After a debacle loss against the Buccaneers, the Packers have rattled off a string of 3 wins against the Cowboys, 49ers, and Lions. I believe the Packers are a legit playoff team, but nothing more. However, teams have shown the ability lately to make deep runs in the playoffs with what appears to be mediocre playoff teams. A few trends I’ve seen in the last few games include:

1. The defense has been more aggressive and less predictable. They had been blitzing in the past, but only on obvious downs. They’ve been more aggressive on earlier downs and a little more creative with who is coming (nickel back/cornerback) and not just the linebackers.
2. BJ Raji is getting more playing time and appears to be healthy. After seeing him dominate in the preseason, he hurt his leg and hadn’t looked the same for the 1st half of the season. He’s showing more signs of why he was such a high pick in recent weeks.
3. Woodson is playing the best ball I’ve seen, which is saying a lot. He’s been a great addition over the years, and for him to step up and play as he has this year is a testament to his work ethic and conditioning.
4. The special teams hasn’t been great by any means, but right now, all Packer fans want is for them not to cost the team a game.
5. The offense has become more balanced and it has helped the line quite a bit. Getting Tauscher back has helped solidfy things, but more innovative playcalling (shorter pass plays, screens, draws, etc.) help keep the defense from pinning their ears back. However, the lack of o-line penalties keeps them in more manageable down and distance situations.

Losing Aaron Kampman and Al Harris do hurt, but Kampman in the 3-4 is not like losing him in the 4-3. Harris hurts more because our nickleback Tramon Williams could start at corner for most teams, and it allowed Woodson to play nickel and put him in more of a playmaking area. Now, that option may not be available.

The ship is going down and McCarthy is going with it. However, I have a feeling that the Packers will find a way to beat the Cowboys for once, only to disappoint us further down the road. It appears that the leadership is not there and that the players voices and actions show McCarthy is losing the team. He needs to drop the hammer or this is going to get even worse. Some signs:

1. Discipline – most penalized team in the league
2. Comments – players vocalizing their discontent about the defensive scheme through the media multiple times
3. Sacks – wow, I don’t even think Lynn Dickey got sacked this much and he needed a walker to get to the huddle. Call a couple short plays, whether they are slants or screens or middle routes… stop going deep and getting Rodgers killed, and Rodgers… get rid of the ball or run. Stop floating around like Big Ben… he’s huge and can sumo slap guys off of him, you can’t.
4. Ryan Grant sucks donkey balls. My dead gradma could trip him up. Seriously, make someone miss one time, one time. Stop hitting the second tier and have some one flail an arm out and knock you down. Ahman Green ran for a boat load and it took 5 guys to bring him down. Ahman Green. I honestly hope he starts to get more carries.
5. Special teams or special ed? When the opposing team starts on the 50 on average after a kickoff… you suck. The special teams is the worst I’ve seen in YEARS. And they’ve been bad since Allen Rossum left offensively and not ver good defensively since the Superbowl years in the 90s.

Am I exaggerating? Some. Is the season a bust? Not yet, but they have to beat the Cowboys to have a shot at a Wildcard. And after losing to the Bucs in the dreamsicle uniforms… it doesn’t look good.

McCarthy needs to make players accountible for things. You don’t have to be Hitler out there, but when players mess up, you need to chew them out and yank them, even for a couple plays. Its different at the beginning of the season, or you are a seasoned team. However, when you are young, making the same mistakes over and over, and now you start pointing fingers… you need someone to put you back in line. That hasn’t happened and I think it will be the end of the Communist Scare of Mike McCarthy.

Beginning the season with a big win against the Bears, things looked a little bleak with a close loss to the Bengals. However, the Bengals have shown to be a very good team this year so far. So, heading into Sunday’s matchup the Packers need to show that they are a legit contender this year. Sure, 4-2 looks nice on paper, however, those other wins were against the lowly Lions, Browns, and Rams, with the other loss against the Vikings. At least, the Packers have been able to beat teams they should… its a step in the right direction. However, in order to show that they can make some noise this year, they must hold serve at home against the Vikings in round 2.

Some keys to the game for the Packers are as follows:

1. Rodgers must get a signature win. He is going into his second year and has great stats, but lacks a really big win besides winning both openers.
2. The line must protect. Tauscher returns to the right tackle position, but at left tackle it appears as if they are going with rookie TJ Lang… against Jared Allen…yikes!!! Lang appears to be a solid run blocker, but with an overall lackluster running game, he’s going to be tested big time. Hopefully, the Packers will offer some support with a back helping or at the very least a TE chipping. Rodgers has been sacked a ton and needs to understand the situation and throw the ball in the stands at times. I like the fact he tries to make plays, but against a superior line, scrambling is not always an option, unless it occurs between the tackles.
3. Some assemblence of a run game is a must, or use of screens. The screen game worked at the beginning of the last matchup and must be used to keep the Vikings defensive line from pinning their ears back and pounding Rodgers.
4. Contain AP. Easier said than done, but if the Pack can get out to an early lead, Childress has shown a tendency to abandone the run. Falling behind could result in a long day.
5. Assist Al Harris. I’m sure that the Pack will stack the box once again, but Harris will need more help than Woodson will. Favre continually went at Harris and some safety help will be needed in that direction.
6. Pressure, pressure, pressure. Favre will pick the d apart if given time. He WILL make mistakes if he has someone in his face. However, last game I believe Kampman was the only one to even touch him (twice I think). That is pathetic and needs to be remedied. I believe a more elaborate blitz scheme will be utilized this time around due to the defense being healthy this time around… which brings me to my final point.
7. The safeties must show up. For the first time since the opener, Bigby and Collins are back there together and need to bring their A game in both run and pass. Their has been communication break down due to the makeshift defensive backfield so far, but now their is no excuse.

8. Oops… one more note. The penalties have been KILLER this year. I believe the Packers are the most penalized team in the league this year, many by the offensive line. This has handcuffed the playcalling and put the offense in a terrible down and distance far too often. If the Packers have too many 2/3rd and long, the Vikings are going to have a field day.

In closing, things still look very tough for the Packers. The Vikings have shown that they are a very good, well rounded team for the first time in years. Not only have they upped their passing game, but their special teams is more dynamic with Harvin back there returning kicks, which adds another dimension that is scary good. The Packers can definitely win this game, but they need to put together an all around solid 4 quarters, which hasn’t been seen this year.

Well, its here. I was hoping this day would never come, and now I have to hear about it constantly. What I don’t get about Favre vs. the Packers are the number of fans that are rooting for him to beat the Pack, but that they will go back to Packer Backers once Favre retires. I can see not liking how it was handled and that he was one of the greatest Packers of all time, but I’ve been a fan before and still after Favre. BF and AF…lol. I grew up watching Lynn Dickey throw bombs to Lofton and Jefferson and still cherish those crappy teams more than anything, though they always seemed to lose 24-27 or in an even higher scoring game. Maybe a lot of these feelings have to do with younger fans that never saw another qb besides Favre and were used to the Packers almost always being good.

I hated the Vikings for taking other good Packer players as well, like Longwell and Sharper, always considering them traitors. No exception for Favre. He is a Viking now, and I will have those same feelings when I see him take the field as well. However, when he retires, those feelings will fade… at least for him.
I will always dislike the Vikings more than any other team, even the Bears. I grew up with half of the family loving the Vikings and dealing with all the jabs from when they couldn’t win in the dome… (which I hope continues to plague Favre). Though, I have a feeling this game will come down more to the Vikes stopping the Packers pass game and if the Pack can (somewhat, I hope) contain AP.

After a big opening game against the Bears, the Green Bay Packers seemed to have a let down at home against the Bengals. Charles Woodson tried to single handedly keep them in the game with two picks, one for a TD, but a number of issues were too much to overcome.
1. The Packers still can’t run the ball effectively enough. 46 yds on 14 carries isn’t going to cut it. Grant doesn’t have the holes to run through much and isn’t elusive enough to make someone miss when he does. He runs hard, but I’m not sure that with this offensive line that it is enough.

2. The dropsies. For a group of wr’s that could be tops in the NFC, they were awful. I didn’t check the stats, but there had to be over 5 drops, many of which killed drives early in the game.

3. Aaron Rodgers is getting killed. The tackle position needs to be addressed. Two games in a row, Rodgers has little time and is unable to step into a lot of his passes. The problem is, that the right tackle was dominated by Ogunleye and this week (multiple) left tackles were dominated by Antwan Odom for 5 sacks and many more hurries… UGLY!
4. Can’t stop the run. The Bengal offensive line owned the front seven and hard running from Benson proved to be a huge advantage for the Bengals and allowed them to open up the passing game with less pressure coming at Palmer.

Overall, I think it was a nice slap to the face. It didn’t appear that the Packers showed up ready to play. They need to realize that they are young and were only 6-10 last year. You can’t just show up and expect to win. I give credit to the Bengals and if it wasn’t for them being the Bengals and finding a way to try and lose, they thoroughly dominated. Woodson had the two picks which basically gave the Pack a fighting chance (one for a TD and one returned to the 11), otherwise it could have easily been a route. I must also say that Driver had a solid game and showed the true pro that he is, having a lunch pail mentality… Jennings? No catches? Really?

Last, but not least, I don’t care if Chad Johnson, yeah, Johnson found 50 Bengal fans in the end zone, you get off your rear, shove his arse off the wall and collectively shower him with as many beers as you can find. It shows how the average fan can’t afford tickets down in the end zone because only a rich powder puff, non true Packer fan would allow that to happen.

Off to St. Louie… I’m afraid that Stephen Jackson is going to go off for about 200 yds.

Heading into week one I wanted to comment on a couple question marks and throw out more questions that go along with the top concerns of each team.

1. Cutler’s role in Chicago. He is definitely an upgrade at qb, but there are questions that surround him taking snaps.
He’s had a history of shaking things up and it’ll be interesting to see if he blows up at his team if the o’s performance doesn’t measure up to what he had in Denver.
Will the Bears still rely on their running game and defense first or will they air it out more now with Cutler? I’ve seen defensive teams in the past try to open things up more, which has backfired with more turnovers and putting the defense more on its heels then a ball control offense would. This could end up backfiring and causing a rift between the two sides of the ball.
2. How will the new defensive scheme work out in GB? The Packers were terrible at stopping the run last year, along with giving up big plays. Will a more aggressive scheme help?
The offense has been impressive so far, allowing the defense to play from ahead and force teams into more passing downs (and its only been preseason), but can the defense show that they can still stop the run in closer games?
If the defense does struggle, can Rodgers lead the Pack down the stretch in the 4th quarter, which was an issue last year?

I believe the first game comes down to how both offenses match up against the defenses. The Packers need to be able to run the ball this year in order to help protect Rodgers and also keep the defense off the field, and be able to stop the run against the Bears. Even with the perceived lack of explosive receivers, if the Pack has to throw 8 in the box to stop Forte, Cutler is a better qb than the Packers have faced from Chicago in decades. And for passing lanes to open up, the Packers must show the ability to break off substantial yards with Grant or the Bears D may have a field day teeing off on Rodgers.

X Factor – Special teams. The Bears are well known for having an explosive return game and the Packers have been extremely poor in giving up field position. The Packers kept a number of questionable position players to help shore up this weakness and have a new special teams coach. This is a big test to start the year and may be a preview of things to come in their ability to stop a kick returner from putting their defense on a short field.

Football in both cities is a huge event and for them to start off against one another on Sunday night on primetime should be worthwhile for all football fans to sit down and enjoy a great game between two great franchises that both have high expectations coming into this year.

As mentioned previously, one of the Packer concerns is their current QB situation. Rodgers is doing extremely well, but behind him they have two 2nd year quarterbacks in Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm. While Flynn has shown signs of being a capable backup, he has had a recent shoulder problem which may last throughout the season or at minimum, hinder his effectiveness. Brohm has been absolutely awful, showing no ability to move the ball, even against the number two defense in practice. The Packers will go into tonight with only two qb’s with Flynn not being able to go, and it may be Brohm’s last chance to make the team. If he struggles, he most likely will be out the door.
It appears as if the Packers have already been in contact with the Chiefs and Bucs. An interest in a younger QB instead of a veteran seems to still be a priority as the Packers have been reported to be looking at Josh McCown and Tyler Thigpen. It seems inevitable that the Packers will try either, most likely depending on what compensation each team would be looking for, especially considering GM Ted Thompson’s reluctance to give up draft choices for outside talent. I personally believe they will look towards the waiver wire, but with Thompson moving up in the draft this year for the first time ever, he may pull the trigger if he feels that the Packers are contenders right now.
Personally, I believe a move has to be made. Rodgers started every game last year, but has had injury problems even before he was a starter and it would be a dishonor to the team if he went down and they threw out an incapable backup that couldn’t throw his way out of a paper bag.
On a side note, I believe tonight will show how far the Packers have progressed. The first team offense has been virtually unstoppable against the Bills and Browns, but now they are going to be tested against the Cardinals. This will be especially be a test defensively against a high voltage offense. The new scheme has been extremely effective so far, but hasn’t gone up against the explosiveness that the Cards possess. Tonight may show whether they will truly be in the mix this year, or just a team that can beat up on the lower echelon teams.

Considering all that Aaron Rodgers has had to endure over the past couple years with the Favre saga,  its amazing he has been able to keep his composure both on and off the field.  After a season where Rodgers through for over 4,000 yards and 28 TD’s, he continues to endure the Favre sayers.  Stating arguments that Rodgers can’t lead a team from behind, he only threw for that many yards because they were trailing,  Favre would have put up better numbers and more wins for the Pack, etc. 

After a stellar individual season (Packers went 6-10, losing 7 games by 7 pts or less, mostly due to an inept, vanilla defense that gave up leads in the 4th quarter) Rodgers once again gets to take a backseat to Brett Favre who now resides in Minnesota, which to many is a more heated rival than the Bears (just ask me, who has a brother, uncle and numerous cousins that are dreaded purple headed traitors from Wisconsin).  So Favre, comes in and takes away from Rodgers once again, stealing the spotlight in a way only Favre can.  Maybe, finally, with a revamped defense and a full year as a starter under his belt, Rodgers will be able to stand out from Favre’s shadow and finally put to rest why the Packers got sick of the constant flip flopping retirement talk and went in the direction of a young, confident signal caller that (currently) is more about the team and less about himself.