I will be looking at how fast the Packers start. They have been notoriously slow to begin, forcing catchup.
Agreed. There is no reason for MLF not to have them fired up. They will need to start games faster this year, and they have the horses to do it.
I know this sounds like a radical overstatement, but I firmly believe it - getting off to a fast start in games against tough opponents
could be the determining factor in whether this season even succeeds or fails. Especially in division games.
As many tough games as we have on our schedule, I can easily imagine 6 or 8 one-score games. Scoring on our first possession in those close games will ultimately determine whether we win or lose many of them, and considering how incredibly close and competitive this division is going to be, that will probably determine where we finish in the division standings.
I can think of at least 2 one-score losses last season where, had we been the first team to score, we would probably have won them. That would have made an enormous difference in the seedings, probably given us a bye, and likely have made at least some difference in how we finished the post-season.
This isn't your father's NFC North - today's NFC North is the toughest, tightest division in the NFL. Every
single possession matters. Gone are the days when we can wait until 6, 8, even 10 minutes into the 1st quarter before we start getting serious. We absolutely have to play 100% right from the opening kickoff, every single week, because I promise you that's how the Lions are going to approach every single game, and probably the Bears as well.
We can no longer afford that ****. If we're the first team to get the ball, we need to make it an absolute priority to be the first team to score. We need to play as though the first 4 or 5 minutes of the game are the
last 4 or 5 minutes of the game, and play accordingly. That may very well be the story of our season.