Ask most people who know anything about football or any Green Bay Packers fan and they will tell you Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the National Football League. While Tom Brady continues to defy age and perform at the highest level, Rodgers could be about to hit new heights.
With a thinner, more agile Eddie Lacy and a potent running game, Green Bay could be on the verge of something very special. Rodgers will reap the full rewards as the Packers look to hunt down a fifth Super Bowl title.
The return of Jordy Nelson will do Rodgers’ game no harm whatsoever. Rodgers will feel much more at home with his number one target back in the starting lineup. Randall Cobb performed admirably last season but let’s face it. He’s a slot receiver, not a No. 1 target. Cobb simply cannot operate outside as well as Nelson.
If nothing else, Nelson’s presence alone diverts double teams away from Cobb and whoever else the Packers send out to catch passes. That should allow Cobb to return to his 2014 form (91 catches, 1,287 yards and 12 TDs).
If everything goes to form for the Packers, their potential and upside is obvious. The latest online betting odds reflect that. The Packers are currently at 9/1 to win the Super Bowl.
Rodgers’ form will obviously be central to their chances of glory. The saying tells us defense wins championships, but the NFL is a quarterback-driven league. Without a decent signal caller, you don’t end up in the Super Bowl unless you have an all-time great defense.
Rodgers, of course, isn’t just decent, he is typically brilliant.
Last season, it just didn’t go to plan for Green Bay. Whilst the Packers still managed to reach the playoffs, Mike McCarthy’s team struggled for the majority of the campaign. Rodgers had next to no protection from an offensive line that seemed to regress. Green Bay was exploited time and time again by defenses that stacked the box to stop the run, daring Rodgers to throw. That’s something that would have been unheard of in the past.
The lackluster offensive coaching, injuries, subpar performances, Rodgers’ own inaccuracy… it all added up to disaster.
Disaster in the form of losing the division title to the Minnesota Vikings. Rodgers and the Packers will no doubt be hungry to reclaim their rightful position at the summit of the NFC North in 2016.
Essentially, it was all left up to Rodgers in 2015 and the Green Bay signal caller was unable to deliver all by himself.
Of course, Rodgers did get lucky along the way – with his game-winning Hail Mary against the Detroit Lions standing tall in the memory. While a great play, everyone would surely prefer the Packers not need such a miracle to win a game again anytime soon.
After a positive offseason, Green Bay could achieve great things this season. Rodgers knows it and appears to have rededicated himself to the quest.
Write the Packers and Aaron Rodgers off in 2016 at your own peril.