Green Bay Packers
Head Coach: Mike McCarthy (82-45-1 all-time in Green Bay)
Last Year's Results: 8-7-1, eliminated in Wildcard Round by San Francisco 49ers
Projected Starters:
(My Player Rankings Guide:
E - Elite Starter: Franchise changing player at his position
HQ - High Quality Starter: One of the best in the game at his position
GS - Good Starter: If this guy's on your team, he's likely starting and you should be perfectly fine with it
AS - Average Starter: This guy is OK, but if possible, I'd be looking for an upgrade
BAS - Below Average Starer: This guy should not be starting, but he will because he's the best option
??? - Not enough information regarding this guy and the jury is still out on him
R - Rookie: Pretty self-explanatory
PS - Poor Starter: This guy shouldn't be starting for your football team. NO EXCUSES!)
OFFENSE:
QB: Aaron Rodgers (E)
RB: Eddie Lacy (HQ)
FB: John Kuhn (GS)
WR: Randall Cobb (GS)
WR: Jordy Nelson (HQ)
TE: Andrew Quarles (BAS)
C: J.C. Tretter (???)
RG: T.J. Lang (GS)
LG: Josh Sitton (E)
RT: Bryan Bulaga (AS)
LT: David Bakhtiari (BAS)
DEFENSE:
DE: Mike Daniels (GS)
DE: Julius Peppers (AS)
DT: Letroy Guion (PS)
LOLB: Clay Matthews (E)
ROLB: Nick Perry (AS)
ILB: A.J. Hawk (BAS)
ILB: Brad Jones (AS)
CB: Tramon Williams (AS)
CB: Sam Shields (GS)
SS: Morgan Burnett (AS)
FS: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (R)
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K: Mason Crosby
P: Tim Masthay
Schedule:
vs. @ Seattle
vs. New York Jets
vs. @ Detroit
vs. @ Chicago
vs. Minnesota
vs. @ Miami
vs. Carolina
vs. @ New Orleans
BYE WEEK
vs. Chicago
vs. Philadelphia
vs. @ Minnesota
vs. New England
vs. Atlanta
vs. @ Buffalo
vs. @ Tampa Bay
vs. Detroit
Predicted Results: 10-6 (4-2 in division)
Team Anaylsis: The Green Bay Packers are once again favorites in my book to win the Super Bowl. That's what happens when you have the best quarterback in the NFL on your team. Say what you want about Aaron Rodgers, but the guy is hands down the best QB in the NFL at the moment (Andrew Luck is coming to take your title Aaron). He's dangerous when he puts the ball in the air and he's dangerous when he takes off with the ball as the guy is the pure definition of "play-maker". He makes everyone around him better and when you consider that this could potentially be Rodger's best team in Green Bay, than that's a scary thought. Last year's Packers offense looked much better with the emergence of rookie running back Eddie Lacy. With an extra year under his belt, Lacy is going to be hungry to eat this year and should have an even better season as he embarks on a goal to become the NFL's best running back. As for the rest of the offense, the offensive line is OK and the wide receiver unit is one of the best in the NFL. There's a pretty big need at the tight end position (Colt Lyerla had a real chance to start here before getting injured), but something tells me Rodgers and company will be fine.
On the defensive side of things, the Packers are still a little bit of a work in progress. They have one elite player (Clay Matthews) and a bunch of other guys who are just decent. Green Bay is going to have a hell of a time replacing B.J. Raji, who was just injured the other day, as they are already lacking skilled healthy players on defense. The linebacking corp isn't exactly the best in the league and the secondary needs a shot in the arm like I need a million dollars. If anything's going to hurt Green Bay's Super Bowl chances this year, something tells me it won't be Aaron Rodgers and the offense. All of the blame will likely fall squarely on this unit. I've seen some Packers fans excited about the addition of Julius Peppers, but if you think he's the same player he once was, there's a reason you aren't writing NFL previews (or at least...you shouldn't be). Green Bay's defense has been disappointing the last few seasons, but there is some hope that they can get it turned around. While I can see some improvement from these guys, it wouldn't shock me at all to see them once again cost Green Bay a chance to make some noise in the playoffs.
I've said on numerous occasions that the two things I look for in NFL teams are a great head coach and a great quarterback. If you have those two things, you have a better chance to make the NFL playoffs at the end of the year than teams that have morons running the show (Oakland). Luckily for Packers fans, Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy are two of the best in the game at their positions. It wasn't that long ago that McCarthy and Rodgers were hoisting a Lombardi trophy together and if everything falls into place correctly, the pair could once again be hoisting another trophy come February.
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