It's that time of year again everybody. The temperature is in the upper 80s, we are all sun burnt after our first glorious Badger home game of the season, and the NFL season is just around the corner, and by that I mean it starts tonight.
So being the astute sports writer that I am, I have deemed it necessary for me to devote my first column of the year
toward giving the Green Bay Packers some love, and hopefully some Cardinal karma for the upcoming season.
Anyone with half a brain should be able to see that the Packers are a much-improved team from a year ago. The defense is running on all cylinders, and should easily be a top-10 defense when everything is said and done.
Defensive end Aaron Kampman is a beast and a half with a constant motor that never slows down. Fellow DE Cullen Jenkins will make a world of difference at the other end of the line as he replaces the incompetent Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.
The linebacking corps is ready to take the next step, as middle linebacker Nick Barnett will continue to make plays and hopefully stop his god awful karate-chop celebration move. Second-year outside linebacker A.J. Hawk looks even more in rhythm with the defense overall, and I have no doubt he will be a Pro Bowler at the end of this season. Hawk is a natural-born freak of an athlete and should wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks.
The defensive backs are set: Al Harris, Charles Woodson, and Nick Collins. That's all that needs to be said. Plus, how can you not like a guy named Atari Bigby? This young safety can hit but it remains to be seen how he handles zone coverage. Then again, it has to be better than what Marquand Manuel brought last year.
Offensively, the team is searching for its playmaker. We all know Brett Favre will do his job and keep the team in games, but the question is what rookie will step up and contribute late in the season.
All eyes will be on rookie running back Brandon Jackson, and whether he can carry the load. Jackson showed flashes of a starting running back in preseason, but the offensive line has not yet gelled to the point that they are consistently opening up holes for Jackson to get through.
But as much as I like Jackson, it may be James Jones, the rookie wide receiver from San Jose State, who makes the biggest impact.
It is obvious that Favre has a rapport with the rookie, and has even compared him to former Packer legend Sterling Sharpe. While I was one of many to scoff at Favre's comments, the preseason has shown that Jones runs great routes and has the ability to get open without having the 4.3 speed that is coveted so highly in today's NFL.
At the current moment, the main question for the Packers' offense is whether or not they will have Donald Driver as their No. 1 receiver. Driver injured his foot during the third preseason game against Jacksonville, and hasn't played since. The team never fully disclosed what the injury was, and would only say that they plan on having Driver ready for the regular season.
There is no doubt that Green Bay needs Driver, but if he is unable to play, the damage will not be as bad as some people think. Jones, along with second year wide receiver Greg Jennings will make a decent starting pair, and Ruvell Martin and Carlyle Holiday are pretty good for a team's fourth and fifth wide receivers.
In this Sunday's opener against Philadelphia, the Packers will need to pass the ball with efficiency in order to open up lanes for Jackson to run through. The Eagles have a stellar run defense, and the off-season acquisition of Takeo Spikes has only added to the fear that opposing teams will have this season.
But if Green Bay can use their short passing game, along with a few West Coast style play actions and rollouts, then they have a very good chance of winning this Sunday, and many Sundays down the road.
The only problem is that this year's schedule is a lot more difficult than last year's. The Packers will have to face the top dogs of the AFC West, which include San Diego, Denver and Kansas City. They also have to face the NFC East, which is no walk in the park either.
While this year's squad is vastly superior to last year's, the outcome could very well be the same. Green Bay could easily go 8-8 once again just based on their schedule.
But the fact that the Pack will have one of the best defenses in the NFC, and a group of young offensive players who only continue to get better, leaves this Packer fan optimistic about the upcoming months.
If you are wildly optimistic about the Packers upcoming season e-mail Nate at ncarey@dailycardinal.com.
