LET'S GET IT ON!!

PACKERS HIGH FLYING OFFENSE SET TO TAKE OFF

 

With the start of the 2014-15 NFL season and the opener against the Evil Empire in the Emerald City looming just around the corner we, like the Green Bay Packers, are back.

Summer’s swelter has seen very large men toil in the heat and soon all will change. The kids will be back in school. The air gets a little chiller at night. Leaves begin to turn and collect on the ground. The crack of the bat meeting a ball will now be replaced by the whack of shoulder pads hitting at a high rate of speed.

Yes, football is back!

And with it the Packers are ushering in one of their deepest rosters in Mike McCarthy’s tenure. Gone are some familiar faces; WR James Jones was allowed to leave and landed in Oakland, while DL Johnny Jolly and Ryan Pickett are unsigned free agents. The seismic crack in the universe occurred when GM Ted Thompson uncharacteristically went shopping and picked up DL Letroy Guion and Da Bears Julius Peppers. While Peppers is 34 with questions surrounding how much he

has left he is an athletic freak who will not be required to play as many downs in Titletown as he did in the Windy City. Guion is a former first rounder who never quite found his footing on a wretched Viking defense but hopes to resurrect his career in Green Bay. Perhaps there is some irony in the fact that TT raided the shelves of two of the Pack’s most hatred rivals.

Peppers aside this year’s team has an unlimited ceiling. The offense is a Top 5 offense easily. The Packers can go far into the playoffs provided one thing.

As long as Aaron Rodgers stays healthy.

The draft looks on paper to be another fine crop imported by TT. At the top of the list is S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix from Alabama and the battle at the safety spot after last year’s well-documented disaster is as fierce a battle as there has been in camp. TT went after pass catchers after losing Jones and picked up WR’s Davante Adams (Rd 2/ Fresno St), Jared Abbrederis (5th Rd/ Wisconsin) and Jeff Janis (7^th Rd/ Saginaw St Div 3). While selecting TE Richard Rodgers from Cal raised some eyebrows no less than the likes of another Rodgers from Cal has been heard saying “I can’t believe he (Richard Rodgers) lasted until the 3^rd round.” R Rodgers has been the talk of camp with his ability to snag almost anything Aaron has dished up.

The Packers also addressed the need for a C in picking up Corey Linsley (5^th Rd/ Ohio St) while taking athletically talented but raw DB Demetri Goodson in the 6^th.

As we open the season we’ll take a long look at the depth and make our annual prediction as to who is going to be around when the dust settles.

QB’s

Write this one down and save it: “As long as Aaron Rodgers stays healthy.“ That encapsulates the Packers this year. Keeping Rodgers healthy and upright has always been a priority but after breaking his collarbone and missing 8 games that saw the Pack struggle no single item on the agenda is greater than keeping 12 in the game. As he hits his prime fully recovered Rodgers is the best QB in the game today. He has precision sharp in the preseason and looking over his array of weapons the season can’t get here fast enough. Rodgers has always played better with a chip on his shoulder and he is coming into this year’s campaign with a lumberyard in its place. After hearing the pundits place the hosannas on Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Andrew Luck Rodgers has something to prove - again – and is looking to make a statement which will send every defensive coordinator batty trying to combat Rodgers’ talents. With the new “Can’t Touch This” rule prohibiting DB’s from literally any contact Rodgers will be licking his chops as this rule will most decidedly tip the game in his favor.

The starter in GB has never been an issue. Even backup hasn’t been an issue. Prior to last year there have been more presidents (4) that Packers have had starting QB’s (2), and Bill Clinton, W and Obama will have each served 2 terms each. While other teams struggle to find even a decent QB (hello, Minnesota? Cleveland? Houston?) Green Bay fans have been spoiled with Rodgers and Brett Favre leading the charge since ’92 of the last century. Favre will finally enter the ring of honor next year when he will also enter the Hall of Fame and should rightfully be welcomed home for all he did while a Packer and not how he exited.

Green Bay didn’t struggle; they flopped when Rodgers went out. Last year’s rookie Scott Tolzien

showed promise but played mostly like a rookie in emergency starts. Matt Flynn found the bucks in free agency but no home and was brought back to engineer one of the most stunning wins when he rallied Green Bay from a 1,836 point deficit against Dallas last year. Matty Ice is back and he and Scott Tolzien are battling it out as the #2. Flynn is the clear #2 but Tolzien has shown he can play in pre-season. But can Green Bay keep 3 QB’s? Can they afford not to? Or is Tolzien likely trade bait? We don’t see Tolzien clearing waivers (hello, Minnesota? Cleveland? Houston?). Or will the IR list be used for some hocus pocus? Will Tolzien collect splinters?

As long as Aaron Rodgers stays healthy.

(3) - Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien

WR’s

Jordy Nelson has a fat new contract and is happy. Randall Cobb is going to be next to get a fat, new contract and will be happy. Jarrett Boykins is still # 3 on the depth chart but is looking over his shoulder at rookie Davante Adams, the record setting pass catchers from QB Derek Carr’s (Oakland) tosses. Adams has good size at 6’1” and 215 lbs and has great hands. He will have to adjust to the speed of not only the defenders who will be looking to punish him but Rodgers’ throws. Hometown hero Jared Abbrederis is a Wes Welker clone and was wowing them in camp until he tore a knee up and will be IR’d until next season. That opens the door for Jeff Janis, the 7^th rounder from an unheard of small D3 school who last year had 131 receptions. In a year. Not a career. Janis is a virtual Jordy Nelson clone at 6’3” and 219 lbs and is deceptively fast. His middle slant grab and go against the Rams in pre-season may have been enough for Mike McCarthy to see the 5 WR’s he wants. Camp has been deep with WR’s this year. Some will hook on elsewhere but the best 5 are sticking around.

(5) Nelson, Cobb, Boykin, Adams, Janis IR - Jared Abbrederis PS Myles White, Alex Gillette

RB’s

This one was looking tight until 2^nd year man Jonathon Franklin was forced to retire with a neck

injury. Returning RB DuJuan Harris has recovered from knee surgery and has been an explosive breath of fresh air. He’ll join Rookie of the Year Eddie Lacey and James Starks in giving Green Bay its best RB crop since Hornung and Taylor, maybe even the best stable of RB’s in the NFL. Lacey was the cream of last year’s banner haul and pounded out rookie records for yards and TD’s as a Packer eclipsing John Brockington’s marks. His bruising, punishing style is reminiscent of a young Jerome Bettis. With Lacey in the backfield it will be a pick-your-poison call for the D as to just who exactly do they try to stop. Key on Lacey and Rodgers will shred the defense. Back up into coverage and Lacey will gash the line. Starks has finally found his niche in the Packer offense and was nothing short of brilliant in spelling Lacey last year. His knee high driving running makes it appear that his legs will run off his body but it also puts fear in the heats of a DB who has to try to corral him. Venerable pro John Kuhn  is back; his position has been cemented since he cut Julius Peppers down in the famous 4^th and 8 play against Chicago last year that saw Cobb come down with a Rodgers bomb that sent Green bay to their 3^rd straight NFC North crown and Chicago to the golf courses.

(4) – Lacey, Starks, Harris, Kuhn PS - Raijon Neal

TE’s

The loss of Jermichael Finley to a frightening bruised spinal cord injury that resulted in fusion surgery was an immense blow. Replacing Finley may be impossible but replacing him in the aggregate may work nicely. Andrew Quarless is the incumbent. He’s had a decent camp but Richard Rodgers (#89 photo/ left) may be the guy everyone in the NFL is gushing over come December and January. Brandon Bostick was also looking impressive but he sustained a slight fibular break in his leg that may see him out for 4-6 weeks. Ryan Taylor is a special teams ace and Jake Stoneburner may benefit from an injury to UDFA Colt Lyerla. Lyerla is the young man who was booted from Oregon’s program before running afoul of the law while running away from the law in a cocaine bust. His knee injury allowed TT and MM to place him on the IR and give him a full year to get his football head together. If he can stay clean his talent is undeniable. The Lions took NC’s TE Eric Ebron with the 10th overall pick. Ebron is a pass catcher deluxe at 6’4” and 265 lbs who runs a 4.61 forty and has great hands. Lyerla is a pass catcher deluxe at 6’4” and 247 lbs who runs a 4.62 forty and has great hands. By snagging him as a UDFA this is a long term move that may bear some huge dividends provided Lyerla grows up. The beauty of all this is TT did not waste a draft pick and till got a quality player via the UDFA route. Keeping him off the field but around the facility galvanizes the Packers draft and develop approach. With Lyerla out Jake Stoneburner may just make the cut.

(5) – Quarless, Rodgers, Bostick, Taylor, Stoneburner

OL –

The starting 5 go into the season intact. Almost. JC Tretter had played very well at the C slot until

getting injured against Oakland in pre-season. He will be lost for "...multiple weeks..." according to McCarthy. How many is multiple? That's anyone's guess. LT David Bahktiari is a year older and a full season wiser after shining in emergency duty as a rookie. Josh Sitton and T J Lang anchor the interior while RT Bryan Bulaga has looked impressive coming back form a blown knee. McCarthy felt he found his long term C in JC Tretter until he went down to a knee injury in much the same fashion Bulaga did a year ago. 6^th man Don Barclay will go to the IR so rookie C Corey Linsley has to pull a Bahktiari and step in to play right away. The good news on the OLine is former 1^st round pick Derrick Sherrod has looked terrific after missing almost two years recovering from a horrendous broken leg. Lane Taylor will make the cut but TT may have to go shopping for another C to fill in for Tretter if last year’s PSer Garth Gerhart isn’t up to snuff. For the short haul the Pack rolls the dice with only 2 subs until Tretter's return.

(8) Bahktiari, Sitton, Linsley, Lang, Bulaga, Sherrod, Taylor,  Tretter IR - Don Barclay PS Garth Gerhart PS - Andrew Tiller

The Packers boast one of the elite offenses of the NFL. With the new rules regarding pass interference A. Rodgers might enjoy his greatest season as a pro. Lacey could run wild again. Cobb is poised for a monster year especially out of the slot. The kids – R. Rodgers, Adams and Janis all could factor in large. This will be a fun year to watch this prolific offense put up pinball-like numbers. Just how prolific this offense could be will be revealed right away as the Pack opens the season against the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks and their imposing defense.

All of the above is true provided one simple thing - As long as Aaron Rodgers stays healthy.

NEXT: THE DEFENSE – WHO MAKES THE CUT