Another Strong Packer Showing

Is there such thing as peaking in the preseason? Yes. The last time the Packers went undefeated in the preseason was in 1999. They went on to post their most disappointing season of the first 14 years of the Brett Favre era. That was the Ray Rhodes 8-8 year.

So there is no reason to get too excited about the Packer start this year. However, let me take you back to two years ago. The Packers were coming off an 8-8 season with Mike McCarthy. Nobody was talking about Green Bay as a threat in the NFC. I remember a particular preseason game that year in which they destroyed Seattle. Their starting units looked tremendous as they compiled an impressive 3-1 preseason. That year, Brett Favre found the fountain of youth, Greg Jennings and Ryan Grant emerged as stars and the Packers would go 12-4 and advance to the NFC Championship Game.

I remember thinking as they were dominating their preseason opponents that this team was going to be a force. They needed that kind of preseason to build confidence. After a 6-10 season a year ago, I think the same could be said for this preseason. Once again, nobody is talking about the Packers. But look what their starters have done this year.

The first offensive unit has scored eight touchdowns and two field goals in twelve possessions. Aaron Rodgers has thrown for six of those touchdowns and close to 500 yards in virtually five quarters of play. The starting defense has allowed only one touchdown in twelve possessions and has created six turnovers.

I know it’s preseason, but come on... this team looks very good.

Here are the concerns.

Aaron Rodgers struggled in putting together game winning or tying drives last year. It’s kind of hard to practice that in preseason when you are out of the game after a quarter or two.

The defense is taking the ball away at an incredible rate but struggled against the pass against Arizona especially. It’s great to see this team attacking the ball, but they need to tackle better.

Mason Crosby has missed four field goals including a 29-yarder this past week. Part of that is because the starting two holders are hurt and one of those holds was truly terrible. But we need more consistency here.

Our special teams is very suspect in general. Not a good punter. And we have a bunch of young guys competing for spots on this team who will be starting on special teams. They need to build some cohesiveness quickly.

From the website: www.songerstudio.com

Quick Start For Packers

Preseason football means different things to different teams. But if you are an NFC North team this year, strong consistent showings from your first string units are very important this year. Last year, the Vikings, Bears and Packers were all very inconsistent on offense and defense the entire year. I think all three head coaches want to see their starters put together some solid play in the first half of preseason games this year and build some confidence going into the season.

There is no doubt that Packers are doing this. So far, the offense and defense have both looked unstoppable in the first two games of the 2009 exhibition season. The Packer starting offense has put up 35 points in six possessions against Buffalo and Cleveland. Aaron Rodgers has completed 75 percent of his passes and is showing his year of experience as compared to his lack of experience a year ago at this time. Ryan Grant looks sharp. Driver and Jennings look like they will continue to be a Top 5 1-2 punch in the NFL. And look out for Jeremichael Finley at the tight end position. This guy was a disaster last year but has come to camp as a different person this year. He is running routes precisely and doesn’t drop anything thrown to his vicinity.

Defensively, the 3-4 defense is making an impact. With the potential of nine different guys rushing the quarterback on any play and all sorts of different looks, the Packers are confusing its competition. This combined with a new knack for stripping the ball is causing turnovers at an alarming rate for the other team on the field. The starting unit is yet to give up a point and has only allowed a handful of first downs in its first two games.

It doesn’t surprise me. I think this was the plan all along for the Packers organization when they let Brett Favre go. They knew that there was going to be a down year when Brett left. But they were hoping with the young talent coming up that once Aaron Rodgers had a year under his belt, that this team would become good quickly. And now it’s happening.

www.songerstudio.com