Finally, the long wait is over and football season is here. Seven months after the Packers claimed their fourth Super Bowl win; they are ready to begin defending that title. And, considering I hate cold weather, I can honestly say this is the only thing I am looking forward to this fall and winter (with the exception of Thanksgiving dinner).
As the defending champs, the Packers get the honor of opening up the season on Thursday and, even though I personally think a re-match of the Bears/Packers NFC Championship game would have been a better choice, seeing the past two Super Bowl champs go head-to-head is a pretty decent pick too.
This game will feature two solid quarterbacks in the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and the Saints’ Drew Brees and, as a result, some might think this will be high scoring game that comes down to the wire. I’m not one of those people. Instead, I actually believe this will be a Packers’ blow out.
On paper, these teams are matched up pretty well. As I said before, both have top quarterbacks. Both have qualified head coaches and both have innovative defensive coordinators. The difference between the two teams is, while I feel the Packers defense will match up well with the Saints offense, I’m not convinced the Saints will be able to do the same when Green Bay has the ball; especially when they are playing at Lambeau.
Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams will try to bring pressure but Rodgers has just too many people to throw the ball to and has looked unstoppable when running the no-huddle offense. That, coupled with the fact the Packers should finally be able to run the ball, will be the difference. Both teams will likely score quickly but I think Green Bay will be the one to make the correct adjustments on defense.
I could be wrong and this could be a close game. But my gut tells me this will be over before the fourth quarter.
Packers 35-Saints 14
Other predictions:
The Atlanta Falcons will beat the Chicago Bears
The Cleveland Browns will beat the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Buffalo Bills will beat the Kansas City Chiefs.
The St. Louis Rams will beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will beat the Detroit Lions.
The Tennessee Titans will beat the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Baltimore Ravens will beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Houston Texans will beat the Indianapolis Colts.
The New York Giants will beat the Washington Redskins.
The Seattle Seahawks will beat the San Francisco 49ers.
The San Diego Chargers will beat the Minnesota Vikings.
The Arizona Cardinals will beat the Carolina Panthers.
The Dallas Cowboys will beat the New York Jets.
The New England Patriots will beat the Miami Dolphins.
The Denver Broncos will beat the Oakland Raiders.