We Have A Schedule » Brats & Beer

April 16, 2008
posted under: Packers

Better late than never, we finally have the Packers 2008 schedule. I hope the league used the extra time to prepare themselves for the visceral reaction by Mike Vandermause. Youch!

To me this has a similar look and feel as last year’s slate, only substitute the AFC South for the NFC East and toss in more primetime games. Being matched up last year with the NFC East, which produced three playoff teams including a Super Bowl winner, proved to be a challenge: The Packers went 3-1 but the wins against Philadelphia and Washington were very close. This year the AFC South boasts three playoff contenders from last year and, of course, Houston.

One of the highlight games this year will be playing the Colts on the hallowed ground of Lambeau Field. I was hoping the NFL would schedule it later in the season so we might see Peyton Manning try and contend with a -15 degree wind chill, but October is actually pretty good. Right around then the weather in the upper Midwest gets pretty squirrelly so you might get rain or sleet or thunderstorms or anything. Heck, you could get a full-on blizzard followed by 50 degrees. I’m hoping Mother Nature and the football gods throw their worst at the Colts.

Having Dallas at home is of course the other spotlight game this year, and having it scheduled so early will make Aaron Rodgers’ task of filling the shoes of #4 that much more of a challenge — as if it needed to be. I’m 70% sure that the Cowboys will be a top playoff team again this year, but there’s also reason to think that after the way they went down last season ‘ol Tubby might have a tough time re-energizing his troops and keeping that team together. The real question, though, will be whether Tony Romo is escorted to that game — or any game — by his pop star girlfriend.

Overall I would say this is a pretty decent schedule, with the bye week right in the middle and no extended road trips. I am a little surprised that all of the Packers Monday night appearances are followed by a Sunday noon start, and equally surprised they have no Thursday or Saturday games scheduled on the NFL Network. (Has the league given up trying to put the pressure on cable companies throughout Wisconsin?)

If Brett Favre were returning I would say based on the schedule Green Bay has an excellent chance of repeating as NFC North champions. With Rodgers at the helm I’m still optimistic, but we need to see more out of training camp as to how this young team will come together before making any predictions.