Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Young Pack

A Viking fan who reads Camp Lambeau called me up before the Monday Night game. What did the Packers have going for them? Heck, even Mr. Man seemed to be downplaying expectations. What was going on? Were the Packers going up or down? Now, forecasting the NFL is famously difficult, so I went with my only true feeling about these Packers: The team is young. Young in a good way. 

The Packers have been the youngest team in the league going on 3 years now. Good teams with aging players have a lot to worry about. Bad teams with young players have a lot to worry about. But, good teams with young players? Less to worry about. The Packers returned basically the same team as last year (sans Brett and Corey). That team went 13-3. Did the Packers get old? Nope. They gained experience. 

That opener on Monday night looked familiar to me. Aggressive press coverage on defense (Love watching that). Winning play from D-Linemen and LBs. Stiff defense. If TarvJax couldn't run with the ball, the Vikes wouldn't have done much at all.  On offense we protected the QB and got the ball to our WRs in an efficient manner. Our youth and depth showed up on special teams. 

Also, the Packers coaching staff seems to be well above-average. Our play-calling is effective, and the team corrects mistakes as the game goes along. This adds my confidence, and to the players' as well.

It's a long season, and things change fast in the NFL. But these 2008 Packers may just be who we thought they were. 


2 comments:

Mr.Man said...

What really encouraged me was the play of the defensive line. They had looked straight lousy without Pickett or a healthy KGB in the preseason, and I was really concerned that Peterson would run all over them. I think keeping the D-line healthy and productive will be a huge key for the season.

Unknown said...

they are who we THOUGHT they were.