Week One GNB v. PHI Prediction

The Packers offense isn’t a chimera, and will put up ridiculous numbers throughout this season. There isn’t anything else that can be said about them.
The defense though, will be interesting to watch. Al Harris is out for the first six weeks on the PUP list, but he isn’t the corner that he once was anyway. The safety play will also be key early this season. Atari Bigby will be hanging out with Harris for six weeks and his replacement, Morgan Burnett is as green as the 9th hole at Augusta. If Tramon Williams has a good first six games in his absence look for Harris to come back as the nickel back. Speaking of green, Sam Shields makes Burnett look like a third-year pro. Raw is an understatement. Let’s hope that his superior athletic ability will be enough to keep him above water until Bigby is back. The defensive line looks like it should be strong this year, not top five or maybe even top ten strong, but up to the job of keeping the opposing linemen busy and off of the linebackers, the running lanes tight, and perhaps with some bonus pass rush against inferior offensive lines. The linebackers I believe will have a strong season as a group. The keys will be Clay Matthews following up his great rookie season, AJ Hawk becoming more than just a solid starter, and some pass rush and short zone protection from the other two starters.
Special teams as the old saw goes, haven’t been all that special lately. Everything about the kick return game, offensively and defensively, have been within reach of disastrous for years, and last season Mason Crosby only made 75% of his kicks. Not good enough for the NFL, but the coaching staff has confidence in him and didn’t even bother to bring in a camp leg for competition. The punting game…let’s not discuss that. I’ll just say that it can’t really get much worse so whoever it is they kept will be an improvement. The relatively low turnover among the team’s starters is a hopeful sign that the non-specialist special team guys will be improved this year. I hope.
Week One Prediction: GNB 34 PHI 20. Look for the game to be won with turnovers and defensive pressure.