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Will the Lockout Threaten a Potential Dynsaty?

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

After the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers many people were talking about a dynasty in Green Bay. Shortly after that the NFL lockout took place and many people wonder will the lockout threaten a potential dynasty. The truth is their are many factors that go into creating a dynasty and let us look at them right now.

First and foremost a lockout will have a very small bearing on the NFL dynasty. There are several factors that will. One of those is being able to keep the core players together. With free agency these days many players are looking for the big payday. This means keeping the same group of players for a number of years is very tough. Injuries also play a big part in how long a dynasty could reign. Lastly, luck also plays a role in it as well. To win multiple championships you also have to have some luck as well.

The lockout will have a small bearing on it, but not as much as people may think. Many times it comes down to what players are willing to sacrifice to keep the run of titles alive. For some it is a lot for others they will not.More info here: 2011 NFL Schedule: Predicting Records for Green Bay Packers and the Best 4 Teams

Are the Packers Done with the Driver’s Seat?

admin — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Despite winning the superbowl last year the Green Bay Packers have been slightly overshadowed by other squads in the NFL as the 2011 season finally gets under way. Teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, and New England Patriots have garnered most of the national media attention and hype by signing big free agents and pulling off key trades. Despite all this the Packers should still be considered favorites to win next year’s big game, even considering the enormous difficulty of repeating as champions in the NFL.Want more? Click here/tag For one thing, the Packers were and continue to be one of the youngest teams in the league. As the team garners more playing experience Green Bay will only continue to become more dominant than the team that handily defeated some of the best squads in the NFL last year en route to a superbowl victory. The Packers are returning also multiple starters from last year’s injury plagued team. Getting stars such as Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley back from IR is in many respects akin to adding big time free agents to a championship caliber team. Finally, the Packers have a top 5 quarterback in Aaron Rogers, which assures that they will always be in the running to repeat. It is for these reasons that the Green Bay Packers are still in the drivers seat heading into te 2011 NFL season.

Aaron Rodgers – Emerging from the Farve Shadow

admin — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

For Aaron Rodgers emerging from the Favre shadow has not been an easy transition. When Aaron Rodgers was drafted many thought it was a mistake, as no one could replace Brett Favre. For Aaron Rodgers following a legend has been a tough lesson that has taught him a lot. People expected Aaron Rodgers to come in and be another Brett Favre, but the truth there is only one Brett Favre. To Aaron Rodgers credit he just played his style of football and ignored the critics. He knew every mistake they would be there, but as long as he stood the course he would be fine.

After a couple years of struggling Rodgers started to feel more comfortable running the team, and his confidence grew. Even though he would hear the Favre comparisons he continued to play his style of football and the Packers were winning football games. Rodgers knew that he could not replace Favre, but craft his own legacy in the process. In 2011 Rodgers led his Packers to a Super Bowl win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was a long time coming, but finally Aaron Rodgers emerged for Brett Favre’s shadow to carve his name in Packers history. Nothing was easy for Rodgers and he earned everything he got.

Things to Love About the Packers

admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

There are a lot of reasons to love Green Bay and if you’ve been watching games all your life on your direct.tv satellite you may not even know some of the interesting facts about your favorite team. Here are a few of the best reasons to love the Packers, in our opinion.
Green Bay is the smallest metro area to have a pro sports team and has only 100,000 people total.
The Packers were dreamed up when Lambeau and a colleague asked the Indian Packing Company to provide uniforms and a practice field way back in 1919.
The Packers are the only publicly traded sports franchise in the nation which makes them effectively “owned” by fans.
The waiting list for season tickets for the Packer’s games is estimated to be 30 years – people have been known to add their newborn babies to the list.
Players have been known to ride kids’ bikes to the practice field while the kids hold their helmets and jog alongside.
Many of the streets in Green Bay are named after famous players.
What’s not to love about that?

Meet Matt Flynn

www.greenbaybums.com — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Aaron Rodgers week 14 concussion awakened something deep within Packer fans, a fear not felt since the onset of the 2008 season. Suddenly from aisle to aisle across Lambeau Field, cheeseheads turned to one another to ask, “What the hell are we going to do at quarterback?” Even most Green Bay diehards know relatively little about the team’s second in command under center, and with Aaron Rodgers consistently staying on the field while putting up All-World passing numbers since his first season as starter, there’s been no need to get acquainted. Now with Rodger’s starting status in serious question for the first time, it seems as good a point as ever to get to know Packers backup QB Matt Flynn.In the mold of Matt Cassell, in terms of experience not necessarily physical attributes, Flynn has spent much of his football playing career as a backup since high school. While attending Louisiana State University, Flynn spent his freshman year redshirted on the sidelines before serving the dubious honor of backing up JaMarcus Russell for the next 3 seasons. Unlike Cassell, however, Flynn was finally given the chance to start in his 5^th and final season of eligibility, a year that ended with Flynn capturing both the 2008 BCS National Championship Trophy and Offensive MVP honors. Not completely smooth sailing for Flynn’s entire time at the helm, LSU did also earn the distinction as the only 2 loss National Champion in the history of the BCS era and first by any measuring stick since the 1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers. Still, Flynn ultimately maintained the poise and moxie necessary to guide the Tigers to the promise land, overcoming setbacks against Kentucky and Arkansas, both of which came in triple overtime contests.The Packers will be more than happy if Flynn can go undefeated in regulation play as part of any necessary fill in duty. Though considering Flynn’s NFL stock saw him selected in the seventh round, there’s less optimism about his ability to excel on the highest stage. With that said, Flynn has already upended expectations thus far in his NFL career, wrestling the number 2 job from Brock Berlin, a second round pick widely regarded as a more physically gifted pro prospect. Hopefully, Flynn’s legacy will continue to be one of finding a way to get it done in the face of adversity.

Packers Offensive Preview

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:42:17 +0000

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.The root cause for Jennings reduced production last year may have been the Packers pass-blocking woes. Hurried short passes often replaced a lot of deeper looks Jennings would have received as Green Bay’s resident home run threat. Aaron Rodgers took a disproportionate amount of big hits over the course of last season, partially due to o-line play and in part his reluctance to get rid of the ball before making clear reads, an admirable quality in a quarterback until it lands him on the sidelines nursing an injury. In such an event, Green Bay’s offense would have to rally behind unproven Matt Flynn, who lacks Rodgers talent and first round pedigree. In order to protect Rodgers and take the offense to the next level, the Pack will need Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher to stay healthy all season. Rookie Bryan Bulaga should also help shore up last year’s line deficiencies as Green Bay looks to roll over opposing defenses with one of the league’s most well balanced attacks.

Around the Division: Minnesota Vikings

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:28:58 +0000

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?If we don’t see a showing worthy of last year’s effort, expect to see the Vikes take a step backward. With Adrian Peterson alone, they should still be good for a second place finish in the NFC North, but don’t count on Favre or any pass-catching Viking to match his respective 2009 output.

Around the Division: Detroit Lions

www.greenbaybums.com — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:22:46 +0000

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.Assuming Stafford’s natural progression as he continues to learn the NFL quarterback position, the Lion’s should already show substantial improvement in the coming year. Adding to the equation is rookie running back Jahvid Best, a former Cal Bear. Best adds a home run threat to the one dimensional Lion’s run game, as incumbent starter Kevin Smith managed only one rush of over 20 yards last season. Best sprinted into the first round with a blazing 4.35 40 time, selected 30^th overall, potentially going even higher had it not been for injury issues late in his senior season. The explosive rookie enters the season healthy and should see plenty of touches from the get-go with Smith coming off an ACL tear. While no one’s expecting Detroit to make a serious push for the NFC North title, signs of progress have been few and far between for the Ford Field faithful in recent years. They should certainly look forward more than two measly wins in 2010, of course when “more than two wins” is an optimistic prognosis, the franchise obviously has a laundry list of issues still to address.

Around the Division: Chicago Bears

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:12:45 +0000

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?First year offensive coordinator Mike Martz seems to elicit passing production wherever he lands, with Cutler standing as the direct beneficiary this season. While Cutler’s final numbers were disappointing, he may have been under-shined by second year running back Matt Forte. Expected to take the next big step towards the league’s elite, Forte floundered to a 4 score season averaging well under 4 yards a carry and amassing under 1,000 yards on the ground. The Bears brought in Chester Taylor from Minnesota to help out in the run game, with hopes the competition the spark will ignite Forte back to his old form.

Clear in Green Bay, Cloudy in Minnesota

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:03:00 +0000

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.Aaron Rodgers waited patiently, serving as the consummate teammate while backing up Favre during his first 3 seasons riding pine, never vocalizing his desires to see the field before his time. Instead, Rodgers punished the defense from the scout team, making believers out of many of his peers before taking his first starting snap. Now two seasons in, it’s tough to find any analyst or pundit with anything but praise for the signal caller out of California. Not the type to draw unnecessary attention to himself and say publicly waffle back and forth with the media, Rodgers has put quietly up among the best numbers in the NFL. Not only do is 58 touchdowns next to just 20 picks over the past two years prove he can get it done through the air, his 9 ground scores 570 rushing yards in the time span add a fresh dimension to the Packers attack. Perhaps most important, however, has been Rodgers cool and collected head, helping to ease the transition between the departure of Favre’s legend, a fragile time in franchise history, and the rise of his own star.