The Green Bay Packers: Only Three Plays From NFC North Title in '08

Scribe Written on May 31, 2009

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MINNEAPOLIS - DECEMBER 28: Ryan Longwell #8 of the Minnesota Vikings is carried by Cullen Loeffler #46 after Longwell kicked the game winning field goal with five seconds left in the game against the New York Giants on December 28,2008 at the Hubert H.

Elsa/Getty Images

As we head towards summer and long days of grilling food and getting sun tans, the pundits gear up for the coming 2009 NFL season.

I hear so many fans touting the Minnesota Vikings as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. I also hear many non-Packer fans suggesting that without Favre-vader that the Packers are a 6-10 team with no chance of reaching the Super Bowl.

Yes, the Vikings were 10-6. Yes, the Bears were 9-7. Yes, the Packers were a lowly 6-10.

However, if a mere three plays had gone the other way, the Packers would have been the team hosting a playoff game last January and not the Vikings.

And this all means nothing now. As a friend of mine once said, "Yeah, and if my grandmother had balls, she'd be my grandfather."

But to illustrate just how close this division was in 2008, and should be again in 2009, I'll show how over 17 weeks, the 6-10 Packers were only three plays from winning the division.

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The Green Bay Packers: Only Three Plays From NFC North Title in '08

Mick Stephenson

The Green Bay Packers: Only Three Plays From NFC North Title in '08

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