-horse town to most national media types and most people in the bigger cities that hold NFL teams. They look at themselves as high and mighty. So naturally, unless you're dominating foes on the field, you're not going to get much attention or respect, because bigger cities with higher profiles and more media are going to be more familiar to those other media.

And evidently respect and support are lost awfully quickly...I'm willing to believe last year was a blip and as soon as everyone's healthy, and we get back to the basics, we will once again be a force.

[Deputy Nutz]

Respect is earned, not granted. GB did nothing to earn any self-respect last year, so why should they expect any from others?

GB (and the whole state of Wisconsin) is a one-horse town to most national media types and most people in the bigger cities that hold NFL teams. They look at themselves as high and mighty. So naturally, unless you're dominating foes on the field, you're not going to get much attention or respect, because bigger cities with higher profiles and more media are going to be more familiar to those other media.

Pittsburgh missed the playoffs three years ago, and had like a 6-10 record. Everyone was throwing dirt on Bill Cower and the Steelers. The drafted Ben Rothisberger, made the playoffs, and then the next year they won the Super bowl.

Also, the national media hasn't just forgot about the Packers, they went after Favre this whole off season, I am suprised that between the local media and the nationl media we didn't get a report every time he had a bowl movement. I am sure that he would get critiqued when he did that too, "Oh look at that Salsbury, I can't believe Favre got some on the seat, that is pretty disrespectful. I just don't think he has it anymore, he only took the time to wipe his ass 3 times, he is just so impatient.

[HarveyWallbangers]

It is any easy pick for the national writers and media. The Packers have been so good for so long, finally they have fallen back to Earth with their 4-12 record in 2005...

[more]

The bottom line, is this team was 4-12, and your only as good as your record, but for the national media, and for that matter the local media to be chucking dirt already is a wee bit immature. The bottom line is this team has improved in the off season by getting healthy and making selective moves in free agency. The draft has added atleast 3 starters on paper, and with a possiblity of 5 starting on opening day.

Good post. I agree.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Respect is earned, not granted. GB did nothing to earn any self-respect last year, so why should they expect any from others?

I agree with this, but it's been pretty frustrating to see the Vikings as the media darlings in the division the last few years. They were picked to win the division by many publications (especially the ESPN personalties) for a couple of years running going into last year. Oh well! Like you said, they'll have to earn that respect. Those close to the team feel there's a chance they'll rebound this year. However, they very likely aren't a real contender. I'm just hoping they get the ship righted, so they aren't like the 49ers of the last several years. I'd say an 8-8 record and the old war horse will just about have to come back for a final year to make a run and beat all of the records (especially the wins as a starting QB record).