Packers still prime-time material

Today’s announcement by the NFL that the Packers and Bears will kick off the league’s Sunday night showcase at Lambeau Field shows the power of the team’s fans. Not only did the Packers get the opening Sunday night contest they also will play at Detroit on Thanksgiving Day for the second time in three years. The rest of the national TV schedule has not been announced but I could see the Packers getting at least a road Monday night game and a couple of 3:15s.

Yes, the Bears are certainly part of the draw, and the rivalry is one of the NFL’s best, but bottom line is other than Hester and Urlacher, the Bears don’t have much star power. The Packers aren’t the Patriots but do have Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Charles Woodson, A.J. Hawk, and Nick Barnett. Not to mention Lambeau Field, which is why once again the Packers will be at home on opening day. One thing you can always be sure of is the Packers will open at home. Every few years the league has to throw the rest of the league a bone and put the Packers on the road, but normally they are few and far between. That is a credit to the organization for making sure Lambeau Field remains the mecca of NFL fans. You still haven’t been to a game if you haven’t been to a game at Lambeau.

I think the Packers are primed for a turnaround from last year’s 6-10 record and the networks might be thinking the same way. I would like to say a win over the Bears would be the catalyst for a good season, but I thought that would happen last year after the Packers whipped the Vikings on opening day in Rodgers’ first start. We all saw what happened after that. The defense became a sieve and Rodgers went through his growing pains and result was what it was. The fact that the Bears are also part of the opening weekend package for the second straight year like the Packers is pretty funny. What happened to the division champion Vikings? They were no where to be found in the opening announcements. I love it. My guess is they get the maximum three Monday night games and probably a pair of Sunday night games.

The thing is, the Vikings are and always will be third fiddle in the NFC North. The Packers and Bears will always be the better draws. The Vikings haven’t meant a thing since Bud Grant left and his only claim to fame is losing four Super Bowls. Adrian Peterson is their only draw now. At least they do have Peterson, last I heard the league was trying to remove Detroit from the TV schedule completely.

I don’t know about you, but the news today was good for me. I think it shows confidence in the organization as a whole, and as an owner, I will be there that Sunday night supporting my team. I will make my prediction right now, Packers 31, Bears 13.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 8:03 pm and is filed under Al Davis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • Larry

    Do I detect that you guys all think that Kampman is automatically the LOLB in the 3-4? Why, he has never played in space, but yet we’ve got a guy like Maybin jumping all over the place? Lot of speculation here, but little towards the TT past tendencies of BPA, which I think goes CB more and more. In any case more fodder for debate.

  • Oconomowockid

    Barnett, via Twitter, says Packers need another defensive lineman

    Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!

  • Larry

    Wow, Cutler being blasted, and I mean torched, but guys I see Buz Cook all over this; he did the same with you-know-who! But, then, thats DENs business and none of my own, except that he’ll go NFC. Who knows, he may have been a one-year wonder too, and Cook trying to cash in quick.

  • Pete H

    Roy, there are a ton of “guys” at LB and DL, but “guys” are what they had last year, and they blew.

  • JeffN

    Larry, The coaching staff announced that Kampman is moving to left OLB. Capers did say in some of the sub packages he will move up and play defensive end but his base position will be left OLB. None of that is speculation it is according to Green Bay coaching staff.

  • Larry

    Thanks JeffN, didn’t catch that, I guess I couldn’t figure out where else tho.

  • Matt Hayton

    iccyfan Says:

    April 1st, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    We’re having some fun in predicting who the Packers might draft at #9. While on-line draft experts might see Raji as a need for the Packers, I’m doubtful that TT sees him as a need or BPA. Agree or disagree with TT’s appraisal, it will promulgate who he selects. Given his position that the roster is solid and he’s building for the long-term, I think his view of BPA at #9 will be a CB or OT. That’s my guess – nothing more and nothing less…

    Hey iccy-

    Online draft experts, and many of us realistic posters on here aren’t the only ones who are admitting we need D-Line help:

    Nick Barnett thinks so too…there is a link to the JS Online story on the homepage.

  • Matt Hayton

    What I don’t get is why some people on here feel this need to blindly support TT’s every move…why can’t we call a spade, a spade…bottom line: He blew it with Harrell. He took a calculated risk on a guy who he thought might pan out, but everyone else avoided due to his consistent injury history in college. – 2003 – broken ankle, 2004 – played full season, 2005 – played most of the season, but missed 2 games due to ankle injury, 2006 – missed most of the season with bi-ceps injury, 2007 – missed season due to back injury, 2008 – limited entire season by back injury.

    So 4 out of the last 6 years he’s played football he has missed significant time due to injury. Bottom line. TT shouldn’t have drafted him, but he did and because of this pick, the Corey Williams trade and letting Cole go in FA…we have serious question marks on our D-Line. Fact: Pickett turns 30 this year; Fact: Jenkins is coming off of a major injury; Fact: Jolly has legal issues andmight be suspended by the NFL, and Fact: aside from Harrell and Montgomery, no one has even played an NFL snap on D-Line.

    Fact: That is D-Line that is nowhere near a championship D-Line…Dotson, Wilkins, Jones, Brown, Holland and White… now that was a D-Line…what we have now is a joke. Pickett is the only player we have and if he goes down this year all hell will break loose unless TT fixs it between now and August. The rest of those guys wouldn’t be starting anywhere else but in GB…There is alot TT has done well, but building a championship caliber D-Line is not one of them. Just face the facts.

  • Oconomowockid

    Matt would you stop making sense. Don’t you know if you disagree with Ted you are not a “True Packer Fan”. Harrell was a risk that should not have happened. I cannot remember one analyst or fan who thought it was a good pick. Now it has turned out to be just that, but to some you have to defend every move Ted makes. We need lineman on both sides of the ball that can play. We don’t need to keep guys to satisfy the ego of the GM.

  • Reid

    I agree that Justin Harrel has turned out to be a bad pick due to his health issues. He appears to be able to play NFL football when he’s healthy, but MIA too much doesn’t cut it. At this point, why would we cut him or get rid of him? Do we need salary cap room? Why not see if he can get healthy for the ’09 campaign. If he can’t, cut him in training camp cuts. If he can participate in camp, at least he could be good “practice fodder” for the O-linemen to practice blocking. If he gets hurt again, just reach an injury settlement with him and move on. I think that would buy us more cap room than letting him go now. If you’re wanting TT to step up to the microphone and admit he’s wrong, he’s not going to do that. He doesn’t admit he’s right either, he doesn’t admit anything else either. He flat out doesn’t say anything, that’s my big problem with him. When you leave people in the dark, they assume the worst and start bashing.

  • Rocky70

    People bash TT because they have issues with his ‘lack of personality’. They really can’t bash him for his moves or non-moves because they know little to nothing about what it takes to field a winning team & all the factors involved for a GM. It shows how ignorant so-called informed fans really are.

    Justin Harrell is 25 & entering his 3rd year. Gilbert Brown didn’t play full-time until his 4th season in the NFL. Brown was a 3rd rd pick of the Vikings & didn’t even make it through the ’93 training camp with the Vikes. GB picked him up. Brown was over-weight & sustained numerous injuries his first 3 years with GB. (playing little) He finally got healthy his 4th season & played in all 16 games.

    Harrell still has an upside that will only surface when he becomes healthy & puts together a full season. You don’t dump your 1st rd pick after only two years. It has nothing to do with admitting right or wrong on TT’s part. Any GM in the NFL would be patient with Harrell.

  • iccyfan

    Matt Hayton Says: “What I don’t get is why some people on here feel this need to blindly support TT’s every move”

    Oconomowockid Says: “some you have to defend every move Ted makes.”
    ===========================================
    I haven’t supported or defended TT’s draft selections, Harrell or otherwise (in this thread). I’ve prognosticated that TT will select a CB or OT in Round 1 because HE believes in Harrell and the other D Lineman on the roster. Surely you can see the difference between what I’m saying and what you’re attributing to me!?! Back at you, Matt – what I don’t get is why some people on here feel the need to attack TT’s every move?

    From this point forward, I’m just gonna sit back and wait for the 25th to roll around. As illustrated by picks like Harrell in the first and Nick Collins / Pat Lee in the second, it’s kinda useless to try and predict what TT will do…

  • JeffN

    I’m a big TT guy and I don’t agree with every move he has made including the Herril pick. My overall thoughts on TT is he took a terrible rostor and developed it into a pretty good one without putting this team in any financial trouble positioning us to always resign our own players. If he keeps up what he has been doing for another 2 or 3 years then we have a team that is going to be awesome for the next 7-8 years.

    I agree on how bad our D-Line is. It’s terrible. Focus will be put on acquiring D-Lineman I’m sure but it will take some time to get that line together.

    Everyone also needs to look at how the players drafted in other years will have an impact in 09. Players that I think will have an impact and make this team better in 09:

    Jordy Nelson
    Jermicheal Finley
    Josh Sitton
    Breno Giacomini

    This team will be better this year but I don’t know how the D-Line gets fixed in 09. I think we need either Ron Brace or BJ Raji in this draft plus a DE.

    What’s most important is for the O-line to have all of them play next to each other for 3-5 games get them to gel, once that happens we are set on the O-line. I disagree that the O-line needs more/different players. Although a top of the draft OT pick would help.

  • Pack4life

    THE Bears Still Suck. Bus Cook deserves the Dan Devine Treatment. He should not be allowed in the state of Wisconsin. Maybe we can get Peppers now.

  • Matt Hayton

    Uhhh…Aaron Rodgers is no longer the best QB in the NFC North….

  • Matt Hayton

    this sucks big time…Bears just got a whole lot better…

  • Devil’s Advocate…

    Raji should be available for the Pack at #9…………. OOOOpppppps, failed drug test at combine and at BC.

  • JeffN

    Raji tested positive on a drug test. Chances of getting him at 9 just went way up.

    Cutler is going to make Packer/Bears games really exciting. Packers 3-4 defense better work!

  • Reid

    Who is Cutler going to throw to? Devin Hester? Olson? uh, Rasheed Davis? I can’t even think of any more.

  • Matt Hayton

    FRICK! FRICK! FRICK! They just signed Pace, too! Angelo is on a roll! WOW!

    Pace, Cutler, Forte, Olsen, whewww! I think I just shatt myself…while TT sits on the sidelines and dreams about how he can acquire a couple more 4th and 5th round draft picks! That just burns my balls!

  • Matt Hayton

    Dude, Cutler and Favre have more in common than weasling trades through Bus Cook…Cutler signal handledly made Brandon Marshall an all-pro and Eddie Royal a threat…just like Favre made guys like Freeman and Walker…

    Cutler in the windy city is gonna suck for the next decade.

  • Roy Jamison

    Da Bears still suck. They picked up a immature young guy who, altho talented, will find it colder in the Midwest than in Denver. He might miss that mile high air too. Still hoping the Pack passes on Raji, there’s other better players out there…who don’t dope and aren’t dopes.

  • Oconomowockid

    Ok,
    Can we start participating in free agency. Matt you are correct the division just got alot tougher. We have to get serious and start bringing in some talent. We have an offense, we better start getting a defense to slow down Chicago. Everything just changed.

  • Tyler

    I got an interesting situation that just might happen!!!
    ok if Raji is taken before the Packers are on the board and Sanchez is still available when the Packers pick I can see the Jets trading up with the Packers and getting Sanchez. For what I dont know…it makes sence because recent reports have Denver interested but also the Jets interested…I could also see the Jets thinking San Fran at 10 picking Sanchez. Alot of people think the jets would trade with Jacksonville but I dont see that happening cause Jacksonville wants crabtree or another WR at that slot…

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