Took the words right out of my mouth..
On top of that, the Packers have a much better defense to boot. It's not even close. They have some good guys up front in Raji and Cullen Jenkins, a playmaker in the LB with Clay Mathhews, and MUCH better talent in the secondary with one of the best CB's in the game with Charles Woodson.
Hell, even Tramon Williams would easily be a #1 CB on this Patriots team, and has put up incredible numbers in the past 4 seasons since his arrival into the league:
19 INT in 4 yrs, with 65 (SIXTY-FIVE) passes defended. T.Williams will have his second consecutive year with 20+ passes defended AND at least 4 INT's....to me, those numbers are insane... What's even better for Packer fans is that they guy on the other side (Woodson) will also have 20+ passes defended this yr, and has 7 INT's to go with it.
Those are ridiculous numbers from their 2 top CB's.
Green Bay gets a bad rap due to the fact that all of the teams are playing from behind, and that is NOT something that is in conjunction with the 2011 N.England Patriots, who although have had leads this yr, are usually battling it out with teams right through 50-75% of the game. The Packers actually make you play from behind right from the start. It doesn't take them 2-3 quarters to get the lead, and that is specifically why no one tends to bring up their 31st ranked secondary. The numbers are skewed. I'm sure the homerist of homers will say that the same bodes for the Patriots, but that is not true. Unless you're talking about the 2007 Patriots, that is.
Their KR (rookie, to boot) Randall Cobb averages 28 yards per return, and will be one of the most explosive KR's in the league for the next 5-6 years. Their kicker Mason Crosby is better than Gostkowski, especially when the chips are down; and has better overall range.
And we all know what the offense can do..Rodgers will come damn close to breaking Brady's record of 50 TD's thrown, and he'll do it with almost one less full game than Brady had in 2007. That offense would torch this NE defense like you can't even imagine. You can fool yourself, and pretend that NE could somehow slow them down, but no one here can actually believe that.
Had it not been for the loss to KC, all you'd hear about night and day 24/7 is how this yr's Packer team may be the best ever to play.
If the 2 teams met in Gillette stadium in NE, I'd imagine that the Pats could slow them down and make it a closer game, but otherwise I don't honestly see how NE could even keep it within 10-14 pts. That's NOT a knock on NE, who is having an incredible season, and should be lauded for their tenacity. That's just an honest viewpoint of the difference in the 2 teams. You can try and spin it all you want, (and I can only guess at to what poster will try to do that) but NE is no more than a top 3-4 team in the NFL this yr; which is incredible in itself, but they are not in the same league at the Packers.
I'd imagine the same scenario with the Saints, just a lesser degree. Unless either one of those teams shoots themselves in the foot somehow, or NE could all of the sudden pressure the QB with a bunch of exotic blitz schemes and better talent in the LB core, both would pick apart this shoddy NE secondary like it's their job.
Let's try and get past the Steelers and the Ravens first, and then go from there. With 2 weeks to prepare for one of the elite NFC teams, I'd imagine that Belichick would somehow find a way to show them something, but it will be a long way just to try and get to that point. The 2011 Pats are impressive in some areas, but I think the talent level is the difference, and that's on defense..in the secondary to be specific.
