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This is our first chance to see if the Packers pass rush is truly improved.

It’s here. Finally, it’s here.

The draft? Done.  Training camp? Finished.  Preseason? Completed.

The dress rehearsals are done and the games that count are upon us.  The curtain on the 2012 NFL season has been raised and the march to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans begins in earnest this weekend.

The Green Bay Packers kick off their 2012 campaign Sunday at Lambeau Field against the San Francisco 49ers.  Many thought when last season’s playoffs began that this would be the NFC Championship Game, but thanks to the New York Giants the Packers’ season ended prematurely.

The regular season opener is the first big test to see if the Packers have fixed their defense, the Achilles heel that doomed their run at a second straight Super Bowl title a year ago.  It’s also a chance for reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to begin to make his case for a second straight award and that the Packers offense is still as lethal as ever.

How do the Packers stack up against 49ers? Let’s first take a look at their opponent

Scouting the 49ers

Last year, the Packers faced one of the top offenses in the league during their season opener in the New Orleans Saints.  This year, they face one of the best defenses in the 49ers.  Read more... (1221 words + 1 image, estimated 4:53 mins reading time)

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Is it possible for a preseason game to suck?

If it is, then the Green Bay Packers experienced it last Thursday in their 21-13 loss to the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium in their preseason opener.  Not only did the Packers lose, the starting offense came out flat with reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers posting a quarterback rating of 0.0 (yes, it’s a meaningless stat, but the offense looked putrid regardless).

Throw in a possible season ending hamstring injury to starting linebacker Desmond Bishop and the 2012 season opened with a rather loud thud for Packer Nation.

That said, it’s a new week and football returns to Lambeau Field tonight when the Green Bay Packers take on the Cleveland Browns.

The Packers enter the game a little healthier than in the game against the Chargers, they still have a ways to go before they can be declared ready to go before the regular season starts.  Greg Jennings is still out with a concussion and the Packers must be more worried about his health than they are letting on.  Marshall Newhouse finally returned to practice and should see his first game action of the season.

With the starters likely seeing very limited action once again, here are some things to look forward to as the Packers’ preseason schedule hits the halfway point:

James Starks has been put on notice  Read more... (851 words + 1 image, estimated 3:24 mins reading time)

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Absurdly long lockout: over.

An abbreviated free agency period: completed.

A preseason that dragged on longer than War and Peace: finished

It is time.  IT. IS. TIME……for Green Bay Packers regular season football.

The last time the Packers played a game of any meaning was that game against the Steelers in February.  For just over seven months, the Packers have been the reigning Super Bowl champions.

After the opening kickoff against the New Orleans Saints on national television, the reigning ends and the defending begins. It has been said by players on teams lucky enough to win back-to-back Super Bowls that the only thing tougher than chasing the crown is defending it.

The Packers’ opponent ought to know.

Last season, the then-defending champion Saints got off to a sluggish 4-3 start and never were able to catch the Atlanta Falcons for the NFC South title.  Instead they had to settle for a wild card and a trip to the 7-9 NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks where they were defeated 41-36 and done in by a bruising Marshawn Lynch touchdown run.

Like the Packers’ Super Bowl triumph, the disappointing end to the Saints’ season is a thing of the past.  The slate is clean and everyone for one week has the same record.

Let’s take a look at New Orleans.

Breaking down the Saints

As defending champions, the Packers don’t ease into their regular season schedule.  Instead they face team they could very well meet again in January for a trip to Super Bowl XLVI.  Read more... (1411 words + 1 image, estimated 5:39 mins reading time)

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After a tougher than it should have been win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Green Bay Packers face the Buffalo Bills this Sunday to kick off their slate of home games at Lambeau Field this season.

One week of games is not enough time to cause any NFL team to press the panic button, but we still got some early indications of how this season will pan out for the Green Bay Packers.

If you are looking for a team that is the polar opposite of the Eagles, the Buffalo Bills are that team. The Bills have not made the playoffs since 2000. They drafted another franchise RB after their last one failed to pan out which also includes some questionable off the field decisions.

After coming oh so close to beating the Miami Dolphins last week, the Bills enter this game thinking they are not quite as bad as everyone thought they might be. Thus, they could sneak up on the Packers and upset them at home. The Packers, in turn, sometimes have issues with games like these and I don’t need to remind any fans about what happened in Tampa Bay last year.

Despite it being only the second game of the season, this game cannot be overlooked for its importance by the Packers. By handily defeating the seemingly hapless Bills at home, the Green and Gold will exorcise any demons remaining from that brutal defeat to the then-winless Buccaneers last season.

Breaking down the Bills  Read more... (1015 words + 1 image, estimated 4:04 mins reading time)

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