pyledriver80 said:
TOPHAT said:
TOP HAT footnote: Most preseason predictions without a super draft and some free agents signings will go this way. Sadly, it is the consensus among the experts.
exactly, theres no reason to think any different.
I LOVE it when i hear these "experts" type comments. These so called "experts" have a 50% chance of GUESSING right. And of course the ones that are LUCKY enough to have guessed right will crow about it, thus getting the attention, while the ones that guessed wrong will slink away so no one notices that they guessed wrong until the NEXT season and their next chance to GUESS.
Last year all the "experts" said the Packers wouldn't go 8-8, right? Where are all those fortune tellers now? I know......making their guesses for this coming season.
So i guess i can jump on the "oh me oh my, Ted is NEVER gonna get us to the playoffs!" Or look at the fact that the team improved greatly last year, and DOES have a chance to improve even more this year.
Yes, there IS a REAL reason to think this way.
In the end, you yourself make the choice on how to think. If we DID have Matt Millen running the show, or at least a guy that screwed everything up for several seasons like he has for the Lions, THEN maybe i'd take the doom and gloom route. But TT has only been here for 2 drafts! And he has made some good moves, not all blunders like Millen has.
Cheesey, you seem to be missing the point. Any knowledgable person who is not connected by fandom to the Packers look at this team as average. There is no reason to think the Packers will be better than last year considering they have done nothing to improve the team. They have lost thier feature RB and ignored all weak spots on the team. In fact, taking that into account and looking at thier schedule I think it would be fair to say 8-8 may be a reach.
Now, this is where you seem to get confused. It's a prediction, they could very well be better or be much worse. It's not set in stone. As with any other prediction it could be way off. However, it is a fair assessment of the team. The only people you will see predicting the Pack will be a SB contender are Packer fans. I have no problem with that but I also don't let myself take any of those predictions seriously because they are tainted.
Is there hope, yes, but there is hope for Lions fans, Browns fans, etc. I can't knock a guy for predicting the Pack will go 8-8 because I don't see how you could think any different. They are a team with no viable back, no threat at TE, sub-par Safety play, and an O-Line that they had to mask last year. On top of that, thier schedule looks tough.
You also seem to want to inject Ted into everything. This article had little or nothing to do with Ted. However, you want to jump the gun and take a guy stating the Packers will go 8-8 as a Ted insult and prematurely jump to defend him.
Take TT out of the equasion, lay down your Green and Gold glasses, throw out your optimism and look at this team over the last few years.
2005 we were hampered with injuries and lost alot of close games. The same team, for the most part the year before was a division winner. Were we really that bad or did injuries kill us? We were probably an 8-8 team in 2005 without all the injuries.
In 2006 we stayed healthy and beat 1 team who was a legit contender. Did we really improve?
Now comes 2007 and we still have the holes from 06 looming, plus another one created by Green leaving and our schedule appears to be much tougher. How can we be a better team?
Here is what I hear.
The Packers will be much better because Colledge and Spitz suddenly go from struggling to top tier O-Lineman.
Verand Morency is a hidden gem who will fill in for Green without missing a step
Whatever other holes we have will be filled by rookies who will instantly step in and play at an NFL level because Ted has a great eye for talent
Jennings will go from a rookie to a Reggie Wayne type #2 WR.
Underwood will fix the S position because he has so much talent.
All the tough teams on our schedule will turn out to be creampuffs.
It's alot of hope, and I'm not knocking you for it, but it's a bit unrealistic. As TopHat pointed out, where the Pack stands today anybody predicting anything over 8-8 or 9-7 must be a Packers fan. A good draft won't change that as you can only put so much weight on a rookies shoulders.
So sit back, cross your fingers, and prey. Continue to see average talent like Underwood as the answer. Prepare to convince your self that every player we draft is the next coming of Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders and Ronnie Lott. That's the thread we are hanging on.
I hope the Packers are better than 8-8 but like most people outside of GB I am not naive enough to expect anything more.