PLAY BALL!! Packers Saints Kickoff

It is time.

With these now famous words, Linebackers coach Kevin Green lit a fire under the backside of Clay Matthews III prior to Matthews jarring hit on Rashard Mendenhall in Super Bowl XLV that led to a momentum shifting fumble and helped the Green Bay Packers to their 4^th Lombardi Trophy.

But is it also time for other reasons.

Time to put away the CBA, the lockout, the lawyers, the shortened training camp and the hangover that accompanies a Super Bowl title.

It is time for football, and time to play.

The Packers have the distinction of being THE marquee team this year and are the feature attraction in the Kickoff Classic against the New Orleans Saints, the team that won it all the year previous to Green Bay. Legendary QB Bart Starr will lead the Packers onto the field at Lambeau as the Pack sets out to defend its title.

The Packers look primed to make another run this year. They have improved their team on both sides of the ball and in special teams. They are healthy. There are no glaring holes anywhere. There is depth and a great mixture of youth and veterans. On a team that just won the big one they have turned over 10 roster spots, almost 20% of their roster from last year. And in the post lockout haze they are somewhat underwhelmed by last year. Right now the Packers are saying and doing all the things a champion is supposed to say and do and going about their business professionally. Credit Head Coach Mike McCarthy with setting an up-tempo pace to keep his team focused. MM’s attention to detail right down to timing the practices and have the clock displayed sets a steady course and it a course to which his team responds.

The Saints come in with egg on the face after stinking the joint out in losing their playoff game to Seattle a year ago. Embarrassed by that performance the Saints have much to prove and have not been recalcitrant about addressing what they feel their issues are. Sean Payton, MM’s predecessor in the “Resident NFL Genius” category that gets bestowed upon the coach of this years SB winner, has gutted and rebuilt his running game and also set in place a much better run defense.

After the ‘Hawks Marshawn Lynch ran up, over, and literally through the entire Saints defense – his stunning  juke and jive run over no less than 7 Saints defenders in the playoffs is an all time classic – Payton grabbed up DE Cameron Jordan in the 1^st round and he will add an immediate stoutness to the run D. While the Saints are still susceptible to the pass, their run D was a major headache all year long.

In a bit of a surprise former #2 overall pick Reggie Bush was dispatched to the Dolphins, ending for once and for all the Texans choice of Mario Williams #1 overall. The Texans have built a team around him and are in a much better position to win now than the Saints. Granted, every team drafts for different needs and different reasons, but can anyone argue now with Williams over Bush? The biggest difference in New Orleans form the wild Super Bowl run and last year’s team is in the running game. The 3 headed monster of Bush, Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell piled up over 2,100 yards from scrimmage but fell way off to just over 1,500 a year ago. While Drew Brees is among the games’ best QB’s without a running game Brees could not always muster up enough bullets to win the games NO needed. And when Seattle put the Saints behind and worked the clock the lack of a running game killed the Saints hopes.

Whether Bush was sent packing for a lack of production or, more likely, an inability to stay healthy enough to be the triple threat they thought they were drafting the Saints have not been subtle in their intent. Gone is Bush and now FA Darren Sproles (SD) is in and rookie RB Mark Ingram will give Brees some breathing room. As WR Marques Colston continues to develop Brees has more choices when he drops back as targets.

But when it comes to targets no one in the NFL has more at his disposal than Aaron Rodgers. With 5 WR’s, 5 TE’s, 3 RB’s and FB John Kuhn the array of ways GB can dissect a defense are overwhelming. In the preseason all Rodgers did was lead the entire NFL in completion pctg. and play almost flawlessly, tossing 4 TD’s with 0 picks. Yes, it IS preseason, but the Packers #1’s looked every bit as good as many are calling them.

It is tempting to call the Packers ‘great’ based on last year. They did play great at times, but to be fair they also looked like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight at other times. Everything fell into place for the Pack during their historic run from the last team into the playoffs at a #6 seed right up thru the big win.

But if they are to repeat there are issues that need to be addresses. Last year’s drops by their WR’s were shameful. GB leads the league in the category of SHBATD – Should Have Been A Touchdown – based on its drops. Jordy Nelson did have 9 grabs and 140 yds. in Super Bowl XLV, but he also had at least 4 drops, 2 of which could have popped the whole way, and James Jones dropped another certain TD that kept the Packers from hanging a huge number on the Steelers. The defense will be tested against the run and they will have to prove that they can. Teams will come out and put the DLine to the test.

In addressing some of the concerns newcomer Randall Cobb will add an instant excitement and the feeling is MM can’t wait to roll out his own 3 headed monster in a healthy Ryan Grant, a healthy James Starks, and rookie Alex Green at RB. Starks in particular is poised for a huge year, and Green is the X Factor in this run offense. Grant looked very sharp and showed no ill effects from his devastating ankle injury last year. The balance the Packers bring on offense along with its expected potency is in a word scary. And when the Packers line up in a  2 back, 2 TE 3 wide formation with Jermichael Finley and D.J. Williams or Andrew Quarless the concessionaires should charge double for the antacids that will need to be devoured by opposing defensive coordinators. The simplest of questions – what will they do? – will prove to be a nightmare, and guessing run when they pass or pass when they run or get caught in the backbreaking play action MM loves to call will be very costly for the Pack’s opponents.

This game won’t be a perfect one. There will be miscues and misfires among the fireworks. But it will be entertaining. On defense look for D.J. Smith (rookie MLB) and Vic So'oto (rookie OLB) to have their names pop up. If it comes down to “Can You Top THIS?” between Rodgers and Brees ARod simply has far too many weapons he can select. It will go back and forth, but in the end Green Bay starts the season the same way they ended last season. In a battle of offensive attrition, look for the score to be

     GREEN BAY  - 31   
    New Orleans   - 17