COMPLETE COVERAGE-NFC NORTH: PACK FINISH 1st, 2nd...?

[woodbuck27]

I'm a new member of the kook aid crowd and I think this team is going to win the division. The Bears will drop off just like they did a couple years ago when then went 12-4 then 4-12 the following year. They might not drop all of the way to 4-12 but 8-8 seesm about right for the wrex run Bears.

The running game has it's question marks and the safety position is a little up in the air but there are young guys who could step up so even those spots might not be holes. Other than that I think we have a pretty good team with enough plamakers (Favre, Driver, Hawk, Woodson, Kampman) to win games.

NO ! NO ! NO !

We also have an OL that is far fr. mature or proven.

We have an outstanding lack of proven ability, flexibility or depth at the RB position, to satisfy the needs necessary to break a game between the red zones, and to get us six points whenever we slumber into that zone.

We have TE's that are useless at catching the ball whenever Favre is demanded to call their number.

We have no established depth at the WR position with the sole guardian of that gate being Donald Driver.

In short. . . our offense is not only shaky depth wise, but clearly without experience and talent overall.

With an offense like TT has afforded us we can only look forward to a respectable 'D', that by midseason will wear the truth of destruction, of a course it's faced with, of too much burden and no reality of depth or experience.

In football terms our 'D' will be on the DAM field too much: as a result suffer adversity as a course of extremes.

In really clear terms. . . we are screwed !!

[Scott Campbell]

ALL of the question marks will step up and make this a competitive team. You just gotta believe!

I'm not in favor of that extreme at all. I just prefer to wait until we lose a couple of games before I jump off the bridge. Every team has question marks at this time of year - it's just a matter of degree. Hand wringing Patriot fans are probably worrying about:

1) Can this team live up to all the hype?
2) Will Moss become a locker room cancer?
3) Can Brady stop impregnating hot supermodels?

I'm sure every team has plenty of glass half full fans.

[wist43]

I'm a new member of the kook aid crowd and I think this team is going to win the division. The Bears will drop off just like they did a couple years ago when then went 12-4 then 4-12 the following year. They might not drop all of the way to 4-12 but 8-8 seesm about right for the wrex run Bears.

The running game has it's question marks and the safety position is a little up in the air but there are young guys who could step up so even those spots might not be holes. Other than that I think we have a pretty good team with enough plamakers (Favre, Driver, Hawk, Woodson, Kampman) to win games.

JH,

You were well grounded and rational a few months ago... what the hell happened??? Abducted by Packer/TT Sirens who wove a seductive message of Kool-Aid drinking and orgiastic pleasures???

Sounds like a whole lot more fun than wallowing in panicky misery all offseason...

If they were mere Sirens, resistance is possible...

But "Si-reens" on the other hand??? No man can resist that... Just ask John Turturro!!!

Another innocent man taken over to the light side by the Sireens!!! O' Brother Where Art Thou???

[Scott Campbell]

In really clear terms. . . we are screwed !!

Speaking of glass half full........

[Zool]

If they were mere Sirens, resistance is possible...

But "Si-reens" on the other hand??? No man can resist that... Just ask John Turturro!!!

Another innocent man taken over to the light side by the Sireens!!! O' Brother Where Art Thou???

My 2 friends were recently baptized. I am as of yet unaffiliated.

[woodbuck27]

In really clear terms. . . we are screwed !!

Speaking of glass half full........

Yaa !

Of course my vote need not be counted, as I'm sole member of the Realistic Realist's Club.

In terms of a glass half full, Scott.

I confess as one of my negative traits. I'm often challenged NOT to be a pessimist.

[retailguy]

ALL of the question marks will step up and make this a competitive team. You just gotta believe!

I'm not in favor of that extreme at all. I just prefer to wait until we lose a couple of games before I jump off the bridge. Every team has question marks at this time of year - it's just a matter of degree. Hand wringing Patriot fans are probably worrying about:

1) Can this team live up to all the hype?
2) Will Moss become a locker room cancer?
3) Can Brady stop impregnating hot supermodels?

I'm sure every team has plenty of glass half full fans.

Scott,

My glass is "half full" too. I just don't think it's getting fuller this year. Too many holes, too many "IF" statements, with what appears today to be a brutal schedule.

I'm with you about seeing games played before jumping from the pier, but at least I won't be kool-aid drunk when we jump in week 7 during the bye week. I want to live until 2008.... :P

[RashanGary]

I don't really doubt the Oline nearly as much as RG and Woody.

We have a HOF QB who can still wing it.

We have a probowl DE who is in his prime

We have a borderline probowl LB who is in his prime

We have another LB who is in his second year and could be the best Packer defender since Reggie White and LeRoy Butler

We have a WR who casually creeping up on all time Packer recieving records and still has probowl talent left in him

We have another WR who was on pace to eclipse 1,000 yards before he went down with injury.

We have an offesive line littered with 2nd year guys who were starters on the all rookie team in their first years.

We have a RB who averaged four and a half yards per carry in spot duty last year.

We have a 2nd round pick RB who has all of the tools to be good if given the chance

We have 2 borderline probowl CB's

We have a young safety who is just hitting his stride and entering his prime

We have a 2nd year coach who is picking up where he left off as opposed ot starting over from scratch.

We have last years youngest NFL team who should just be better because they gain experience.

We have a 2nd year punter (most punters get progressively better over their first few seasons) who should get better

We have a kicker starting in his 2nd year who was OK last year but like PUnters, should progressively get better. If we don't have rayner we have the guy who beat him out but either way the ST's stand a chance to be better.

We have Rouse, Barbre and Poppinga (maybe 3 of the most aggressive and athletic ST's studs that we've had in the last few years)





I'm sure if you nitpick one or two positions (that have guys who could be good anyway but are unproven) you can find reason for pessemism but if you look at the QB and the defense (the two biggest factors in winning teams) you'll see a good team. Cliff Christl before he retired had a few catch phrases that he sort of based all of his football beliefs on. One of those phrases was "It's a young mans game" You never know who is going to climb up and play out of their minds year in and year out. The Packers are one of those teams that have all the ingrediants to make that leap.

I have optimism for this team, needless to say

[GBRulz]

The season hinges on the OL. If we have to go the max protect thing all the time again this season, we're screwed.

[RashanGary]

The season hinges on the OL. If we have to go the max protect thing all the time again this season, we're screwed.

I agree that the season hinges on the O-line. IF they're good; we'll be good. If they make no progress, we'll probably be slightly better than last year but definitly not as good as we all hope.

I heard a lot of really positive remarks from McCarthy/Philbin on the progress of the young lineman. We didn't always have that in the past (i.e. Whittaker and Barry being fat and out of shape). This team does have a chance. Favre has the WR weapons. The RB's can run. It's up to the line to give Favre time and make holes for our smallish backs.

[TopHat]

SITE'S PREDICTION

http://www.walterfootball.com/season2007gb.php

Green Bay Packers (Last Year: 8-8)

Veteran Additions: CB Frank Walker.

Draft Picks: RB Brandon Jackson, RB DeShawn Wynn, WR James Jones, WR David Clowney, TE Clark Haris, OT Allen Barbre, DT Justin Harrell, OLB Desmond Bishop, MLB Korey Hall, S Aaron Rouse, K Mason Crosby.

Major Subtractions: RB Ahman Green (HOU), FB William Henderson, TE David Martin (MIA), DT Kenderick Allen, OLB Ben Taylor.

Offense This Year: I was really excited at the prospect of the Packers being a sleeper team in 2007. Green Bay won its final four games and had tons of cash to spend this offseason. It needed a younger, talented running back, an upgrade at the tight end position and a better, proven No. 2 receiver for Brett Favre. That's three crucial requirements, but the organization had the funds to take care of those issues. Just one problem - I didn't take into account the ineptness of the front office.

The first need may have been taken care of. And I'm stressing the "may have." Ahman Green rushed for 1,059 yards last season, a far cry from the 1,883 yards he produced in 2003. At age 30 and two years removed from a serious injury, Green was no longer a reliable starting running back in the NFL. The Packers let him go, which was the right move. However, their plan to draft Marshawn Lynch in the first round blew up in their face when the Bills snagged him with the 12th overall pick. Green Bay panicked and chose Brandon Jackson in the second round, even though Jackson was a third- or a fourth-round prospect. Jackson might succeed, but it's unclear because he's merely a rookie. The Packers should have either traded up for Lynch or signed Travis Henry via free agency. There are rumors that Corey Dillon may sign with the team, but he's even older and more fossilized than Green is.

With Lynch out of the picture, I thought the Packers would trade down and grab Greg Olsen, or simply take Zach Miller in the second round. Instead, they waited until the seventh round to select Clark Harris. Thus, Green Bay has not found an upgrade over Bubba Franks, who seems to be getting worse every year. Franks has just one touchdown the past two seasons, and hasn't registered more than 400 receiving yards since 2002.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, receiver is a problem as well. Favre wanted Randy Moss. Instead he got James Jones and David Clowney, two rookies selected in the middle of the draft. Donald Driver (92 catches, 1,295 yards, 8 TDs) remains Favre's only potent weapon. Greg Jennings (45 receptions, 632 yards, 3 TDs) showed some promise as a rookie last year, but he'll be entering his second season and isn't a proven commodity just yet. A wild card is No. 3 receiver Ruvell Martin, who came out of nowhere to catch seven passes for 118 yards the final week of his rookie campaign.

You can see why Favre's numbers have been down the past two years. I can't even imagine how frustrated he is right now. Thankfully his offensive line is exceptional-it yielded 24 sacks in 2006. Otherwise, he'd probably ask general manager Ted Thompson to trade him to an organization that actually spends its money and is dedicated to winning.

Defense This Year: If you looked at the "veteran additions" portion of this season preview at the top of this page, you know that Green Bay's unfulfilled needs aren't limited to the offense. I can't believe the team signed one veteran free agent this offseason. One stinkin' veteran. And he's not even that good.

There's no reason not to start up front. The Packers did an exceptional job putting pressure on the quarterback last year, thanks to Aaron Kampman's 15.5 sacks. It's almost unbelievable how much Kampman has improved over the years. He's one of the top defensive ends in the NFL, yet no one really talks about him. Cullen Jenkins and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila chipped in with six sacks each, so defensive end definitely wasn't a problem. The interior of the line was, however....The organization drafted Justin Harrell in the first round, though he was an enormous reach at No. 16. The Packers could have traded down and few slots and still obtained him. Harrell is a promising prospect, although like Brandon Jackson, he's merely a rookie. No one really knows how well he'll play in this league.

Last year's first-round selection turned out to be pretty good, wouldn't you say? A.J. Hawk started all 16 games, recorded 3.5 sacks, recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pair of passes. Not bad for a 22-year-old. Hawk played next to middle linebacker Nick Barnett, who was second on the team with 105 tackles. The third leg of the linebacking corps left much to be desired, however. Brady Poppinga (60 tackles, one sack) is not even close, talent-wise, to Hawk and Barnett. Poppinga would make a solid reserve on defense, but he definitely shouldn't be starting in this league....

Another issue the Packers have is their aging cornerbacks. Charles Woodson and Al Harris are exceptional, but they turn 31 and 33, respectively, during this upcoming season. I wanted Green Bay to draft a young corner who could eventually be a starter for the team. All Thompson could come up with was free-agent Frank Walker, who's currently listed behind Will Blackmon and Jarrett Bush on the depth chart. Strong safety is also a problem; Marquand Manuel just doesn't have what it takes to start in the NFL. Green Bay selected Aaron Rouse in the third round, but many fans fear that he is a tweener - a player too slow to be a safety, but too small to be a linebacker. The Packers better hope he's not if they want someone promising to play next to Nick Collins in the future.

Schedule and Intangibles: I have to admit that I was wrong about Mike McCarthy. I thought hiring him was a huge mistake because he was fairly unsuccessful as San Francisco's offensive coordinator. However, he managed to get the most out of the Packers last season, so he deserves a lot of credit. Green Bay is 90-30 at home since 1992, but the team is only 15-17 at Lambeau the past four years, including 3-5 in 2006. Furthermore, the Packers are just 1-2 in home playoff games since 2002, after going unscathed in franchise history. What happened to the Lambeau mystique? ... Kicker Dave Rayner missed four field goals inside 40 yards, which is why Thompson drafted Mason Crosby. That's definitely an instant upgrade. ... The Packers were brutal on returns. They averaged about three yards less than their opponents and surrendered one touchdown. ... Three of Green Bay's first five contests are against Philadelphia, San Diego and Chicago, so we'll quickly see how good this team is. While Denver, Carolina and Dallas also loom on the schedule, the Packers' slate isn't all that bad. Washington, Kansas City, Oakland, Minnesota, Detroit and the New York Giants could prove to be punching bags.

Positional Rankings (0-4 stars): Quarterbacks Offensive Line Secondary Running Backs Defensive Line Special Teams
Receivers Linebackers Coaching

Divisional Rival History:

Chicago Bears: Brett Favre dominated the Bears for years. That's not the case anymore. Under Lovie Smith, Chicago is 4-2 against the Packers.
Detroit Lions: The Lions' ineptness has no limit. The Packers have won 11 of the last 13 meetings.
Minnesota Vikings: If Favre can't win in domes, how did Green Bay sweep Minnesota last season? There has actually been a sweep in this series the past three years. The Packers did it in 2006 and 2004, and the Vikings managed to do so in 2005.

Fantasy Football:

Brett Favre: Brett Favre's touchdowns are down (20 in 2005, 18 in 2006) and his interceptions are up. Is it age (Favre turns 38 in October), or is it the lack of talent around him? Could be both, but I have a feeling it's the latter. Projected Stats: 3,900 passing yards. 20 passing TDs. 30 rushing yards. 0 rushing TD. Projected Fantasy Points: 318.

Brandon Jackson: Will Brandon Jackson start right away? How talented is he? Will he fit into Green Bay's system? These are questions no one has answers to. He's a worth a shot if he falls, but I wouldn't take him early.
Projected Stats: 1,100 rushing yards. 100 receiving yards. 6 total TDs.
Projected Fantasy Points: 156.

Bubba Franks: Read the offensive portion of my season preview if you're thinking about drafting Bubba Franks. Projected Stats: 225 receiving yards. 1 TD. Projected Fantasy Points: 28.

Donald Driver: Other than Brett Favre, the only Packer worth taking in fantasy football. Donald Driver is perennially underrated, so you may be able to obtain him a little bit later than when he should be drafted.
Projected Stats: 1,275 receiving yards. 8 TDs. Projected Fantasy Points: 175.

Greg Jennings: I like Greg Jennings, although the following stat concerns me: Jennings caught only nine passes in December after registering 10, 11 and 15 receptions the previous three months. Rookie wall, or defenses finally catching on? Projected Stats: 700 receiving yards. 4 TDs. Projected Fantasy Points: 94.

Ruvell Martin: Came out of nowhere to catch seven passes for 118 yards the final week of the season. A sign of things to come? Keep him on your radar screen. Projected Stats: 450 receiving yards. 2 TDs. Projected Fantasy Points: 57.

James Jones: I wouldn't expect much from James Jones this season. I thought he was a reach in the third round. Projected Stats: 125 receiving yards. 0 TDs. Projected Fantasy Points: 12.

Mason Crosby: I wouldn't draft a rookie kicker in my fantasy league, but that's just me. Projected Stats: 24-30 FG (1-2 50+). 31 XP. Projected Fantasy Points: 112.

Green Bay Defense: Not a bad defense to have in a big league. The Packers recorded 46 sacks and 23 interceptions last year. They also held three teams to less than 10 points.

Projected Fantasy Ranking: Top 15 Defense.

Analysis: What could have been... I was ready to anoint the Packers as my sleeper team in 2007. That was before they refused to spend any money in free agency. Another mediocre season could be on the horizon.


Projection: 8-8 (2nd in the NFC North)

[TopHat]

SCOUT'S VIEW

http://packers.scout.com/2/655052.html

Coming up short

Have the Green Bay Packers gained any ground on the Chicago Bears in the NFC North Division this off-season? PackerReport.com's Matt Tevsh assesses the situation and explains why the gap between the two teams is still very sizeable. That Lovie Smith made it a point of emphasis spoke volumes. On the January day in 2004 when he was introduced as the new head coach of the Chicago Bears, Smith specifically stated one of his goals was to beat the Packers. Nearly three years later, Smith has accomplished that goal and then some. The Bears are 4-2 against the Packers since Smith took over and clearly the balance of power in the NFC North has shifted. Having once controlled the division for most of the 1990’s and into the first few years of the 21st century, the Packers have fallen back.

So just how close are they to getting back to the top? Not close enough - at least not for 2007. The prevailing feeling emanating from Packers’ fans this off-season is that the team failed to make any moves to improve their divisional position in the season ahead. Coming off a strong finish to the 2006 season the Packers should expect to improve their standing, but instead their longtime Midwestern foes have taken bigger, more proactive steps that might prevent that from happening. Here is a quick look:

• The Lions drafted stud receiver Calvin Johnson and traded for Tatum Bell

• The Vikings nabbed a sure-shooting star in Adrian Peterson and added hard-hitting safety Mike Doss

• The Bears have the majority of their dominant defense coming back and a first-round pick in tight end Greg Olsen who should stretch the field for their offense.

The Packers, on the other hand, made headlines for who they failed to add. Not completing a deal for Randy Moss put a damper on draft weekend and has the team searching desperately for someone besides Donald Driver to make plays on offense. The Packers have a remarkably similar roster to a year ago. They added just one notable free agent in Frank Walker and selected a mass of draft picks who will try to find a spot to fit in when they really needed an instant upgrade or two to continue their momentum from a year ago. Instead, they will be relying on continued improvement from their young players and young coach, and hope that Brett Favre can continue to deny Father Time to make any progress.

Uncertainties always seem to surface in some fashion late into the summer when training camp rolls around, but after having many of the same question marks last year at this time, it should be hard for the Packers to ignore what other teams in the North are doing. They are adding talent while the Packers are simply hoping to get more out of theirs. The Packers could still make a major addition to their roster before the regular season begins, but such a move is highly unlikely. Really, what ammunition do they have? Players with the most trade value – Favre, Driver, Aaron Kampman, A.J. Hawk, and Al Harris – are clearly not going anywhere, and to even suggest trading future high draft picks goes against general manager Ted Thompson’s grand plan.

What the Packers may have going for them versus their division foes are intangibles. If anything, they have had a better off-season than the Bears even if they lack their south-of-the-border foe in talent. Contract issues involving Lance Briggs, off-the-field problems with Tank Johnson, the departure of offensive leader Thomas Jones, and omnipresent chatter about quarterback Rex Grossman have given Bears’ fans reasons to want the season to start as soon as possible. As for the Lions, well, losing continues to be a disease without a cure. And finally for the Vikings, a clouded quarterback situation and possibly the poorest selection of coaches from the 2006 class could continue to frustrate Vikings’ fans. There still is hope for the Packers. To get back to the playoffs consistently, though, they have to climb to the top of NFC North again. With the division adding some pretty impressive players, that task just got a little harder.
__________________________________________________ _______________________________________

http://packers.scout.com/2/653859.html

No offense, but this isn't a playoff team

With the NFL's growing emphasis on scoring, a lack of firepower on offense figures to keep the Packers out of the postseason, PackerReport.com's Steve Lawrence says. Todd Korth, the editor of the Packer Report and my boss here for more than a decade, recently predicted the Packers would return to the playoffs this season. I like Todd. Which makes this all the more difficult to say: Todd, you’re nuts.

The adage that defense wins championships, while not necessarily false, just doesn’t hold as much water any more. The NFL, in its quest to be the king of professional sports in the United States, has put a bigger and bigger emphasis on offense. Sex sells, and so do 30-27 shootouts. Last season, the top seven offenses in the NFL in terms of points belonged to playoff teams. The league’s second- and third-highest scoring teams, Indianapolis and Chicago, met in the Super Bowl. Of the NFL’s eight division champions, San Diego led the NFL in scoring, Indy was second, Chicago was third, New Orleans was fifth, Philadelphia was sixth, New England was seventh, Baltimore was 12th and Seattle was 14th.

If you’re going to win in today’s NFL, you have to score points. Last year’s Packers finished 23rd in the league by scoring 18.8 points per game. That kind of production isn’t going to get it done, unless Nick Barnett is the next Ray Lewis and Justin Harrell elevates the Packers’ defensive line into an elite unit. Certainly, a more-experienced offensive line will help and a healthy Greg Jennings will take some pressure off Donald Driver, but it’s hard to see where this year’s Packers will be any more prolific. Ted Thompson has this team on the right track. He’s slowly building what should be a long-term winner. But those winning days — or, more accurately, playoff seasons — aren’t going to start this year. Brett Favre, who’s been showing his age the past couple of seasons, hasn’t gotten any younger.

It’s hard to imagine any team in the league having bigger questions surrounding its running game. Vernand Morency and Brandon Jackson have talent, but they are anything but sure things. Is Brandon Miree ’s blocking at fullback going to make people forget about William Henderson? Is there one legit tight end on the roster? Even if you combined all of their strengths into one player? There’s talent at wide receiver, but does anyone other than Driver cause opposing defensive coordinators to lose even a minute of sleep? Those are a lot of questions surrounding the offense. Maybe most of them will be answered in the Packers’ favor to help this team turn enough field goals into touchdowns. Maybe the special teams will emerge to give the Packers an artificially productive offense, a la last season’s Bears. But that’s a lot of wishing and hoping. Long term — assuming Aaron Rodgers is a competent quarterback — the Packers’ offense will be fine. But looking only at the coming season, how on earth is this team going to score enough points to win the nine or 10 games necessary to get into the playoffs? Especially considering the challenging schedule that looms. No, this Packers team isn’t playoff-caliber. Not when the questions outnumber the answers on offense.
__________________________________________________ _______________________________________

http://packers.scout.com/2/652020.html

Packers are passing division class

General manager Ted Thompson has positioned Green Bay to compete with the rest of the NFC North, PackerReport.com's Steve Lawrence says. Before the Green Bay Packers become regular Super Bowl contenders, they will have to regain their perch atop the NFC North. In that sense, it’s been an interesting off-season in Green Bay, as general manager Ted Thompson positions the Packers to compete against Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit. Thompson’s selection of defensive tackle Justin Harrell was widely panned among Packers fans and drew only slightly better reviews among league insiders.

But let’s look at the big picture. First, let’s review what the division teams have done this offseason:

The Bears selected Greg Olsen — the best tight end in the draft — with their first-round pick. He’s a guy many fans wanted the Packers to select, but with Olsen falling all the way to No. 31, it would have been a reach for Thompson to pick Olsen — a productive pass-catcher who’s alergic to blocking — at No. 16. The Vikings selected Adrian Peterson — the best running back in the draft — with their first-round pick. He’ll pair with Chester Taylor to give the Vikings a formidable one-two punch at running back behind road-grader blockers Steve Hutchinson and Bryant McKinney. Minnesota will be a run-first team with unproven Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback and a suspect receiving corps. The Lions selected Calvin Johnson — the best receiver in the draft — with their first-round pick. He’ll join Roy Williams and Mike Furrey to give Detroit the type of high-octane receiving corps that offensive coordinator Mike Martz likes. Like the Packers, neither the Bears, Vikings nor Lions were especially active in free agency. The biggest moves were the Vikings adding safety Mike Doss and the Lions trading standout cornerback Dre Bly to Denver for running back Tatum Bell. None of those moves will have the Packers shaking in their boots.

So, through the Packers’ perspective, what does this mean? Thompson has done well to match his rivals’ moves. Starting with Chicago, Olsen will be a big help to the Bears’ offense in at least a situational role. But, if either Marquand Manuel, Marviel Underwood or Aaron Rouse can step up at safety, the Packers should be able to handle Olsen. Can the Packers catch Chicago in the North? Probably not this year, especially if Rex Grossman shows some improvement at quarterback — and the addition of Olsen will help. But the Bears jettisoned 1,200-yard rusher Thomas Jones and could lose star linebacker Lance Briggs. The suspension of defensive tackle Tank Johnson will further weaken the defense. Can the Packers stay a step ahead of Minnesota? Certainly, the Vikings should have a superior running game — on paper at least. But, there are two major questions. Is Peterson healthy enough to help? Can Jackson do enough through the air to keep defenses honest? Interestingly, the Vikings are building a run-first offense and the Packers are building a defense-first team. Throw in Harrell to an above-average defensive front seven, and the Packers seem well-suited to handle the Vikings’ offense. On the other side of the ball, it will be interesting to see how the Vikings’ defense fares without coordinator Mike Tomlin. Finally, there’s Detroit. The Lions’ receivers should be terrific, but they still have Jon Kitna at quarterback. They still have a suspect running game — even with the addition of Bell — since Kevin Jones is coming off a serious foot injury. And the Lions’ defense, especially without Bly, remains in the bottom third of the league. Whether you like him or hate him, it’s hard to say Thompson did much to help the 2007 Packers. At the same time, Thompson did enough to prevent the Packers from falling behind their NFC North rivals. If the second-year players show enough improvement, the Packers will be in fine position in December

[Bretsky]

Re: SCOUT'S VIEW

http://packers.scout.com/2/655052.html

Coming up short

Have the Green Bay Packers gained any ground on the Chicago Bears in the NFC North Division this off-season? PackerReport.com's Matt Tevsh assesses the situation and explains why the gap between the two teams is still very sizeable. That Lovie Smith made it a point of emphasis spoke volumes. On the January day in 2004 when he was introduced as the new head coach of the Chicago Bears, Smith specifically stated one of his goals was to beat the Packers. Nearly three years later, Smith has accomplished that goal and then some. The Bears are 4-2 against the Packers since Smith took over and clearly the balance of power in the NFC North has shifted. Having once controlled the division for most of the 1990’s and into the first few years of the 21st century, the Packers have fallen back.

So just how close are they to getting back to the top? Not close enough - at least not for 2007. The prevailing feeling emanating from Packers’ fans this off-season is that the team failed to make any moves to improve their divisional position in the season ahead. Coming off a strong finish to the 2006 season the Packers should expect to improve their standing, but instead their longtime Midwestern foes have taken bigger, more proactive steps that might prevent that from happening. Here is a quick look:

• The Lions drafted stud receiver Calvin Johnson and traded for Tatum Bell

• The Vikings nabbed a sure-shooting star in Adrian Peterson and added hard-hitting safety Mike Doss

• The Bears have the majority of their dominant defense coming back and a first-round pick in tight end Greg Olsen who should stretch the field for their offense.

The Packers, on the other hand, made headlines for who they failed to add. Not completing a deal for Randy Moss put a damper on draft weekend and has the team searching desperately for someone besides Donald Driver to make plays on offense. The Packers have a remarkably similar roster to a year ago. They added just one notable free agent in Frank Walker and selected a mass of draft picks who will try to find a spot to fit in when they really needed an instant upgrade or two to continue their momentum from a year ago. Instead, they will be relying on continued improvement from their young players and young coach, and hope that Brett Favre can continue to deny Father Time to make any progress.

Uncertainties always seem to surface in some fashion late into the summer when training camp rolls around, but after having many of the same question marks last year at this time, it should be hard for the Packers to ignore what other teams in the North are doing. They are adding talent while the Packers are simply hoping to get more out of theirs. The Packers could still make a major addition to their roster before the regular season begins, but such a move is highly unlikely. Really, what ammunition do they have? Players with the most trade value – Favre, Driver, Aaron Kampman, A.J. Hawk, and Al Harris – are clearly not going anywhere, and to even suggest trading future high draft picks goes against general manager Ted Thompson’s grand plan.

What the Packers may have going for them versus their division foes are intangibles. If anything, they have had a better off-season than the Bears even if they lack their south-of-the-border foe in talent. Contract issues involving Lance Briggs, off-the-field problems with Tank Johnson, the departure of offensive leader Thomas Jones, and omnipresent chatter about quarterback Rex Grossman have given Bears’ fans reasons to want the season to start as soon as possible. As for the Lions, well, losing continues to be a disease without a cure. And finally for the Vikings, a clouded quarterback situation and possibly the poorest selection of coaches from the 2006 class could continue to frustrate Vikings’ fans. There still is hope for the Packers. To get back to the playoffs consistently, though, they have to climb to the top of NFC North again. With the division adding some pretty impressive players, that task just got a little harder.
__________________________________________________ _______________________________________

http://packers.scout.com/2/653859.html

No offense, but this isn't a playoff team

With the NFL's growing emphasis on scoring, a lack of firepower on offense figures to keep the Packers out of the postseason, PackerReport.com's Steve Lawrence says. Todd Korth, the editor of the Packer Report and my boss here for more than a decade, recently predicted the Packers would return to the playoffs this season. I like Todd. Which makes this all the more difficult to say: Todd, you’re nuts.

The adage that defense wins championships, while not necessarily false, just doesn’t hold as much water any more. The NFL, in its quest to be the king of professional sports in the United States, has put a bigger and bigger emphasis on offense. Sex sells, and so do 30-27 shootouts. Last season, the top seven offenses in the NFL in terms of points belonged to playoff teams. The league’s second- and third-highest scoring teams, Indianapolis and Chicago, met in the Super Bowl. Of the NFL’s eight division champions, San Diego led the NFL in scoring, Indy was second, Chicago was third, New Orleans was fifth, Philadelphia was sixth, New England was seventh, Baltimore was 12th and Seattle was 14th.

If you’re going to win in today’s NFL, you have to score points. Last year’s Packers finished 23rd in the league by scoring 18.8 points per game. That kind of production isn’t going to get it done, unless Nick Barnett is the next Ray Lewis and Justin Harrell elevates the Packers’ defensive line into an elite unit. Certainly, a more-experienced offensive line will help and a healthy Greg Jennings will take some pressure off Donald Driver, but it’s hard to see where this year’s Packers will be any more prolific. Ted Thompson has this team on the right track. He’s slowly building what should be a long-term winner. But those winning days — or, more accurately, playoff seasons — aren’t going to start this year. Brett Favre, who’s been showing his age the past couple of seasons, hasn’t gotten any younger.

It’s hard to imagine any team in the league having bigger questions surrounding its running game. Vernand Morency and Brandon Jackson have talent, but they are anything but sure things. Is Brandon Miree ’s blocking at fullback going to make people forget about William Henderson? Is there one legit tight end on the roster? Even if you combined all of their strengths into one player? There’s talent at wide receiver, but does anyone other than Driver cause opposing defensive coordinators to lose even a minute of sleep? Those are a lot of questions surrounding the offense. Maybe most of them will be answered in the Packers’ favor to help this team turn enough field goals into touchdowns. Maybe the special teams will emerge to give the Packers an artificially productive offense, a la last season’s Bears. But that’s a lot of wishing and hoping. Long term — assuming Aaron Rodgers is a competent quarterback — the Packers’ offense will be fine. But looking only at the coming season, how on earth is this team going to score enough points to win the nine or 10 games necessary to get into the playoffs? Especially considering the challenging schedule that looms. No, this Packers team isn’t playoff-caliber. Not when the questions outnumber the answers on offense.
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Packers are passing division class

General manager Ted Thompson has positioned Green Bay to compete with the rest of the NFC North, PackerReport.com's Steve Lawrence says. Before the Green Bay Packers become regular Super Bowl contenders, they will have to regain their perch atop the NFC North. In that sense, it’s been an interesting off-season in Green Bay, as general manager Ted Thompson positions the Packers to compete against Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit. Thompson’s selection of defensive tackle Justin Harrell was widely panned among Packers fans and drew only slightly better reviews among league insiders.

But let’s look at the big picture. First, let’s review what the division teams have done this offseason:

The Bears selected Greg Olsen — the best tight end in the draft — with their first-round pick. He’s a guy many fans wanted the Packers to select, but with Olsen falling all the way to No. 31, it would have been a reach for Thompson to pick Olsen — a productive pass-catcher who’s alergic to blocking — at No. 16. The Vikings selected Adrian Peterson — the best running back in the draft — with their first-round pick. He’ll pair with Chester Taylor to give the Vikings a formidable one-two punch at running back behind road-grader blockers Steve Hutchinson and Bryant McKinney. Minnesota will be a run-first team with unproven Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback and a suspect receiving corps. The Lions selected Calvin Johnson — the best receiver in the draft — with their first-round pick. He’ll join Roy Williams and Mike Furrey to give Detroit the type of high-octane receiving corps that offensive coordinator Mike Martz likes. Like the Packers, neither the Bears, Vikings nor Lions were especially active in free agency. The biggest moves were the Vikings adding safety Mike Doss and the Lions trading standout cornerback Dre Bly to Denver for running back Tatum Bell. None of those moves will have the Packers shaking in their boots.

So, through the Packers’ perspective, what does this mean? Thompson has done well to match his rivals’ moves. Starting with Chicago, Olsen will be a big help to the Bears’ offense in at least a situational role. But, if either Marquand Manuel, Marviel Underwood or Aaron Rouse can step up at safety, the Packers should be able to handle Olsen. Can the Packers catch Chicago in the North? Probably not this year, especially if Rex Grossman shows some improvement at quarterback — and the addition of Olsen will help. But the Bears jettisoned 1,200-yard rusher Thomas Jones and could lose star linebacker Lance Briggs. The suspension of defensive tackle Tank Johnson will further weaken the defense. Can the Packers stay a step ahead of Minnesota? Certainly, the Vikings should have a superior running game — on paper at least. But, there are two major questions. Is Peterson healthy enough to help? Can Jackson do enough through the air to keep defenses honest? Interestingly, the Vikings are building a run-first offense and the Packers are building a defense-first team. Throw in Harrell to an above-average defensive front seven, and the Packers seem well-suited to handle the Vikings’ offense. On the other side of the ball, it will be interesting to see how the Vikings’ defense fares without coordinator Mike Tomlin. Finally, there’s Detroit. The Lions’ receivers should be terrific, but they still have Jon Kitna at quarterback. They still have a suspect running game — even with the addition of Bell — since Kevin Jones is coming off a serious foot injury. And the Lions’ defense, especially without Bly, remains in the bottom third of the league. Whether you like him or hate him, it’s hard to say Thompson did much to help the 2007 Packers. At the same time, Thompson did enough to prevent the Packers from falling behind their NFC North rivals. If the second-year players show enough improvement, the Packers will be in fine position in December

Good Article

You'll hear no comments from me indicating the Packers closed the gap on the Bears last season. Not enough alcohol to fill up the kool aide bin.

Hopefully we'll finish 2nd in our division and be respectable.

B

[mngolf19]

I'm a new member of the kook aid crowd and I think this team is going to win the division. The Bears will drop off just like they did a couple years ago when then went 12-4 then 4-12 the following year. They might not drop all of the way to 4-12 but 8-8 seesm about right for the wrex run Bears.

The running game has it's question marks and the safety position is a little up in the air but there are young guys who could step up so even those spots might not be holes. Other than that I think we have a pretty good team with enough plamakers (Favre, Driver, Hawk, Woodson, Kampman) to win games.

JH,

You were well grounded and rational a few months ago... what the hell happened??? Abducted by Packer/TT Sirens who wove a seductive message of Kool-Aid drinking and orgiastic pleasures???

Well that might even convince me.

[TopHat]

Re: SCOUT'S VIEW

Good Articles

You'll hear no comments from me indicating the Packers closed the gap on the Bears last season. Not enough alcohol to fill up the kool aide bin.

Hopefully we'll finish 2nd in our division and be respectable.

B

OFFSEASON REVIEW CONSENSUS: FAVRE'S POSTDRAFT ASSESSMENT IS RIGHT-ON-TARGET ALONG WITH HIS HOPE THAT ROOKIES CAN DEVELOP QUICKLY. AMAZING. TUESDAY, A FORTHCOMING PREDICTION SEES A SEASON SCENARIO, E.G. 1ST QUESTION IN "BEHIND ENEMY LINES" ARTICLE.