The Green Bay Packers are feeling pretty good about themselves, and they have every right to do so, but the fact is they haven’t won anything yet. I get a little concerned when I hear Aaron Rodgers talking about how this might be the best team he has ever been on. Sure, that might be true, but until you put a ring on it, it means nothing.
Head coach Mike McCarthy only called his team the “most consistent” he has coached and I think his message to the team when they return to work tomorrow should be to tone down the best team ever talk. It is way too early for that. While the Packers may be 13-point favorites Monday against the Atlanta Falcons, if the Packers think they can just show up and win they are sorely mistaken.
The Packers may indeed be the best team in the league but the NFL is all about matchups. I said before the New England game that the Packers match up well against them. On the flip side the Packers do not match up well against the New Orleans Saints. If the Packers fail to win the NFC North division they could easily be headed back to The Big Easy where they have been blown out their last two appearances.
In defense of the Packers they did avoid the dreaded trap game by going to Minnesota and getting a hard fought win with the mighty Patriots on deck. While the Packers’ defense may have taken heat in some media circles after that game, I think they proved their mettle and confirmed it against the Patriots.
The biggest problem facing the Packers the next four weeks is between their ears. If they think they can breeze through the Falcons, Bills, Bucs and Lions they are sorely mistaken. Any given Sunday has never been more on display than this year.
I don’t expect the Lions to lose another game until they visit Lambeau on December 28th. The Packers shouldn’t either. Green Bay came out of nowhere to win the Super Bowl in 2010. Can they do it as a front-runner four years later?