Packers - Bills Bring on the Regular Season

Another dominate performance by the Packers on Saturday night. While it is dangerous to get too excited about preseason games, it needs to be pointed out that these are two NFL teams the Packers have dismantled. There is not a lot expected of the Browns this season as it will be a transition year for Mangini. The same cannot be said of Buffalo. When they made the move to bring in TO, they pushed themselves into a sleeper pick for many experts. Buffalo has a very solid team, and they did not belong on the same field as the Packers.

At this point, just bring on the regular season. The team is flying around and very fun to watch. I have never enjoyed pre-season games as much as I have enjoyed watching the last two weeks. Part of that is due to how lean the roster was under Mike Sherman's GM years. Sherman did not value draft picks, and the team was often very thin behind the starters. That is obviously not the case anymore, I think there are over 60 NFL players on this roster, and I am not talking about guys that will be on a roster at some point this season due to injuries. I think up to 10 Packers players could be picked up immediately after the cuts in a couple of weeks.

Some of the guys that I think will get picked up immediately:
Popinga, Chillar, and Barnett may not all make the roster. One of those guys would instantly get picked up.
One of the Fullbacks will get cut, Hall or Kuhn will get picked up.
One of the WRs may get picked up.
Sutton, Lumpkin, and Wynn. Two will get cut, and at least one or both will get picked up. Also, I'd be shocked if Sutton gets cut.
In the secondary, Rouse could get cut, and he would get picked up quickly.
There are many more, that is just the start.

Notes on the Offense
Rodgers looks great. He WILL be a pro bowler. Get him on your fantasy team. Great 2nd round pick. He will put up over 4000 yards and 30-35 tds with under 15 ints. Poised for a great year.
The HB position still seems like a weakness, if only because the other skill positions are so stacked. I do not think HB is a concern by any means, I just feel the Packers have a bunch of good RBs, nothing great.
I don't know if there will be enough balls to go around for this WR core. 4 legit first line players in Driver, Jennings, Jones and Nelson. Very good group.
Finley is destined to be a star. If he really has matured to the level the coaches are talking about, he will become the best TE ever in GB. He has skills so few TEs possess. He is a match up nightmare and when the Packers go in a base package of 2TE, 2WR, 1RB or 2TE, 1WR, 2RB, they are still a very real threat to pass. That is literally almost impossible to defend. You are forced to go big with them or you run the risk of just surrendering 5 yards a rush, while having to guard Finley with a LB or Safety. On Saturday, Finley beat McKlevin for a 18 yard catch, he is a starting CB, yikes!
If you think back to some of the great offenses in recent memory, the Aikman led Cowboys and the Niner teams of the 80s and 90s. Both had great TEs. Good TEs create problems. The problem is that the position is almost non-existant in much of college football now days. The spread offense has killed the TE position in many of the different variations of the spread, allowing for very few TEs to develop and come into the NFL. The Packers finally have one.

Notes of the Defense
As a whole, they look like sharks circling in the water just waiting for the ball to come anywhere near them. The 10 yards to go for the first down looks like 15 or 20 on TV due to all of the guys swarming and flying to the ball.
We still need to see how teams will game plan against this D in the regular season, but with as quickly as they are able to get to the QB, it will be hard to imagine this defense not dictating tempo. In many ways, that is a win right there since you are getting the other team to play your way.
Raji is impressive. On one pass he pushed the guard 5 yards back into the pocket, he will be very good at the worst. It was also interesting to see the Packers show off his athletic ability on his first play by dropping him back into a zone.
When is Bishop NOT around the ball. He looks like a Pittsburgh LB to me. Physical, sudden, explosive, mean. He may not start, but I bet he plays a minimum of 30-40% of the running downs this season.

As fans we have to be excited, there is no getting around it, the Packers have looked dominant in two straight games. Bring on the regular season.

Some We're Bucked Links

Sessions - Arenas Comparison
I hate the Delfino-Johnson trade!
Thoughts on Monday Night Football Crew
Random Thoughts on Favre, Movies, and Cliff Claven