Now, I have no idea on God's green earth who the heck Rick Gosselin is. All I know is that he was no clue what he is talking about in "Rick Gosselin's NFL offseason power rankings." Apparently he is the NFL columnist for The Dallas Morning News. Hey, Landry Hat, wanna throw me a bone here?
I have no clue who this guy thinks he is. I stumbled across his offseason power rankings and was shocked that he had the Packers at #18. #18? Really? You are putting the Green Bay Packers, who went 13-3 last year and were one errant Brett Favre pass away from the Super Bowl at #18? Behind the Houston Texans, an 8-8 team with offensive and defensive line issues? Behind the 7-9 Buffalo Bills? The Cincinnati Bengals at #15? You are definitely crapping with me now. The team is in jail. And they lack an important part of a winning football team: a defense. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the 14th-best team in the league right now? They went 9-7 and barely won what is arguably the weakest division in the NFC (close competition with the West). The Tennessee Titans? Yes, I know my Super Bowl pick for last year as Packers-Titans (no one thought either would even make the playoffs), but for a team with a quarterback who almost doubled the number of touchdowns with interceptions last year, and a team that has enough running backs for two teams and no wide receivers, they are not as good as the Packers. The New Orleans Saints at #12 is a little more respectable, but the Minnesota Vikings at #11? Not so sure about that. The Vikings have improved, I will give them that. But to be seven spots higher than the Packers? Not so fast my friend. Other questionable teams ranked ahead of the Pack: Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles.
I hate to go Fire Joe Morgan on this guy, but the situation calls for it. So please, Mr. Gosselin, step right up.
The retirement of Brett Favre takes the winningest and most prolific passer in NFL history out of a Green Bay uniform this season. Inexperienced and untested Aaron Rodgers replaces him. This is a talented team. The Packers reached the NFC title game last January. But how much of that was Favre? Suddenly, the defense must carry the Pack.
Ok, that all looks good as one big block of text. But sentence-by-sentence, not so much.
The retirement of Brett Favre takes the winningest and most prolific passer in NFL history out of a Green Bay uniform this season.
Oh really? How insightful. Did you realize this is your longest sentence that takes up the most space and states the obvious? Yessiree. But did you really think we didn't know this?
Inexperienced and untested Aaron Rodgers replaces him.
Good job. At least you aren't calling for Brian Brohm to take the helm. I'll admit Rodgers does lack some experience, but something that many, many people cannot grasp is the fact that to have experience, you need to get experience. People always want to skip the getting experience part. I wouldn't say that Rodgers is totally inexperienced and incapable of commanding an NFL offense after sitting behind Favre for three years. He should do better than, say, Alex Smith in his first game. I wouldn't call Rodgers untested either. Being thrust into the biggest game of the regular season in a hostile environment on a game televised to a few thousand households (yeah, I'm still bitter about missing that game) is a pretty big test I'd say. And Rodgers performed admirably in it, bringing the Pack to within three points before they succumbed. So there is some experience and he has been tested.
This is a talented team.
I'm not going to deny this sir. Seems you have gotten something else right. But wouldn't it seem more right if a talented team was ranked higher than half the teams in the league? Because right now you're saying that half the teams in the NFL are better than the Packers.
The Packers reached the NFC title game last January.
Another statement of fact that does not show how there are seventeen teams better than Green Bay in the NFL.
But how much of that was Favre?
Good job, Rick, you made a valid point. The first eight games were all Favre. No way they would have been 8-1 if he was not quarterbacking it. There was no running game. Brandon Jackson was a bust and DeShawn Wynn was hurt, making Favre paint the sky brown with footballs. However, this guy you may have heard of, Ryan Grant, rushed for over 950 yards in the last eight weeks of the season. Favre's passing totals dropped while Grant emerged as a go-to option. So the first eight weeks of the season were Favre. The second eight were Grant. 50-50.
Suddenly, the defense must carry the Pack.
Hmm. The Packers are returning ten starters on a high-powered offense and nine or ten of their starters on a decent defense. The Packers defense was seventh in points allowed, 11th in yards allowed, 12th in pass yards, and 14th in rush yards. Those are all in the top half of the league. And for real Rick, you make it sound like the entire Packers offense hit free agency and the only way they can win is through their defense. They're only losing ONE starter, albeit a big one. But they have the rest of their core still present. Grant. Donald Driver. Greg Jennings. The names keep coming. The Packers are not dead in the water without Favre.
Sheesh, Rick.
Enough about the Packers. Let's see what he had to say about our NFC North rivals.
Minnesota Vikings: #11
With the quarterback concerns in Green Bay and Chicago, the Vikings see an opening in the NFC North and took a win-now approach this offseason. They traded for NFL sack leader Jared Allen and signing Chicago go-to guy Bernard Berrian away from the Bears. But contention will hinge on the development of their own young QB Tarvaris Jackson.
 Hmm. That doesn't sound #11 worthy to me. Let's take a closer look.
With the quarterback concerns in Green Bay and Chicago, the Vikings see an opening in the NFC North and took a win-now approach this offseason.
Again, I don't buy the "quarterback concerns" excuse for Green Bay. See above. Chicago and quarterback concerns, heck yes. Minnesota is improved and the Vi-Queens will compete with Green Bay for the division.
They traded for NFL sack leader Jared Allen and signing Chicago go-to guy Bernard Berrian away from the Bears.
The Allen acquisition will help the Vikings already strong defense. It appears their defense is currently stronger than the Packers, but time will tell. The Berrian signing makes me laugh. Anytime you were Rex Grossman's go-to-guy, that's just not good. Berrian will be the number one target in Minnesota. That doesn't mean he'll be a number one receiver though. Berrian is good for Jackson, but in the grand scheme of things, he will have been overpaid.
But contention will hinge on the development of their own young QB Tarvaris Jackson.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Excuse me, but can't this be considered a "quarterback concern"? It most certainly is. Which means that Minnesota is in the same boat as Green Bay and Chicago, which, accoring to Gosselin should mean they will not be able to compete on a high-level. I sense just a little bit of hating going on here. Jackson, Rodgers, and Grossman/Orton all have flaws and issues. I would have been fine with Gosselin putting Minnesota one or two spots ahead of the Packers, but not seven. This guy needs to watch some football.
Chicago Bears: #22
The Bears must have a ton of confidence in young tight end Greg Olsen because they let starting wideouts Muhsin Muhammad and Bernard Berrian walk out the door. They cut Muhammad and let Berrian sign in free agency with the Vikings. The quarterback position remains unsettled.
Said everything that there really is to be said. Although he could have added some input into the defense.
Detroit Lions: #25
The experiment with Mike Martz and his Greatest-Show-on-Turf offense fizzled. Too many turnovers cost him his job as offensive coordinator after one season. So defense and the running game are back in. Third-round RB Kevin Smith is a sleeper candidate for NFL Rookie of the Year.
Nothing shocking here either. Less hate for these teams than the Pack.
It's only June, but the Packers already have their doubters.
I have no clue who this guy thinks he is. I stumbled across his offseason power rankings and was shocked that he had the Packers at #18. #18? Really? You are putting the Green Bay Packers, who went 13-3 last year and were one errant Brett Favre pass away from the Super Bowl at #18? Behind the Houston Texans, an 8-8 team with offensive and defensive line issues? Behind the 7-9 Buffalo Bills? The Cincinnati Bengals at #15? You are definitely crapping with me now. The team is in jail. And they lack an important part of a winning football team: a defense. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the 14th-best team in the league right now? They went 9-7 and barely won what is arguably the weakest division in the NFC (close competition with the West). The Tennessee Titans? Yes, I know my Super Bowl pick for last year as Packers-Titans (no one thought either would even make the playoffs), but for a team with a quarterback who almost doubled the number of touchdowns with interceptions last year, and a team that has enough running backs for two teams and no wide receivers, they are not as good as the Packers. The New Orleans Saints at #12 is a little more respectable, but the Minnesota Vikings at #11? Not so sure about that. The Vikings have improved, I will give them that. But to be seven spots higher than the Packers? Not so fast my friend. Other questionable teams ranked ahead of the Pack: Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles.
I hate to go Fire Joe Morgan on this guy, but the situation calls for it. So please, Mr. Gosselin, step right up.
The retirement of Brett Favre takes the winningest and most prolific passer in NFL history out of a Green Bay uniform this season. Inexperienced and untested Aaron Rodgers replaces him. This is a talented team. The Packers reached the NFC title game last January. But how much of that was Favre? Suddenly, the defense must carry the Pack.
Ok, that all looks good as one big block of text. But sentence-by-sentence, not so much.
The retirement of Brett Favre takes the winningest and most prolific passer in NFL history out of a Green Bay uniform this season.
Oh really? How insightful. Did you realize this is your longest sentence that takes up the most space and states the obvious? Yessiree. But did you really think we didn't know this?
Inexperienced and untested Aaron Rodgers replaces him.
Good job. At least you aren't calling for Brian Brohm to take the helm. I'll admit Rodgers does lack some experience, but something that many, many people cannot grasp is the fact that to have experience, you need to get experience. People always want to skip the getting experience part. I wouldn't say that Rodgers is totally inexperienced and incapable of commanding an NFL offense after sitting behind Favre for three years. He should do better than, say, Alex Smith in his first game. I wouldn't call Rodgers untested either. Being thrust into the biggest game of the regular season in a hostile environment on a game televised to a few thousand households (yeah, I'm still bitter about missing that game) is a pretty big test I'd say. And Rodgers performed admirably in it, bringing the Pack to within three points before they succumbed. So there is some experience and he has been tested.
This is a talented team.
I'm not going to deny this sir. Seems you have gotten something else right. But wouldn't it seem more right if a talented team was ranked higher than half the teams in the league? Because right now you're saying that half the teams in the NFL are better than the Packers.
The Packers reached the NFC title game last January.
Another statement of fact that does not show how there are seventeen teams better than Green Bay in the NFL.
But how much of that was Favre?
Good job, Rick, you made a valid point. The first eight games were all Favre. No way they would have been 8-1 if he was not quarterbacking it. There was no running game. Brandon Jackson was a bust and DeShawn Wynn was hurt, making Favre paint the sky brown with footballs. However, this guy you may have heard of, Ryan Grant, rushed for over 950 yards in the last eight weeks of the season. Favre's passing totals dropped while Grant emerged as a go-to option. So the first eight weeks of the season were Favre. The second eight were Grant. 50-50.
Suddenly, the defense must carry the Pack.
Hmm. The Packers are returning ten starters on a high-powered offense and nine or ten of their starters on a decent defense. The Packers defense was seventh in points allowed, 11th in yards allowed, 12th in pass yards, and 14th in rush yards. Those are all in the top half of the league. And for real Rick, you make it sound like the entire Packers offense hit free agency and the only way they can win is through their defense. They're only losing ONE starter, albeit a big one. But they have the rest of their core still present. Grant. Donald Driver. Greg Jennings. The names keep coming. The Packers are not dead in the water without Favre.
Sheesh, Rick.
Enough about the Packers. Let's see what he had to say about our NFC North rivals.
Minnesota Vikings: #11
With the quarterback concerns in Green Bay and Chicago, the Vikings see an opening in the NFC North and took a win-now approach this offseason. They traded for NFL sack leader Jared Allen and signing Chicago go-to guy Bernard Berrian away from the Bears. But contention will hinge on the development of their own young QB Tarvaris Jackson.
 Hmm. That doesn't sound #11 worthy to me. Let's take a closer look.
With the quarterback concerns in Green Bay and Chicago, the Vikings see an opening in the NFC North and took a win-now approach this offseason.
Again, I don't buy the "quarterback concerns" excuse for Green Bay. See above. Chicago and quarterback concerns, heck yes. Minnesota is improved and the Vi-Queens will compete with Green Bay for the division.
They traded for NFL sack leader Jared Allen and signing Chicago go-to guy Bernard Berrian away from the Bears.
The Allen acquisition will help the Vikings already strong defense. It appears their defense is currently stronger than the Packers, but time will tell. The Berrian signing makes me laugh. Anytime you were Rex Grossman's go-to-guy, that's just not good. Berrian will be the number one target in Minnesota. That doesn't mean he'll be a number one receiver though. Berrian is good for Jackson, but in the grand scheme of things, he will have been overpaid.
But contention will hinge on the development of their own young QB Tarvaris Jackson.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Excuse me, but can't this be considered a "quarterback concern"? It most certainly is. Which means that Minnesota is in the same boat as Green Bay and Chicago, which, accoring to Gosselin should mean they will not be able to compete on a high-level. I sense just a little bit of hating going on here. Jackson, Rodgers, and Grossman/Orton all have flaws and issues. I would have been fine with Gosselin putting Minnesota one or two spots ahead of the Packers, but not seven. This guy needs to watch some football.
Chicago Bears: #22
The Bears must have a ton of confidence in young tight end Greg Olsen because they let starting wideouts Muhsin Muhammad and Bernard Berrian walk out the door. They cut Muhammad and let Berrian sign in free agency with the Vikings. The quarterback position remains unsettled.
Said everything that there really is to be said. Although he could have added some input into the defense.
Detroit Lions: #25
The experiment with Mike Martz and his Greatest-Show-on-Turf offense fizzled. Too many turnovers cost him his job as offensive coordinator after one season. So defense and the running game are back in. Third-round RB Kevin Smith is a sleeper candidate for NFL Rookie of the Year.
Nothing shocking here either. Less hate for these teams than the Pack.
It's only June, but the Packers already have their doubters.
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