Last Year:
The Green Bay Packers haven?t had a losing season since the same year Pete Rose was banned from Baseball?s Hall of Fame, 1991. While Pete?s been on a downer ever since, the Packers have climbed another direction posting a pleasant amount of consecutive winning seasons that included 2003-04. Brett Favre and Ahman Green were quite the hit, particularly Green who enjoyed a career year in many of his rushing categories. As the playoffs arrived, the pinnacle of the Packers season was when a former Green Bay quarterback won an overtime coin toss and cockily shouted ?We want the ball and we?re going to score? and then proceeded to cough up the game himself. After a heartbreaking defeat the following week, the Packers would be lying if they didn?t admit to lingering could have, would have, should have feelings. With stalwarts Favre, Green, and Lambeau field, the Packers will look to reinstate themselves as an NFC contender in the coming season.
What we Learned from Last Year:
While people continually try to write off aging superstars such as Demi Moore and Brett Favre, it?s clear that some things never appear to get old. Murmurs at the beginning of the season had Brett Favre as nearing the end, over the hill, and unable to carry a Packers team like he once could, but he didn?t need hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of surgery to reshape his look on the field. In fact his numbers looked as sexy as they?ve always been. Aside from his passing yards, Brett?s completion percentage, quarterback rating and number of passing touchdowns out-sexied his career averages.
Favre may consider sending a hallmark card to Ahman Green as he totaled 2000+ yards and 20 touchdowns making this tandem as hot as the Sharon Stone/Halle Berry duo.
The season had a mellow beginning for the Pack as they sweated to a 4-5 record but the rest of the way was a breezy 7-1 jog. Part of the flip-flop could be because of an easier schedule in latter half of the season, and part of the turn around could be that Brett was developing a rapport with his wide receivers. The Packers? QB lacked a consistent target throughout the whole season as no player topped the 1000-yard receiving mark (or 750-yard mark for that matter) but 8 receivers had more than 200 yards. As the clock would hit 2-minutes on the 2nd and 4th quarter Favre did not have a Sterling Sharpe, Antonio Freeman, or even a Mark Chmura to connect with and that was unfamiliar in the Packers offense.
Halle Berry with a whip and the Packers offensive line may not appeal to everyone, but the fact of the matter is that they are both dominant. The line finished in a two-way second place tie with the Indianapolis Colts for fewest quarterback sacks allowed (19). Stress was added when Brett Favre fractured his thumb in week 7 meeting with St. Louis but regardless of the extra pressure the entourage did an excellent job of continuing Favre?s consecutive start streak while opening significant gaps for Ahman Green to dart through.
The offense took some time to find its feet but their finishing offensive rank (4th) indicates that it wasn?t them that gave up their end of the bargain.
The colossal 4th and 26 letdown by the secondary in the Packers concluding playoff game versus the Philadelphia Eagles gave national television a glimpse of just some of Green Bay?s defensive inadequacies. A substandard pass rush and spotty secondary play was the recipe for disaster last season as the cheese-heads didn?t see consistency from either. Without any significant influential players on the defense the Packers found themselves in a number of shootouts.
Though the defensive struggles have been labeled as the team?s scapegoat one thing that should be taken into account is Ahman Green?s career high 7 fumbles in 2003. Every single game that he fumbled in, the Packers lost. Not a warming accolade for Packer fans since the topic of his loose hands is brought up each season, and it continues to get progressively worse.
A forgotten footnote on the Packers season was that without Minnesota?s miraculous loss at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals in week 17 the Green Bay Packers would have been on the outside of the inner playoff circle. Granted the run by this team in the playoffs could have easily have included a Super Bowl appearance demonstrates that Green Bay is still the class of a watered down division.
What Has Changed?:
For a team that was a 4th down play from missing the playoffs, to a 4th down away from having home-field advantage in the NFC Championship game, its unclear whether severe or subtle changes need to be made.
Evidently the Packers? front office perceives it to be the latter.
The esteemed acquisitions this off-season have been former first overall selection Tim Couch, and Bengals castaway Mark Roman.
The position that Mark Roman will fill is the safety spot vacated by the departure of Antuan Edwards. Roman has been an average safety at best and the Packers should notice a drop off at this position considering that coaches deemed Edwards to finally be reaching his potential.
The addition of Tim Couch may pan out as a smart move in the not so distant future. Succeeding Favre, whenever his time is, will always be a tough act to follow but for now he?s an insurance policy.
A subtle addition to this team may be the supplement of experience. The Packers offense looked like night and day in the first and second halves of last season, but the more playing time Favre had with his receivers the more rhythm they developed. Donald Driver took this crop of receivers by the horns in 2002 pulling in 70 receptions for more than 1000 yards but after signing a fat contract in the off-season he disappeared in the passing game. Javon Walker stepped in to the primary role in the late goings grabbing 9 touchdowns and between him, a rejuvenated Donald Driver and speedy Robert Ferguson the Packers will be very potent offensively.
Through the draft the Packers went after their most exposed position - cornerback. First and second round draft picks were used on Arkansas Ahmad Carroll and a lesser known Joey Thomas who are projected to add playmaking ability to a secondary that is likely to be one short thanks to holdout Mike McKenzie. Too bad he won?t be part of the crew because with these four guys competing for starting jobs the Pack would be much stronger in a position that hindered them a season a go. If the dreadlocks duo were still in the together the burden on the rookie corners would be lessened and they could casually ease onto the field.
In essence this team is virtually unchanged. The offense may perform better than last season with a fit Brett Favre and emerging receivers but the questions remain on defense. Green Bay still holds the late season advantage over the Minnesota Vikings as they seem unstoppable in the month of December but the Vikings, Lions and Bears have all narrowed a gap that once was spacious.
O/U 9.5:
The Vikings may not quite be there mentally, but they rival the Packers in every other way. Meanwhile the Bears and Lions are set to unveil what they deem to be ?explosive? offenses, but we?ll use the word prospective as our caption for now. The reality is that Favre is still in a Packers jersey, which means until one team finally punks them, they are still the paramount team in this division. Here?s who they play out side of their main foes: @CAR, @IND, NYG, TEN, DAL, @WAS, @HOU, STL, @PHI, and JAX.
Fantasy Sleeper:
Put a strikethrough Brett Favre and Ahman Green as sleepers because if you wait to draft them then you are welcome to join my fantasy pool. With Robert Ferguson and Javon Walker getting the flash last year Donald Driver may be a forgotten man on draft-day cheatsheets. Most players struggle in the year of their payday so look for Driver to resurge as one of Brett?s dependable targets in 2004.
The Green Bay Packers haven?t had a losing season since the same year Pete Rose was banned from Baseball?s Hall of Fame, 1991. While Pete?s been on a downer ever since, the Packers have climbed another direction posting a pleasant amount of consecutive winning seasons that included 2003-04. Brett Favre and Ahman Green were quite the hit, particularly Green who enjoyed a career year in many of his rushing categories. As the playoffs arrived, the pinnacle of the Packers season was when a former Green Bay quarterback won an overtime coin toss and cockily shouted ?We want the ball and we?re going to score? and then proceeded to cough up the game himself. After a heartbreaking defeat the following week, the Packers would be lying if they didn?t admit to lingering could have, would have, should have feelings. With stalwarts Favre, Green, and Lambeau field, the Packers will look to reinstate themselves as an NFC contender in the coming season.
What we Learned from Last Year:
While people continually try to write off aging superstars such as Demi Moore and Brett Favre, it?s clear that some things never appear to get old. Murmurs at the beginning of the season had Brett Favre as nearing the end, over the hill, and unable to carry a Packers team like he once could, but he didn?t need hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of surgery to reshape his look on the field. In fact his numbers looked as sexy as they?ve always been. Aside from his passing yards, Brett?s completion percentage, quarterback rating and number of passing touchdowns out-sexied his career averages.
Favre may consider sending a hallmark card to Ahman Green as he totaled 2000+ yards and 20 touchdowns making this tandem as hot as the Sharon Stone/Halle Berry duo.
The season had a mellow beginning for the Pack as they sweated to a 4-5 record but the rest of the way was a breezy 7-1 jog. Part of the flip-flop could be because of an easier schedule in latter half of the season, and part of the turn around could be that Brett was developing a rapport with his wide receivers. The Packers? QB lacked a consistent target throughout the whole season as no player topped the 1000-yard receiving mark (or 750-yard mark for that matter) but 8 receivers had more than 200 yards. As the clock would hit 2-minutes on the 2nd and 4th quarter Favre did not have a Sterling Sharpe, Antonio Freeman, or even a Mark Chmura to connect with and that was unfamiliar in the Packers offense.
Halle Berry with a whip and the Packers offensive line may not appeal to everyone, but the fact of the matter is that they are both dominant. The line finished in a two-way second place tie with the Indianapolis Colts for fewest quarterback sacks allowed (19). Stress was added when Brett Favre fractured his thumb in week 7 meeting with St. Louis but regardless of the extra pressure the entourage did an excellent job of continuing Favre?s consecutive start streak while opening significant gaps for Ahman Green to dart through.
The offense took some time to find its feet but their finishing offensive rank (4th) indicates that it wasn?t them that gave up their end of the bargain.
The colossal 4th and 26 letdown by the secondary in the Packers concluding playoff game versus the Philadelphia Eagles gave national television a glimpse of just some of Green Bay?s defensive inadequacies. A substandard pass rush and spotty secondary play was the recipe for disaster last season as the cheese-heads didn?t see consistency from either. Without any significant influential players on the defense the Packers found themselves in a number of shootouts.
Though the defensive struggles have been labeled as the team?s scapegoat one thing that should be taken into account is Ahman Green?s career high 7 fumbles in 2003. Every single game that he fumbled in, the Packers lost. Not a warming accolade for Packer fans since the topic of his loose hands is brought up each season, and it continues to get progressively worse.
A forgotten footnote on the Packers season was that without Minnesota?s miraculous loss at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals in week 17 the Green Bay Packers would have been on the outside of the inner playoff circle. Granted the run by this team in the playoffs could have easily have included a Super Bowl appearance demonstrates that Green Bay is still the class of a watered down division.
What Has Changed?:
For a team that was a 4th down play from missing the playoffs, to a 4th down away from having home-field advantage in the NFC Championship game, its unclear whether severe or subtle changes need to be made.
Evidently the Packers? front office perceives it to be the latter.
The esteemed acquisitions this off-season have been former first overall selection Tim Couch, and Bengals castaway Mark Roman.
The position that Mark Roman will fill is the safety spot vacated by the departure of Antuan Edwards. Roman has been an average safety at best and the Packers should notice a drop off at this position considering that coaches deemed Edwards to finally be reaching his potential.
The addition of Tim Couch may pan out as a smart move in the not so distant future. Succeeding Favre, whenever his time is, will always be a tough act to follow but for now he?s an insurance policy.
A subtle addition to this team may be the supplement of experience. The Packers offense looked like night and day in the first and second halves of last season, but the more playing time Favre had with his receivers the more rhythm they developed. Donald Driver took this crop of receivers by the horns in 2002 pulling in 70 receptions for more than 1000 yards but after signing a fat contract in the off-season he disappeared in the passing game. Javon Walker stepped in to the primary role in the late goings grabbing 9 touchdowns and between him, a rejuvenated Donald Driver and speedy Robert Ferguson the Packers will be very potent offensively.
Through the draft the Packers went after their most exposed position - cornerback. First and second round draft picks were used on Arkansas Ahmad Carroll and a lesser known Joey Thomas who are projected to add playmaking ability to a secondary that is likely to be one short thanks to holdout Mike McKenzie. Too bad he won?t be part of the crew because with these four guys competing for starting jobs the Pack would be much stronger in a position that hindered them a season a go. If the dreadlocks duo were still in the together the burden on the rookie corners would be lessened and they could casually ease onto the field.
In essence this team is virtually unchanged. The offense may perform better than last season with a fit Brett Favre and emerging receivers but the questions remain on defense. Green Bay still holds the late season advantage over the Minnesota Vikings as they seem unstoppable in the month of December but the Vikings, Lions and Bears have all narrowed a gap that once was spacious.
O/U 9.5:
The Vikings may not quite be there mentally, but they rival the Packers in every other way. Meanwhile the Bears and Lions are set to unveil what they deem to be ?explosive? offenses, but we?ll use the word prospective as our caption for now. The reality is that Favre is still in a Packers jersey, which means until one team finally punks them, they are still the paramount team in this division. Here?s who they play out side of their main foes: @CAR, @IND, NYG, TEN, DAL, @WAS, @HOU, STL, @PHI, and JAX.
Fantasy Sleeper:
Put a strikethrough Brett Favre and Ahman Green as sleepers because if you wait to draft them then you are welcome to join my fantasy pool. With Robert Ferguson and Javon Walker getting the flash last year Donald Driver may be a forgotten man on draft-day cheatsheets. Most players struggle in the year of their payday so look for Driver to resurge as one of Brett?s dependable targets in 2004.
