The 2011 Green Bay Packers are fast becoming the Rodney Dangerfields of the NFL. After their epic run to grab the Super Bowl title, instead of the off season talk centering around this remarkable achievement we instead got a lockout, CBA’s and it trickled down into marketing. For the EA Sports Madden addicts out there instead of seeing Aaron Rodgers grace the cover of this years entry of the wildly popular video game we instead get to see the renowned Peyton Hillis. Not Manning, Hillis. Of the Cleveland Browns.
And then, after lighting up a very good New Orleans team the talk this week should have centered around the Packers successful opening in defense of their title, Rodgers 300+ yards, 3 TD’s and 0 picks, or Randall Cobb’s explosive debut and tying the NFL record for longest kickoff at 108 rolling, dancing yards, right?
Wrong.
As quick as you can say ‘labor strife scuttles off season’ the headlines have once again shifted elsewhere. Passing yards? Hell there were and NFL record 5 – FIVE! – games this weekend past the featured both QB’s throwing for over 300 yards. Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees were the first of the pass fest. Yardage? How about Tom Brady throwing for 500+ yards and Chad Henne almost helping him to get to a combined 1,000 yard game? And, as for the rookie debuts, uhhh, Mr. Cobb? Take a seat – here’s Von Miller, Andy Dalton, and of course, the Packers next opponent QB Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers. All Newton did was throw for an NFL rookie record 422 yards and 3 TD’s in his first game and render Cobb’s feats to – where else – the back page as an afterthought.
Taking nothing away from Newton and his accomplishments it bears mentioning that he put those numbers up against the Arizona Cardinals, not exactly a fearsome bunch in the defense department. The heart and soul of the Cards D is Paris Lenon, who was cut by Green Bay seasons ago. When the Cards dealt their #1 CB Dominque Rogers- Cromartie to Philly for QB Kevin Kolb they also took Patrick Peterson at #5 in the draft, who had his own rookie moment in returning a punt for a TD last week. Peterson will eventually be a decent if not great cover corner in the NFL. He’s not there yet.
On the other hand, no pedigree is needed for the likes of Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams or Sam Shields as the Pack wings into muggy Carolina. Dom Capers will be charged with coming up with a game plan to rattle the rookie. Newton will see a lot more exotic blitz packages the likes of which he has not seen. Before anointing Newton it is safe to say it is the first time in his life he threw for over 400 yards in a game. Not in high school, never at Auburn, and in preseason he looked like a raw rookie with his errant throws. Is he a fluke, a one game wonder? Or is Newton the real deal? Newton will uiltimately find that life in the NFL is a process, a week to week grind of high expectation and missed opportunity along with success.
We’re on board with thinking Newton is far better and will adjust to the NFL game than we thought. But he will have his rocky moments. The first of those will come this weekend against Green Bay. Steve Smith is still as dangerous a receiver as there is in the NFL. Quick now – name any of the Panthers other receivers.
Beyond Brandon LaFell you probably can’t as they are a Scrabble game in the making of pass catchers. Kealoha Pilares, Armanti Edwards, and Seyi Ajirotutu are a mouthful but will not be a handful for the Packs industrious coverages. With Jeremy Shockey and Ben Hartsock the Panthers have some decent tight ends, but this is hardly a bunch that can be called fearsome. Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams are still shifty runners, but the Panthers will look more like a team that picks very high in the draft when facing the Pack’s stout D.
Mike Neal is out for this game, and will probably be so for a while. After sustaining what was called a ‘tweak’ in his knee in preseason that became a ‘bruised knee’ Head Coach Mike McCarthy revealed this week that Neal would be “…out a significant number of weeks…” after having surgery on his knee. It gives pause when Tramon Williams, who went out gingerly holding his arm last week against the Saints, was said to have had a shoulder bruise and will be fine. One thing about NFL injury reports is they are as reliable as the weather. If Williams misses any time it will certainly weaken but not cripple the defense. Missing Neal means C.J. Wilson will see more time, and he did okay last week. The right side of the line will be tested, but B.J. Raji will also step up his bull rushes up the middle. Raji is becoming a terror inside and will soon be mentioned as one of the top interior lineman in the game.
The Packers offense is a juggernaut this year and no mystery to anyone they face. They are going to throw. They are going to run. Like in the days of Lombardi they tell you what they are going to do before they do it and then simply go about the task of cramming the football down the throats of their opponents. At this juncture their confidence is sky high and is still north of crossing the arrogance meter.
But it will be the Packers D that will determine the collective fate of GB this year. That D gets a big game this week against Cam and Co. in Carolina.
Look for Capers to send blitzers frequently and from all angles in multiple looks and options. How well Newton adjusts is exactly what then Packers will test. Some are calling the Pack’s D weaker than last year’s based on the 34 points given up to the Saints. Hogwash. Consider the offensive weaponry possessed by the Saints. That is a ball club that will put up large quantities of points regularly. The Packers are of the ‘bend but don’t break’ mindset, and showed it in two key 4th down stuffs last week, the last of which came as the game ended at the 1 yard line.
Look for Clay Matthews to get untracked against the Panthers. He’ll be chasing Newton all over the lot. Newton will take a step back and look like a raw rookie here as he will be forced to scramble and improvise. When he does he’ll try to force a few into areas he shouldn’t, and the picks will follow. We think Cam’s going to be all right in the long haul, but this is still the short haul, and Rodgers will have another big game as will the Packers running game. Of all the games on the schedule this looks to be the softest, so the let down and overlook factor is high for Green Bay. But, it’s early in the year, the players have had 10 day’s rest, the rust is knocked off and they are looking to get back at it.
The season starts with Green Bay going 2 – 0.
GREEN BAY 31 
Carolina 10
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