Football is a team sport, but everyone in the NFL knows that without a superstar quarterback, a team can become trapped in mediocrity. The Green Bay Packers learned this truth the past season. They are hoping for one thing more than anything else, the one thing that will ensure that the team can make a real push for the Super Bowl this winter.
Strengths
The Packers know what their greatest strength is, and it’s the person who missed a large portion of last season due to an injury. Aaron Rodgers is one of the four best quarterbacks in the league without question. There’s Peyton Manning. There’s Tom Brady. There’s Drew Brees. Rodgers is the only quarterback who can stand with those three, and he’s probably better than Brees. Only Manning and Brady set a higher standard in the NFL. Rodgers’ instincts, throwing arm, and mobility all put him well ahead of most quarterbacks in the league. When he’s healthy and on the field, the Packers have a game-changing playmaker at quarterback, a player who can function well on structured plays and when plays break down. He can devastate defenses with the pass or with the run. He opens up so many possibilities for this team, and when he left last season due to an injury, everything fell apart. Rodgers came back at the very end of the season, and sure enough, he gave Green Bay just enough production to beat the Chicago Bears on the road in what amounted to a division championship game in the NFC North. If Rodgers is on the field this season for 16 games, Green Bay should do really well.
Weaknesses
The Packers might be strong on offense, but defense is going to continue to be a concern. What’s especially noticeable about the Packers is that they still don’t have linebackers or safeties who are fast enough to stop the quickest and most agile skill players in the NFL, especially the NFC. The Packers still couldn’t contain the scrambling of San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick in each of the last two NFC playoff seasons. Kaepernick did a lot more against Green Bay in the 2012 playoff season (when San Francisco crushed Green Bay in the divisional playoff round), but he was still good enough to win in Green Bay last season in below-zero temperatures on the Packers’ home field. As long as Green Bay is a step slower on defense, other NFC offenses will find enough playmaking to move past the Packers. Rodgers will have to be at his very best for this team to survive a few playoff rounds.
Schedule
The Packers have to go to Seattle and New Orleans, two extremely tough tests. However, they get the AFC East as the source of their four interconference games, and New England is a home date. Philadelphia is a tough game, but a home game. Atlanta might be improved, but the Packers host the Falcons. It’s not a very easy schedule, but it’s much less than the worst it could have been for a division champion. First-place teams in divisions are supposed to get the most brutal schedules, and this is something less than brutal. The challenge for the Packers every year is to be able to win in Chicago. That will never change.
Outlook
Aaron Rodgers is so good that when the Packers have him aboard, they don’t miss very often. Green Bay won’t hit the win total if Rodgers misses even three or four games, but if Rodgers plays all 16, this team can hit 11. Go with that.
Pick: Over 10.5
