The Green Bay Packers defense is without a doubt my favorite in the league. They are just a bunch of hard hitting, make no excuses, football players. Chuck Woodson and Al Harris don’t know what soft coverage is. They are going to press every receiver and hit them as they are coming off the line. Its how they play and if they are called for incidental contact, so be it. A.J Hawk, Nick Barnett, & Brady Poppinga knock the stuffing out of running backs. If you choose to run the ball, they are going to be in your face and you better hope your line can protect you otherwise you will be completely shut down. Ask Adrian Peterson. Atari Bigby is the hardest hitting safety in the league and if you happen to be running a slant route, you better hope you’re head is still attached after he hits you. Bigby will hit you and it will be hard. And if you thought quarterbacks were safe, think again. Aaron Kampman & Ryan Pickett are coming after you. This defense is as physical as it gets and if you don’t come to play, you will be eaten alive. Its in your face football and I love it. They will have yet another great year.
Donald Driver was once the favorite target of Brett Favre, but those days are over. Will he become a favorite target of Aaron Rodgers? Only time will tell that. Whatever happens, Donald Driver is a fantastic receiver with some of the best hands in the league. He can be a possession receiver and get you the 10 yards you need or he can go out and make the deep play. He’s got all the talent in the world and Aaron Rodgers has a competent receiver to throw to. But it doesn’t stop there. Greg Jennings emerged last year as a prolific pass catcher under Brett Favre. It can only mean that with Aaron Rodgers under center, he’s going to get more passes his way. He’s got the speed to be the deep receiver or he can catch the ball on a slant or screen and take it to the house with his speed. Really Greg Jennings has emerged as a number one receiver, so what you’ve got here is basically two number one wide outs playing on either side of the quarterback. Kinda like what you got down in Indy with Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison. Also, with a young quarterback, expect the tight end to play a larger role in the offense. In this case its Donald Lee. Lee was productive when called upon last year and he can make Rodgers look great. I expect good things from Donald Lee this year.
Last year, the Packers had no running game. It was so bad it turned out to be a committee for basically the first half of the season. Brandon Jackson tried to get it done, but he couldn’t. Vernand Morency tried to get it done, but he couldn’t. Then an unknown running back, who was a member of the New York Giants practice squad, got the call. His name was Ryan Grant. And once his number was called, he exploded into a productive fire storm. He lead the league in rushing from week 8 on. This year, he will get to be a starter for an entire year of football and I all am seeing is another amazing season. Ryan Grant is the real deal and you will see that from week 1 on.
Ok so, the Packers have a running game, they have a defense, they have receivers, so what about the quarterback position. Aaron Rodgers has been waiting in the wings for Brett Favre to get lost. It took a retirement, a supposed comeback, and finally the trading of Favre, for Rodgers to finally claim the starting job as his own. And I do believe he is going to flourish as the starter. He is a young first year quarterback, but he is not your typical first year starter. He has been groomed under the legendary Brett Favre for the past 3 years. There is no first year starter more prepared to be a force in the league then Aaron Rodgers. He is going to surprise a lot of people and I think with his play, he will be able to win the Packer fans over. They may not like him now, but eventually, they will realize that Rodgers is the real deal and he comes to play. Like I said, he is a young quarterback and he is going to have his bumps on the road, but there is no other first year starter that is in a better position then him. The Green Bay Packers are not only a playoff contender, but they are poised to win a championship. Rodgers could lead them there. He’s got the talent, he’s got the team, now he just needs to put the two together to equal a superbowl ring.
The Packers are going to be an interesting team to watch this year. This will be the first year since 1991 that Brett Favre won’t be under center. Aaron Rodgers is ready to step up and be the man. This team is ready to prove that they deserve to be the superbowl champions. They made it all the way to the NFC Championship game last year and I don’t think its impossible for them to make it there again. I don’t think its impossible for the Packers to make it to the Superbowl. I don’t think they will win the superbowl this year, but things aren’t looking bad for the Packers at all. This is a great team. A young quarterback is ready to make a statement. Is it week 1 yet?
Keywords: Aaron Rodgers, AJ Hawk, Al Harris, Atari Bigby, Brady Poppinga, Brett Favre, Charles Woodson, Donald Driver, Green Bay Packers, Greg Jennings, New York Jets, Nick Barnett, Ryan Grant
