The hot team in the NFC were the Falcons, and the Patriots seemed unbeatable once again as they went on an eight-game winning streak in the AFC – one which would have been a 14-game run had they not suffered a surprising loss to the Browns in week 9. Suddenly nobody was talking about Green Bay as a legitimate Super Bowl candidate anymore: big mistake.
The Packers rallied behind their leader Aaron Rodgers late in the season. Having carried his team for most of the year, the quarterback who replaced Brett Favre at the helm was never going to let the two concussions he suffered keep him out for long. Despite a growing list of injuries to key players, Rodgers and McCarthy continued to defy the odds. It seemed that every time someone went down, McCarthy found a way to patch-up what appeared to be a sinking ship. Players such as undrafted rookie Sam Shields stepped up to the plate big time, and after a crushing win against the New York Giants in week 16 the Packers had their postseason destiny in their own hands. Only one team stood in the franchise’s way: arch rivals the Chicago Bears.
In what was a drab encounter Green Bay scrapped a 10-3 win at Lambeau Field and the rest, as they say, is history. Chicago’s loss came back to haunt them as they were outfoxed by Mike McCarthy’s team in the NFC Championship game. The Pack were on a roll, and after demolishing every team like a wrecking ball as they gathered momentum in the postseason, they went on to claim their fourth Super Bowl title, and as number six seeds nonetheless. The question is, can they repeat?
The last time a team won back-to-back NFL championships was six years ago, when the New England Patriots were victorious in Super Bowl XXXVIII and XXXIX. The 2010 champions, the New Orleans Saints, looked well-placed to do so in the eyes of many observers last season. But after a solid, yet unspectacular regular season, which saw them slip under the radar and into the play-offs hot on the heels of division rivals the Atlanta Falcons, Drew Brees and co. were unceremoniously dumped out of the postseason at the first hurdle. By a team who won the NFC West with a 7-9 record no less: the Seattle Seahawks.
The Packers have key players such as RB Ryan Grant and TE Jermichael Finley back from injury, and have once again added a strong group of rookies from the draft. Going by what the record books say, the smart money would be on a return to the play-offs, with the franchise falling just short of winning another Super Bowl ring. But then again, every time Green Bay has won a Super Bowl they have reached the big game the following year – winning one and losing the other. If McCarthy and co. can lead a team decimated by injuries and without a running game to speak of – at least until the arrival of James Starks in the postseason – to Super Bowl glory, then imagine what they could do with a fit and healthy roster.
And with Aaron Rodgers having finally stepped out of Favre’s shoes with a Super Bowl ring of his own, there is a real possibility this franchise could become a dynasty over the next decade – much like the Patriots team that dominated the early part of the last one, the 70’s Steelers and Green Bay themselves in the 60’s, when the franchise was coached by the legendary Vince Lombardi. If ever the franchise had a chance to recreate just a snippet of his success, surely this crop of players are the ones who could do it.
