Green Bay Packers: What Are Their Chances To Repeat As Super Bowl Champions?
Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy, Clay Matthews and the Green Bay Packers just defeated Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, Troy Polamalu and the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV.
The 2010-11 NFL season is finally over.
We can look at the past all we want.
It’s more fun to speculate the future.
The Green Bay Packers will now be the top dog in 2011. Every team will be gunning for the Super Bowl XLV Champions. Every week the Packers are going to get the very best their opposition has to offer. Every team will want to say it beat the previous year’s Super Bowl winner.
How can the Packers get past this difficult road? How can they make it back to the postseason? More importantly, how can they duplicate this remarkable 2010-11 postseason and get back to the Super Bowl next season?
10. Hunger and Motivation
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We’ve seen it before. Teams go to the Super Bowl hungry, and leave just a bit too satisfied.
We hear it every season. “We’re going to come back stronger than ever.”
But what happens? They stumble along the way.
Why?
Because teams lose focus. You’re never quite the same after you win. The toughest thing to do in sports is build a dynasty.
Do the Packers have the pieces?
Absolutely.
It just depends if they can keep motivating themselves. We saw it happen this postseason with the New Orleans Saints.
They had a great matchup against the Seattle Seahawks but fell flat on their faces.
If they can keep that fire burning, the pieces are there to create a dynasty in Green Bay under the leadership of Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy.
9. Free Agency Downfall of Receiving Corps?
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Ah, the downfall of any successful team in the free agency era. Once a player achieves success, he wants to feel appreciated.
Best way to do that?
Straight cash, homie. Thank you for that line, Randy Moss.
Donald Driver is getting older.
Jordy Nelson is not the prototypical No. 2 receiver, despite Aaron Rodgers’ greatness.
James Jones would be a fine No. 2 despite his somewhat inconsistent hands, but a team could very well overpay for his services, and I highly doubt Jones would have the restraint to take it.
The good news? The Packers just won the Super Bowl.
What does that mean?
Free agents now want a piece of that successful pie. Green Bay was already an attractive place to play considering its incredible history and fanbase.
Now, there’s another Super Bowl Championship in the corridors.
8. Successful Draft
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Every team needs a successful draft.
It’s even more important for a team on the cusp of creating a dynasty and trying to repeat as Super Bowl Champions.
Every piece of the puzzle is important.
Depth is the key to a great, long-lasting season.
Every team is looking to get younger, but teams need smart, talented kids to come in to fill the voids.
That’s up to Mike McCarthy and the rest of management. They’ve shown it before. They’ll need to prove it again.
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7. Mike McCarthy’s Progression
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It’s funny that earlier in the season, people were calling for McCarthy’s head.
McCarthy is a good coach, but he has his flaws.
Like every coach, McCarthy makes a ton of questionable decisions. Yet, McCarthy is on a grander stage given Green Bay’s history.
Now with a Super Bowl victory on his resume, he will be under the magnifying glass because he will be expected to improve on this season.
He will be asked to fix the mistakes he’s made in the past and better himself to repeat.
That’s not easy.
6. Improve Rushing Attack
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The Packers’ Achilles heel this season was the rushing attack. Aaron Rodgers was the team’s most effective and efficient runner.
Who knew Ryan Grant actually served some sort of purpose in this league considering how untalented he truly is?
The Packers struck lightning with rookie James Starks this postseason. Does he look legit after his performance? Of course. But we’ve seen it before.
Players have great stretches all the time until the league actually sits down and watches film.
Starks and the rushing attack could be the team’s downfall, as running the football is the true way to win in the NFL.
In my opinion, DeAngelo Williams is the way to go.
Most likely, James Starks will take over the lead role in 2011 and will be relied on heavily. Whether or not he can do that for a full season is anyone’s guess.
5. Offensive Line
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The offensive line is getting older, which means they need to get younger. Most importantly, they need to stay together and continue building chemistry.
Actually, the most important thing is to keep Aaron Rodgers upright.
Aaron Rodgers was hit often the past few years. Without him, the Packers are done.
Yes, Matt Flynn did a great job in the loss to the New England Patriots late in the regular season, but he will not win the Green Bay Packers a Super Bowl Championship in 2011.
The catalyst will forever be Aaron Rodgers as long as he is the starting quarterback.
If he is not on the field, the Packers are done.
How does he stay on the field? Protection from the offensive line.
4. Clay Matthews
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Clay Matthews is one of the most remarkable defensive players in the league. He vaulted into a top player from Week 1 of the regular season.
Matthews has incredible speed, power and instincts from the linebacker position. He is one of the best blitzers in the entire league. Matthews can take a quarterback out of a game on one single hit a la Week 1 against Kevin Kolb and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Matthews just lost the Defensive Player of the Year award to Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu this season.
You better bet that Matthews will be on a rampage next season to win the award. He has the talent to win and become the very best defender in the game.
Head coach Mike McCarthy will look for Matthews to continue progressing as a leader. Lucky for him, Matthews has the drive to do so. He will give everything in his body to get back to the Super Bowl. Matthews is the driving force of this stout Green Bay defense. He was fantastic throughout the regular season and postseason.
He just has to do it again next season...
3. Secondary
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The secondary was fantastic this season.
It was even better in the postseason.
Although Charles Woodson was injured in the Super Bowl, Tramon Williams displayed once again that he is one of the best cornerbacks this league has to offer.
Williams got it done for the Packers at each critical stage of the postseason.
With Charles Woodson healthy again next season, the Packers boast one of the best cornerback tandems in the game, as Tramon Williams has emerged as a capable No. 1 corner.
Nick Collins is a Pro Bowl safety, but he is also one of the most underrated safeties in the game.
After his pick-six in the Super Bowl, he’ll no longer be underrated.
A fantastic secondary goes a long way in this league, and the Packers have one of the best in the entire league.
2. Health
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Ah, always the key to every season.
Teams must stay healthy in order to compete at a high level. If they cannot stay healthy, they will not win.
Luckily, they get back linebacker Nick Barnett and tight end Jermichael Finley.
Both are constantly injured, though.
Yes, they won a Super Bowl without them. But with them, they could repeat next season.
The team would need remarkable depth, which only a select few teams in this league have.
Will the Green Bay Packers still have the depth following free agency? Will the draftees be able to step in and perform at a high level if injuries occur?
This is always in the back of the minds of players, fans and management. Preparation will only take you so far. Until it happens, you just never know…
1. Aaron Rodgers Continues Progression
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It may be hard to imagine, but Aaron Rodgers is only getting better.
He will be entering just his fourth season as an NFL starter.
Rodgers is an impeccable talent. He has excellent instincts, intelligence, pocket awareness, scrambling ability, arm strength, vision and accuracy.
He is become a great clutch quarterback.
You want it done? Rodgers can do it.
It’s Mr. Rodgers’ neighborhood, and we’re all just living in the same town.
As long as Aaron Rodgers stays healthy and continues along his path, the Green Bay Packers are the team to beat in the NFL.
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