Green Bay Packers Season Preview

(Courtesy of My Sportsbook) - For one ugly month, it looked like the end of the line for the Green Bay Packers.

A Green Bay team that had always been a contender since one Brett Favre took the Lambeau Field pitch back in 1992 appeared to have finally hit the wall five games into the 2004 campaign. The Packers started a miserable 1-4 last season, a losing skid that was punctuated with an unsightly 21-point home loss to the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. It seemed that no one, especially head coach Mike Sherman, was going to make it through the season in one piece. Then a funny thing happened. It didn't start out so funny, as offensive coordinator Tom Rossley was forced to miss the team's sixth game after suffering heart problems. In Rossley's absence, Sherman took over play-calling duties against the Lions and Cowboys, games that resulted in 79 Green Bay points and two blowout wins. Sherman maintained offensive control when Rossley returned, the Packers' two-game win streak swelled to six, and Green Bay won the NFC North and made its fourth consecutive postseason appearance. The momentum ended in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, when Randy Moss and the Vikings fake-mooned their way to a 31-17 upset win at Lambeau. But Packers faithful ended up with something to cheer about in 2004, Sherman got to keep his job, and a world of expectations began spinning on its axis toward 2005.

The head coach's major task will be revitalizing a defense that was a major Achilles heel last season, and the introduction of new defensive coordinator Jim Bates is supposed to be a step toward getting the Pack to their first Super Bowl since the 1997 campaign. Favre has hinted that he will retire after this season, meaning the team's window in re-claiming their elite status could be about to close. Green Bay supporters may have received a glimpse of their shaky future for one painful month in 2004. The cheeseheads are hoping to put off the realization of that vision for as long as possible. Below we take a capsule look at the 2005 edition of the Green Bay Packers, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

RB: Ahman Green (1163 rushing yards, 40 receptions, 8 TD) continues to confound some Packers fans with the occasional inconsistent performance, but comes off his fifth straight 1,000-yard season and remains a staple in the backfield. Green's numbers in 2004 were his lowest since arriving in Green Bay in 2000, and he will look to bounce back with a stronger season. Najeh Davenport (359 rushing yards, 2 TD) is a 250-pound matchup problem out of the backfield, and will continue to spell Green frequently. Tony Fisher (224 rushing yards, 38 receptions, 2 TD) has good hands and will be the third-down back. Fullback William Henderson (34 receptions, 3 TD) will be back for his 11th season in Green Bay, but there is hope that the younger Nick Luchey (24 rushing yards, 2 receptions) will be able to replace him on a full-time basis eventually. Vonta Leach, who played in six games with the Packers last season but missed time in training camp due to a sprained knee, could stick as a special teams player.

WR/TE: Javon Walker (89 receptions, 12 TD) had a breakout season in 2004, for which he expected to be rewarded with a new, lucrative contract. The Packers were unwilling to grant the contract, and Walker sat out the team's mini-camps before reporting for training camp. Walker and Donald Driver (84 receptions, 9 TD) will again be Favre's primary targets, while holdover Robert Ferguson (24 receptions, 1 TD) or second-round draft choice Terrence Murphy (Texas &M) were vying for the third receiver job during training camp. Return man Antonio Chatman (22 receptions, 1 TD) is likely to be the fifth receiver, and sixth- round draft choice Craig Bragg (UCLA) will probably spend his rookie season on the practice squad. At tight end, Bubba Franks (34 receptions, 7 TD) was a training camp holdout but was expected to report by the start of the season. David Martin (5 receptions) and Ben Steele (4 receptions) were getting most of Franks' would-be training camp reps. If Franks fails to report, former training camp participant Sean McHugh could find himself on the active roster.

OL: Gone are guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle, who were both 16-game starters for each of the past four years and hadn't been out of the Green Bay lineup altogether since 1998. Former Jet and Bengal Matt O'Dwyer, who has missed 24 of a possible 32 games due to injury over the past two seasons and has started only once over that stretch, was the leading candidate to win the right guard job. Former Patriot Adrian Klemm, who has missed 27 of a possible 32 games due to injury over the past two seasons, and has started only three times over that stretch, was the leading candidate to win the left guard job. If history holds and O'Dwyer and Klemm get hurt, rookies Junius Coston (5th Round, North Carolina A&T) and Will Whitticker (7th Round, Michigan State) will have to step in along with holdover Grey Ruegamer. Ruegamer started 11 games at center in place of the injured Mike Flanagan last season, but Flanagan is back to reclaim that job. The holdovers on the starting line are right tackle Mark Tauscher and left tackle Chad Clifton, each of whom made 16 starts a year ago. Tackle Kevin Barry and center/guard Scott Wells are likely to make the team as backups.

DL: The Packers are set at end, as Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (47 tackles, 13.5 sacks) comes off his fourth straight double-digit sack season and Aaron Kampman (67 tackles, 4.5 sacks) is a trusted run-blocker on the other side. There are more questions on the interior, where projected starters Cletidus Hunt (32 tackles, 2 sacks) and Grady Jackson (23 tackles, 1 sack) were on the shelf with knee problems for much of training camp. If either member of that duo fails to regain his health, holdovers Corey Williams (23 tackles, 1 sack), Colin Cole (7 tackles), and James Lee (9 tackles, 1 sack) will be in the mix to start. Tackle Donnell Washington, a third-round pick in 2004 who missed all of his rookie season with a foot injury, was on the bubble to make the team. Backups at end will include holdovers R-Kal Truluck (13 tackles, 2.5 sacks) and Cullen Jenkins (18 tackles, 4.5 sacks), both of whom played well in spot duty a year ago.

LB: The Green Bay linebacking corps was oft-criticized for its lack of size in 2004, but the organization did little to revamp the unit in the offseason. Nick Barnett (123 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT) and Na'il Diggs (80 tackles, 1 sack) are virtually assured of starting jobs in the middle and on the strong side, respectively, while holdover Hannibal Navies (47 tackles) was in a battle with Cardinals castoff Raynoch Thompson (34 tackles, 1 sack with Arizona) for the job on the weak side. Rookie Brady Poppinga (4th Round, BYU) will be attempting to make the transition from end to linebacker, and will join holdover Paris Lenon (28 tackles) and whoever loses the Thompson/Navies battle on the reserve unit. Roy Manning, an undrafted rookie from Michigan, will probably stick as a member of the practice squad.

DB: All eyes in 2005 will be on a Green Bay secondary that was by far the team's weak link a year ago, and may now have less talent than it sported a year ago. Gone is two-time Pro Bowl free safety Darren Sharper (70 tackles, 4 INT), who had half of the team's eight interceptions a year ago, as are fellow safeties Bhawoh Jue (42 tackles, 1 INT) and Michael Hawthorne (49 tackles), who were spot starters. The full-time starting holdovers are cornerback Al Harris (62 tackles, 1 INT) and strong safety Mark Roman (72 tackles, 3.5 sacks). Harris (62 tackles, 1 INT) is solid but not a shutdown corner by any stretch, and Roman is an occasional playmaker. Second-year players Ahmad Carroll (49 tackles, 1 INT) and Joey Thomas (19 tackles), neither of whom made much of an impression last season, will vie to start opposite Harris. The front-runner to take over Sharper's vacated position is second-round draft choice Nick Collins (Bethune-Cookman), who figures to have major growing pains in his jump from the MEAC to the NFL. Free agent pickups Earl Little (48 tackles, 1 INT with the Browns) and Todd Franz (4 tackles, 1 INT with the Redskins) should serve as backups at safety, with fourth-round draft choice Marviel Underwood (San Diego State) looking to stay off the practice squad. Backups at corner will include the loser of the Carroll/Thomas duel, holdover Jason Horton (19 tackles), and rookie Michael Hawkins (5th Round, Oklahoma).

SPECIAL TEAMS: Punter B.J. Sander was so bad in training camp after being selected in the third round out of Ohio State last season, that the Packers de-activated him, signed veteran Bryan Barker (40.1 avg.) to do the punting, and shipped Sander off to NFL Europe in the offseason. Sander had no competition in training camp, but there remains the possibility that he could be replaced with a veteran at the 11th hour again. Kicker Ryan Longwell's (24-28 FG, 48-48 XP) job is secure. Antonio Chatman (22.6 kickoff return avg., 7.7 punt return avg.) can handle both kickoff and punt returns, and Robert Ferguson (25.0 avg.) should again assist him on kickoff returns.

PROGNOSIS: Like the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004, Packers management refused to believe that their defensive problems were a result of their personnel, and so the organization canned defensive coordinator Bob Slowik in the offseason and hired former Dolphins DC Jim Bates as their third coordinator in as many years. Remember how hiring Gunther Cunningham worked out for the Chiefs last year? In case you don't, the answer is "not too good." The fact of the matter is, Green Bay still lacks the defensive talent to be a serious contender in the NFC, and with the upgrades Minnesota made, has probably been bypassed altogether within its own division. You can never count out Favre and the Packer offense, which should continue to move along at a solid clip, but that entire unit is aging rapidly and there are far too many spare parts on the offensive line. All signs point to the Packers' streak of playoff appearances ending at four, and those whispers about when the end of the line will come for Favre will become louder as the season progresses.