While repeating as Super Bowl champions is incredibly difficult, the Green Bay Packers have a great shot to do exactly that. Normally when teams win it all they have the perfect storm of luck, talent, and health. Yet, the Packers really couldn’t have been less healthy than they were this year. In fact, unless lightning strikes in the same spot twice, they’re almost assured of being a healthier team heading into—and throughout—next season. So if they hoisted Lombardi’s trophy this year getting less than perfect breaks, what do you think they could do next year?
I hear you, “The Saints had it all coming back this year, and they couldn’t do it.” Or, “The Steelers missed the playoffs in both seasons following their last two Super Bowls.” I get it, and that’s true. The NFL is the most competitive league on Earth and repeating success is unimaginably tough, but in Title Town, there are many reasons to think differently.
#1: Aaron Rodgers
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| The People's Champ |
This guy is just walking in the door of his prime playing years, and as he showed during this past playoff run, he is fully capable of playing as good as any quarterback in NFL history. That’s what he did against Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.
Rodgers may put on the title belt as a celebration, but it may as well be a tool belt because he has every instrument imaginable at his disposal: Great feet, huge arm, laser-like accuracy, great awareness, tremendous vision, coolness in the huddle and the pocket, a sponge-like mind for the game, and an insatiable desire to prepare and get better. This guy is Peyton Manning with a quicker release and twice the athleticism. He’s not just a top-3 quarterback in the league; he ranks in the top three in terms of any characteristic you would want from a signal caller.
He did have concussion scares last season, but with a new helmet, increasingly strict league rules, an improving offensive line, and Rodgers’ own increased self-awareness, I don’t think he’ll take too many major head shots next year. Plus, Matt Flynn is a more than capable fill-in for a few games if need be.
#2: This is Green Bay. It ain’t New Orleans.
Say all you want that the excessive partying in New Orleans didn’t give the Saints a hangover heading into this season, but I don’t buy it. That whole city had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In winning the Super Bowl, its citizens and the team itself found the perfect excuse (and I totally supported it) to go nuts. They deserved it, and after the Saints won their ring you could almost feel the whole city exhale. The Saints were no longer the “Ain’ts,” and they had done so much to revive their city. It was practically expected for the players to get caught up in the history and magnitude of that moment. There was simply no way they would be totally focused for the new season, and early on this year, it showed.
Conversely, Green Bay, Wisconsin is nothing but the Packers. We aren’t looking to party all offseason. Hell, we just can’t wait for the next season to kick off. The Packers reflect this in their management and in their players. The fire burning from the Packers’ championship has already started to dim in the media, whereas New Orleans is still looking for ways to celebrate its Super Bowl from two years ago. I can’t help but think the low-key nature of Green Bay—and the singular football focus Wisconsin as a state displays—will help keep the Packers on the winning track.
Also unlike New Orleans, we aren’t coming back from tragedy, but we are coming back from Brett Favre treason. And the only way for us to recover as a collective culture is through more football success. Every Packer win in the next ten years not only fuels a football crazed state but also puts the treachery of Favre further on the backburner.
#3: Did I mention the Packers were a bit dinged up this year?
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| Game Over? Not Quite |
Jermichael Finley, Ryan Grant, James Starks, Mark Tauscher, Rodgers, Donald Driver, Clay Matthews, Nick Barnett, Brady Poppinga, Brandon Chillar, Brad Jones, Cullen Jenkins, Johnny Jolly, Atari Bigby, Morgan Burnett, Al Harris. No, I didn’t just name the entire Green Bay Roster; I named players that either missed some time or most of the season to injury. Finley, who has the talent to be an All Pro tight end, hardly saw the field as a Week 5 injury derailed his season. Grant, a perennial 1200 yard rusher, was lost after just Week 1. The whole linebacking corps was decimated by injury, and Harris and Bigby were thought to be essential components of the secondary entering this season.
You have to assume Green Bay will be playing with a fuller deck next year than they did this, especially with the return of Finley and Grant. Granted, some of these players may not be back as the Pack will lose at least some to free agency. Barnett is Pro Bowl-level player, though Desmond Bishop is younger and had a strong showing, so he may be expendable. Harris was let go because Tramon Williams suddenly became a star corner.
The story of the 2010 Packers, one guy goes down and another guy steps up and plays even better. Now Green Bay will get back most of its injured guys and combine them with young, former backups that got huge experience this year.
Just imagine that the Packers make a move or two in free agency and have another solid draft to help bolster the offensive line. Then the all-world Rodgers is sitting behind a potentially excellent group of blockers, handing off to recovered Pro Bowler Grant and the emerging Starks, and passing to the NFL's deepest receiving corps, which includes superstar Greg Jennings and Finley, maybe the most physically gifted tight end in the league.
Then imagine the defense, which despite the injuries, was the 2nd best unit in the NFL. BJ Raji is among the top five interior linemen in the league. Jenkins is a terrific defensive end who’s still in his prime. Matthews is the best pass rusher in football. AJ Hawk comes off his best year as a pro. Barnett or Bishop will start inside as well. Jones, who showed a good deal of promise as a rookie two years ago, will be back opposite Matthews. Williams and Sam Shields represent one of the youngest and most talented corner duos in football. Charles Woodson is aging, but that won’t matter because as Shields and Williams have emerged as such sticky cover men, Woodson can play wherever he wants. His position should just be called, “havoc,” because that’s what he creates all over the field all the time. Nick Collins might be the best safety in the NFC who made perhaps the play of the Super Bowl with his pick six. Opposite him the Packers will have the choice of three young, talented safeties in Bigby, Charlie Peprah, and Burnett.
#4: The Packers have the second youngest roster in the league…
…that gained a tremendous amount of experience and confidence by winning the Super Bowl. Nothing will build a young player’s confidence like playing for the best team in the sport. Rodgers, Starks, Jennings, James Jones, Finley, Josh Sitton, Bryan Bulaga, Raji, Matthews, Hawk, Williams, Shields, Collins. All of those guys are either stars or potential stars; the oldest guy on the list is 28. Expect improvement. Scary.
#5: Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy, and Dom Capers
Thompson just keeps pulling all the right strings in the personnel department, keeping the Packers financially stable, stocked with talent, and high on character. McCarthy has full command of the offense, all the right pieces to run his scheme, and the respect that comes with being a Super Bowl winning head coach. Capers is simply a genius with the best defensive personnel in the league.
Conclusion: So there you have it, irrefutable evidence points to a Packer repeat. You can accuse me of gushing about the Packers, but is there anything I said that isn’t true? This team is stocked, locked, and loaded for another run at the trophy which calls Green Bay its true home.
--from Adam
(first image from blippett.com and second from thesportsbank.net)
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