A broken collarbone cost Aaron Rodgers seven games in 2013. Had he played the whole year he was on pace to put up 4,509 yards – which would have been the second-best total of his illustrious career. His feet are a weapon as well: he averages 275 yards rushing per season and has accumulated 18 total touchdowns on the ground. His best attribute is his ability to hit big plays through the air while rarely turning the ball over. Since becoming a starter in 2008 he has thrown 187 TDs with only 51 picks. He is incredibly efficient as well, averaging a 66% completion rate. He is one of the top-three QBs in the game along with Peyton and Brees.
RB Eddie Lacy is primed for a monster season, as he’ll see the bulk of the workload in what will surely be one of the league’s most potent offenses. At 5’11″/230 lbs. he possesses the combination of power and speed coaches dream of. His mammoth thighs cause the stripes on his pants to appear wider than his teammates’, and he uses them to run through arm tackles like a freight train through a homecoming banner. His rookie year numbers of 1,178 yards rushing for a 4.1 yards per carry average plus 35 receptions for 257 yards in 15 games should go way up in 2013. He projects to be one of the top-five backs in the NFL. James Starks averaged a very impressive 5.5 yards per rush last year, making him a premier No. 2 RB. As usual fan-favorite John Kuhn will be plying his trade as one of the best lead blockers in the game. KOOOOOON.
Rodgers’ favorite target is the 6’3″ Jordy Nelson who two months after turning 29 received a $39 million contract from the notoriously cheap Packer front office. When Ted Thompson doesn’t bicker about a price tag you know the Packers value a player exponentially (technically Nelson was asking for $40 million, so Thompson was being Thompson nonetheless.) Nelson grabbed 85 balls for 1,314 yards and 8 scores last year – but should see those numbers go up. He averaged over 100 yards per game last season in the games Rodgers was at the helm. He’ll make circus catches on a regular basis and burn secondaries deep, averaging over 15 yards per catch the last two years. Randall Cobb missed 10 games in 2013 with a broken leg and reportedly isn’t off to a great start in camp. However, considering his 2012 numbers and his pace in 2013 – his statistical trends put him on track for over 1,000 yards this season. Not having him mangle his body on punt and kick returns this season will hopefully help keep him healthy. Jarrett Boykin is the frontrunner for the No. 3 WR spot after a solid 2013 in which he posted 49 receptions for 681 yards. However, a case of the dropsies early on in camp and zero catches in the preseason opener hasn’t exactly made for a hot start to his season. Rookie second-rounder Davante Adams out of Fresno St. is looking good early on as a receiver, but had a horrid first preseason game auditioning as a returner. Adams and Boykin will be expected to help fill the void left by James Jones. Unfortunately, soon-to-be favorite son Jared Abbrederis – a fifth-round pick from Wautoma, Wisconsin – tore his ACL and is done for the year.
Jermichael Finley had his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae fused last year after suffering a spinal contusion. He still wants to play and has been medically cleared. The rub is he has a $10 million insurance policy which he can collect if he retires, so he’s asking for serious money to return, and NFL teams aren’t inclined to give a big contract to a guy coming off a broken back. He’ll hope for an offer once injuries start to mount during the season. Andrew Quarless will hope to move up the depth chart as Finley’s replacement, but profiles better as a No. 2 TE, as does Brandon Bostick. The hope is that third-round pick Richard Rodgers out of Cal will eventually be the No. 1. He started in the preseason opener so it looks like he’s well on the way.
David Bakhtiari was slated to spend last season learning the pro game but an early injury to Bryan Bulaga forced him into the starting lineup. He was solid in pass protection but lacked the size and strength necessary to run block. He added ten pounds of muscle in the offseason and looks like he’s on the verge of becoming a complete player. Since pass protection is paramount at his position and in the Packer offense, he’ll do just fine at LT. Josh Sitton is one of the game’s elite guards, and with T.J. Lang on the right side the Pack have one of the best guard duos in the league. Bryan Bulaga was once one of the top guys on the Green Bay O-line, but a hip injury in 2012 and an ACL tear last year make him a question mark this season. If he can get back to his 2011 production level he’ll be an excellent RT. If he loses out to Don Barclay that position could be a weakness. The Pack will expect J.C. Tretter to be their fourth different starting center in as many years, despite an ankle injury costing him his rookie season. His competition is fifth-rounder Corey Linsley out of Ohio St. who projects to need some time to develop, so center is another position with a question mark.
The Green Bay defense is what held them back in 2013. Ranking #25 overall and either 24th or 25th in just about every other category is not a formula for January football. At the behest of Head Coach Mike McCarthy, DC Dom Capers will be adding lots of new wrinkles to the Titletown D this season. For starters man-beast B.J. Raji will move his 337 lbs. back where they belong at NT. In his first three seasons he played the zero and had 10.5 sacks, in his last two years as a DE he had none.
Third-year DE Mike Daniels looks primed to move into the starting lineup. He quietly had an excellent season last year amassing 6.5 sacks off the bench. He’ll see much more action this year, and coupled with Raji moving back to the nose, The Pack might generate a serious pass rush from their three-man line. Look for Daniels to have a breakout year. An ankle injury stagnated Datone Jones’ rookie campaign but the 2013 first-round pick could make a big impact this season. Mix in Josh Boyd and the additions of Letroy Guion from the Vikes and third-rounder Khyri Thornton out of Southern Miss. and the Pack look to have a much-improved D-line, one that has the potential to be the deepest of any team that deploys a 3-4 base.
At ILB Green Bay will start A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones. Hawk compiled 238 tackles over the last two seasons with 8 sacks. He has been an iron man as well – having missed all of two games in his eight seasons in the league. A hamstring injury hampered Jones’ performance last season, but if he’s back to full speed he’s Green Bay’s most versatile linebacker and will most likely play every down, as he excels against the run and in coverage.
Elite pass rusher Clay Matthews hasn’t been fully healthy in two years. He broke his thumb twice last season, and a hammy handicapped him in 2012. Despite those injuries he has 20.5 sacks in his last 23 games. Imagine the terror he’ll cause this year at 100%. The big question for the Pack going into this season surrounds the edition of Julius Peppers from the rival Bears. Having never played in a 3-4 the adjustment won’t be easy at 34 years old, but the numbers speak for themselves. His 120 career sacks rank 17th all-time. He’s also another iron man having missed only 6 games in his 12 year career, and none over the last six years. Most likely he’ll line up at various positions but wherever he plays he definitely has some gas left in the tank and will provide the pass rush opposite Matthews that the Pack have been looking for. Mike Neal is another versatile OLB who will be used in different spots and provide a pass rush having led the team in hurries last year while recording 5 sacks.
For some reason the Packers gave No. 1 corner Sam Shields the exact same contract (4 years/$39 million) they gave Jordy Nelson. That’s a lot of scratch for a mediocre player. A leading personnel exec told GazetteXtra “Sometimes you have a gun to your head…if you don’t get your guy, then who?” referring to the lack of available corners on the market this past offseason. That gun made an inconsistent CB who struggles in man coverage, struggles against the run, and gets beat deep more than the average No. 1 corner a very, very rich man. Tramon Williams is a solid No. 2 CB, and Casey Hayward had a fantastic rookie year before a balky hamstring cost him most of 2013. If he can bounce back the Pack will be decent at the corners, but will have to hold their breath when Shields faces the Marshalls and the Megatrons.
Micah Hyde has played so well in camp he reportedly might hold off first-round pick Ha Ha Clinton-Dix from the Crimson Tide for the FS job. In the long term Clinton-Dix profiles to be a deep center fielder who can tackle – which is a big weakness for the Green Bay secondary – and will be starting sooner rather than later.
Morgan Burnett had a pretty awful season last year but is back at SS for now. The versatile Micah Hyde might end up shifting over here if Clinton-Dix is ready to go and Burnett continues to get burned. Hyde also appears to be their best option as a return man.
VERDICT: Obviously the Pack need to keep Rodgers healthy so the play of the RT will be key. If Rodgers is kept injury-free the Packers will undoubtedly light up the scoreboard. One reason for the poor D last year was a lack of a consistent pass rush – but an improved D-line, a healthy Matthews, an emerging Neal, and the newly acquired Peppers should fix that problem. So that leaves the secondary: if they can be decent this is a Super Bowl caliber team, but if they get torched deep as much as they did last year they could end up giving all of the points they score right back. And they’re going to score a lot.
Article By: Anthony Schiano
