Every team is optimistic about their chances during the offseason. But for team that is now more than five years removed from its Super Bowl XLV title and is looking to bounce back from watching its last two seasons end in gut-wrenching style, the optimism is real in Green Bay.
And why shouldn’t it be? Pro Bowl receiver Jordy Nelson is back after missing all of last season with a torn ACL, running back Eddie Lacy has shed the excess pounds that slowed him last year, and, of course, the Pack has the best quarterback in the game under center. With an expanded arsenal around him, Aaron Rodgers should lead the Pack back to the top of the NFC.
Green Bay Packers Regular Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Packers Over 10.5 Wins -180
Packers Under 10.5 Wins +150
The Packers sustained a crucial blow during last preseason when Nelson was shelved for the year with his knee injury. The offense never seemed to click with him out of the lineup and injuries along the line took their toll as well. All things considered, the Packers still won 10 games.
Though the Pack struggled after opening the year 6-0 and lost at home to the Vikings on the final day of the regular season to relinquish the division crown, they opened as the favorite in 2016. Green Bay made the playoffs for the seventh season in a row last year despite an injury-depleted receiving corps and pushed the favored Cardinals to overtime in a divisional-round defeat.
Getting their annual boost from the NFL Draft, the Packers got deeper in the trenches and added more pass rushers. The Pack also gets Nelson back, a motivated Rodgers and a really easy schedule. If Green Bay can stay healthy and get a bounce-back effort from a leaner Lacy, then it could win it all.
2016 Green Bay Packers Schedule
Week 1: at Jacksonville Jaguars +4.5
Week 2: at Minnesota Vikings PK
Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions +8.5
Week 4: BYE
Week 5: vs. New York Giants +8
Week 6: vs. Dallas Cowboys +6
Week 7: vs. Chicago Bears +9
Week 8: at Atlanta Falcons +4
Week 9: vs. Indianapolis Colts +6
Week 10: at Tennessee Titans +7.5
Week 11: at Washington Redskins +2.5
Week 12: at Philadelphia Eagles +3.5
Week 13: vs. Houston Texans +7
Week 14: vs. Seattle Seahawks +2
Week 15: at Chicago Bears +5
Week 16: vs. Minnesota Vikings +4.5
Week 17: at Detroit Lions
Green Bay will play the NFL’s easiest schedule in 2016 with a combined opponent record of 117-139 based on 2015 results. Of course that doesn’t mean the teams will be as bad as they were last season. A matchup with the Cowboys will likely feature Tony Romo in the lineup. Andrew Luck should be under center when the Colts come to town. Both quarterbacks missed a majority of 2015 with injuries and their teams struggled. The bottom line is you still have to line up and win the games. And the Packers will do just that.
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While there are plenty of quarterbacks who would happily take Rodgers’ numbers from 2015, it was a decidedly off year for him, as the NFL’s all-time leader in quarterback rating recorded the lowest of his time as a starter at 92.7.
Though he still threw 31 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions, the offense struggled without Nelson, and no one missed him more than Rodgers. Nelson set a franchise record with 1,519 receiving yards in 2014 and developed an uncanny rapport with his quarterback, something Rodgers lacked with his other receivers last season.
Green Bay’s four-year run atop the NFC North came to an end last season, with the Vikings’ division title leading some to think there’s been a changing of the guard. But with a healthy Nelson, a slimmer Lacy, Rodgers getting his comfort blanket back, and the NFL’s easiest schedule based on 2015 winning percentage, there are plenty of reasons for the Packers to be in the Super Bowl conversation and their win total to spike with better health.
NFL Odds: Green Bay Packers Under 9.5 Wins
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