The 10-1 Green Bay Packers? | giddyupzil's Blog

Ask me, an avid Wisconsin sports fan, what my expectations were for the Packers heading into the 2007-2008 season around May or June of '07, right when school was getting out. I'd tell you how A.J. Hawk looks like the next Brian Urlacher except that Hawk plays outside linebacker, or that since we finished the season out with four wins that we'll have a moderate amount of momentum heading into the next season, with or without Favre.

I would never, even if I was in that mood when you see the players on your team as superior to every other team's, say that we'd be 10-1 heading into a matchup with Dallas to basically decide who gets home field advantage in the playoffs.

Never. Not in May, not in July, not even in August or during the preseason.

This feeling is almost universal around Wisconsin. Sure, we have Brett Favre. Sure, we have Donald Driver and what looked like a service-able defense built around the front 7, but nothing that'd give us a team that would essentially wrap up the NFC North by Thanksgiving.

Let's look at the facts--Chicago was coming off a Super Bowl season, Minnesota picked up Adrian Peterson in the draft who we all knew would be an absolute stud, and Detroit was always that sneaky little Lions team that could surprise you with all the talent they have. Add the Packers, who had an aging quarterback, and a team younger than any other in the league, and you'd give them anywhere from six to eight wins, maybe ten if you were feeling generous.

Brett Favre changed all this, because he is quite simply having himself a career year. With seven games with over 300 passing yards, it's almost as if Mike McCarthy told him, "Listen, Brett, you're all we've got out there and we need you to do everything on offense." Favre responded with a season that'd have "MVP #4" written all over it if it wasn't for those cheating Patriots and Tom Brady.

Favre is doing everything he can to win the game, the defense is bend-but-don't-break, and the running game is finally coming around as Ryan Grant is becoming a household name thanks to him taking advantage of circumstance. Although I'm not quite sure Grant is the long-term solution at running back, he's certainly a nice addition for the year, at the price of a sixth-round pick.

Fans are energized, playoff tickets have been printed, and the buzz has pushed ticket prices for Lambeau to an all-time high. People want to see Favre's swan song, but they also want to see a team that's the best in the NFC, and that team just happens to be stepping onto the Frozen Tundra eight times this year.

It's a great time to be a Packer fan, no doubt. Enjoy the run while it lasts!

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November 23, 2007 03:59 PM ET

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Its funny that when the Bears are bad. The Packers are the ish! I don't really care if the Bears lose 14 games. As long as we beat the crap out of Green Bay. Go Bears!!!!

Dre Dilla

Queen Creek, AZ

Total Comments (466)

November 23, 2007 04:38 PM ET

I really, really, really hate to say this, but....

Green Bay will lose 2x to the Cowboys--once in regaular season and then in the NFC Title game. I pray for Favre to rise up in the playoffs and crush the Cowboys' Supe Dreams.

Fastbreakblog

Chicago, IL

Total Comments (98)

November 23, 2007 11:53 PM ET

No question about the dreamy-ness of it all, or how they hit us all out of left field, but I disagree on how it happened. Favre is having the year he's having because of a superior scheme and a ton of work by a lot of people. ...and this is nothing against Mr. Favrelous, you understand, but that 5-wide set, with the talent that the coach and GM have stacked up there, is unstoppable. The O-line and coach Campen have worked their cracks off figuring out ways to 1) protect the QB and 2) get the run-game going. The first is as good as I've ever seen it, and the second is going well and picking up steam all the time. Now that all this is paying off, we are sitting pretty.

...oh yeah, and I can't leave without offering my humble, unbiased opinion (which has been formed entirely on the basis of cold, hard fact, uncolored by anything emotional or otherwise insubstantial), which is that we are going to absolutely kick the Cowgirls in the Jimmy so hard that their gloves will fly off their hands and their mouthguards will shoot out of their heads and they'll cry to Jerry Jones: "Papa Jerry, please, make them stop! ...please, please, PLEASE!, make them go away. We just want it all to END!"