When "Roughing the Passer" Has Gone Too Far

Photo by Adam Wesley (USA TODAY Network)

I almost wrote something about this last week in the wake of the Packers getting another game stolen from them by poor officiating. Then it happened again this week, and now I can't hold back anymore.

To be clear, I've long been of the opinion that in most cases, officiating doesn't decide the outcome of games... with some exceptions, of course. And I'm not blaming the officiating for Green Bay's embarrassing loss to the Redskins yesterday. But I am blaming them for their farcical sense of justice. So in case you haven't seen the league's latest nonsense, the two forthcoming tweets sum it up pretty well.

Just to review … this was a penalty ... ~ JW (1/2) pic.twitter.com/1RQ5c7z0kA

— Wilde And Tausch (@WildeAndTausch) September 23, 2018

... but this was not. ~ JW pic.twitter.com/ESLvOtQkhY

— Wilde And Tausch (@WildeAndTausch) September 23, 2018

Like the complete and utter crap penalty on Clay Matthews' hit on Kirk Cousins the week before, I didn't see it in real time. But I was pissed as soon as I saw it. The Alex Smith flag I get more than I do the Cousins one; the Alex Smith takedown involved Matthews landing on Smith, and per the NFL's asinine new rule, it's the correct call. But it is a horrific rule. Combine that with a play on Rodgers that absolutely should have drawn a flag... and it's clear the NFL has no idea what it's doing.

I didn't play organized football, but when defensive players, other quarterbacks, and even former heads of NFL officiating think you've screwed this up, then you have 100 percent screwed this up. The conspiracy theorist inside my head wants the Packers to sue the league for deliberately targeting them with their nonsense, but the rational person in my head knows that's stupid. But I'm dumbfounded at this point. Short of teams refusing to take the field until this gets fixed, I don't know this problem gets resolved.

We talk about how the NFL is supposedly declining and arguably dying and the various causes that go into it. Cord cutting, people boycotting due to anthem protests, and now this nonsense... I'll let Pro Football Weekly's Hub Arkush take it home.

If the NFL continues to pretend last 2 Roughing calls on Clay Matthews aren't complete B.S., I'm just not sure how much longer people will keep watching? League is becoming a total joke and it's truly sad to watch.

— Hub Arkush (@Hub_Arkush) September 23, 2018

2018 NFC North Preview

We're onto Day 2 of my NFL preview series for the 2018 season, and I'm also settling into a rhythm.

As in prior years, I'm alternating conferences while circling my way around the league. This year began with the North, and yesterday saw the AFC get priority. This means today I'm back in my home park, so to speak, looking at the local division of the NFC North.

2017 NFC North Preview

We're only a week and a half away from the start of another NFL season, and I'm starting to get excited again. As such, I need to get the previewing into high gear.

I'm continuing my annual tradition, working my way around the country, only this year I'm going counterclockwise, and alternating conferences until we end with the division of the defending champion.

I also take this opportunity to invite you, dear readers, to join me in picking NFL games against the spread. We're in Year Six of this contest now, with Adam Quinn joining me for a fourth season of a weekly post with our picks. You can join our ESPN group here.

I'm beginning at home again this season with the NFC North.

2017 NFL Conference Championship Preview

We're down to the final four, and elite quarterbacks are the story in the NFL Playoffs.

It's conference championship weekend, and I'm trying to repress memories of what happened the last time my Packers made it this far. Fortunately, it's a different opponent and a different year, where anything can happen. On the other side, a pair of quarterbacks who have run this rodeo before return, as the two of them combined with the recently retired Peyton Manning have been to all but one of the last like 15 Super Bowls. For a league that claims to be all about parity, the AFC seems to run counter to that.

So without further ado, let's look at the two games coming up on Sunday.

2017 NFL Divisional Preview

We're fast approaching another weekend, and the NFL playoffs are in full swing. Just eight teams remain in the quest for the Lombardi Trophy, and the four best teams from this past season are back in action this weekend.

All in all, last weekend was relatively uneventful unless you're one of the idiots who's blowing the whole Giants-On-The-Boat thing out of proportion. Them spending the off day with their families back home or whatever probably wouldn't have changed their defense getting torched by Aaron Rodgers in the final 35 minutes of the game.

So with that out of the way, let's take a look at the four games on tap this weekend.

2017 NFL Wild Card Preview

For some reason, I've been getting a ton of hits lately on my 2015 Wild Card post. I guess I hit the sweet spot on SEO-related stuff without even meaning to, because most of those hits have come in the past few months. Whatever the case, we're onto the playoffs for the 2016 season, and I need to get a new post up.

In years past, I have also done an awards post, but I opted to skip that this year given the timing of everything and my lack of really paying super close attention to the NFL this year (contrary to my finally getting a winning record in the Pigskin Pick 'Em this season). But this is something I can't pass up.

12 teams have survived the past four months, and it's time to take a look at the road to Houston for Super Bowl LI.

2016 NFC North Preview

I've got a busy few mornings coming up. We're about a week away from the start of the 2016 NFL season, and I have eight divisions I need to do previews for.

In an annual tradition, I've been predicting outcomes of upcoming seasons for a few years now, going division by division to pick out win totals for every NFL team. Now, admittedly, I haven't paid as much attention to what's gone on this offseason, so I'm not as confident as I normally am with predictions. Of course, I end up being wrong half the time, so what else is new.

Like in prior years, I alternate conferences and go kind of in a circle through the four geographical regions of divisions, ending with the division hosting the defending champ. With the circle being what it is, I am going to start in my home division with the NFC North. Tomorrow I'll switch over to the AFC North, then spin my way clockwise to the East, South, and finally, the West.

Before I get to the preview, I do want to make a shameless plug. For the fifth straight season, I will be picking NFL games against the spread, and this will be my third year picking against Adam Quinn, who won last year's pool. If you want to make us look like a bunch of dopes, you can join our ESPN Pigskin Pick 'Em group.

Let's start predicting.

2015 NFC North Preview

Happy Friday! We're on to the second half of Confessions of a Sportscaster's NFL predictions for the 2015 season. This is the one that's most relevant to me, as I'm from Chicago and a Packers fan (which, if you're a regular reader of COAS, you already know and are probably shaking your head at). Given much of the demographic is around here just based on who I know, this is probably the preview you've most been looking forward to as well.

If you want to read more in-depth previews for the NFL, my friends over at UKEndZone are continuing their preview series, and are doing a phenomenal job of it. Meanwhile, if you want to get involved with picking NFL games, you can join my ESPN Pigskin Pick 'Em group and try to beat me and Adam, who will be writing up picks with me every week again, as well as my dad and defending champion/Grabbing the Bull Horns blogger Geoffrey Clark.

So with the plugs out of the way, let's take a look at the division.

NFC North

Common opponents on schedule: NFC West, AFC West

1. Green Bay Packers
2014: 12-4 (1st), lost in NFC Championship Game
There's already a little bit of panic given the way the injury bug has bitten the Packers so far. However, as long as Aaron Rodgers remains healthy, this is the team to beat in the North. He still has several good weapons in Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and Eddie Lacy, so I don't think things will be a problem. The loss of Tramon Williams hurts the secondary a little bit, but there are good pieces around to fill the gap, and hopefully Clay Matthews can follow up last year with another full season. All in all, this team is one of the top Super Bowl contenders even without Nelson. I just hope there isn't a hangover from the last trip to Seattle.
2015 Prediction: 11-5

2. Minnesota Vikings
2014: 7-9 (3rd), missed playoffs
I wrote in-depth about the Vikings for UKEndZone back in June, and I maintain most of those claims two and a half months later. I think the Vikings found their franchise quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater, and he will benefit from having Adrian Peterson in the backfield with him for all of 2015. While I'm not particularly sold on his receiving corps still, the natural progression plus the mere presence of Peterson will upgrade the Minnesota offense. The thing is, their defense is pretty underrated. Everson Griffen leads a pretty good pass rush, and the secondary is one of the best this side of Seattle. If they can improve their run defense from a year ago, Minnesota will be right in the thick of things at the end of the season.
2015 Prediction: 9-7

3. Detroit Lions
2014: 11-5 (2nd), lost in NFC Wild Card Game
Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is going to have his work cut out for him this season. After heading up a top-three defense in 2014, he lost the lynchpin of his defense in Ndamukong Suh as well as Nick Fairley. The Lions did replace them with Haloti Ngata, which may help. Pretty much the entire rest of the defense returns, including Stephen Tulloch who hopefully learned from his idiotic sack dance in Week 3 last year. On offense, the Lions drafted Ameer Abdullah to help Joique Bell in their continued attempts at finding a successor to Barry Sanders, and a full season from Calvin Johnson will definitely help. I think overall though, the loss of Suh will hurt them quite a bit, and Jim Caldwell is Jim Caldwell. They'll be okay, but they're not going to return to the playoffs.
2015 Prediction: 8-8

4. Chicago Bears
2014: 5-11 (4th), missed playoffs
Last season I felt bad, but I also enjoyed the dumpster fire that was the Chicago Bears. Now, they're commencing with a rebuild. Some things have changed since I wrote that at the end of July: Tim Jennings is no longer with the team, a decision that will probably hurt an already bad defense, though with new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in the fold, they'll improve within the next year or two. Offensively though, I'm not sure what's going on. The Bears have arguably had more injury woes than Green Bay, as Alshon Jeffery and Marquess Wilson have had trouble staying on the field, and first round pick Kevin White had surgery on a stress fracture and will miss at least the first six games. This may mean trouble for Jay Cutler, who is who he is at this point: a guy with a heck of an arm, but a coach killer (this is his third head coach and fifth offensive coordinator since coming to Chicago), and isn't going anywhere any time soon. Consider it a rebuilding year for the Bears.
2015 Prediction: 5-11

I'll be back tomorrow with a look at the AFC North.

It Wasn't Supposed to End Like This

First and foremost, I'm just going to let this tweet by one of my editors for UKEndzone speak for itself.

Wow, Packers/Seahawks expected win % pic.twitter.com/mpR6QaM8y3
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieUKEZ) January 18, 2015

Photo by Evan Siegle (P-G Media)

I've been a sports fan my whole life. I've been through some tough losses that bridge the emotional spectrum. To me, the 2003 NLCS remains the worst, partially because it's the one loss I wasn't directly involved in that made me cry. The 2012 game in Seattle (which I'll spare you a link to; it doesn't matter anymore) made me the angriest I've ever been after a loss (other than maybe the '99 playoff game against the 49ers where Jerry Rice fumbled and it wasn't called). The 2014 Blackhawks' run (and my dream of walking into my wedding reception with Kristen lifting an inflatable Stanley Cup) came to an abrupt end in overtime of Game 7 at home, leaving me feeling like I'd been punched in the stomach. The 2008 Cubs spent six months making me believe it was finally the year before flaming out to the Dodgers, and prompted me staying up until 3:30 in the morning watching Family Guy so I could feel anything again.

That last one is probably the closest to how I felt around 5:30 Sunday evening. And even then... it's not the same. It's worse.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

Of course, coming into the day I didn't expect the game to be quite like that. I was on record saying Seattle would take advantage of a hobbled Rodgers and head to the Super Bowl. It was a great start and a pleasant surprise that the team I thought was best in the NFL was playing so poorly, even though Green Bay didn't take full advantage of it, only leading 16-0 at halftime before losing... like that. I haven't brought myself to watch any replays of the game since. It's too much.

Photo by Joe Nicholson (USA TODAY Sports)

This is the kind of loss that makes you look back at certain points of the game and wonder "What If". I've found myself replaying so many in my head. To a small degree, settling for two field goals that are effectively extra points off of Seattle turning it over. Most of the guessing comes from the end of the game though.

The fake field goal haunts me. I don't know how Green Bay didn't expect a fake in a situation up 16-0 in the third quarter. Being more prepared changes the tide of that game.

The 3rd and 19 conversion... man. You have eight back to cover five... and let a guy get open for 29 yards. While I think Seattle should have gotten that personal foul penalty tacked on after the sack because it was clearly an after-the-fact penalty, that doesn't excuse failing in that defensive situation.

I keep thinking back to Morgan Burnett's pick. I had no problem with him sliding at the time, but looking back, I wonder. He had at least ten extra yards, maybe more. Take them, see if you can add at least another field goal, and you win.

The onside kick... I can't totally fault Brandon Bostick for it. He should have had it if he was going for it, but what if he blocks? Do the Seahawks still get it? How can you let something like that happen? Even so, Bostick met with the media on Monday. He did the honorable thing, despite the death threats from Twitter idiots.

The two-point conversion... how can Ha Ha, who had had his best game as a pro up to that point, not go to knock the ball down or pick it off? Instead of going down to tie, Green Bay goes down the field to win, assuming Seattle's defense doesn't sit back and play soft.

And overall, I look at Mike McCarthy, who coached not to lose, instead of coaching to win. So many times he could have put the game away, instead of letting Seattle hang around... and hang around... and come back to win. A lot of people are calling for his head today. I don't know if I'd go that far; he's led Green Bay to the playoffs almost every year, made three trips to the NFC title game, and has a Super Bowl ring. But after this game, I would put him on the hot seat for next year. I hope he learns from this game. You can't coach not to lose. You have to coach to win.

Photo by Jeff Chiu (AP)

Kristen said to me after the loss that at least it was a good game, and that losing a close game is better than getting blown out. In a vacuum, that might be true, but when you factor in how dominant Green Bay had been for almost 55 minutes only to lose the way they did... it's worse. It sucks.

So instead of planning where to watch the big game in Glendale, the Packers have to have their final memory of the 2014 season be a game they let slip away. They have things to do in the offseason, but there's no reason they can't be back to this point next year. They just have to do what needs to be done when the time comes so that they can take the next step.

NFC North Preview

This is one that I and probably most of the readership was looking forward to. Seeing as I work in Chicago and live in the western suburbs, a lot of my readers are probably here, though I know this blog randomly gets reads from around the world (a lot from Russia for some reason). Today, we look to see if the oldest and greatest NFL rivalry is tilted the other way.

In the meantime, I'm still taking entries for the COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em contest. I'll have another Bears fan picking games here on COAS with me to provide some semblance of balance, but you can compete against us at the link above. It's free to sign up and join, and you can prove me wrong dozens of times over!

With that out of the way, here's how I see the NFC North unfolding.

Common opponents on schedule: NFC South, AFC East

1. Green Bay Packers
2013: 8-7-1 (1st), lost in NFC Wild Card Round
For years, the Packers have had to deal with a ton of major guys missing time due to injury... and yet they've continued to find ways to make the playoffs. Last year the bigger deal was a horrible defense. BJ Raji is already out for the year with a torn bicep, so they'll need their youth to step up. Tramon Williams and Sam Shields need to have bounceback years at corner, but the big hole last year was at safety. Moving Micah Hyde helps, and I was excited to see Ted Thompson draft Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to help out. On offense, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb are a good 1-2 punch, with a lot of youth behind them. Rookie of the year Eddie Lacy is back, as is James Starks. Oh, and that Aaron Rodgers guy. He's pretty good, I guess. As long as he's healthy, the Packers will be fine.
2014 Prediction: 11-5

2. Chicago Bears
2013: 8-8 (2nd), missed playoffs
When I was growing up, the Bears were about good, if not great, defense and horrible offense. That script has flipped. The Bears have arguably the best 1-2 receiver punch in the league in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. They have a very good tight end in Martellus Bennett. Matt Forte is one of the best complete backs in the league. The question mark is Jay Cutler. People are talking about him as an MVP candidate, but he needs to be smarter with the ball. The big question mark here though is defense. Julius Peppers defected to Green Bay, but the Bears replaced him with Jared Allen. He lines up opposite Lamarr Houston, so there's a retooled D-line. If Tim Jennings and Peanut Tillman do Tim Jennings and Peanut Tillman things again this year, the Bears could steal the division.
2014 Prediction: 10-6, Wild Card

3. Detroit Lions
2013: 7-9 (3rd), missed playoffs
Reggie Bush was a godsend for this offense last year. He topped 1000 yards and helped balance things out so Matthew Stafford could keep throwing bombs to Megatron. Golden Tate is a good counterpart to him, and there's a lot of talent at tight end. They'll light up some scoreboards. Unfortunately for them, their opponents will probably also light up some scoreboards. I really don't think the secondary improved, and up front, Nick Fairley showed up to training camp overweight. They'll need to win a lot of 35-31 type games to have a shot at the postseason.
2014 Prediction: 7-9

4. Minnesota Vikings
2013: 5-10-1 (4th), missed playoffs
Minnesota is trying its hand at another first round quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater, but he won't see the field right away. Instead Matt Cassel gets to show what he can do. I'm not totally sold on him though through no fault of his own; his weapons are the same as last year. Making Norv Turner the offensive coordinator should help though, as it unleashes Adrian Peterson in the passing game. Could be deadly. Some of the defensive line depth is gone now (there's no "Williams" at tackle anymore), and I'm not impressed with the secondary. Captain Munnerlyn is a decent addition, but wasn't a world beater with Carolina. The Vikes need more weapons and defensive help before they can compete with the aerial assaults this division can launch.
2014 Prediction: 6-10

Two wild cards are in, two more remain. Tomorrow I'll head out west for the second-to-last preview before the season starts. That's on Thursday! We're almost there!

Taking Candy from a Packer

I'm typing this on my phone from the train on my way to work. Hopefully later I can go through and maybe add more imagery or detail or something. I don't know. But after last night I needed to vent. I will also freely admit that I am a little biased given my loyalties, but this was embarrassing.

For much of the night, the Green Bay-Seattle game was an excellent contest. And without the ending, it was a great game played by 2 teams who wouldn't give up. That gets lost in the chaos today: Seattle played a great football game. They gave Rodgers the Cutler treatment early and for the most part they played fantastic defense. And you have to credit Russell Wilson for putting Seattle in a position to win at the end.

I have said on here many times: the officials don't decide games, the players do, regardless of how poorly called a game was. The way Seattle played the first 30 minutes was worthy of a win, but the Packers made the necessary halftime adjustments. When Green Bay scored the go-ahead touchdown, for the half they had run probably 40 plays from scrimmage to the Seahawks' 6. 6 plays. A pair of three and outs. Dominance. They forced a turnover on downs with less than 2 minutes left after Russell Wilson moved them downfield (with some zebra help). You can say Green Bay left them too much time on the clock to score. You can say they couldn't execute on defense on that final drive. But that's where the problem lies.

Green Bay did execute on that final play. If you've listened to the analysis or watched the postgame last night and look at this close up you can see. At first I thought it was simultaneous possession. But the more you look at the play the more you realize they were wrong. Green Bay won the game. And it got taken away.

For what it's worth, I thought Mike McCarthy handled his postgame presser with as much class as one could in that situation. Had it been me I might have received the first million dollar fine in NFL history. But I love that Packer players went right to Twitter to vent. Tom Crabtree and TJ Lang were the first to get to social media and vent... Especially Lang. I like his take:

@TJLang70: F*** it NFL.. Fine me and use the money to pay the regular refs.

Most experts were saying it would take something like this to force the NFL's hand with the referees' union. I wish it wasn't my team that had to be the victim, but I'd feel bad for any team that lost like this.

The other fascinating thing to me about this game: the social media reaction as a whole. Other than the night Osama bin Laden was killed, this game seemed to make Twitter explode the most (and will probably stay so until the November elections.) But from an objective perspective, it's fascinating to see. We are a culture of immediacy. Everything that happened in the first 59:52 of that game was put on the back burner because of the final 8 seconds. It's fair because the referees decided this outcome, but at the same time it ruins what was otherwise actually a really good game.

I was pissed off last night and didn't get enough sleep. But what sleep I did get I think helped temper my anger over injustice. It's hard to, but part of me does feel bad for these replacements who are doing the best they can, but when a rule is not followed and the officials' mistake cost the team a game, we have problems. The NFL is a much faster game than the lower levels from whence these refs came. This is not to detract from D-II or D-III football because I love D-III football, but all these replacements regardless of level are having a tough time with the adjustment. Bring back the real refs. Now.

One final thought that again needs to be made. We saw based on social media how angry this has made people over a game. For a split second last night I wished harm on Golden Tate (moreso because of his blatant pushoff, not helped by the fact that he denies it) before I checked myself. Thats not what's important. This game overshadowed what should have been the top storyline from this week in Torrey Smith of the Ravens. He lost his brother early Sunday morning and with a heavy heart went out and played and had a great game in a win. All for his late brother. Recognizing our loved ones and cherishing every moment we have with them is what's most important. It's a damn shame that our eyes are drawn away from that and into a debacle that could have been and needs to be solved. Now. Before another fan base has to go through what I and millions of fellow Packer fans had to. I love the NFL. I don't want this to destroy it.

Requiem of a Football Season

AP Photo/Mike Roemer

I had to give this game a couple days to sink in and let the sad feelings go away. This one was tough to swallow. As far as playoff losses go, this is one of the most depressing, but not the most heartbreaking. That one goes to either Super Bowl XXXII or the last time the Packers met the Giants. I figured Green Bay would come out strong and it would be a competitive game, but I also feared in the back of my mind that Eli Manning and company would come out really strong. Boy, did they ever.

I only watched the first half, but that was really all I needed to see. This was not the Green Bay team that came to play most of the regular season. Guys were dropping passes, Green Bay turned it over a lot more than usual, and most shocking of all was seeing Aaron Rodgers miss throws. But this is the NFL, anything can happen on any given Sunday, and most importantly for the Giants, they took advantage of the Green Bay miscues to the tune of 37 points and 420 yards of offense.

If nothing else, this game reminded me of the parity in the NFL, and just how hard it is to repeat as champions. The Packers had spent 17 weeks gearing up for opponents' best shots, and taking a lot of those best shots, only to come up standing more often than not. It can wear on a team, and that might have been the case Sunday in addition to the Giants earning the win. There's a reason we haven't seen a team repeat as champions in a decade. It's very hard to do.

I think this gives the Pack some time though, and they certainly aren't going anywhere next year. But they do need to make some key improvements.

1. Defensive Line. I noted this while watching the game on Sunday, though many have stated it before as well. The Packers missed Cullen Jenkins this year. They managed only 29 sacks on the year, down from 47 a season ago. Jenkins had 7 in 2010, and Matthews dropped from 13.5 to 6 this year. The lack of pressure up front to occupy linemen I think was a major factor. And with no pressure, you give quarterbacks time to find open targets (see Manning, Eli). I heard a lot of talk about Mike Neal coming into the year, and he didn't live up to expectations. Granted, he didn't play till later in the season, and maybe a full offseason of practice will help, but the Packers need help up front to get back to where they were last season.
2. Secondary. They gave up the most yards passing ever this season. Part of it was the lack of a pass rush, some was the loss of Nick Collins in Week 2, but guys like Tramon Williams and Sam Shields took a step back this year. I also was disgusted watching Charlie Peprah on the first Hakeem Nicks touchdown. I was disgusted watching it again on YouTube. They need to relearn how to tackle, maybe reload a little bit in the draft or via free agency. They can't possibly be as bad as this year... right?
3. Backup QB. I think it's safe to say Matt Flynn is leaving after this year. Someone will overpay him (Seattle was discussed on Sunday) to be their starter, and Flynn is not a bad quarterback. Some of it may be in the system he's in, like what happened with Kevin Kolb, but Flynn can produce elsewhere. Green Bay needs to have someone to step in just in case Aaron Rodgers gets hurt/throw for garbage time touchdowns when up 21 late in the 4th.

Most importantly, Green Bay needs to take this time to reflect on their season, learn from their mistakes, and bounce back. This is a team that has Keyser Söze potential for next year (defined by Bill Simmons as "A great team with the 'eff-you' edge"). They know how to climb the mountain; they did it last season. And according to Simmons, the anger from being dethroned is a more powerful force than what a defending champion can bring. As evidenced by Steve Kerr regarding the 1996 and 1997 Chicago Bulls:

"I could make an argument that the '96 team was better because we were more motivated. The hunger factor was huge for us that year and that helped make us a great team... When you've won a title already, there's a sense of superiority and invincibility that wasn't there before. The great teams use that in a positive way, which is what [the Bulls] did. Instead of 'eff you' mode like in '96, it's more like 'You have no chance against us' mode. We were so confident from already having won a title that we knew we were going to crush everyone that year. That's a dangerous mentality to have, obviously, if you don't have a mature team... Anyway, for what it's worth, I thought the '96 team was better because of the edge we had." -The Book of Basketball, p. 631.

A hungry team can be a dangerous team, especially since the bulls-eye won't be as big. I can see Rodgers coming out next year and throwing for 6000 yards and 60 touchdowns, and Mike McCarthy knows how to motivate his team. They'll be ready for next year. Obviously, whoever wins the Super Bowl will likely be the favorite for next year, but don't count the Pack out.