The Green Bay Packers will not make the playoffs this year...

[Stevedore]

I agree with the OP, to a point.
This year's Pack is going to be the same team that finished last year, more or less. I don't know how they won 15 last year. Erm wait, they had one of the all-time great Quarterbacked seasons, easily. Rodgers, in spite of a HORRIBLE O Line did things that were just not seen ever behind a line like that. This year, Saturday for Wells at C is a minor downgrade, but other than that, the other 4 line spots will be the same (pending Newhouse's health or Sherrod's health). LT is going to SUHHHHHCK for the Pack this year, for sure.

Defensively, where's the improvement? At DT they brought in a few 'guys'. They had 'guys'. Now they have more 'guys'. Same goes for the Will side LB. They have 'guys'. Pass rush is going to come down to if Raji decides to play again and if they can get some production from the weak side LB. Pickett is another year older. Hawk still has a career of about 5-6 games (from the year they won the Superbowl) - and it looks like Desmond Bishop (their best blitzer by far) is in danger of missing the year - significant time away, at least. DJ Smith is no Des Bishop.

The Secondary is really in flux. Tramon Williams needs to get back to playing press cover. Who plays opposite him? Shields regressed. Bush is just horrible. House looks promising - but he's going to miss time. Woodson playing nickel CB or SS in the base 3-4 is a good fit... But losing Nicky Collins is HUGE. Although he had miserable 'ball skills', he was THE best FS in the NFL up until his career ending injury. He just never got the credit. If Wood isn't playing Safety in the package, there is a MASSIVE gap at one of the Safety positions. Morgan Burnett has potential to be better than average this year, or better - anything else they have back there is just garbage. When you are missing Charlie Pepprah, you are in trouble. This is a MAJOR hole right now.

So back to O.
The RB situation is scary for GB. Starks, thru 1 preseason game looked unfocused. He's always been shite in pass protection and either AMAZING or just crap running the ball. Green looked big and fast in college. He looks small and below average in the NFL. I'd like to see how he develops on 3rd downs. Sane is just a 'guy'. Kuhn is not a great blocking FB, only adequate - as well as 'a guy' carrying the ball. What makes me scratch my head is Ted Thompson making a move on Ced Benson. GB does NOT give their RBs the football much, and Ced needs 8-10 carries to really get going. He's also not known for his pass blocking prowess.

One other point.... I gotta do it. Backup QB is a serious issue for GB right now. Graham Harrel was great vs the 3rd teams in preseason. Against 2nd teams? Meh. Miami will likely have to jettison Moore or Garrard - GB would be wise to make a move on one of them (Garrard's health pending). Even when Rodgers went down last year, the team could compete. If Rodgers goes down this year (highly likely), they become last year's Bears.

The whole 'it's just preseason' argument holds no water for this team. There's some changes from last year to this year - and most of them were changes for the worse. It's all up to Rodgers or nothing this year. I don't anticipate the D being worth a damn this year. They will be a dangerous team, but will they contend? I highly doubt it, unless they can start getting the QB and get some 'reasonable' coverage in the secondary.

Pretty good breakdown, but you missed the mark on a few things. HORRIBLE O-Line? C'mon bro, really? Rodgers is great, but this isn't the Bears line we're talking about. You don't put up 35 a game with a sieve of an O-line. Sitton and Lang are above average guards with Sitton close to being elite. You're right on about the center position, slight downgrade, but Saturday is crafty as they come. As for the tackles, Bulaga at RT is a STUD!! Take a look at the tape of the Super Bowl, his ROOKIE year, enough said. As for LT Newhouse,
he struggled some, but when the MVP of the league says he has FULL confidence in him, that's good enough for me. Rodgers speaks his mind good or bad, Clifton would still be around if they thought Newhouse sucked.
Go look at Bulaga's first year as a starters numbers, actually worse then Newhouse's, and Bulaga is on the verge of being an All Pro RT in his 3rd year. Look for Newhouse to make a similar jump in his 2nd year as a starter like a lot of young players do.

As for RB, meh...big deal! All GB needs is a JAG who can average around 3.5 ypc. Starks or Benson will do that. Green they're bringing along slowly because of his knee, look for him to come on the 2nd half of the year.

The defense is a concern. Letting Jenkins walk and losing Collins were HUGE blows that they never got over. Nick Perry from SC will help the rush, and Worthy form Michigan St. and Daniels another rookie will help take the load off of Raji. They also get a healthy Mike Neal back after 4 games and Hargrove the ex Saint after 8 games. As for the secondary, Williams is back playing press man; he's close to being 100% after playing hurt all last year with a bum shoulder. Shields has regressed and House was really coming on till he hurt his shoulder in the first preseason game. It's either surgery or a harness all year for him, not good but Hayward a rookie they're high on, he's had a good camp and played decent against Cleveland. Safety is a concern, but not with Burnett who's coming on fast. MD Jennings is a JAG and McMillian is the guy to watch; tough kid who plays the run well and is a good complement to the rangy Burnett.

My gut tells me GB will start off kind of slow not killing teams like last year, but winning the games they're supposed to and then peaking in the latter half of the year, probably ending up at 11-5 or 13-3.

[GunShard]

"The New Orleans Saints will not make the playoffs this year."
Would have made more sense because of the missing players and head coach due to the scandal.

[brooks85]

Don't bet against Lakerboy boys

you shouldn't put the after giving terrible advice. You're going to confuse people about what the light bulb means.

[McBa1n]

Pretty good breakdown, but you missed the mark on a few things. HORRIBLE O-Line? C'mon bro, really? Rodgers is great, but this isn't the Bears line we're talking about. You don't put up 35 a game with a sieve of an O-line. Sitton and Lang are above average guards with Sitton close to being elite. You're right on about the center position, slight downgrade, but Saturday is crafty as they come. As for the tackles, Bulaga at RT is a STUD!! Take a look at the tape of the Super Bowl, his ROOKIE year, enough said. As for LT Newhouse,
he struggled some, but when the MVP of the league says he has FULL confidence in him, that's good enough for me. Rodgers speaks his mind good or bad, Clifton would still be around if they thought Newhouse sucked.
Go look at Bulaga's first year as a starters numbers, actually worse then Newhouse's, and Bulaga is on the verge of being an All Pro RT in his 3rd year. Look for Newhouse to make a similar jump in his 2nd year as a starter like a lot of young players do.

As for RB, meh...big deal! All GB needs is a JAG who can average around 3.5 ypc. Starks or Benson will do that. Green they're bringing along slowly because of his knee, look for him to come on the 2nd half of the year.

The defense is a concern. Letting Jenkins walk and losing Collins were HUGE blows that they never got over. Nick Perry from SC will help the rush, and Worthy form Michigan St. and Daniels another rookie will help take the load off of Raji. They also get a healthy Mike Neal back after 4 games and Hargrove the ex Saint after 8 games. As for the secondary, Williams is back playing press man; he's close to being 100% after playing hurt all last year with a bum shoulder. Shields has regressed and House was really coming on till he hurt his shoulder in the first preseason game. It's either surgery or a harness all year for him, not good but Hayward a rookie they're high on, he's had a good camp and played decent against Cleveland. Safety is a concern, but not with Burnett who's coming on fast. MD Jennings is a JAG and McMillian is the guy to watch; tough kid who plays the run well and is a good complement to the rangy Burnett.

My gut tells me GB will start off kind of slow not killing teams like last year, but winning the games they're supposed to and then peaking in the latter half of the year, probably ending up at 11-5 or 13-3.

All good points. Good breakdown, yourself. Thanks for getting into it. I can't stand the 4 pages of nonsense from know nada know it alls. Not one mention of anything other than a generalization. Drives me nuts.

I think you're closer to the reality on the OL than me. Line play is critical - I tend to under-rate GB's line. I am highly critical of the little things when evaluating teams - and GB makes a lot of little mistakes on the OL/DL. A lot of the reason Rodgers is so good is because he gets the ball out FAST - or moves out of the pocket before he can be pressured. He's excellent at that. I agree that Bulaga has done a very good job. You're right about his work as a rookie - but he also was responsible for a lot of holds/false starts. He was as stout as they come last year, no doubt. He probably should stay at RT and be the Tauscher for the next decade. I'm going to disagree on Sitton, though. He had a really good year 2 years ago. Last year, after getting his money, declined pretty sharp. He was not getting push in the run game and he made several mental errors (bad technique, penalties, inability to finish a block and getting to the LB/safeties in the run game). He did a reasonable job, but calling him elite after last season is probably over-reaching. He CAN be elite - he's shown that. Sitton might just be one of those guys that will only come up huge in a contract year. Who knows what the problem is. Don't have much bad to say about Lang. He's solid. Like him much better than the nit GB let leave and sign with Arizona at LG. Lang is a player. Not a stud, but I feel comfortable wherever he is on that line...
Newhouse looked o.k. coming back vs the Browns the other night. I am still not a fan. He got his ass handed to him regularly quite often last year. I think his production is more of a factor of having a great QB making him look good by stepping up in the pocket. Sherrod has not shown he can do anything in the NFL, yet, and getting hurt last year did not help his development. Who knows who will finish the season there - but I would be VERY concerned... ERM I AM very concerned.

Agree on the Jenkins leaving point, although, he did miss quite a bit of time. He was probably a pro-bowl caliber player with GB, but did so very under the radar. The line with Jenkins/Pick/Raji was as good as any in the NFL. Worthy might be able to work himself into some playing time. He has some really good short-range burst of what I've seen of him vs NFL talent. I have no love at all for Mike Neal. He's all talk, all hype and the guy can't even get on the field to be evaluated. The D Line comes down to how stout Pickett is in the run game and if Raji can do anything - he's being double teamed a lot - and not just being blocked, he's being DRIVEN down the field - that didn't happen much the prior season. Maybe someone will step it up when they get chances - like Howard Green did 2 years ago (and then dogged it last year).

Tramon has looked good this preseason - but worried with House going down. I need to do more work on the Cle game to see Hayward. He didn't jump out at me much on the first playthrough of the game - but the Saftey McMillan? DEAM. The kid is VERY promising - especially around the line of scrimmage. He has amazing speed to converge on the ball when he's in coverage. Not much of a body of work, but he looks like he has a LOT of potential. Burnett has ability, no doubt. He probably has to play FS, even though I like him around the line of scrimmage. Wish he had Nicky's range back there. He's definitely the only 'real' safety GB has. I'm interested to see how Wood fits into his new role. He'll probably be a lot like he was last year. Be interesting to see what happens to MD Jennings. Sheesh that guy looks lost out there. I think McMillan with some more work/time can work himself into the starting spot. Jennings is another one of those 'hype' guys that has to show it. So far, not so good.

As a fan, I hope you're right in your projection. I'm 2 weeks before I get into that aspect. Also, I didn't watch the CLE game until AFTER I wrote that post. My feelings haven't changed much. Just thinking in terms of strength in the division, the NFC Norris could have 3 playoff teams... Who is going to be the choke-jobber that loses that key game to the Viqueens, though? That could be the playoff spot right there.

[Brick Landers]

This guy is a huge toolbox. How is someone from Canada a Bears, Lakers, and Yankees fan?

Front running Indians
All of them are front runners. No loyalty.

[JR007]

Injuries happen. Easy schedules lead to downturns.

Canuck settle down. I am on break from running the site. Sbr told me to settle down with huge view threads.

I don't lose these type of predictions.

Attaboy LB !!!!!!

[detroitlionsfan]

if you like this prop you must like sanfran week 1 ?

[broadway6]

not sure about the playoffs, but fading the big fav will be $$$ this year

[7secondsOrLess]

yea make sure you let them know you said they won't win the nfc last year

[detroitlionsfan]

after watching the game today i think you have this one right

packers could be this years eagles

[paranoyd androyd]

their defense is absolutely horrid in every area, would love to see them home for the holidays.

[Azshadios]

their O still putting up point, I think GB can make to the playoff just cant make it to the SB

[ronzer]

they lost one game against a very good niners team. settle down people.

[Goat Milk]

after watching the game today i think you have this one right

packers could be this years eagles

you're going to judge off the opener against one of the best teams in the NFL?

[BettingWizard]

laker going huge on bears?

[ericthegangster]

I am willing to wager even money with anyone that doesn't think the packers will make the playoffs.

[Mr Handicapable]

The Packers are soft. Its not just the defense....Cedric Benson is horrible. Its like they don't even care at RB. Rodgers is going to have to go shotgun from 1st/goal at the 3. I'm guessing 10-6. All you have to do on offense is double team Matthews and you can do whatever you want. Rodgers is good enough to carry them like Peyton did with the Colts but the NFC is pretty good and they've got the first place schedule to deal with. Don't forget they went 15-1 last year but that was with a wildcard schedule. Lets see how they look Thursday against a very balanced Chicago offense. They do get the AFC South which is horrible....4-0 or 3-1 at worst.

[D3 Mighty Ducks]

Let me guess the Bears are going to win the Bowl too?

Pack win the division, they have the easiest schedule in the NFC. 1 bad game against a good defense and your counting them out damn u should know better LB.

[Big Bear]

Lakerboy ,

it takes big balls to make a thread like this. You put your whole forum existence in the hands of Aaron Rodgers!!!

HOWEVER i think you will be here for awhile longer because the Packers will NOT make the playoffs this year.

Thats right the Packers will not make the playoffs. No fukking way they make the playoffs.


Here are your 2012 NFC playoff teams
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Chicago Bears
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. New York Giants
6. Carolina Panthers

[ramones951]

Lakerboy ,

it takes big balls to make a thread like this. You put your whole forum existence in the hands of Aaron Rodgers!!!

HOWEVER i think you will be here for awhile longer because the Packers will NOT make the playoffs this year.

Thats right the Packers will not make the playoffs. No fukking way they make the playoffs.


Here are your 2012 NFC playoff teams
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Chicago Bears
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. New York Giants
6. Carolina Panthers

You realize you have no one from the NFC West in your list, right?

[meader99]

Lakerboy ,

it takes big balls to make a thread like this. You put your whole forum existence in the hands of Aaron Rodgers!!!

HOWEVER i think you will be here for awhile longer because the Packers will NOT make the playoffs this year.

Thats right the Packers will not make the playoffs. No fukking way they make the playoffs.


Here are your 2012 NFC playoff teams
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Chicago Bears
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. New York Giants
6. Carolina Panthers

LMAO.....Epic fail leaving out a division.

[Chimneyfish]

He probably realizes that the Niners are such a lock that it'd almost be redundant to list them.

[D3 Mighty Ducks]

I know it's early in the year but tomorrow nights game is going to feel like a playoff atmosphere.

Primetime game under the lights at Lambeau after the Pack start 0-1.

CANNOT WAIT TO TAKE THE BEARS!!!

[Stevedore]

Lakerboy ,

it takes big balls to make a thread like this. You put your whole forum existence in the hands of Aaron Rodgers!!!

HOWEVER i think you will be here for awhile longer because the Packers will NOT make the playoffs this year.

Thats right the Packers will not make the playoffs. No fukking way they make the playoffs.


Here are your 2012 NFC playoff teams
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Chicago Bears
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. New York Giants
6. Carolina Panthers

Crack is a powerful drug!!

[p19101]

Packers could potentially go 9-7, I have a tough time seeing them do worse than that. With 9-7 there is a chance of missing the play offs. I thought this thread was kind of crazy at first but there is a chance.

[rm18]

they have no chance to make the playoffs at 9-7

[McBa1n]

I think you'll have a good idea where the Pack will be after their first 4 games. If they're not 2-2, their road to 10-6 becomes next to impossible.
The thing is, the offensive issues on the O Line can be fixed in a week. The problems with the D take an offseason to correct. Sure, good games happen, but the flaws that are there cannot be fixed week to week.
We'll see after they wrap up against NO at Lambeau before figuring out where they're at. 2-2 would be right where they need to be (4-3 after 7). Anything less and I'd be shocked to see 10 wins.

[p19101]

I think you'll have a good idea where the Pack will be after their first 4 games. If they're not 2-2, their road to 10-6 becomes next to impossible.
The thing is, the offensive issues on the O Line can be fixed in a week. The problems with the D take an offseason to correct. Sure, good games happen, but the flaws that are there cannot be fixed week to week.
We'll see after they wrap up against NO at Lambeau before figuring out where they're at. 2-2 would be right where they need to be (4-3 after 7). Anything less and I'd be shocked to see 10 wins.

My scenario for 9-7 was with 4-4 after 8 I believe.

[Mr Handicapable]

I think you'll have a good idea where the Pack will be after their first 4 games. If they're not 2-2, their road to 10-6 becomes next to impossible.
The thing is, the offensive issues on the O Line can be fixed in a week. The problems with the D take an offseason to correct. Sure, good games happen, but the flaws that are there cannot be fixed week to week.
We'll see after they wrap up against NO at Lambeau before figuring out where they're at. 2-2 would be right where they need to be (4-3 after 7). Anything less and I'd be shocked to see 10 wins.

They might be able to fix the O-line as far as protection goes but this team is SOFT...they don't run the ball whatsover and Cedric Benson needs alot of help to do anything. The Giants ran the ball like $hit during the season last year but if they're not cracking out 125+ in the playoffs then they don't win the SB. Andy Reid never figured it out....forced to pass with 3rd/1.5 yards the whole time he's been there = ZERO rings.

[lakerboy]

Tension building with finley agent comment

[GamblerSpirit]

Tension building with finley agent comment

He's a moron. I remember him saying ELI is not a great leader.

[meader99]

They might be able to fix the O-line as far as protection goes but this team is SOFT...they don't run the ball whatsover and Cedric Benson needs alot of help to do anything. The Giants ran the ball like $hit during the season last year but if they're not cracking out 125+ in the playoffs then they don't win the SB. Andy Reid never figured it out....forced to pass with 3rd/1.5 yards the whole time he's been there = ZERO rings.

I think Benson played pretty well against a Bear defense considering he had about 17 combined carries in preseason and week 1. With Benson getting into the flow and the young kids picking it up on defense, this team will be better at the end of the year, similar to the last two Super Bowl winners.

[pulledclear]

"The Green Bay Packers will not make the playoffs this year..."

Now thats the DUMBEST statement I have seen this year, and there have been some doozies.

[poloyol]

They lost a major piece of the puzzle in Joe Philbin

[Playmaker]

Fate is on the side of Lakerboy and the Packers might not make the playoffs...Then again I really don't know because things change so fast in the NFL..