2012 Green Bay Packers Preview

2012 Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers franchise and their fans will forever remember the 2011 season as one of disappointment and ruined opportunity. Coming off their Super Bowl championship, this team was primed for another run at the title. The Packers had a magical regular season in which they went 15-1, with the only loss coming on the road in Kansas City to the Chiefs. Aaron Rodgers had his coming out party, winning the MVP with 45 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, which still seems like an impossible ratio. The offense was a machine, although the skill players didn’t really play up to their potential. Green Bay had virtually no running game, and Greg Jennings was hurt for the last month. Jermichael Finley and James Jones saw their production decline as well. Then there’s the defense, which was prolific---at being the worst pass defense ever assembled. They set the NFL record for most passing yards allowed in a single season, and still went 15-1. They went on to lose their first playoff game against the Giants at home, a season that ended abruptly after Green Bay seemed almost invincible. Can they repeat their regular season success from last year and win the NFC North again?

Offense

The Green Bay offense was unstoppable last year with Aaron Rodgers and his greatness at the controls. I talked about his 45:6 touchdown to interception ratio. Still think that’s unfair. I also started saying before that a lot of the skill players didn’t play too well. So where did the extra production come from? Well, last year was a dream year for Jordy Nelson, Green Bay’s number two wide receiver that became the top dog by the end of the year. Nelson put up miraculous numbers that included 15 touchdowns, a jump that seemed to come out of nowhere. With Nelson’s emergence, this Packer offense can attack you from anywhere, especially if they get more production from their main guys like Jennings and Finley. As if Aaron Rodgers needs more help. He’ll be fantastic again. Green Bay also brought in Cedric Benson to help the running game, but this is a passing offense, so I don’t know how effective Benson will be.

Defense

The Green Bay Packers gave up the most passing yards in history last year, which is surprising because they were great two years ago, and they still have a lot of talent on this side of the ball. BJ Raji is an anchor in the middle of the defensive line, and Clay Matthews is a huge threat rushing the passer. AJ Hawk is a productive middle linebacker, and the veteran Charles Woodson is still present in that secondary. I can’t imagine this unit being as bad as they were last year, and Aaron Rodgers can’t be pressured to outscore teams every single week. So this group is going to have to step up and return to form as they were in the 2010 season, and turn the page on 2011.

Schedule

After a 15-1 season, there isn’t much improvement you can make to your record. I don’t think they can repeat a 15-1 season, but they should still be a force to be reckoned with. The Pack will be dynamic once again, but just how good will they be? I have Chicago going 12-4, so they will have to be great once again to win this division.

Week 1: W vs SF (tough right off the bat)

Week 2: W vs CHI (followed by short week, division rival...close game)

Week 3: W at SEA (also very close, but they grind it out)

Week 4: W vs NO

Week 5: W at IND

Week 6: L at HOU (can’t squeak out this one)

Week 7: W at STL

Week 8: W vs JAC

Week 9: W vs ARI

Week 10: Bye

Week 11: L at DET

Week 12: L at NYG (Giants have their number)

Week 13: W vs MIN
Week 14: W vs DET
Week 15: L at CHI

Week 16: W vs TEN

Week 17: W at MIN

I think that the Green Bay Packers will finish 12-4 in 2012 with the same record as the Chicago Bears. However, according to my schedule results, the Bears would own the tiebreaker and win the NFC North, leaving Green Bay as a really good #5 seed and a wild card spot. I also think that they could very well lose one of those first three games of the season, because each of them are very tough, so I wouldn’t be surprised at an 11-5 record, but they will not fall lower than that. No matter what, the Green Bay Packers will make it back to the playoffs and try to win their second title in three years. After my bold prediction, I’ll wrap up my NFC North predictions with the Minnesota Vikings.

Bold Prediction: Jordy Nelson outplays Greg Jennings this year, and Aaron Rodgers finishes second in the MVP voting to Tom Brady. But Green Bay will not win the North.