Don't Let the Green Bay Packers' Run Take Anything Away from the '07 Patriots

Aaron Rodgers had a few things to say on Wednesday regarding the pursuit of an undefeated season. The Packers head into Week 15's matchup with the Chiefs as a perfect 13-0. As the season winds down, there is much talk about what the Packers' plan will be going down the stretch as they have now wrapped up at least a share of the best record in the NFC.

Will they go the conservative route and rest their starters to be healthy, or will  they go for 16-0 and risk it? Rodgers had this to say when asked about his head coach Mike McCarthy's plans for the regular season:

“There is some information that is privileged and some that is for some people’s ears only. So I can’t say that I’m completely oblivious [to] what the potential plans are, but I am excited about the rest of the team figuring them out as well.”

Undoubtedly, if this quote came out of Tom Brady's mouth in the 15th week of 2007's season, discussing Bill Belichick's plan, it would be run throughout each episode of SportsCenter that day, the topic of talk shows and debated throughout the country. For a while, the Patriots had their own portion of ESPN's "Bottom Line," the ticker that scrolls constantly on the bottom of the screen.

Rodgers' quote and explanation are barely being reported, much less discussed. There isn't even a story about it on the websites of FOX Sports, CBS Sports, or even the self-proclaimed "worldwide leader in sports," ESPN.

The difference in the two team's seasons? The level of epicness. The 2011 Packers season has been as smooth and calm as any season you can remember from a team.

If you remember back in the Patriots' 2007 run, every week seemed like a playoff game. There was a headline for each game. There was some type of matchup or hot item to keep an eye on when watching. Everyone watched closely. Each week was epic, and it grew throughout the season.

In contrast, the Packers seem to be casually cruising through this year. It's a walk through for them. It just lacks epicness.

The Patriots had to go in to Dallas and face an undefeated Cowboys team, a team that finished 13-3. They had to go into Indianapolis and overcome a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to a 7-0 Colts team in that year's version of Brady vs. Peyton.

There was the thrilling Monday Night Football game against the notorious Baltimore defense in prime time. Then there was that matchup against Anthony Smith's Steelers, a victory Smith guaranteed. Brady and company smoked them in their short week.

They faced the AFC runner-up and beat them by 24 points on national television. They defeated the AFC's three other division winners, as well as the NFC's best team by a combined 70 point margin of victory in those four games.

The division they were matched up with to play for inter-conference play, the NFC East, featured a last-place team with a record of 8-8. Three playoff teams came from that division, all of which the Patriots beat.

To their credit, the Packers have beaten what was put in front of them, but the run simply is not nearly as impressive. They beat a very good Saints team in Week 1. But you never get a team at its best in Week 1, especially a year the Saints had two new running backs in a post-lockout year. Their other big challenge was a game against the Giants that was decided in the final minute, which resulted in a three-point victory on the road.

Oh, by the way, the Patriots did that too. That part allowed them to add "beating the Super Bowl champion" to the season's resume. That was one of the six playoff teams the Patriots beat that year, and one of eight teams they beat with records no worse than .500.

The Packers, as it stands, would have played five playoff teams, but that number is misleading. They beat the Broncos before the Tim Tebow insanity started. As discussed earlier, the Saints were not at their best. The Giants are only temporarily a playoff team, they could finish as low as last place in a very weak division. The Pack also beat an Atlanta team that was struggling at the time of its matchup.

Again, to emphasize, it is impressive that the Packers are taking care of everything in front of them. But in reality, it's tough to classify them in the same group as the 2007 Patriots if not for the records. If you were to simply scan the roster and talent of each team, you would not think for a second they were in the same class.

The Packers have Rodgers, Clay Matthews is a stud and Charles Woodson is a future Hall of Famer. Take those three out, and is there a player on the team that the majority of football fans can pull out of a police lineup?

The talent of the Patriots is without comparison. Brady and Junior Seau are NFL legends. Randy Moss is a Hall of Famer. Wes Welker became Wes Welker. Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison are icons, and Asante Samuel was the biggest playmaking cornerback of the era.

They had the more impressive team. That 2007 season, not only did they rank first in total points, but they were ranked fourth in fewest points allowed. It could have been lower if not for some garbage time points they allowed when their games got out of hand.

The Packers have scored the most points thus far, but their defense has been shaky. Six times have they allowed 23 or more points. They still have three games to go.

Aside from being a seemingly inferior team to the Patriots as a whole, it goes back to the week-to-week epicness and grind the New England team went through that made it all the more engaging. It's what drove it as the story of each week, the team every watched and the lead of every SportsCenter.

So while you watch the Packers continue to cruise, be impressed. Even root for them for being a likable team. Just do not forget about the Patriots' 2007 season and let it take anything away from the season they put together. It truly was epic.