10. Things that worry me in 07' - "in no particular order":
1. LT
2. Larry Johnson
3. Tony Romo & TO
4. Stephen Jackson
5. Donovan or Jeff makes no difference
6. Lack of oxygen at Mile High along with stingy "d"
7. Da Bears
8. A healthy Clinton Portis, Betts, and a talented young recieving core.
9. Steve Smith
10. Brandon Jocobs finally getting to be a feature back.
1. Yes that may very well be a big worry for the Packers, but if the Chargers loose their backup Turner, LT might not be as fresh as he was kept last season.
2. LJ may have some problems with the Cheifs... he is only making $850,000 this year, and with a player of his caliber it is only a matter of time before he threatens a holdout or has some internal problems with the team that leads to him suffering in production. Also as Cali mentioned, LJ can be stopped as demonstrated by the Colts; you really need is a fast safety with the ability to play up in the line of scrimmage and hopefully Manuel, if not Collins, can fit that bill.
3. Romo may very well degress in learning a new system, or the stats he generated last year might be a one-time thing. TO is a cancer, give him enough time and he'll cause chaos that will effect his play and the teams. We all know something else will happen in the TO saga, and as someone wrote: If TO can't stop being a distraction or play for Parcells, then he can't do it for any other coach. Tough words, but given Parcells reputation, it may well be the truth.
4. Agree with what CaliCheez said.
5. McNabb was injured, and reports have it that he has lost the confidence of his players and the management of being the QB that can win them a SB... Garcia will hit the open market where the Vikes are sure to push for him, and he will earn starter type money. Rumours were that the "vets" group that Reid favours all thought Garcia to be a better choice than McNabb. Also, the Eagles may well be without Stallworth, who is a FA.
6. The lack of oxygen is only a factor is a player has had to do something like get a big gain (like a 30+ yard play), otherwise the pace can be kept relatively slow and substitutions always play a role. There are also plenty of oxygen tanks for the players. No biggie, other teams don't seem too bothered by it.
7. We beat the Bears at the end of the season, didn't we?
8. The QB situation for the Skins isn't that great, the young QB needs more experience to present a real daunting challenge and the WR crops isn't that young; they struggled last year outside of Moss. I read an article which stated the Skins might want to unload Portis because of his high contract.
9. I feel at ease with Woodson and Harris covering Smith.
10. Jacobs is far from a lock to start; there were reports that players didn't want the HC back, but he is back and that may internally create problems.
All in all, to be a good/great team you are going to have to face challenges like the ones above. Every NFL team does, so it's not a matter of Packers having it tougher, the young players will all have one more year of experience, there will be new players to give the talent level a shot in the arm, and most importantly the coaches will have had a year from which to learn their mistakes and find out what methods of coaching the guys respond to best. Finally, the guys on the D will have had their 2nd year in a D scheme after what feels like forever, and the players on O will be more fluent and knowledgeable about the O scheme MM uses.
