It’s funny how national narratives work. According to many, the Green Bay Packers are yesterday’s news because Aaron Rodgers is no longer in town.
I mean, how will they ever recover from his departure? No NFL team has ever watched a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback move on and then proceeded to find a new, great signal-caller.
Once a team loses their franchise legend, they’re reduced to dwell in the NFL’s basement with the rest of the bottom-feeders for eternity. In case you couldn’t tell: The previous paragraph is dripping with so much sarcasm, it almost short-circuited my keyboard.
Of course the Packers can find another quarterback. There will never be another Rodgers, but Rodgers wasn’t Brett Favre and vice-versa. Greatness really can’t ever be copied – it can only evolve.
Either way, multiple ESPN analysts have been trying to warn people about sleeping on the Packers in 2023. And it hasn’t just been on Twitter or anything like that – it’s been on live TV.
“Be careful about walking into Lambeau or when they walk into your stadium thinking ‘Aaron Rodgers is not here, [so] this team can’t play good football,'” Marcus Spears said on a recent episode of NFL Live. “I think they can and it all hinges on their quarterback and how successful he can be.
But when you go through this roster in Green Bay, you can see they have a lot of talent and this was a run game-driven team between Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon.
That should take a lot of pressure off of Jordan Love and with the ascension of Christian Watson late in the season, it seems like he has a No. 1 guy to go, along with the rookie tight ends. “Watch out and be careful.”
Spears’ thoughts have been echoed on this website several times. Not only do the Packers have a very talented roster, but they have proven, veteran experience at premium positions. And, the “proven” aspect relates to guys playing at All-Pro/Pro Bowl-type levels, not just average starters.
“I believe that the reports of their demise have been greatly exaggerated,” Get Up host Mike Greenberg said on Thursday’s show.
“I think the whole world has just given up on them. I actually think they’re a pretty good team. I’m not suggesting they’re going to the Super Bowl, this year, but I think they’re going to be much better…
“… I think they’re going to surprise a lot of people. We’ll wait and see.” When you add in the fact that yes, there’s a favorite to win the NFC North, there is no overwhelming favorite. One can certainly make an argument that the division is largely unsettled and can be taken advantage of.
Overall, people don’t need to sleep on the Packers. They could be in for a rude awakening, if they do.
