The Packer Pundit

The off-season in any sport is a time for fan optimism. This is especially true in the NFL, where the conditions allow for quick turnarounds for teams with a lot of vision and a little luck.

The NY Giants went from 6-10 in 2004 to 11-5 and division champs in 2005. The Chicago Bears went from 5-11 in 2004 to 11-5 and division champs in 2005. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also went from 5-11 in 2004 to 11-5 and division champs in 2005.

Was that a fluke?

The Pittsburgh Steelers went from 6-10 in 2003 to 15-1 in 2004. The NY Jets went from 6-10 in 2003 to 10-6 in 2004. The San Diego Chargers went from 4-12 in 2003 to 12-4 in 2004.

Those were the most dramatic recent turnarounds, but other teams improved from losing records to winning records as well, so fan optimism at this time of year is historically justified.

Green Bay Packers fans have reason to be optimistic for the 2006 season, but first let's look at why the Packers collapsed in 2005, then we'll look at why optimism is appropriate. As I see it, there were seven main reasons why the 2005 season blew up so badly.

• Unusually high number of injuries to key players
  
• Lack of depth in key positions and injuries to backups
  
• Failure to adequately replace Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle
  
• Porous defensive line and weak linebacking corps
  
• Uneventful special teams play
  
• Predictable coaching and play calling
  
• Lack of toughness at several positions

Let's start at the bottom of my list and address the toughness issue first.

Sherman was a good man who truly cared about the Packers and the players. I think that was part of his downfall. He got too close with too many players and failed to provide the strong discipline they needed to achieve excellence. It happens often in sports, players just get too comfortable with the coaches and fail to give their best effort mentally and physically at times.

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Sherman was a good man who truly cared about the Packers and the players. I think that was part of his downfall.

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McCarthy brings a tough minded attitude and sense of discipline the team hasn't seen in a while. If McCarthy is "Pittsburgh tough" as advertised, discipline and all out effort shouldn't be a problem this year. Donald Driver and several other players said McCarthy won the player's respect at the first mini-camp, so that shows they're buying into his program. That's an extremely important development.

Many of the players drafted this year were noted for their toughness and competitive spirit. This can only lead to better battles for positioning on the depth charts. If the incumbent starters want to hold off the rookies, they'd better show the toughness the coach wants to see.

The draft is a crap shoot. Statistics bear out that the more draft picks a team has, the more likely they are to get draft-lucky. The Packers had more draft picks than any team, giving them better odds statistically to get draft-lucky. Besides the possibility of having more rookies pan out, all that rookie enthusiasm is good for the veterans as well. Enthusiasm is catching, and fierce competition for playing time is always good.

With a new coaching staff and new schemes, most players realize a lot of jobs are up for grabs this year. Everyone has a clean slate. A few players already shot themselves in the foot by coming to the first mini-camp out of shape. The good news, though, is the team had more players participate in the off-season conditioning program than ever before. That's a very good sign. It shows the team is hungry and is working hard to make sure 4-12 isn't their record again this year.

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With a new coaching staff and new schemes, most players realize a lot of jobs are up for grabs this year. Everyone has a clean slate.

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As a side note, the free weights philosophy of Rock Gullickson has factual data to back up his belief that free weights are better than stationary weight machines. I can't offer all the data, but I will offer one point to consider. With machines, the player is prone to using the machine to stabilize himself as he lifts. With free weights, the player can't do that, so he also develops better balance when working out. Developing better balance while wrestling with weights in workouts carries over to having better balance on the field come game day while wrestling with opponents. Staying upright and in position is vital to success.

So, if we can manage to extend a seed of faith to the new coaching staff, the "toughness" problem should be a non-issue in the upcoming season. Those players who failed to battle valiantly will be pushed to become warriors or be replaced by those willing.

Be sure to "stay tuned" for part II of this article where I'll chip away at the other problems from last season and offer more reasons for optimism.
Go Packers!

Article Copyright © Dennis Gaskill and published on Packer Pundit with permission. Be sure to visit one of Dennis' web sites at BoogieJack.com, HTMLville.com, or eBook Farming.