2007 Green Bay Packers Preview

2007 Green Bay Packers preview from MadduxSports.com. As well as previews Maddux offers NFL football picks against the NFL point spread each week during the season.

Cheese Heads May Soon Switch to Bags
By Adam Barone

In one of the most successful small markets in all of sports, the Packers have had a bond with Green Bay for seemingly forever. With Brett Favre coming back for what will almost certainly be another nauseating season on the frozen tundra (and wherever else they play), Packers fans will be forced to watch their hero captain a sinking ship. The loss of RB Ahman Green to free agency this offseason was one thing, but to only replace him by drafting RB Brandon Jackson out of Nebraska with the 63rd overall pick gives fans very little to look forward to. Jackson is not a burner and has limited big play capability. He'll likely team up with scat back Vernand Morency as a change of pace. That's right, Vernand Morency. He's a real football player, unfortunately for the city of Green Bay.

The Pack still has Donald Driver to catch those Brett Favre rocket balls, but on the other side will be Greg Jennings. Jennings managed 45 receptions last season when the main competition was someone named “Ruvell Martin” (also a real football player). Jennings would ideally be a #3 receiver if the Packers didn't totally suck. GM Ted Thompson waited until the 3rd round of the draft to address the problem at wideout, selecting WR James Jones out of San Jose State. The problem with Jones is that the Packers need a playmaker and Jones is slow. To address the lack of speed, Thompson added WR David Clowney out of Virginia Tech in the 5th round at pick #157. Clowney is fast, but probably doesn't have enough bulk yet to see significant playing time. He'll probably factor into the return game. It looks like Driver's total of 92 receptions in '06 will at least stay that high, maybe even grow.

The Packers actually managed to have a few bright spots on defense in 2006. DE Aaron Kampman totaled 15.5 sacks and 89 tackles and his counterpart, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila accumulating 6 sacks of his own. This was a sub par season for K.G.B., but that's likely because he was receiving more attention from double teams. Middle linebacker Nick Barnett had 105 tackles, and 2006 first round pick, LB A.J. Hawk, lived up to the hype with 119 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 2 interceptions. CB Charles Woodson proved that he can still cover, picking off 8 passes. Overall the defense ranked 12th in yards allowed per game, and with the addition of 16th overall pick DT Justin Harrell to the middle of the D line (assuming he stays healthy, having been injury prone in the past) the defense could even improve. It likely won't show in the numbers however, simply because the Packers' running game probably won't be the least bit successful, resulting in an abundance of three-and-outs, forcing the defense to spend extra time on the field.

2007 Green Bay Packers Predictions

In an NFL where you need a vertical passing game to be successful, the Packers are going to encounter quite a bit of trouble. Almost any sports handicapper should tell you that they'll likely sit in the cellar of the NFC North for the majority of the season. They could beat out either the Lions or Vikings, but odds are their total inability to do anything consistently on offense will doom them. The only thing that could pull them through, if and when you're betting against them, will be Brett Favre's leadership and desire to win.

If you enjoyed reading our Green Bay Packers preview read up on the rest of the NFC North opponents like the Lions, Vikings, and Bears team outlooks from Maddux Sports.

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