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The ’09 season has to be considered finelooking successful for the Packers, as they won five more games than in 2008 (Aaron Rodgers’ firstborn year as the starting QB) and earned a playoff spot before their defense was gutted by Kurt Warner in the Wild-Card round versus the Arizona Cardinals. That game did show what Green Bay actually has in store for 2010 and what could be a big concern. On the bright side, Rodgers was closely as good as Warner in that game and Rodgers emerged as a Top 5 quarterback for the duration of the regular season, rating fourth in the NFL in yards (4,434), rating (103.2), touchdown passes (seven) and with the fewest interceptions (seven) of any quarterback with at least 200 attempts. Pretty much all of Rodgers’ weapons from last year are back even though 35-year-old No. 2 WR Donald Driver might be decelerating down as he tailed off in a big way at the end of last season. Warner went balistic on the Green Bay secondary, specially with Al Harris hurt. Charles Woodson and Harris, one of the best tandems in the NFL for years, are both getting up there in age with Woodson turning 34 this season and Harris for the duration of 36. I’m in all probability picking too much on Woodson taking into account he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and had nine picks and three TDs. Plus he reportedly re-dedicated himself this offseason. Harris, however, is coming off major knee surgery that ended his 2009 season early. That Green Bay defense will be down two key players this season as Aaron Kampman, a two-time Pro Bowler, is now in Jacksonville (he also suffered a season-ending injury in November last season) and Johnny Jolly was suspended without compensate for 2010 after violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Although if there’s one area the Pack may withstand a few hits, it’s probably on the defensive line. The oddsmakers have Green Bay’s wins total at 9.5 for NFL season win totals. What’s the best bet there? Let’s check the 2010 Green Bay Packers schedule (all times Eastern): Week 1: Sunday, Sep. 12, at Philadelphia, 4:15 PM This schedule ranks as the 22nd most difficult in the NFL with an opponents’ 2009 cumulative winning percentage of.488 (125-131). Checking the football betting lines for the basi six games, there’s actually no reason Green Bay will have to be any worse than 4-2. The Pack get the gain of being the firstborn contestant of new Eagles starter Kevin Kolb (that game is presently a ‘pick’em’), and not anyone knows who the quarterback of the Bills will be. The Packers swept the Bears last season by closely identical scores (21-14 and 21-15), and that matchup will be in prime time for the fifth straight season with the firstborn meeting amid the two being No. 180 in the all-time series. This is the 18th successive season the Packers have appeared on “Monday Night Football,” the NFC’s longest streak. The Pack better be no worse than 4-2 because they could without apparent effort fall into a three-game skid (albeit unlikely) entering the bye week with games versus Super Bowl contenders in the Vikings, Jets and Cowboys. Of course, that Minnesota game will be Brett Favre’s second-ever game as a visitor at Lambeau. He led the Vikings to a 30-23 win over Green Bay in a Monday night game at Minnesota last season and then a 38-28 win at Lambeau. Green Bay has the gain of an extra week to prepare for the rematch with Minnesota (the Vikes aren’t off the same week) in a game that could well determine the NFC North. Week 10 is the latest a team may have a bye, by the way, and it’s the latest the Pack have ever had theirs. Four road games in five weeks is gorgeous rare, but Green Bay is 18-11 overall on the road underneath Mike McCarthy from Nov. 15 and beyond. Then the Packers finish with back-to-back home games for only the second time since 1923. Since 1998, the Packers have finished the season versus the Bears three times, all of them victories in Chicago. NFL Handicapping makes this look like a 10-6-type schedule for Green Bay, which may or may not be sufficient to win the NFC North (I prevised 10-6 for Minnesota as well), but it must be sufficient for a return trip to the playoffs. Green Bay is presently a slight bestloved (+125) over the Vikings to win the North and +650 to win the NFC (tied with Minnesota behind New Orleans and Dallas).
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