POLL-ODDS BETTER FOR 6-10 or 10-6 ?

[Bretsky]

Many comments have been made about how legitimate of a 8-8 team they were last year. I've seen comments about us beating some pathetic competition in the last four games. But then I've seen valid comments made about games Green Bay should have won against Buffalo and St Louis.

As shown by the games against New England and the Jets, the Packers undoubtedly were not a contender. But how close were they to a playoff team in the sub par NFC ? At worst they were the second best team in a horrid division.

As we enter the 2007 season, on paper it appears the Detroit Lions have made some solid improvements on paper and the Vikings "may" have as well.

The most logical, and maybe gutless, prediction for next years season has them winning between 7 and 9 games. Honestly it seems that it is where nearly everybody, including me, is at.

With this poll I'm asking you to make a statement as to how much ground Green Bay has gained or lost on the rest of the NFL. Throw your conservative predication out the Window. Have we gained ground on more teams in the NFL over the past year ?

Have we gained ground on the Bears and increased ground on the Vikings and the Lions ? Show us your bias.

IS GREEN BAY MORE LIKELY TO FINISH THE SEASON 6-10 OR 10-6 ?

[]{ilr]3]

Tough schedule this year. I am hoping for the best, but realistic projection would be less than 8 wins.

[HarveyWallbangers]

{ilr]3]Tough schedule this year. I am hoping for the best, but realistic projection would be less than 8 wins.

Agreed. If they played the same schedule as last year, I'd say they'd win 9 or 10 games. If last year's team played this year's schedule, I'd say they would have won 6 or 7 games. I know teams go up and down each year, but I don't see this being an easy schedule any way you shake it out. For this season, I have to choose 6-10 unfortunately. If they played last year's schedule, I'd choose 10-6.

[Bretsky]

I was listening to ESPN 1070 when Heller and Murph were breaking down Peter King and his ratings.

Main points were the D should be slightly improved, ton of questions on O and a tougher schedule. While common predictions were in the 7-8 win range, hosts felt they would not be surprised if our record took a 2-3 game fall but anything with double digit wins would greatly surprise them.

So thought I'd bring the discussion to PR where the real experts reside

[Packnut]

Predictions

I was listening to ESPN 1070 when Heller and Murph were breaking down Peter King and his ratings.

Main points were the D should be slightly improved, ton of questions on O and a tougher schedule. While common predictions were in the 7-8 win range, hosts felt they would not be surprised if our record took a 2-3 game fall but anything with double digit wins would greatly surprise them.

So thought I'd bring the discussion to PR where the real experts reside

Things could go either way. All I know for sure is that this season is a direct reflection upon the job our GM is doing.

[Joemailman]

I think the Packers were closer to 10-6 last year than they were to 6-10, and I don't see it being any different this year. I expect the rookies from last year's OL to be better simply because they're not rookies anymore. I also expect the communications problems in the defensive secondary to largely be a thing of the past, and in fact they largely disappeared the last month of last season.

I don't put much stock in the supposedly tougher schedule. With the exception of maybe the top 6 teams, the talent level in the NFL is very even. The most important factors in whether a team goes 6-10 or 10-6 are red zone execution and injuries. That is something you just can't predict from year to year, so some teams that look tough now will turn out not to be so (Miami last year), and some teams you expect to beat will be tough (New Orleans, New York Jets). There fore, unlike some, I think if the Packers are better, their record will reflect that. And I do think they will be better.

[the_idle_threat]

Even though I think the team has a good chance of being 9-7 or maybe even 10-6 if things go right, I had to pick 6-10.

They're only 10-6 or better if just about everything goes right, whereas, if one or more things go wrong---out of a slew of possible things---they're down to 6-10 or worse.

The odds of 10-6 or better are not in this team's favor.

Of course, the same thing can be said of just about any team in the NFL. A month or two ago, I wonder what Atlanta fans thought their team's record would be in 2007. I wonder what they think now.

[GrnBay007]

Some surprising/special things will happen this season. 10-6 or +. Gotta believe.

[the_idle_threat]

OK ... can I change my vote???

[retailguy]

Some surprising/special things will happen this season. 10-6 or +. Gotta believe.

Can I have some of what you're drinking? Can I look at the schedule from your angle?

This reminds me of the old Packer newspaper that had a column in it by Ray Nitchke. Every year he predicted that they "could" go 10-6 this season.... AND HOW.

[Bretsky]

Some surprising/special things will happen this season. 10-6 or +. Gotta believe.

I believe we'll see plenty of surprises, maybe some amazing records broken

But I'm not kool aidy enough to have the faith that Green Bay's young players will improve that much more then the rest of the leagues

Free agency, we maybe added one piece of cheap depth at one position. Did signing Frank Walker help us gain a competitive edge on the rest of the NFC ?

I'm at peace with Harrell, but overall rookies will not have huge contributions, especially if they are not inserted at a need type positioin and he enters a position of solid depth.

Hopefully Jackson comes through, but does adding Jackson and losing Green help out offense ?

Hopefully Jones or Clowny add depth.

I would not be surprised with anything between 6-8 wins
I'd be surprised with 9, and amazed with 10 at this point.

[The Leaper]

I think 6-10 or worse is more likely. A major injury at the wrong position could seriously cripple this team. They can't really make up any ground on the division...they were 5-1 in the division last year. That isn't likely to happen again, regardless of how much we've improved. Rivalries tend to be based less on who is better and more on who is more motivated and can take advantage of known mismatches in their favor.

There are far too many questions and too many young players who will still be using this season as a learning experience. The schedule is very tough on the front end...we could be out of contention by December and playing more young guys for evaluation purposes.

10 wins just seems like a lot...that would've tied them for 2nd in the NFC last year. I just don't see how we are going to make that kind of progress in one year without adding any potential impact veterans in free agency (such as Pickett or Woodson last year).

[MJZiggy]

Rivalries tend to be based less on who is better and more on who is more motivated and can take advantage of known mismatches in their favor.

I don't know, Man, I thought we kicked the snot out of the Bears all those years because we were better than they were... :P

[Freak Out]

14-2 Kickin ass and taking names.

[The Leaper]

I don't know, Man, I thought we kicked the snot out of the Bears all those years because we were better than they were... :P

Well, when you are THAT much better, as Green Bay was during most of the 1990s, it probably doesn't matter. However, I don't think anyone in the division is THAT much better right now...which is why it is less likely we are going to go 5-1 again.