I have correctly picked the record of the Packers in the last 4 seasons! (13-3, 6-10, 11-5, 10-6) I did manage to fail and pick the Minnesota Queens over the Pack last year in the NFCC game. Whoops.
This season I pick the Packers to finish 9-7 and win the NFC-N.
Reasons:
Superbowl target on their back will result in better games from their opposition overall. Especially early in the season.
The Lions/Bears/Vikings all will have a hard time breaking the 8-8 barrier.
Protection on AR-12 the past several seasons has been questionable and he has taken several hits that would knock lesser men out of games.
Pass Rush, Run Offense, and Run Defense all have question marks coming into the season. I feel most confident in the Run Defense this season with Pickett at the Nose and Raji at an end. I believe this will cause more disruption and a better point of attack for our linebackers. For the Packers to duplicate their sack totals from last year they will need Matthews to break the NFL record for sacks or someone will have to step up and into the pass disruption role of Cullen Jenkins.
The Lions will be improved, but I still don't see 9 wins out of them. The Bears have many problems protecting the passer, I doubt Cutler lasts the season - leaving them at a 6-7 win season. The vikings are a bit of an X-factor as they look to be pretty terrible on paper, but if McNabb has a sudden revival they could be looking at more wins than expected.
On first glance I did not think that the schedule looked that bad for the Packers, but I see several trouble games away and at home with young teams looking to make their mark. Games against Tampa, New Orleans, Chicago early season @ chicago, Oakland, KC, San Diego, ATL, @ Detroit all seem like tough games to me. We will win some of these for certain, but the games against the Rams, Vikes, Bears, and Lions at home wont be true gimmees either. The only real easy game I see on the schedule is the Carolina game Week 2. The Broncos game could go many ways.. if they are losing and turn to Tebow - I dont think there is a chance in hell they beat the Pack either.
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