Things I Dread That May Happen

[Smidgeon]

1) Clay Matthews hits a big sophomore slump as no one else steps up in the pass rush department and he can't beat double teams on his own
2) D-Line depth is shallower than it appears when Justin Harrell gets hurt and Neal, Wynn, and Wilson show they still need seasoning
3) Rodgers continues to hold the ball too long when he feels like the pressure is on for him to single-handedly win a game
4) The LBs still haven't learned how to cover TEs
5) Burnett plays like a rookie. He doesn't play poorly, but doesn't play consistently as he'll flash now and then before disappearing or giving up big plays
6) Raji is just a guy in the middle. While he does draw double teams on occasion, he never does end up "causing havoc"
7) Pickett is just a guy on the outside. He was more effective at his old position

Now please, please, please show me why I'm wrong and convince me these things won't happen

[Spaulding]

Ha I'll answer with the following instead:

Things I'm surprised that might happen:

1) The offensive line stays healthy and Buluga unseats Colledge at LG and we end up with one of the better lines in the league
2) Jackson steps it up at running back and we have a more solid and consistent running game
3) Finley proves that last half of 2009 wasn't a fluke and dominates
4) Harrell plays adequately and combined with contributions by Neal and surprising play of CJ Wilson cover the loss of Jolly and provide a more consistent pass rush
5) Jones and Chillar compliment Matthews whose hammy doesn't flare up and he doesn't suffer the sophomore slump
6) Harris comes back strong and combined with improved play of Lee and Underwood make the cornerback a position of strength this year rather than weakness
7) Barnett makes us quickly forget Bigby and teams with Collins to make the best safety tandem in the NFC
8) Holder position solidifies for Crosby and he consistenly nails the 40 yarders this year
9) The punting position improves with addition by subtraction (Kapinos)
10) Shields uses stick'em to catch the balls and runs like a deer to two special team scores this year

Was tempted to add Slocum being shown the door but as long as I'm optimistic the special teams play improves it might allow him to keep his job another year.

[vince]

That's a good list. All of those things will probably happen at one time or another during the season. Hopefully Spaulding's balancers will also happen enough to negate the negatives.

Although Rodgers has been awfully impressive thus far getting the ball out, so I think, combined with an improved line, #3 may be largely addressed.

Even with all that, if the team stays healthy, I think they have as good a shot as anyone in the NFC this year, and they should continue to get better in the years to come.

This window has just begun to open.

[rbaloha1]

Re: Things I Dread That May Happen

1) Clay Matthews hits a big sophomore slump as no one else steps up in the pass rush department and he can't beat double teams on his own
2) D-Line depth is shallower than it appears when Justin Harrell gets hurt and Neal, Wynn, and Wilson show they still need seasoning
3) Rodgers continues to hold the ball too long when he feels like the pressure is on for him to single-handedly win a game
4) The LBs still haven't learned how to cover TEs
5) Burnett plays like a rookie. He doesn't play poorly, but doesn't play consistently as he'll flash now and then before disappearing or giving up big plays
6) Raji is just a guy in the middle. While he does draw double teams on occasion, he never does end up "causing havoc"
7) Pickett is just a guy on the outside. He was more effective at his old position

Now please, please, please show me why I'm wrong and convince me these things won't happen

Paranoia. Packers to the Super Bowl.

[Tony Oday]

Re: Things I Dread That May Happen

1) Clay Matthews hits a big sophomore slump as no one else steps up in the pass rush department and he can't beat double teams on his own
2) D-Line depth is shallower than it appears when Justin Harrell gets hurt and Neal, Wynn, and Wilson show they still need seasoning
3) Rodgers continues to hold the ball too long when he feels like the pressure is on for him to single-handedly win a game
4) The LBs still haven't learned how to cover TEs
5) Burnett plays like a rookie. He doesn't play poorly, but doesn't play consistently as he'll flash now and then before disappearing or giving up big plays
6) Raji is just a guy in the middle. While he does draw double teams on occasion, he never does end up "causing havoc"
7) Pickett is just a guy on the outside. He was more effective at his old position

Now please, please, please show me why I'm wrong and convince me these things won't happen

Paranoia. Packers to the Super Bowl.

1. Mathews WILL hit a sophomore slump they all seem too
2. I like our D Line with Raji, Pickett, Jenkins and Neal with the also rans subbing in
3. No Worries on AR...he went through his sophomore slump last year and didnt progress as much as we wanted hehe
4. Hawk will be a ball hawk this year with 4 picks and 11 passes defended as we shut down TEs
5. Burnett will play like a rookie...a rookie golden god!!!
6. Raji's productivity will not show on the stat line that much but will occupy guys to help our LBs
7. see 6

[Tarlam!]

We allow Favre all afternoon to throw the ball, like last season and capers/M3 still don't know how to adjust.

I think this season it comes down to a couple of shootouts. Hopefully Longwell has a couple of off days.

[Tony Oday]

We allow Favre all afternoon to throw the ball, like last season and capers/M3 still don't know how to adjust.

I think this season it comes down to a couple of shootouts. Hopefully Longwell has a couple of off days.

Favre will meltdown for 5 ints against the pack.

[SkinBasket]

Re: Things I Dread That May Happen

5) Burnett plays like a rookie. He doesn't play poorly, but doesn't play consistently as he'll flash now and then before disappearing or giving up big plays

I wouldn't worry too much, Capers has almost a full year's experience hiding Bigby, so it shouldn't be too hard to hide Burnett if he needs more time to develop.

[3irty1]

Re: Things I Dread That May Happen

1) Clay Matthews hits a big sophomore slump as no one else steps up in the pass rush department and he can't beat double teams on his own
2) D-Line depth is shallower than it appears when Justin Harrell gets hurt and Neal, Wynn, and Wilson show they still need seasoning
3) Rodgers continues to hold the ball too long when he feels like the pressure is on for him to single-handedly win a game
4) The LBs still haven't learned how to cover TEs
5) Burnett plays like a rookie. He doesn't play poorly, but doesn't play consistently as he'll flash now and then before disappearing or giving up big plays
6) Raji is just a guy in the middle. While he does draw double teams on occasion, he never does end up "causing havoc"
7) Pickett is just a guy on the outside. He was more effective at his old position

Now please, please, please show me why I'm wrong and convince me these things won't happen

1) Clay Mathews, provided he is healthy, should only become more effective as a pass rusher. His pass rush got quite a bit better over the course of last season to the point where he was making guys look foolish. He still has plenty of room to improve and you'd be ok with him merely staying the same. If you have trouble sleeping tonight just remember that he went to USC.
2) Wynn is more of sure thing than Harrell even if the later is healthy. Wynn was a pleasant surprise last year and now has an NFL offseason under his belt. Also if backup and rotational DL are your second biggest problem then you don't have many problems.
3) Rodgers seemed to learn how to throw the ball away as the season went on last year. Not out of bounds, just downfield towards Finely.
4) This isn't the Bob Sanders defense anymore, our LB don't have to be defensive backs too. Did we really get beat up by any TEs last year? Either way the starters practice against Finely now so that should more than prep them.
5) Burnett could conceivably be worse than Bigby but at least his ball skills will punish those who try to take advantage of his inexperience. Fact: Safeties have the lowest bust rate of all NFL positions.
6) I have this concern too but an NFL off season should also help him quite a bit. He plays the most physically demanding position in football. His push and ability to anchor should improve along with his technique. Even if he doesn't get better than he was last year, we can live with that in the short term.
7) You mean like Jolly was? This move puts our best three on the field. I pity the interior offensive line that must deal with all that beef.

[Smidgeon]

Re: Things I Dread That May Happen

1) Clay Matthews hits a big sophomore slump as no one else steps up in the pass rush department and he can't beat double teams on his own
2) D-Line depth is shallower than it appears when Justin Harrell gets hurt and Neal, Wynn, and Wilson show they still need seasoning
3) Rodgers continues to hold the ball too long when he feels like the pressure is on for him to single-handedly win a game
4) The LBs still haven't learned how to cover TEs
5) Burnett plays like a rookie. He doesn't play poorly, but doesn't play consistently as he'll flash now and then before disappearing or giving up big plays
6) Raji is just a guy in the middle. While he does draw double teams on occasion, he never does end up "causing havoc"
7) Pickett is just a guy on the outside. He was more effective at his old position

Now please, please, please show me why I'm wrong and convince me these things won't happen

1) Clay Mathews, provided he is healthy, should only become more effective as a pass rusher. His pass rush got quite a bit better over the course of last season to the point where he was making guys look foolish. He still has plenty of room to improve and you'd be ok with him merely staying the same. If you have trouble sleeping tonight just remember that he went to USC.
2) Wynn is more of sure thing than Harrell even if the later is healthy. Wynn was a pleasant surprise last year and now has an NFL offseason under his belt. Also if backup and rotational DL are your second biggest problem then you don't have many problems.
3) Rodgers seemed to learn how to throw the ball away as the season went on last year. Not out of bounds, just downfield towards Finely.
4) This isn't the Bob Sanders defense anymore, our LB don't have to be defensive backs too. Did we really get beat up by any TEs last year? Either way the starters practice against Finely now so that should more than prep them.
5) Burnett could conceivably be worse than Bigby but at least his ball skills will punish those who try to take advantage of his inexperience. Fact: Safeties have the lowest bust rate of all NFL positions.
6) I have this concern too but an NFL off season should also help him quite a bit. He plays the most physically demanding position in football. His push and ability to anchor should improve along with his technique. Even if he doesn't get better than he was last year, we can live with that in the short term.
7) You mean like Jolly was? This move puts our best three on the field. I pity the interior offensive line that must deal with all that beef.

All reasonably thought out. Thank you. But the lingering things that remain:
1) If offenses double him, from where will the rush come?
2) Rotational DL always ends up being a big issue. I feel that's why Jenkins is always ineffective towards the end of the year.
3) Agreed. Except at times he had started to fall back into those habits in the Arizona game. I think he was starting to feel like he had to win it instead of the team doing it.
4) No, not necessarily TEs, but their coverage remains key. Slot WR crossing patterns anyone?
5) Did not know that about the bust rate. A little comforting. But to be fair, I still have nightmares about Manual and Roman.
6&7) I hope you're right. But as much as I like Hawk, I don't want another Top 10 pick to be ordinary or less (thank you Mandarich and Reynolds). I want Raji to be special.

[CaptainKickass]

Favre will meltdown for 5 ints against the pack.

Now there's a hope we can all get behind!

[ThunderDan]

Re: Things I Dread That May Happen

1) Clay Matthews hits a big sophomore slump as no one else steps up in the pass rush department and he can't beat double teams on his own
2) D-Line depth is shallower than it appears when Justin Harrell gets hurt and Neal, Wynn, and Wilson show they still need seasoning
3) Rodgers continues to hold the ball too long when he feels like the pressure is on for him to single-handedly win a game
4) The LBs still haven't learned how to cover TEs
5) Burnett plays like a rookie. He doesn't play poorly, but doesn't play consistently as he'll flash now and then before disappearing or giving up big plays
6) Raji is just a guy in the middle. While he does draw double teams on occasion, he never does end up "causing havoc"
7) Pickett is just a guy on the outside. He was more effective at his old position

Now please, please, please show me why I'm wrong and convince me these things won't happen

1) Clay Mathews, provided he is healthy, should only become more effective as a pass rusher. His pass rush got quite a bit better over the course of last season to the point where he was making guys look foolish. He still has plenty of room to improve and you'd be ok with him merely staying the same. If you have trouble sleeping tonight just remember that he went to USC.
2) Wynn is more of sure thing than Harrell even if the later is healthy. Wynn was a pleasant surprise last year and now has an NFL offseason under his belt. Also if backup and rotational DL are your second biggest problem then you don't have many problems.
3) Rodgers seemed to learn how to throw the ball away as the season went on last year. Not out of bounds, just downfield towards Finely.
4) This isn't the Bob Sanders defense anymore, our LB don't have to be defensive backs too. Did we really get beat up by any TEs last year? Either way the starters practice against Finely now so that should more than prep them.
5) Burnett could conceivably be worse than Bigby but at least his ball skills will punish those who try to take advantage of his inexperience. Fact: Safeties have the lowest bust rate of all NFL positions.
6) I have this concern too but an NFL off season should also help him quite a bit. He plays the most physically demanding position in football. His push and ability to anchor should improve along with his technique. Even if he doesn't get better than he was last year, we can live with that in the short term.
7) You mean like Jolly was? This move puts our best three on the field. I pity the interior offensive line that must deal with all that beef.

All reasonably thought out. Thank you. But the lingering things that remain:
1) If offenses double him, from where will the rush come?
2) Rotational DL always ends up being a big issue. I feel that's why Jenkins is always ineffective towards the end of the year.
3) Agreed. Except at times he had started to fall back into those habits in the Arizona game. I think he was starting to feel like he had to win it instead of the team doing it.
4) No, not necessarily TEs, but their coverage remains key. Slot WR crossing patterns anyone?
5) Did not know that about the bust rate. A little comforting. But to be fair, I still have nightmares about Manual and Roman.
6&7) I hope you're right. But as much as I like Hawk, I don't want another Top 10 pick to be ordinary or less (thank you Mandarich and Reynolds). I want Raji to be special.

To address point 3. Even in the AZ game where he was reverting back his stats were 28/42 423y 4td 1int 13y rush 1td 1 fumble lost. If our QB reverts back and we put 45 points on the board I am perfectly fine with that.

[Smidgeon]

Re: Things I Dread That May Happen

1) Clay Matthews hits a big sophomore slump as no one else steps up in the pass rush department and he can't beat double teams on his own
2) D-Line depth is shallower than it appears when Justin Harrell gets hurt and Neal, Wynn, and Wilson show they still need seasoning
3) Rodgers continues to hold the ball too long when he feels like the pressure is on for him to single-handedly win a game
4) The LBs still haven't learned how to cover TEs
5) Burnett plays like a rookie. He doesn't play poorly, but doesn't play consistently as he'll flash now and then before disappearing or giving up big plays
6) Raji is just a guy in the middle. While he does draw double teams on occasion, he never does end up "causing havoc"
7) Pickett is just a guy on the outside. He was more effective at his old position

Now please, please, please show me why I'm wrong and convince me these things won't happen

1) Clay Mathews, provided he is healthy, should only become more effective as a pass rusher. His pass rush got quite a bit better over the course of last season to the point where he was making guys look foolish. He still has plenty of room to improve and you'd be ok with him merely staying the same. If you have trouble sleeping tonight just remember that he went to USC.
2) Wynn is more of sure thing than Harrell even if the later is healthy. Wynn was a pleasant surprise last year and now has an NFL offseason under his belt. Also if backup and rotational DL are your second biggest problem then you don't have many problems.
3) Rodgers seemed to learn how to throw the ball away as the season went on last year. Not out of bounds, just downfield towards Finely.
4) This isn't the Bob Sanders defense anymore, our LB don't have to be defensive backs too. Did we really get beat up by any TEs last year? Either way the starters practice against Finely now so that should more than prep them.
5) Burnett could conceivably be worse than Bigby but at least his ball skills will punish those who try to take advantage of his inexperience. Fact: Safeties have the lowest bust rate of all NFL positions.
6) I have this concern too but an NFL off season should also help him quite a bit. He plays the most physically demanding position in football. His push and ability to anchor should improve along with his technique. Even if he doesn't get better than he was last year, we can live with that in the short term.
7) You mean like Jolly was? This move puts our best three on the field. I pity the interior offensive line that must deal with all that beef.

All reasonably thought out. Thank you. But the lingering things that remain:
1) If offenses double him, from where will the rush come?
2) Rotational DL always ends up being a big issue. I feel that's why Jenkins is always ineffective towards the end of the year.
3) Agreed. Except at times he had started to fall back into those habits in the Arizona game. I think he was starting to feel like he had to win it instead of the team doing it.
4) No, not necessarily TEs, but their coverage remains key. Slot WR crossing patterns anyone?
5) Did not know that about the bust rate. A little comforting. But to be fair, I still have nightmares about Manual and Roman.
6&7) I hope you're right. But as much as I like Hawk, I don't want another Top 10 pick to be ordinary or less (thank you Mandarich and Reynolds). I want Raji to be special.

To address point 3. Even in the AZ game where he was reverting back his stats were 28/42 423y 4td 1int 13y rush 1td 1 fumble lost. If our QB reverts back and we put 45 points on the board I am perfectly fine with that.

I totally get what you're saying and agree, but if he hadn't started reverting, the Pack wouldn't have fallen behind so quickly and had to play from behind.

[ThunderDan]

Re: Things I Dread That May Happen

I totally get what you're saying and agree, but if hadn't started reverting, the Pack wouldn't have fallen behind so quickly and had to play from behind.

He really made the one bad throw to start the game and that is it. You can't blame DD fumble on ARod.

[Smidgeon]

Re: Things I Dread That May Happen

I totally get what you're saying and agree, but if hadn't started reverting, the Pack wouldn't have fallen behind so quickly and had to play from behind.

He really made the one bad throw to start the game and that is it. You can't blame DD fumble on ARod.

I wasn't talking about the one bad throw or the DD fumble, but that he seemed to be holding onto the ball longer and inviting unneccessary pressure or sacks. It really took him a series or two to shake that and get back to his game. Maybe it was just "First Playoff Game Jitters". If so, I'll take it.