Green Bay payday: The Packers will win the NFC North
By
ASHTON GREWAL - Covers Associate Editor
October 6, 2007
11 comments
Brett Favre will regret coming back for a 17th pro season. That was the preseason consensus opinion of most NFL analysts. He was too old and the Green Bay Packers were too young to contend for a playoff spot.
Favre fans would have to endure seeing their hero struggle through an embarrassing season. He was labeled as an athlete who didn’t know when to hang it up, similar to Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice and Jeff Bagwell.
But Favre and his teammates are playing like they’ve been sprayed with fairy dust. The Packers, currently sitting atop the NFC North, now face a Chicago team that was predicted to easily win the division for a fourth-consecutive year.
Chicago’s struggles are another story, but it’s good news for football fans in Wisconsin if the preseason NFC favorite is 1-3 and two games behind the Packers.
The same talking heads who were penciling in dates for Favre’s football funeral are now saying the three-time MVP could play beyond this season with his newfound game-managing skills. They love the fact Favre isn’t forcing the ball into triple coverage and is limiting turnovers.
The 37-year-old (he turns 38 on Wednesday) has earned the praise of his former critics. Favre has had a quarterback rating above 100 in each of the last three games, the first time he’s achieved the feat since 1996. That’s pretty impressive for a man long described as a gunslinger.
Not everyone believes the NFL’s most storied franchise has returned to the upper echelon. Many question how a team with the league’s worst rushing attack can maintain success. Surely, defenses will find ways to stop a predictable offense.
“By nature, I am a run-the-ball, offensive-minded person, but we are not doing it as well as we want right now,” head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters in perhaps the understatement of the year.
Laughable stats like 54.2 rushing yards per game and 2.7 yards a carry has Green Bay columnists begging management to make a play for suspended running back Ricky Williams.
It’d be nice to see the Packers’ ball carries chip in a little more, but I don’t think there’s reason to panic.
It’s not like Green Bay’s opponents are just discovering this team can’t run. The Packers haven’t had a dominant ground game since 2003 when MVP contender Ahman Green ran for 1,883 yards.
McCarthy knew this year would not be any different. His backfield has more no-name people than a C-rated slasher flick. You know you’re in bad shape when DeShawn Wynn – yes, the same guy who had so much faith from Florida coach Urban Meyer that Tim Tebow was often used as the primary rusher – is your top tailback.
The Packers, like so many other squads, have replaced the four-yard run with the four-yard slant. Favre is dumping the ball to his receivers, tight ends and backs and letting them do the work.
Don’t be fooled by those who say you can’t win if you can’t run the football. The league has sent at least one bottom tier rushing club to the playoffs in each of the last six seasons. Heck, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the 2002 Super Bowl with the league’s sixth-worst ground game.
Green Bay’s impressive start is not a miracle. The club finished last season strong and the improvement just carried over. McCarthy’s boys have won eight straight and are 7-1 against the spread. They’re anchored by a strong defense that keeps contests close.
If Favre continues to play responsibly, and the defense stays healthy, there may be a magical ending in store for Packers fans.