Random Packers Thoughts

With the playoffs here, I'd like to just kind of dump some Packer thoughts I've been rolling over in my mind.

+ I've heard a lot of "It will be interesting to see how Aaron Rodgers does in his first playoff start." Well, let's remember a few things. He isn't a rookie or a second year player. He's a veteran who just happens to be a second year starter. He's been in the playoffs before and should understand the intangibles that go with it. Additionally, he's had a few small flaws, but one thing he's not been is a quarterback who self destructs. This is a non-story.

+ One sub-story of this week has been that the Cardinals were upset that the Packers kept the throttle down into the third quarter. To that, I say this to the Cardinals: Nobody forced you to roll over in a REGULAR SEASON GAME. On top of that, the Packers should have learned from the pre-season that they're subs are not appreciably better than those of the Cardinals, so getting the lead over 30 before pulling starter was not unreasonable for a team that wanted to win.

+ This team reminds me of the 2007 team in that I still can't believe they are this good. I can see this team tanking in the first round or going all the way to the Super Bowl. I guess that's just the way of the NFL for all but a couple of teams these days.

+ The defense will continue to be vulnerable to teams with explosive passing attacks, which is nearly everyone in the playoffs. But they are also one of the very few teams that overcome having their secondary lit up.

+ We will see just how unimportant a good running game is this week. The Cardinals are the perfect lab test. Their running game is so-so, and will not likely gain traction against the Packer run defense.

+ I think the Packers need to vanquish the Vikings to be seriously considered a Super Bowl contender. Unfortunately, as it looks as of this writing, that match up will not even be possible until the NFC Championship game.

+ The Packers really need to take advantage of this opportunity. Health and luck make the difference between an average team and a Super Bowl team in today's NFL. They've had both for the second time in three years.