The Packers are the choice to be the dominant team in the NFL during 2014-'16. Not mentioned in the article is that the Packers are the Whitest team in the league along with the Patriots, the team that has been most prominent in the AFC during the past decade and looks to continue that trend.
Future shock: Packers will own 2014-16
If you expect your team to stand out in the NFL in three to five years, it's a given you need at least three of the following ingredients beyond a young, stud quarterback:
Star young players just coming into their prime on offense.
Star young players -- especially a pass-rusher -- just coming into their prime on defense.
Great coaching. A top-flight personnel department that knows what it takes to build through the draft and doesn't rely on free agency.
A solid to above-average running game is nice, but in today's passing-dominated league, it's like parsley. It's nice decoration, but it's not a requirement.
If you have all of these key ingredients -- and you're also coming off a Super Bowl title --- you have a good chance to be very good, maybe even dominant, in three to five years. Take a bow, GM Ted Thompson, coach Mike McCarthy and the Green Bay Packers. With a superstar quarterback (27-year-old Aaron Rodgers), a rising young superstar-in-waiting at tight end (Jermichael Finley), a solid offensive line and a young, deep defense led by linebacker/wild man Clay Matthews, your team is the pick of the ESPN.com Pigskin Panel to be the NFL's dominant team from 2014 to 2016.
"It's rare that a defending Super Bowl champion is considered an up-and-coming team, but that's exactly what the Packers are," ESPN.com AFC West blogger Bill Williamson said.
With six votes from our 24-person panel, the Packers didn't exactly win the popular vote in a landslide. Two other teams with young standout quarterbacks -- Tampa Bay (Josh Freeman) and Atlanta (Matt Ryan) -- finished second and third with five and four votes respectively. With three votes each, the Steelers and Rams tied for fourth. Four other teams received one vote apiece. Freeman, coming off a monster second season (25 TDs vs. six picks), will only be 26 in 2014. Ryan, 33-15 as a starter, will only be 29 at the start of the 2014 season.
"Tampa Bay's biggest hurdle is the division it plays in," ESPN.com AFC North blogger James Walker said. "But once the window closes on the New Orleans Saints and quarterback Drew Brees, who's 32, the Bucs and Atlanta Falcons should battle for NFC South supremacy."
The panel will weigh in on hot NFL issues throughout the season.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6769936/consensus-packers-own-2014-16
Future shock: Packers will own 2014-16
If you expect your team to stand out in the NFL in three to five years, it's a given you need at least three of the following ingredients beyond a young, stud quarterback:
Star young players just coming into their prime on offense.
Star young players -- especially a pass-rusher -- just coming into their prime on defense.
Great coaching. A top-flight personnel department that knows what it takes to build through the draft and doesn't rely on free agency.
A solid to above-average running game is nice, but in today's passing-dominated league, it's like parsley. It's nice decoration, but it's not a requirement.
If you have all of these key ingredients -- and you're also coming off a Super Bowl title --- you have a good chance to be very good, maybe even dominant, in three to five years. Take a bow, GM Ted Thompson, coach Mike McCarthy and the Green Bay Packers. With a superstar quarterback (27-year-old Aaron Rodgers), a rising young superstar-in-waiting at tight end (Jermichael Finley), a solid offensive line and a young, deep defense led by linebacker/wild man Clay Matthews, your team is the pick of the ESPN.com Pigskin Panel to be the NFL's dominant team from 2014 to 2016.
"It's rare that a defending Super Bowl champion is considered an up-and-coming team, but that's exactly what the Packers are," ESPN.com AFC West blogger Bill Williamson said.
With six votes from our 24-person panel, the Packers didn't exactly win the popular vote in a landslide. Two other teams with young standout quarterbacks -- Tampa Bay (Josh Freeman) and Atlanta (Matt Ryan) -- finished second and third with five and four votes respectively. With three votes each, the Steelers and Rams tied for fourth. Four other teams received one vote apiece. Freeman, coming off a monster second season (25 TDs vs. six picks), will only be 26 in 2014. Ryan, 33-15 as a starter, will only be 29 at the start of the 2014 season.
"Tampa Bay's biggest hurdle is the division it plays in," ESPN.com AFC North blogger James Walker said. "But once the window closes on the New Orleans Saints and quarterback Drew Brees, who's 32, the Bucs and Atlanta Falcons should battle for NFC South supremacy."
The panel will weigh in on hot NFL issues throughout the season.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6769936/consensus-packers-own-2014-16
