2013 Green Bay Packers Preview

2013 Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers controlled the NFC North again in 2012 and beat the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the playoffs, before promptly getting absolutely embarrassed in round two by the San Francisco 49ers. Colin Kaepernick ran circles around the Pack with the read option, and once Green Bay fell behind, the game was out of reach. They will have an immediate chance to get revenge, as Green Bay travels back to San Fran for a Week One showdown. As long as they have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, this team will always be in contention. Even with the loss of Greg Jennings, this team is still littered with talent at wide out, with Jordy Nelson, James Jones (who led the NFL with 14 TDs last season), and Randall Cobb. I believe that Cobb will be the number one guy here, and he looks poised for a breakout season. Green Bay drafted running back Eddie Lacy out of Alabama with their second round pick, and he has a great opportunity to put up great numbers like fellow former Tide back Trent Richardson did last year. Unlike Trent, he will not be the main weapon on offense, but also unlike Trent, Lacy will be the main back in an incredibly dynamic offense that will put up points in a hurry. This team will be in the red zone often, making Lacy a threat to reach double digit touchdowns. Their defense should be able to rebound as well; this is still a unit with Clay Matthews, B.J. Raji, and Tramon Williams. They rely on getting a lot of turnovers, so they have major boom or bust potential, but I think that their ceiling is much higher than their floor is low. The Pack might have a tougher time reaching the playoffs, though, in a loaded division (on paper). Detroit seems poised to make somewhat of a bounce-back and will be difficult to stop now that they added Reggie Bush to the mix; Minnesota made the playoffs last year and only added pieces on offense and defense, but they will only be able to go where Christian Ponder leads them; and with Marc Trestman, Chicago might finally have the scoring ability to complement their ferocious D. Green Bay will have to grind out a lot of games to stay atop their division.

Schedule

The Packers, outside of their division, get to face the NFC East and the AFC North. While both these divisions have several talented teams, there aren’t any teams on the level of Green Bay. Their toughest games, therefore, will be against the other first place teams from the NFC (San Francisco and Atlanta). Aaron Rodgers always plays with a chip on his shoulder, and the defense has had a whole entire offseason to learn how to defend the read option, so if they get burned again be Kaepernick to open the season, then it’s on them. They have an early bye (Week Four), and have to end the season against Atlanta, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Chicago, so they will really have to push through pain in December. We’ll see if that affects them at all at the end of the season, or in the playoffs.

Week 1: W at SF (Really hoping they learned how to defend Kaep)

Week 2: W vs WAS

Week 3: L at CIN

Week 4: Bye (Rodgers will need a week after getting sacked 5+ times by CIN)

Week 5: W vs DET

Week 6: W at BAL
Week 7: W vs CLE

Week 8: W at MIN

Week 9: W vs CHI

Week 10: W vs PHI

Week 11: L at NYG

Week 12: W vs MIN
Week 13: L at DET

Week 14: L vs ATL

Week 15: L at DAL

Week 16: W vs PIT

Week 17: W at CHI

So even though I think the Packers will have a stretch when they lose four out of five games, I still think that Green Bay will have a remarkable season. They will finish 11-5, which is enough to win their division with relative ease, including a 5-1 division record and a big road win over the 49ers if it affects playoff seeding. The Green Bay Packers will be a handful for whoever they end up facing in the playoffs, and Aaron Rodgers could very well have another MVP season.

Bold Prediction: Randall Cobb will catch 100 passes this year, and Green Bay will lead the NFL in turnover margin.