Well, we’ve reached the time of fall I dread the most; the Packers’ bye week. Now I no longer have an excuse to avoid raking leaves and doing some of the other prep work in anticipation of winter (and I’m not looking forward to that).
But, as I’m doing those things this upcoming weekend, I’ll be content knowing that, when Green Bay comes back from their week off, they will be an even more dangerous team than they were before.
There have been two basic truths that have emerged through the first seven games of the season. Truth 1 is the defense isn’t as good as it was last season. And, truth 2 is the Packers offense is capable of scoring more than enough points to make up for it.
When the Packers return from the bye week, I expect the defense that shut down opponents last season to return too because they will finally be getting healthy.
The biggest loss for the Packers this season was starting safety Nick Collins and Charlie Peprah has filled in pretty well in his place. However, several Packers (including Charles Woodson and Clay Matthews) have been nursing nagging injuries while still playing. Getting a week to rest will only make them better and put them in a better position to make plays.
If you think the 7-0 Packers are impressive now, wait until that defense finally shows up.
Other predictions:
The Baltimore Ravens will beat the Arizona Cardinals
The Carolina Panthers will beat the Minnesota Vikings
The Houston Texans will beat the Jacksonville Jaguars
The New York Giants will beat the Miami Dolphins
The New Orleans Saints will beat the St. Louis Rams
The Tennessee Titans will beat the Indianapolis Colts
The Detroit Lions will beat the Denver Broncos
The Buffalo Bills will beat the Washington Redskins
The Cincinnati Bengals will beat the Seattle Seahawks
The San Francisco 49ers will beat the Cleveland Browns
The Pittsburgh Steelers will beat the New England Patriots
The Philadelphia Eagles will beat the Dallas Cowboys
The San Diego Chargers will beat the Kansas City Chiefs
My Overall Record: 67-37 (.644)