Packers 2009 Season Preview


by Chris Houston

The season starts against the rival Chicago Bears. I don't have to tell any Green Bay Packer fans that Lambeau Field will be rocking when visiting quarterback Jay Cutler makes his debut on national television in the Sunday Night NFL on NBC contest.

Cutler, who was traded from Denver is often recognized as a top five NFL quarterback. His passing yardage speaks for itself. Cutler passed for 4,526 yards last season on a team without a steady running back. He will be making his first ever start for the Bears so better believe he'll want to show off his arm and justify the reason the Bears unloaded lots of talent and draft picks to get him. Aaron Rodgers was not far behind him in a statistical battle. In fact, the two were very similar.

Rodgers was 4th in the NFL with 4,038 yards, just behind Cutler. Packer fanatics might want to keep in mind that Chicago started off 2008 with a big road win in Indianapolis where then rookie Matt Forte pounded out123 yards. The two teams didn't battle until Week 11 last year when the Packers dismantled the Bears at home only to lose at Chicago in week 17. The Packer defense will be looking at a completely different offense most likely when the Bears visitthis year.

The next game on the schedule shouldn't be taken lightly. Although Cincinnati wasn't a formidable opponent on most Sundaysin 2008, the Bengals surprised some teams and were better than the 12.8 ppg they averaged in 2008. This, however, is one of those must win games on the calendar if you're a Packer fan.

On September 27th, the Packers face their first road test at St. Louis. The big question is which Rams team will show up?New coach Steve Spagnuolo has loads of work to do and the Rams have way more questions than answers. The Rams defense finished nearly last in both rushing and passing yards surrendered last season. This will be a very winnable road game for the Packers so look for Aaron Rodgers to light the Rams up.

The Packers then move to a Monday night affair on October 5th. Green Bay travels to Minnesota for another division rival. Brett Favre may be under center but the Vikings already have Adrian Peterson who rushed for nearly 300 total yards in the two divisional matchups last season even though the two teams split. Last season the Packers took the season opener 24-19 before Minnesotareturned the favor in week 10 with a 28-27 victory.

October 11th is a much needed bye week. The Packers will then keep their rested legs at home against visiting Detroit on the 18th.The Packers swept the Lions last season with big games from Rodgers in both contests. 636 yards to be exact in the two lopsided games. Greg Jennings was unstoppable in the first game in Detroit while Donald Driver topped the 100 yard mark in the season finale win
at Lambeau.

The schedule gets increasingly more difficult from that point on. If the Packers haven't managed their business in the first five games then they'll have a lot of work to do. A road date at Cleveland on October 25th won't be easy. The Browns aren't the most predictable team in the NFL but they seem to play well at home. Their defense though is very questionable ranking 31st and 26th in the league in 2008 in rushing and passing. The offense for the Browns was actually worse averaging 14.5 ppg.

Minnesota pays a visit to Lambeau on November 1st. The Vikings and Packers will most likely be jockeying for position at this point in the division so this game has a big red "X" marked on it for many reasons. If the Packers couldn't muster a win in the first matchup of 2009, then this will certainly be a payback game.

November 8th will find the Packers in the warm and sunny weather in Tampa. The Bucs faded fast last season with a pair of losses and will be anxious to do things differently this season. Rodgers was held to just 165 yards last season in Tampa. He'll be hoping to improve those numbers if Green Bay wants to take a big road divisional game this season.

One of the league's highest payrolls comes to town the following week on November 15th when Dallas visits Lambeau. Let's just hope the ground is frozen and that it's a scene reminiscent of days past. Tony Romo lit up the Packers in 2007 with over 300 yards and 4 touchdown passes. If you remember this was the moment when Aaron Rodgers kind of made his move on the quarterback position passing for 201 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

On Thursday, November 26th, the Packers will hopefully feast on a very young Lions team as we all celebrate Thanksgiving. Nothing like eating turkey and winning a division road contest.

On Monday, December 7th, the Baltimore Ravens visit Green Bay. Besides the Dallas game, this is perhaps one of the most anticipated non-divisional games of the season. The Ravens will bring 2nd year quarterback Joe Flacco to Lambeau. Packer fans can only hope he leaves with that same bitter taste most visiting quarterbacks take away. The Ravens defense is still good. Don't expect a lot of
scoring in this one and that might just match the cold weather.

Here comes the brutal part of the schedule. With three out of four on the road to finish things up and two against teams that competed inlast year's Super Bowl.

December 13th is another matchup with Chicago. Jay Cutler will most likely be settled in at that point and the Packers will be fighting for a division crown if things are going right. My guess is it will be the Bears with whom they are fighting for the top spot.This game may not make or break the Packers season. But it certainly looms large on the schedule as of now.

The next week the Packers travel to the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. While it won't be easy there will certainly be enough yellow with towels waving and the Steelers and Packers blending in for hopefully one terrific football game. Something should be at stake for both teams at this point whether it's home field advantage or playoff seeding. Ben Roethlisberger has proven he is in the quarterback elite with two titles. Hines Ward is still around the Steel Curtain defense is still tough as nails. It'll take a great effort to win in Pittsburgh butit can be done.

On December 27th, the Packers play their final home game of the season against Seattle. The Seahawks weren't good last season and chances are they won't be this season. If there is such a thing as a break then this might just be it. But in the NFL, each team and every week is a battle. Don't expect the Packers to take this one lightly. Especially with Arizona in the final week.

January 3rd is a road date to Arizona. The Cardinals surprised everyone last year and Kurt Warner showed why he's still a great football player.This will be a tough test and hopefully the Packers will have long before sealed and delivered a playoff spot and are just battling for seeding at this point. The Cardinals might be one of those teams that prove to be a fluke. But you can never count out a Kurt Warner team. This could be a passing battle for the ages with Rodgers versus Warner unless it's one of those final week games that has no meaning. Then Matt Leinart might be at the helm unless he has already stepped up for Warner because of an injury at some point.

Overall, the Packers need a good start because the schedule is brutal down the stretch. Division wins are once again key and a sweep of Minnesota and Detroit would go a long way in sending Green Bay back to the playoffs.


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