2024 schedule

[Heyjoe4]

Obviously were here all wear slightly tinted glasses but I think as Packer fans we legitimately have good reason to be excited and it looks like many in the national media see it that way as well. If seen us ranked in the top 10 of strongest rosters.

We all know the Lions were one of the best all around teams last year and they drastically improved their weakest link in the secondary. They will be tough again this year.

I think the 2 biggest variables that will keep people from thinking the NFC North is the toughest division is the development of Williams and McCarthy. Obviously all rookies and even second year guys need further development but if your rookie QBs can get up to speed quickly it makes it all a lot easier. If McCarthy or Williams can pick it up like Stroud did last the vikings or the Bears could make some noise.

Good summary. And I agree with milani. Until proven otherwise, the Niners are still the class of the NFC. And the Cowboys have a lot of talent, just like last year. And the Lions, and on and on.........

As for the Packers, yeah most of the early power rankings I've seen have GB in the top 10, one as high as 6. So there's a lot to look forward to. Pretty amazing that other than a rough start to 2023, the Packers haven't missed a beat since Rodgers left, and actually are a better all-around team.

I've also read that the Packers played a bit over their head in the playoffs. Maybe. They are not going to take anyone by surprise this year. Even so, that was a legitimate smack down in Dallas, and a play or three away from beating SF. And beating that Lions team in Detroit on Thanksgiving was also no fluke.

 

[milani]

Good summary. And I agree with milani. Until proven otherwise, the Niners are still the class of the NFC. And the Cowboys have a lot of talent, just like last year. And the Lions, and on and on.........

As for the Packers, yeah most of the early power rankings I've seen have GB in the top 10, one as high as 6. So there's a lot to look forward to. Pretty amazing that other than a rough start to 2023, the Packers haven't missed a beat since Rodgers left, and actually are a better all-around team.

I've also read that the Packers played a bit over their head in the playoffs. Maybe. They are not going to take anyone by surprise this year. Even so, that was a legitimate smack down in Dallas, and a play or three away from beating SF. And beating that Lions team in Detroit on Thanksgiving was also no fluke.

Looking at how the team developed early on last season to the end was part of our rebuild. Now to take the next step where must we improve? Obviously, place kicking. That proved costly in more than one or two games. And takeaways need to be addressed. The pick six in Dallas was huge but over the course of a season offenses will out gain you and turnovers can be the difference. And our 3rd and short plays on offense nipped us. You will not have to go for it on 4th if you make first downs on 3rd. I did see an improvement when it came to penalties from the first half to the second half of the season. MLF has to get better although he accomplished a lot with such a young group.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Looking at how the team developem early on last season to the end was part of our rebuild. Now to take the next step where must we improve? Obviously, place kicking. That proved costly in more than one or two games. And takeaways need to be addressed. The pick six in Dallas was huge but over the course of a season offenses will out gain you and turnovers can be the difference. And our 3rd and short plays on offense nipped us. You will not have to go for it on 4th if you make first downs on 3rd. I did see an improvement when it came to penalties from the first half to the second half of the season. MLF has to get better although he accomplished a lot with such a young group.

Yeah these are good reality checks that we should keep in mind as fans. Nothing short of an NFCCG appearance will be considered a successful season, so the bar is set high. That's fine, a good thing really considering what everyone was expecting one year ago today.

There are still a lot of "ifs" between now and an NFCCG appearance, or better. Even so, I am really looking forward to this season - and more so than in recent memory.

 

[El Guapo]

Nothing short of an NFCCG appearance will be considered a successful season, so the bar is set high.

That might be for you but I'm not "crowning their burrows" yet. My expectations remain on the same path as when they started last year. As a team with a 2nd yr starter, I expected them to improve throughout the season. Making the playoffs is a good goal and what I would have normally expected in Year 2. I'm not discounting their run last year, but also not cementing that as the new base for my expectations.

 

[Heyjoe4]

That might be for you but I'm not "crowning their burrows" yet. My expectations remain on the same path as when they started last year. As a team with a 2nd yr starter, I expected them to improve throughout the season. Making the playoffs is a good goal and what I would have normally expected in Year 2. I'm not discounting their run last year, but also not cementing that as the new base for my expectations.

Ok fine but what does "crowning their burrows" mean?

And I'm referring to fan expectations. Personally, I'm not gonna be satisfied with just making the playoffs, and I don't think the team would be either. As far as priorities in goal setting, the first goal should be winning the NFC North.

 

[milani]

Ok fine but what does "crowning their burrows" mean?

And I'm referring to fan expectations. Personally, I'm not gonna be satisfied with just making the playoffs, and I don't think the team would be either. As far as priorities in goal setting, the first goal should be winning the NFC North.

I think he meant surprising everyone like " Burrows " and the Bengals did by going to the SB do early in his career.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I think he meant surprising everyone like " Burrows " and the Bengals did by going to the SB do early in his career.

Oh ok. Just worded very strange. Thanks.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Looking at how the team developed early on last season to the end was part of our rebuild. Now to take the next step where must we improve? Obviously, place kicking. That proved costly in more than one or two games.

Arguably cost us that playoiff game in San Francisco - or at least was a definite factor in the loss.

Good summary. And I agree with milani. Until proven otherwise, the Niners are still the class of the NFC. And the Cowboys have a lot of talent, just like last year.

But we have one significant advantage over Dallas - Mike McCarthy is now on the Dallas sideline, and not on ours. That's a major factor, IMO.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Arguably cost us that playoiff game in San Francisco - or at least was a definite factor in the loss.



But we have one significant advantage over Dallas - Mike McCarthy is now on the Dallas sideline, and not on ours. That's a major factor, IMO.

Well, yeah. MM plays not to lose, which is different than playing to win. He was a very good coach in his time, he's got a SB ring, but that time has passed. The current NFL is younger, faster, and more willing to take risks.

I'm a little surprised Jerruh didn't fire him after the beat down by the Packers. But it's Jerruh and he doesn't like to admit to mistakes.

 

[El Guapo]

Oh ok. Just worded very strange. Thanks.

No, I was actually lifting a quote from Denny Green's "They are who we thought they were" speech but knew that I couldn't use the alternative meaning of a donkey, burro, etc. Of course, I made a mistake and spelled burro incorrectly as burrow.

 

[El Guapo]

And I'm referring to fan expectations. Personally, I'm not gonna be satisfied with just making the playoffs, and I don't think the team would be either. As far as priorities in goal setting, the first goal should be winning the NFC North.

To me it's like the expectations of a father watching his son hit a grand slam in his first Little League at-bat. I would never immediately raise my expectations to think that he ought to be doing that on a consistent basis. My expectations remain the same for an 8yr old playing Little League.

Same for Jordan Love. He has one year of experience, and while he really came on at the end of last season, I will not reset my expectations just because he did well in Year 1.

 

[Heyjoe4]

To me it's like the expectations of a father watching his son hit a grand slam in his first Little League at-bat. I would never immediately raise my expectations to think that he ought to be doing that on a consistent basis. My expectations remain the same for an 8yr old playing Little League.

Same for Jordan Love. He has one year of experience, and while he really came on at the end of last season, I will not reset my expectations just because he did well in Year 1.

Fair enough, but your analogy to the son hitting a grand slam in one at bat, his first, is not a good one compared to Love. Love played the entire second half of last season at a very high level, and it didn't appear to be a fluke. Anyway, it's not like he threw one TD pass and is now being considered for a huge extension.

I do share your concerns about whether Love's play the last half of 2023, and into the playoffs is indicative of what his career will look like. Equally concerning is that the Packers have little choice but to pay him, and pay him well now. Trevor Lawrence has done nothing for the Jags in three years and got a massive extension. So there's not a lot of logic to this process, just a lot of money.

I'm confident Love will remain the Packers QB for many years. What remains to be seen is if his play approaches that of Favre and Rodgers (well, hopefully closer to Rodgers). But I don't share your degree of pessimism. There are concerns, and the contract extension is risky. But IMO it's a risk worth taking.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Well, yeah. MM plays not to lose, which is different than playing to win. He was a very good coach in his time, he's got a SB ring, but that time has passed. The current NFL is younger, faster, and more willing to take risks.

He's a good enough coach to run up decent regular season wins, but I think he is just out of his depth when he gets to the playoffs and ecery team has a winning record. Not only are the teams generally better, but the coaches in the postseason "up" their game and play more aggressively. McCarthy seems to back off and play more cautious, not take any chances. He just doesn't have the balls to play for the "kill" when every game is "win or go home."

 

[milani]

Arguably cost us that playoiff game in San Francisco - or at least was a definite factor in the loss.



But we have one significant advantage over Dallas - Mike McCarthy is now on the Dallas sideline, and not on ours. That's a major factor, IMO.

Agreed.

 

[milani]

Well, yeah. MM plays not to lose, which is different than playing to win. He was a very good coach in his time, he's got a SB ring, but that time has passed. The current NFL is younger, faster, and more willing to take risks.

I'm a little surprised Jerruh didn't fire him after the beat down by the Packers. But it's Jerruh and he doesn't like to admit to mistakes.

I noticed that in MM even in his early years in GB. We had some of our biggest collapses right before halftime or in crunch time. Cannot win with Hail Mary's every week.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I noticed that in MM even in his early years in GB. We had some of our biggest collapses right before halftime or in crunch time. Cannot win with Hail Mary's every week.

Seems like with the new, younger coaches there is more willingness to take calculated risks. More teams going for it on 4th down once the ball is at midfield. Statistically, it probably makes sense - that is, more than 50% of attempts from 4th and 1 yard or less are successful. Would not be surprised to see more and more teams opting for a 2 pt conversion after a TD, at any point in the game. It's all about the odds.

And now with the advent of Philly's Brotherly Shove, more teams are practicing this play and putting in the right personnel. It also helps when the QB is a big guy, and more and more, this is the case in the NFL. Sometime soon, maybe now, a QB will have to be at least 6'2 or 6'3 and weigh at least 220 lbs. Jalen Hurts and the Philly line are big enough that the "sneak" is successful probably close to 1005 of the time.

 

[El Guapo]

But I don't share your degree of pessimism. There are concerns, and the contract extension is risky. But IMO it's a risk worth taking.

You're really doing waaay too much reading between the lines. I never said anything about being concerned about Love capitalizing on his second-half success. I have a lot of optimism, like a proud papa, but I'm just not setting high expectations because it's entirely possible that he will struggle. That doesn't mean I have concerns. In my view I'm just open-minded about all of the possibilities. I will still consider 2024 successful even if we don't make it to the NFCCG. If that's pessimism to you, well then I guess we just see the world very differently and that's okay. I just wanted to be clear about my position despite how you portrayed it in a negative light.

 

[Heyjoe4]

You're really doing waaay too much reading between the lines. I never said anything about being concerned about Love capitalizing on his second-half success. I have a lot of optimism, like a proud papa, but I'm just not setting high expectations because it's entirely possible that he will struggle. That doesn't mean I have concerns. In my view I'm just open-minded about all of the possibilities. I will still consider 2024 successful even if we don't make it to the NFCCG. If that's pessimism to you, well then I guess we just see the world very differently and that's okay. I just wanted to be clear about my position despite how you portrayed it in a negative light.

C'mon El Guapo. Don't pick and choose my comments out of context. Be honest.

You compared Love to a kid playing his first BB game, his first at bat, and hitting a grand slam. If you're gonna make over the top analogies like that, no one is gonna "read between the lines." I'm reading exactly what you wrote and commenting on it. Except you conveniently excluded the BB analogy from your response.

As for what anyone considers a successful season - well they came so close to the NFCCG last season, and have only improved in the offseason, the NFCCG is a reasonable expectation. First things first - win the NFC North. I'd be pretty happy with that, considering the depth in the conference.

 

[El Guapo]

Read it how you want. That wasn't my intent, but we're picking pepper out of fly dung here.

We both agree that we'd be happy winning the North. That will be a hard enough task this season considering a harder schedule, new D-coordinator, and lots of new players on defense. I'm hopefully that our offense can sustain us through the defensive transition. The saving grace of Hafley's system and preparation makes it easy to play on Sundays. You practice what you're going to see (according to Richard Sherman).

The Packers have made a lot of changes both organizationally and especially on defense, which IMO could go either way. On paper it always looks like teams improved in the offseason. We'll see how it plays out. That's where one might call me a pessimist. I'd just say that I'm a realist - high hopes with low expectations.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Read it how you want. That wasn't my intent, but we're picking pepper out of fly dung here.

We both agree that we'd be happy winning the North. That will be a hard enough task this season considering a harder schedule, new D-coordinator, and lots of new players on defense. I'm hopefully that our offense can sustain us through the defensive transition. The saving grace of Hafley's system and preparation makes it easy to play on Sundays. You practice what you're going to see (according to Richard Sherman).

The Packers have made a lot of changes both organizationally and especially on defense, which IMO could go either way. On paper it always looks like teams improved in the offseason. We'll see how it plays out. That's where one might call me a pessimist. I'd just say that I'm a realist - high hopes with low expectations.

Yeah winning the North, really finishing with a better record than the Lions, would be a big deal.

And there’s nothing wrong with hope exceeding expectations. As each day passes, the idea that Love will be the third HOF QB in a row becomes more like an expectation. That’s not fair to Love, or any of us.

So I do understand your point. I’m hoping for a great season. I do expect they’ll again be NFC North champs. And just accomplishing that would be huge.

And FWIW, I don’t expect much from the Bears or Queens this year. That might be wrong.

 

[OldSchool101]

So some odd ball “Night” games are:
Week 1 FNF
Week 13 TNF
Week 14 TNF
Week 15 SNF
Week 16 MNF

 

[Heyjoe4]

So some odd ball “Night” games are:
Week 1 FNF
Week 13 TNF
Week 14 TNF
Week 15 SNF
Week 16 MNF

Wow four night games in a row near the end of the season. Only one short week between TNF (15) and SNF (16). And I haven't looked at the opponents to see how tough this might be, but they wouldn't be prime time if they weren't considered good matchups now.

And with me being an old guy, ALL these games go past my bed time. WTF! I think that's elder-Packer-fan abuse.

 

[OldSchool101]

Wow four night games in a row near the end of the season. Only one short week between TNF (15) and SNF (16). And I haven't looked at the opponents to see how tough this might be, but they wouldn't be prime time if they weren't considered good matchups now.

And with me being an old guy, ALL these games go past my bed time. WTF! I think that's elder-Packer-fan abuse.

Yes. Thats why I posted it they are clumped together, but I suppose easier to remember that way
I used to live in the EST (like you) and those Monday night games lasted well past Midnight. I’d have to work the next day and get up by 6:30am so it was tough.

 

[Thirteen Below]

So some odd ball “Night” games are:
Week 1 FNF
Week 13 TNF
Week 14 TNF
Week 15 SNF
Week 16 MNF

And for those of us way outside the Green Bay region, that means that those last 4 games you mentioned are the only guaranteed national broadcasts. I'm sure we'll get a few more in there as the season evolves, but as of now, I'm only certain to tio see 4 regular season games (plus of course the postseaon).

Mywife got me NFL Network for a gift last year because I'm way too cheap to spend the money, so I'll at least be able to see replays of all the games - with the possible exception of the Brazil game, which may be available only to Peacock subscribers. And there's no way in hell I'll ever get sucked into that money-grabbing scam.

 

[Thirteen Below]

I've also read that the Packers played a bit over their head in the playoffs. Maybe.

I've seen a lot of the shouting TV know-it-alls say the same thing, but I don't buy it. If that's how well they played, then that's how well they played.

If those two games were flukes, that would be one thing. But tghere was nothing flukey about either one - they kicked Dallas' *** up one side of the street and down the other alll afternoon, and a week later they legitimately outplayed the Niners for every one of the first 58 minutes of that game.

The last several games of the season, that was the level they were playing at, and they just continued that level of play in the postseason. The last 1/3 of the season, they were the hottest team in the NFL. If that's how well they played, that's how good they are. By the end of 23, there was not a single team in the NFL that they weren't capable of beating.

They are not going to take anyone by surprise this year.

No, but they shouldn't need to. It's highly likely that they'll be substantially improved. They finished the season as a Top Ten team, and I think will starty 2024 as a Top Five or Six.