BETTER, OR WORSE THAN LAST YEAR< WHICH WAY DOES OUR RECORD GO ??

[ThunderDan]

All Rodgers had was Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and a rookie named Jordy Nelson.

[run pMc]

Barry is a concern running this defense. There are still mismatches between talent-fit and scheme. Barry is going to be on the hot seat, but the players also know they underperformed. You can't fire all the players though.

Love has a talented group of receivers, Rodgers started with a better group of receivers. Love will have good games and bad games this year, but honestly few think they will win the NFCN so it's a good year to find out what they have. There's a lot of young talent on the team, if it pans out and grows together they could be a really strong contender in a year or two.

Sean Clifford could turn out to be a decent backup, but he's a way from even being Matt Flynn. Maybe he eventually turns into a Taylor Heinicke given his athleticism, but I don't think the ceiling is especially high for him, and I don't think you want him as more than an emergency starter to get you thru a game or three. Been a while since I've watched Brett Hundley, so I'm not sure he's better than him.
I don't think they are going to bring in a vet at QB or WR, they will ride or die with Love and the young guys. The salary cap is one reason, just getting these guys experience and seeing what they have is another. If they bring in Joe Flacco to be the backup, it tells you what they think of Clifford, but I think the reports on Clifford out of OTAs were that he looked like the likely #2. Too many young players at WR, drafted ones no less, you want to see them develop and make a decision before bringing in Jarvis Landry -- unless you have a rash of injuries. Landry isn't going to move the needle that much anyway. Gute's drafted all these players, gotta give them a chance to show if they're worth it.

Safety is a concern but Barry's defense for safeties is basically play Cover 2 or 3 and run up to make a sure tackle. OK, that's a gross oversimplification, but if they can make sure tackles they will probably be good enough to not be a glaring weakness against most teams. they can certainly get better there...via next year's draft.

Aaron Jones was the offensive MVP of the team last year, he likely is again this year (Love, Watson, or Doubs could maybe threaten that) and if he gets hurt they will have trouble ... but they have other players who can do most of what he does.

I will be curious to hear more about how the kicker is doing. Lots of close games can be won or lost that way... likely moreso than bringing in a expensive, washed up player for depth because you're too scared to play a rookie with upside.

[texaspackerbacker]

All Rodgers had was Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and a rookie named Jordy Nelson.

That is impressive. Just the same, I'm expecting Christian Watson to be FAR BETTER than any of those individually and maybe Doubs to rise to the level of each of those too. Add to that these rookie TEs, Musgrave especially, as well as adeqacy at least from Toure and Reed, and yeah, what we have might be as good.

And that's not even mentioning the "Rodgers Effect" - all of those past stars being made better, maybe much better by Rodgers. So yes, I'm doubling down hahahaha.

Overall, good analysis, runpMc - too much agreement to comment further.

[run pMc]

That is impressive. Just the same, I'm expecting Christian Watson to be FAR BETTER than any of those individually and maybe Doubs to rise to the level of each of those too. Add to that these rookie TEs, Musgrave especially, as well as adeqacy at least from Toure and Reed, and yeah, what we have might be as good.

I think it's about the known production and experience. Driver was in year 10 in 2008 and already had 5 1000 yard seasons. Jennings was entering his 3rd year and had 900+ yards the year before. James Jones was entering his second season with production that approximated Doubs rookie season. Watson has a higher ceiling than Driver, Jennings and Jones but he hasn't done it yet. He could (knock on wood he doesn't) bust, he could get hurt, or just never reach anywhere that ceiling. (Personally I think he has a bright future and threatens 1000 yards this season.)

To say the current WR group, in this current season is better than what Rodgers had is just barking mad. In three years it might be a very different story however.

Re: Rodgers effect - LOL. An elite QB can lift a team but it's more nuanced than you make it out to be. The counterargument to your Rodgers effect is the fact that he had talent last year and yet we've seen lack of experience used as an excuse for his and the team's performance. So Rodgers was so good he could make Driver/Jennings/Jones look great, but not Watson/Doubs/Lazard last season? Before you say it - Favre played with broken thumbs and bad ankles in multiple seasons. Maybe that Rodgers effect has an expiration date around age 38 LOL

[Bretsky]

All Rodgers had was Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and a rookie named Jordy Nelson.

yup; big time WR"s there

[Bretsky]

I'd like to note I was an IDIOT on my analysis.

I MEANT to say I have concerns over our #2 CB................not QB.............who cares who are backup QB is. If Love gets hurt we are screwed.

[texaspackerbacker]

I think it's about the known production and experience. Driver was in year 10 in 2008 and already had 5 1000 yard seasons. Jennings was entering his 3rd year and had 900+ yards the year before. James Jones was entering his second season with production that approximated Doubs rookie season. Watson has a higher ceiling than Driver, Jennings and Jones but he hasn't done it yet. He could (knock on wood he doesn't) bust, he could get hurt, or just never reach anywhere that ceiling. (Personally I think he has a bright future and threatens 1000 yards this season.)

To say the current WR group, in this current season is better than what Rodgers had is just barking mad. In three years it might be a very different story however.

Re: Rodgers effect - LOL. An elite QB can lift a team but it's more nuanced than you make it out to be. The counterargument to your Rodgers effect is the fact that he had talent last year and yet we've seen lack of experience used as an excuse for his and the team's performance. So Rodgers was so good he could make Driver/Jennings/Jones look great, but not Watson/Doubs/Lazard last season? Before you say it - Favre played with broken thumbs and bad ankles in multiple seasons. Maybe that Rodgers effect has an expiration date around age 38 LOL

Is it just next year we are talking about? Or the next 3 or 5 or 10 or 15? - as long as Love is QB1.

Driver has always been one of my favorites. I was praising him when he was basically a nothing WR. After ten years, though, he was fading a little bit, I think. I never had the high opinion others have about Jenning or J. Jones - good, of course, but not as special as many think. And Jordy, as I recall, took a few years to get great.

Rodgers Effect? Last year, maybe you noticed, was an exception to his great career. And even then, he (and in fairness, Love too) showcased Watson as a future superstar. Doubs too arguably benefited from playing with the GOAT. And of course, both were also injured large chunks of the season, which was a factor. You mentioned Lazard. He signed for likely more money than he could have ever dreamed of largely due to playing with Rodgers. And yeah, Favre did what literally nobody, even Rodgers could have done in terms of playing hurt - although the last Packer game I attended in person, 12 came back from what looked like an impossible injury to engineer a comeback for the ages against some sucky team that he owns.

My point is that Love has everything going for him to be star quality too in terms of receivers. Does he have the ability? Time will tell. I wouldn't bet against him, but I wouldn't bet on him either.

And Bretsky, so you meant #2 CB, not #2 QB? hahahahahahaha if you say so. In either case, I'd argue we're good. Stokes, like Watson, was one of those first rounders they took who was exactly what I wanted them to take. I'd disagree with you that if Love got hurt, we'd be screwed. We might be screwed either way hahahaha, but considering the loadedness of the team's overall talent, I wouldn't bet against Clifford handling the QB job as good as Love, probability-wise.

[red]

Absolutely no clue. I will say that last year was like a kick in the balls, yet if we get within a game or two of last years record this year, I’ll be on cloud nine

I do not think that gutsy has built a very good team. And the talent we do have is very young
A rod for many years managed to cover that up, but like others have said, he didn’t play to that level last year, and as a team we looked bad.

We also have a defensive coach that complete messy horse shit and has no business still having the title he carries, he has failed everywhere he has been

I have no clue what kind of offense we have because Rodgers ran his system, not the coaches. I know we have one really good running back, and one pretty damn good one

We could win 1 game next year or 10, I really have no clue

I am excited to see what we can do though, and like I said, if we can win 7 or 8 games, I’d call that a success and a really good first step

[MadScientist]

If Watson is the stud he flashed last year, Doubs improves and a couple other receivers / TE's prove to be good, we won't need Love to be otherworldly. Especially if the scheme works in his favor. When Hundley was otherwise looking terrible, Adams was still putting up decent numbers because he could get open enough for Hundley to make the throw. And he put up decent numbers last year with Carr throwing. Likewise look at what Purdy did last year in SF. A good scheme can make QB's look good. So this year I see the Packers at 9-10 wins and next year 13+.

[call_me_ishmael]

5-11.

[Joemailman]

5-11.

They play 17.

[Fritz]

They play 17.

Ish is not sure about that last game.

I'm going to be optimistic and say they'll go 8 - 9.

[smuggler]

I'm thinking we improve by a game or two.

[Spaulding]

Anywhere from 8 and 9 to 10 and 7. Given the breath of fresh air going with the latter and 10 and 7 due to the weaker schedule, improved defense and finally seeing MLF's 2 TE sets and focus on running game.

[Bretsky]

Going to go anti homer here. I would guess 6-11.

I hope we see a ton of promise from Jordan Love so we have the same hopes as year one when we watched Shitbag play, back when he was a good human being.