Packers Begin 2011 Season with the Same Mission as 2010 Saints: Can They Succeed

After months of off the field drama and a nice condensed seven week free-agency/training camp/exhibition season, the NFL gets underway tonight.

The Green Bay Packers begin their quest to become the first repeat Super Bowl winners since the New England Patriots won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. Only eight different teams have repeated as Super Bowl champs in NFL history.

What the Packers embark on tonight is for the most part uncharted territory for this talented team. Can this team repeat? Yes the talent is there, but plenty of teams have had the talent to repeat, actually doing it is a very different story.

No team in the NFL is more familiar with this unique challenge than the New Orleans Saints who could not live up to it just one season ago. It really wasn't all that long ago that the name " Drew Brees" was being mentioned as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL along with perennial names like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

Brees is still considered among the best but Aaron Rodgers has replaced him as the heir apparent to Brady and Manning atop the NFL Quarterback heap.

An offseason can make a big difference in this league and unlike in baseball and basketball where an individual regular season game generally doesn't hold too much meaning each NFL game can have consequences on the eventual outcome of a season.

Make no mistake about it: The NFL regular season is a unique experience. Each team wants to win every game but the reality is that no NFL team truly knows their weaknesses until they've played a few games and possibly absorbed a few losses. The true goal at the end of the day is not to win every game, it's to be playing at the highest level come January so that the team can win the Super Bowl.

Compare last season's Packers to last season's Patriots. No team was more dominant over the course of the season than the Patriots. The Patriots were 6-2 following a dismal showing against Cleveland on November 7th and from that point on appeared unbeatable.

They won out the regular season on an eight game win streak and entered the post season as the odds-on favorites to win the Super Bowl.

They didn't even win a playoff game. Even within all those blowout wins small weaknesses were being exposed. Armed with hours of game footage NFL coaches have the ability to completely dissect every snap of every game played and sure enough Rex Ryan who's Jets suffered a totally humiliating 45-3 loss to New England on December 6th had a plan for the Patriots in the playoffs.

It was executed to a tee and the results were a quick exit for the NFL's Super Bowl favorite.

Meanwhile the Packers were reaching a slow boil. They were a 10-6 regular season wild card entry that had to win their final two games of the regular season just to get into the playoffs. Once there the Pack hit their stride.

That two game win streak as they entered the playoffs would eventually become a six game win streak culminating in the Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Last year's regular season should serve as a cautionary tale to all NFL teams and their fans. Yes your team needs to win a certain amount of regular season games. If you don't make the playoffs then all bets are off.

Yet dominating in weeks 2 or 10 or even 16 is only so important. Play the games, learn your strengths and find your weak spots. Then figure out how to mask those in time for the playoff push.

The Saints and their fans are well aware of all the pitfalls and trappings of being the Defending Super Bowl Champs. In every game your team has a bull's eye on it's back. Many of your games are your opponents biggest regular season matchup.

The talent level in the NFL is elite. Even weaker teams feature players with the potential to make memorable plays. The Saints 2010-2011 season ended on one of those types of plays.

Marshawn Lynch exploded for a game winning 67 yard run that led the Seattle Seahawks to a first round upset in last year's playoffs.

Tonight the Saints and Packers embark on similar missions but with different expectations. The Saints have been down the road the Packers are about to embark on. The Packers are about to discover that the only thing tougher than winning the Super Bowl is repeating.

Can they succeed? We'll find out.