Cautiously Optimistic

[eagle13]

Even though Pack still did not fix penalties on ST. Other “things” seem to be better
But Detroit will do that for you – make a team seem talented and tough - real or not.

“Issues” that are familiar to us all -
1) OL – a) pass protection b) opening holes
2) Pass rush

Whether the “Issues” are fixed remain unproven.
The real judgement will be against Baltimore.

OL-
Sitton and Wells are OK.
Will Clifton-Tauscher-Lang be an effective OT rotation keeping the end sealed tight?
Will College find his pair?
It would be great if Clifton-Tauscher could be counted on so Lang could play LG. But Lang will be needed at both OTs through the rest of the way. We’re lucky he’s here. I figure Tauscher to keep getting better – just needing some breathers on a long possession drives. And Clifton will probably miss a couple more quarters or halves (we’re lucky if that’s all) with ankles and knees (to tell it like M3). So College at LG has to grow a pair. Go Daryn.

Pass rush-
Clay is something great! Is Jones? So far I feel an excitement about him. And Raji is showing signs of coming to health and life! Woodson will probably have to play standard CB more and roam and blitz less unfortunately. But soon we’ll have Big Okie Chillar back hand free. Go Cullen! Go Jolly!

Tramon gets his full test. Odds are he steps up.
There’s even hope for Bush (can’t believe I’m saying that). Even tho he got beat once and blew 2 maybe 3 interceptions, that’s progress for him. At least he was in front of the ball 3 times rather than chasing it. He’s got a lot to prove. Go Jarrett!
I have more hope (call it a prayer) that Bell catches on quickly.

Finally, injuries. Every team gets them. Every year they happen.
But we’ve hit our max. Lose another starting DB or a OL or Matthews or a DL and we’re toast. But can’t control that so injury concerns aside…
so Pack has just enough positives for me to be cautiously optimistic.

[A Diddy2231]

I personally see the Packers as a team that if they played smart can beat Vikings or Saints...not easily but by td or field goal...

If you looked at stats alone and tried to predict the Packers record you might think the Packers were one of the undefeated teams or 9-1 like Vikings...

5th Ranked Off
2nd Ranked Def
1st Turnover Diff

But then again....
1st in sacks allowed
and in top 3 of penalties

[Wade-A-Holic]

I personally see the Packers as a team that if they played smart can beat Vikings or Saints...not easily but by td or field goal...

If you looked at stats alone and tried to predict the Packers record you might think the Packers were one of the undefeated teams or 9-1 like Vikings...

5th Ranked Off
2nd Ranked Def
1st Turnover Diff

But then again....
1st in sacks allowed
and in top 3 of penalties

And near the bottom in special teams.

[A Diddy2231]

Kind of goes with the bad specials teams play, but I wonder what our opponents average starting field possession is...got to be near top of league aka bad

[MrLynch07]

I personally see the Packers as a team that if they played smart can beat Vikings or Saints...not easily but by td or field goal...

If you looked at stats alone and tried to predict the Packers record you might think the Packers were one of the undefeated teams or 9-1 like Vikings...

5th Ranked Off
2nd Ranked Def
1st Turnover Diff

But then again....
1st in sacks allowed
and in top 3 of penalties

I don't know if i'd go as far as saying that if the played smart they could beat either, But if they played with aggressiveness and awareness, they could give the Queens a run for there money, possibly pull out a win, but between how raped we were last year by the saints, with how well our D was performing before that game, and how sub-par the Saints D was last year, we were no match, and this year, not only do they have possibly the most un-stopable offense in the league, they have a near top 10 if not top 10 D as well, and I can garuantee we would not be able to stop that force, neither do i think the Vikes can. I also don't think either are going to Miami this year I think the saints lose to a suprise team in the nfc championship game, I dont know who, cuz anything could happen right with the way things are playing out. But i think it is reasonable to assume the packers might be able to put up a fight against either is they can shore up there penalty situation, and even though there O line has been tightening this up, its going to have to do even better come playoff time. Sorry if there are grammatical errors, i typed quickly and drunkenly.

[ReasonablySober]

I'm not sure how much stock I put into the Packers defensive rankings. We've had six games against teams in the bottom eight in total offense. The lone banner game came against the Cowboys, ranked 4th in total offense.

I'm still of the 'Show Me Something' opinion. Wins against Baltimore and Pittsburgh would make a believer again.

[Wade-A-Holic]

I'm not sure how much stock I put into the Packers defensive rankings. We've had six games against teams in the bottom eight in total offense. The lone banner game came against the Cowboys, ranked 4th in total offense.

I'm still of the 'Show Me Something' opinion. Wins against Baltimore and Pittsburgh would make a believer again.

The defensive rankings might be a tad overrated, but the Vikings have played an equally weak schedule and have not fared as well, and their defense is/was supposed to be the class of the division. Footballoutsiders has us at #1 in defensive efficiency on the season, for what that's worth. We're also second to last in special teams efficiency and #4 in offensive efficiency. Do I think we're the best defensive team in the league? No way, but their statistical formulas have some credence. I agree, though, that the Baltimore and Pittsburgh games will be big in terms of restoring confidence since both of those teams are fighting for their own playoff chances. Baltimore, in particular, has their backs up against the wall. I expect that Monday night game to be really physical and pretty low-scoring.

[notoriousTJ11]

I'm not sure how much stock I put into the Packers defensive rankings. We've had six games against teams in the bottom eight in total offense. The lone banner game came against the Cowboys, ranked 4th in total offense.

I'm still of the 'Show Me Something' opinion. Wins against Baltimore and Pittsburgh would make a believer again.

Exactly how I feel. Im still waiting for Atari to show me something. I want Tramon to show he can go against a Fitzgerald or Boldin and not get eaten up. As fun as it is to sometimes watch Hawk bullrush and lay out a running back on a blitz, he needs to start getting some sacks. Our linebackers also need to show they can cover.

[notoriousTJ11]

The defensive rankings might be a tad overrated, but the Vikings have played an equally weak schedule and have not fared as well, and their defense is/was supposed to be the class of the division. Footballoutsiders has us at #1 in defensive efficiency on the season, for what that's worth. We're also second to last in special teams efficiency and #4 in offensive efficiency. Do I think we're the best defensive team in the league? No way, but their statistical formulas have some credence. I agree, though, that the Baltimore and Pittsburgh games will be big in terms of restoring confidence since both of those teams are fighting for their own playoff chances. Baltimore, in particular, has their backs up against the wall. I expect that Monday night game to be really physical and pretty low-scoring.

The only thing I have to say is that the Vikings have played the Steelers and Ravens and their defense surely outperformed ours in the two head to head matchups. The fact that a 40 year old Favre scorched us twice kinda wipes out any comfort I have with any statistical rankings of our defense.

[MickeyDavis]

Vikings have beaten one team with a winning record. Packers. The other team they played with a winning record was Pittsburgh and they lost.

[Wade-A-Holic]

The defensive rankings might be a tad overrated, but the Vikings have played an equally weak schedule and have not fared as well, and their defense is/was supposed to be the class of the division. Footballoutsiders has us at #1 in defensive efficiency on the season, for what that's worth. We're also second to last in special teams efficiency and #4 in offensive efficiency. Do I think we're the best defensive team in the league? No way, but their statistical formulas have some credence. I agree, though, that the Baltimore and Pittsburgh games will be big in terms of restoring confidence since both of those teams are fighting for their own playoff chances. Baltimore, in particular, has their backs up against the wall. I expect that Monday night game to be really physical and pretty low-scoring.

The only thing I have to say is that the Vikings have played the Steelers and Ravens and their defense surely outperformed ours in the two head to head matchups. The fact that a 40 year old Favre scorched us twice kinda wipes out any comfort I have with any statistical rankings of our defense.

All those head to head matchups showed was that McCarthy sucks at scheming and that their defense matches up better against our offense better than our defense matches up against their offense.

The Ravens? They've been awful offensively for about six weeks, yet they had a field day against Minnesota. The Steelers haven't exactly been juggernauts either. I'll see your Baltimore/Pittsburgh, and raise you Cincinnati/Dallas, who are both better offensive teams than the ones you mentioned. Minnesota has already had Cleveland, St Louis, and Detroit twice, just as the Packers have. Schedules being pretty equal thus far, the Packers defense has been better. Special teams and offensive line play is another story.

[Wade-A-Holic]

I'm not sure how much stock I put into the Packers defensive rankings. We've had six games against teams in the bottom eight in total offense. The lone banner game came against the Cowboys, ranked 4th in total offense.

I'm still of the 'Show Me Something' opinion. Wins against Baltimore and Pittsburgh would make a believer again.

Exactly how I feel. Im still waiting for Atari to show me something. I want Tramon to show he can go against a Fitzgerald or Boldin and not get eaten up. As fun as it is to sometimes watch Hawk bullrush and lay out a running back on a blitz, he needs to start getting some sacks. Our linebackers also need to show they can cover.

What do you want Atari to show you? He hasn't been a liability in any way this season and is literally a million times better than anybody who played for him while he was hurt. It's his job to be the steady, assignment sure safety while Collins/Woodson roam a little bit, and he's been very good at it.

So you're waiting for Tramon to do what 95% of corners in this league can't do? Right, and I'm waiting for Suppan to win a Cy Young before I attend another Brewer game.

[Mags FTW]

Yup. If you don't hear his name, that means he had a good day.

[Ayt]

Our defense has been night and day with Bigby out there so I don't know what people want to see from him.

I don't think we need to beat both Pitt and Baltimore to prove anything. We need to win 3 more games period. All I care about is getting into the playoffs and playing well while getting there. Even if we beat the Bears, Seattle, and an Arizona team possibly resting many players for the playoffs, I'd be fine with it. Baltimore and Pitt are also beatable. Its not like those teams have played like world beaters this year.