Aaron Rodgers hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy this year?

[wist43]

Talent wise, I don't think we're too far off. As mentioned in the poll... CB and LB - and to that I would add S.

Burnett may, or may not, solve the Safety problem; but, I think Harris about done; Williams is a career long nickel (a good nickel, but nonetheless still a nickel); and, Lee looks like a bust. Underwood has upside...

Think about that... if Harris doesn't bounce back or goes down again, your starting CB's are Woodson, Williams, Underwood at nickel, and Peprah in dime.

At OLB, I like Jones... but can he be a different maker??? With no threat coming off the other edge, teams will slide their protection toward Matthews, and our weak secondary will be further exposed.

Add to the personnel shortcomings, Dom Capers stated philosophy of "don't blitz a good QB", and you're essentially saying that every playoff game will necessarily have to be a shootout for the Packers to have any chance.

We have a chance... and I'm expecting we'll be in the playoffs, but I also don't expect them to go too far b/c of our defensive deficiencies.

[Bretsky]

We're one of the two best teams in the NFC; Green Bay and Minnesota. Saints will again be a threat as well.

Helped ourselves some via the draft but not as much as I was hoping for.

But we have as good as shot as anyone.

Looking at the draft and offseason, to me it appears the AFC is stepping forward, on paper.....looking like the more dominant conference once again.

I like our chances to get there in the NFC; I'd feel nowhere as confident if I were in the AFC

[Bretsky]

Talent wise, I don't think we're too far off. As mentioned in the poll... CB and LB - and to that I would add S.

Burnett may, or may not, solve the Safety problem; but, I think Harris about done; Williams is a career long nickel (a good nickel, but nonetheless still a nickel); and, Lee looks like a bust. Underwood has upside...

Think about that... if Harris doesn't bounce back or goes down again, your starting CB's are Woodson, Williams, Underwood at nickel, and Peprah in dime.

At OLB, I like Jones... but can he be a different maker??? With no threat coming off the other edge, teams will slide their protection toward Matthews, and our weak secondary will be further exposed.

Add to the personnel shortcomings, Dom Capers stated philosophy of "don't blitz a good QB", and you're essentially saying that every playoff game will necessarily have to be a shootout for the Packers to have any chance.

We have a chance... and I'm expecting we'll be in the playoffs, but I also don't expect them to go too far b/c of our defensive deficiencies.

This is too negative IMO. Assuming Harris is just about done and then taking the analysis from there ? Harris never relied upon his speed. Technique guy...incredibly hard working...sound fundamental. He's a guy who can come back and be very effective even if he loses a half stop. Tramon Williams is a well above average Nickel Back if that's what you want to call him. With the exception of the Jets, I'm not sure there would be any or many teams that would not be elated with having Williams as the nickel back.

We added a starting calibur safety in the draft; I have no idea what more you can ask of TT there.

We're missing an effective pass rusher to add to the puzzle. Ideally another CB but if you take the glass is half full mentality and Harris returns if we stay healthy we're alright there.

[Joemailman]

Every year it seems the Packers struggle with the OL coming out of training camp and get their act together the second half of the year. If the OL plays well from the start of the season, the Packers should win enough games to get the division, and a first round bye. I think that's the key. The other is to beat the Vikings at Lambeau. If the Packers had just done that last year, they would have won the division and first round bye. It would have been the Vikings who would have had to go on the road to Arizona, where they would not have won.

[RashanGary]

I'm not pretending like I can predict a championship for the Packers or anything like that. Obviously there are a lot of variables. However. . . Just going off how I've felt about past teams. . .

2007, I really liked the team, but didn't think they were SB competitors just yet
2008, I worried about losing C Williams and KGB, and the change at QB
2009, I was very optimistic, but OLB was a complete unknown and the new defense was a bit of a concern. Playing the Vikes twice early was a worry. The OL ended up being far worse than I thought it would be too. .


This year, I feel much better than any year in the last 3. I've thought we were a good team every year the last three years, but I didn't think they were real SB competitors in any of the years. Playoff competitive, yeah. . Maybe everything could go right, but I didn't think they were top tier challengers.

This year, I think they're favorites. I'm sort of with Bretsky. N.O., GB, Minn. I'd throw the Giants in there too with all of the DL help they got. We're a true top tier team now IMO. Not a team that has everything bounce right, a legit SB competitor with depth to handle injuries at most positions.

[packerbacker1234]

In the end it is going to come down to defense, as many others have said. Defense wins championships. We proved last season in the playoffs that we can put up points. We showed once the line solidfied we could run the ball late in the season with Grant as well.

Overall, our offense is going to put points on the board. The concern is the pass defense (we were pretty good against the run and have all significant contributers coming back).

Against elite QB's is something we need to worry about. The Drew Brees's (someone we WILL have to most likely beat in the playoffs), the Brett Favre's (say what you want, but barring some significant drop off due to another injury he is still an elite QB), possibly have to get by a McNabb (who may not be an all star, but is pretty good) or a Eli Manning type (guy who has shown he can win in the playoffs). Then when you get to the big game, you have to face Peyton Manning, a Tom Brady, a Carson Palmer, Joe Flacco possibly (he's coming along nicely). All capable QB's that could potentially shred our defense.

Now, for starters key guys have to stay on the field. Woodson, for starters, I think is a person we can't afford to lose. Same with collins and as much as I like burnett... we can't lose bigby either. Those 3 guys are the anchors that hold it all together back there. I also think, should Harris come back to at least as good as he was last season before getting hurt, that he is yet another key guy we can't lose in a SB run. I know his two injuries in his career have been fluky, but we just can't lose him if he is playing well. He alone could changed the game against teh cards early.

Then it comes to the front 7. Generating pressure. You can only blitz woodson and Matthews so much. After Matthews season last year, he will obviously be targeted a bit more in blocking schemes, meaning Brad Jones (who will get a chance to start all season) and our MLB crew will need to find a way to put pressure on. Barnett isn't much of a blitzer himself, but he is "pretty good" in coverage and is great at the cleanup tackles. He doesn occasionally make plays in the middle, and is a nice little QB type guy for the LB crew.

That means, though, the other 3 need to be big pressure guys. I like what I saw out of chillar last year more so then I saw with Hawk, and I think the packers are thinking the same thing (hence the fact chillar just got a nice little contract).

So we need to pressure the ELITE QB's better, and our secondary has to keep it together. Even with the added depth, we just can't handle an injury to really any of our LB and DB core, including harris. Williams is good, but we need a good CB to handle the slot guy or were gonna get torched.

Overall, I think we can be a SB contendor. First thing first is trying to win the division. That question almost entirely lies in the Favre decision, which based on how the vikings drafted it's clear they have a strong feeling he is returning. They really drafted in a way that indicates win now. So assuming that Favre comes back, it's going to be a rough road.

I think we will have a legit chance to take teh devision and we wont play ourselves out of it early like last year, but I still don't see our record being much better. An 11-5 record is pretty good regardless, even if the vikes go 12-4 or better again. The question really is what do we do come playoffs.

Right now, I don't know. This year, the packers really didn't get significantly better anywhere in terms of winning this season. The biggest "up" for them is the potential return of Harris, which is something they missed last year.

After that? It's the same team. We can't realistically expect Woodson to have yet another career defining MVP year, but we can expect him to be really good. It's just a matter of what have we done to get better now, and defensively... not much. A little depth here and there, but no real impact guys (again, unless Burnett just turns into a super freak)

So... It will depend on matchups. We see anyone other than the vikings and saints in round one and two, I'll give us a good chance to get to the NFC Championship game (afterall, our QB is pretty elite as well). After that? WHo knows. We are going to have be able to shut down Brees or Favre in a playoff game, most likely on the road.

Good luck packers.

[vince]

The Packers have as good a shot as anyone in the league if the right guys can stay relatively healthy. So they need a little luck, as they all do.

It will be interesting to see how Harris progresses over the summer. I'm no doctor so I have no real idea, but the talk seems to be that he's progressing well. It sounds like he has a realistic shot at participating in camp and being ready to play by week 1. He's on the downhill slide, but if he can come back and be in form, that will be a huge lift for the CB position. I actually think Lee can play based on the little that we've seen of him, but missing the whole year last year is a big loss in terms of experience, so he's still wet behind the ears.

[Tony Oday]

I see our front 7 will be much improved this year. I see Raji really coming into his own. Jolly is a stud!!! Jenkins and Picket will be solid again. Neal will launch an OT into the second row. I love Hawk, Barnett and Chillar in the middle. CMIII jones and Pop are good on the outside with Obi wan zor playing more snaps.

Our secondary will be solid but not great. Woodson cannot have the same year...I mean really if he does he needs a new contract! Harris will be a good to solid Nickleback behind T Will. Collins will be great this year...for whatever reason I think he will be a STUD!!!

We showed that we can score with the best of the NFC and this year we will have Finley for the full year. Offense will be amazing! I dont think anything we drafted will be that great...a 6-2 RB...isnt that a little tall?

[RashanGary]

Top reasons for optimism for the pass rush:

1. BJ Raji. Healthy, better in his technique, stronger
2. Jones. Had 4 sacks in part time duty last year. Stronger, better technique
3. 2nd year defense. Will be able to mix coverages and send more variety of blitzes
4. Neal. Will help by keeping Jenkins and Raji rested. Could bring some rush himself

[Lurker64]

I dont think anything we drafted will be that great...a 6-2 RB...isnt that a little tall?

According to Ted Thompson he has strict height requirements for running backs

I guess 6-8 would be a little much, and 5-3 is probably a little too short.

[Deputy Nutz]

I think the biggest reason people become shocked when something happens is that many people look at one data dot and assume future results to be exactly like the singular past dot.


In Nutz' case, the single data-dot he looked at was the Packers getting beat in the air badly by top passing teams. He assumes everything will stay the same.

The problem with that, the two edge rushers were 22 year old rookies. Smart money says they will be better. The back 7 were all in teh first year of a new scheme. Smart money says they'll be better. Raji is coming into his 2nd year. Smart money says he'll be better. They've added a high draft pick to the DL. Smart money say's he'll be better than who he replaced (montgomery).

We'll see how it goes. Are they a team that is plateued or a team that is getting better? Beauty in the eye of the beholder for now. The most angry, belligerent, insulting person will usually win that battle before the results are in. The proof will be in the pudding in a few months. We'll see how it goes.

I gave you my opinions and they inlcuded the defensive line, the OLB, and the secondary. How much they improve from 2009 is going to be seen.

I simply don't think the Packers have the talent and scheme to beat the Vikings on defense.

Favre might be on the decline, but his 2009 numbers don't hold to that theory. Favre will be entering his second season in Minnesota, and if the offensive line returns to the first half of 2009, the Vikings will be tough to beat. There secondary was a weak point for their team, and they actually upgraded it in the draft with their first pick. They got another offensive weapon in Toby Gerhart. Cornerback and running back are traditionally positions that can come in and contribute right away.

[Cleft Crusty]

THe Vikings completely dominated the Packers last year, especially in the trenches. If the Packers can't improve in pass protection and pass rush, Favre will dismantle them all over again. Right now any improvement is entirely theoretical.

[Tony Oday]

I dont think anything we drafted will be that great...a 6-2 RB...isnt that a little tall?

According to Ted Thompson he has strict height requirements for running backs

I guess 6-8 would be a little much, and 5-3 is probably a little too short.

lol thats awesome! Need a little sign that says "must be this tall to ride?"

[Joemailman]

In the 2 games against the Vikings last year, the Packers OL was in disarray. Neither Clifton or Tauscher started either of those games. The pass protection will be better. It improved greatly in the 2nd half of the season. If the Packers and Vikings had met in the latter part of the season, there is a very good chance the Packers would have won in a shootout.

For the defense to be better, they must get pressure on Favre. No sacks in either game, and not many hits. Capers went into those games with stopping Peterson his #1 priority. I don't think that will be the case this year. New Orleans provided the blueprint on how to beat Favre.

[Pugger]

Talent wise, I don't think we're too far off. As mentioned in the poll... CB and LB - and to that I would add S.

Burnett may, or may not, solve the Safety problem; but, I think Harris about done; Williams is a career long nickel (a good nickel, but nonetheless still a nickel); and, Lee looks like a bust. Underwood has upside...

Think about that... if Harris doesn't bounce back or goes down again, your starting CB's are Woodson, Williams, Underwood at nickel, and Peprah in dime.

At OLB, I like Jones... but can he be a different maker??? With no threat coming off the other edge, teams will slide their protection toward Matthews, and our weak secondary will be further exposed.

Add to the personnel shortcomings, Dom Capers stated philosophy of "don't blitz a good QB", and you're essentially saying that every playoff game will necessarily have to be a shootout for the Packers to have any chance.

We have a chance... and I'm expecting we'll be in the playoffs, but I also don't expect them to go too far b/c of our defensive deficiencies.

What makes you believe Lee is a bust?