Last year, the Packers lucked out at winning the NFC North thanks to some late heroics by Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb sneaking into the playoffs with an 8-7-1 record. It is safe to say that the Packers learned the importance of two things. One was the importance of keeping Aaron Rodgers healthy and the other was the development of the back up quarterbacks behind him. With that being said, the most important thing for 2014 is the offensive line. Rodgers has his weapons we all know that. He can make any of his receivers good. Look at how good Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb have become. We all know that he can expand the play with his legs. When you look at any offense, your quarterback's success is the biggest part, and that is attributed to the offensive line. If your offensive line doesn't block, you are in trouble because you are not going to be able to pass or run the effectively. The Packers both have studs at the quarterback position in Rodgers and Lacy. Ultimately, their success is driven by the offensive line. So, the biggest thing is keeping that line healthy, which they've had a tough time with Sherrod and Bulaga. Keeping a set center is key for Rodgers, and the loss of JC Tretter for beginning of the season is going adjustment. The Packers do have good pieces on the offensive line with Josh Sitton, Marshall Newhouse, and Brian Bulaga. I am not overally concerned with wide receivers and tight ends because Rodgers can spread the ball around and make it happen. It will be interesting to see what they get out of the tight ends especially Andrew Quarless because of the loss of Jermichael Finley. Quarless should have his numbers go up with him being the guy when it comes to the tight end position. In terms of wide receivers, Jarrett Boykin and DaVante Adams are two guys to look out for with James Jones now in Oakland. Especially with Boykin, who now is expected to be the number three wide receiver behind Nelson and Cobb. Obviously, another big factor would be to keep Randall Cobb healthy as well especially with how explosive he is.
There are lot more concerns with the Packers defense. I'm not concerned too much about the cornerbacks. The Packers have some depth there and some pretty good ones with Tramon Williams, Sam Shields, and Jarrett Bush. Getting Casey Hayward back for a full season will be big as well. The concerns with the Packers defense are in the secondary, at linebacker and on the defensive line. The Packers secondary last year was just awful. They never record a single interception at that position. Ha Ha Clinton Dix will help improve that considering he can get to the ball as well ball carrier. It will be interesting to see how the position switch for Micah Hyde going from corner to safety. Sean Richardson could be a factor considering he had a good camp and preseason. With the linebacking corps. keeping Clay Matthews on the field is a must. Same thing I said about Aaron Rodgers goes for Clay Matthews. The success of the defense goes through Matthews. It was a plus that they signed Julius Peppers to take off pressure off of him. The other thing about Peppers is what are going to get out of the 34-year old. How much is left in the tank for him? Peppers will also help out with the issues at defensive line with him playing on both the defensive line and at linebacker. Nick Perry, Brad Jones, A.J. Hawk are interesting guys to look at. Nick Perry, since he has been drafted hasn't proven that he can be that guy to take some load off of Matthews yet. Jones and Hawk are mediocre at best. Defensive line will be a huge concern with the season-ending injury to B.J. Raji. A bunch of guys are going to have to step up, and you don't really know who. Will be Datone Jones (the rookie)? Who will step up in Raji's place especially at nose tackle? The return game will be interesting to watch as well with who they have returning on kickoffs and punts. Micah Hyde was explosive a bit last year with that we'll see who they put there.
As for the division in my opinion, the Packers are the favorites going in. Just keeping Rodgers healthy along with a better defensive effort are key. As everybody knows Rodgers gives this team the best chance to win. As for teams in the division that could be threats to the Packers, both the Bears and the Lions could. The Bears under Trestman have been better offensively, but last year they were awful defensively (which they made an effort to improve on for 2014 with getting Jared Allen among others). The Lions to me are the other team because they have the talent to get the playoffs. It just hasn't been there and maybe Jim Caldwell will make that happen. In my opinion, weapons wise I would say the Lions are better threat because of the weapons offensively with Matthew Stafford, Reggie Bush, and Calvin Johnson. The thing that makes the Lions more of a threat is that they have someone to take the pressure of Megatron in Golden Tate.
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