Green Bay Bums

Who was the only team in the NFL to boast a 4,000 yard passer, a 1,000 yard rusher and two 1,000 yard receivers? That’s right, your Green Bay Packers. Throw in blossoming tight end Jermichael Finley and you have the recipe for the most dangerous offense in the NFL. While Donald Driver is certainly getting up there in age and may suffer some drop off in production, Greg Jennings relatively underperformed last year and should make up for any lag in Driver’s stats were he to take a step back. In his previous two seasons, Jennings accounted for 21 total touchdowns. Though his career high of 12 in 2007 was set with Brett Favre at the helm, there’s no logical reason to believe his 4 last year will be the trend with Aaron Rodgers. By most accounts, last year was an aberration, as 2008 saw Rodgers and Jennings connect for 9 scores, with Jennings topping 1,000 yards for the second time in his career, both on the receiving end of Rodgers passes. Read more…

Coming off a Brett Favre season that felt more like 1999 than 2009, the Vikings should find it tough to match last season’s production, even assuming Favre is now back in the fold (depending on who you believe). The man is already 40 years old, there simply can’t be that much left in the tank. Not to mention, last year Brett, who as everyone knows is a highly competitive guy, was playing with a chip on his shoulder. With Green Bay turning to the younger Aaron Rodgers, followed by his 2008 late season collapse that saw the Jets on the outside looking in come playoff time, Favre actually had something to prove going into last season, even after 18 years of NFL service. While 4 surely wants to go out with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in hand, the truth is he accomplished nearly everything else possible short of a Super Bowl during the 2009 season. Most of his tangible goals have already been accomplished. Get revenge on Green Bay in front of a prime time national audience? Check. Make a highly publicized return to Lambeau Field and lead his troops to victory? Check. Put up gaudy number is the process? Double check, to the tune of 7 TDs 0 INTs and 500 yards passing in the two games. His play against Green Bay alone shows the fire was there last season, but having had the last laugh over everyone but the Saints and defiantly proving the pundits who said he’d lost his magic wrong, will we truly see a 110 of Brett Favre again this? Read more…

For any other franchise in the NFL, a two win improvement might be a satisfactory mark towards short-term turnaround. Unfortunately for the Lions, each additional win of the season marked their only two wins of the season, as the 2008 Lions became the first team in NFL history to remain defeated for all 16 games (as opposed to undefeated). Well on their way towards becoming the football equivalent of the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lions seem to accrue top first round talent year after year, but with low returns on investment in the win column. While Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Joey Harrington and Kevin Jones all flamed out early in their careers as NFL starters, at least the Lions current bevy of early round selections has seen some promising early returns. Calvin Johnson, the former 2 overall pick out of Georgia Tech, is widely regarded as one of the most talented receivers in the league, despite a rocky season with first year QB Matthew Stafford throwing passes his way. Stafford, the draft’s top selection in ’09 out of Georgia, showed flashes of greatness in his rookie campaign, highlighted by a gritty 5-TD performance against the Cleveland Browns, the last of which occurred with a separated shoulder. Read more…

Going in to last year’s season, optimism in Chicago was at its peak in recent memory, fresh on the heels of the acquisition of Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos. Now, just 16 regular season games removed, expectations in the Windy City have tempered to a mild breeze. Not to take away from Cutler’s talent, the man has a strong enough arm to make Over the Top‘s Lincoln Hawk jealous, however, his receiving corps was pretty much on par with Stallone’s supporting cast in the movie. Just ask Rotten Tomatoes, there’s still room for a solid 70 improvement. The 2009 passing attack depended heavily on converted kick-return phenom Devin Hester and Cutler’s Vanderbilt teammate Earl Bennett and second-year speedster Johnny Knox. Unfortunately for Bears fans, there are very few new faces split wide to catch Cutler bullets. Some may cite the late season emergence of Devin Aromashodu as a sign of marked improvement, hauling in 12 passes for nearly 200 yards and 3 touchdowns over the course of the final 2 games, but it’s hard to pin a city’s hopes on the emergence of a 4 year journeyman selected in the 7^th round of the 2006 Draft. Last season’s mix of receivers resulted in 26 Cutler interceptions, the third most in recent NFL history over the past 15 years. So why then should there be any optimism in Midway? Read more…

As we sit mired in a time of preseason hoopla which will largely center around the most prolific man to line up under center in the history of Lambeau Field, the Packers can be grateful they are not once again playing the Brett Favre waiting game. As the cross-division rival Vikings now find themselves on the wrong end of Favre’s yearly “we need to talk” conversation, coach Brad Childress can do little else other than stare at the telephone in hopes it will ring sooner than later and that the happy couple can stay together with no need to see other people. Not to say that Old-man Brett’s performance last year was anything short of remarkable last year, throwing 33 touchdown strikes compared to a career low 7 interceptions (any career mark is notable after nearly two decades in the league), but Favre truly did the Pack a favor by forcing their hand just two seasons ago. While the forecast says it should be cloudy in Minnesota for at least another month or so, Green Bay should enjoy the wind at their back and high visibility going forward as their offense comes together once again in training camp. Read more…