By Matt Torkelson

Published March 05, 2010

NFL football in 2009 is all said and done with. Packer fans have long put behind them that painful loss to the Cardinals, and Viking fans are finally shutting their mouths about a “Favre Super Bowl!” In case you didn’t know, Viking fans, Favre didn’t come through, and now you get to look forward to a “will he/ won’t he” for the next few months. Personally, I hope he does come back, because it was a lot more fun to despise Minnesota fans this year than in years past.

This column, believe it or not, won’t be a thorough bashing of the purple and gold. I figure the Packers will do the bashing for us for the next, oh I don’t know, decade or so. As Packer fans, we have so much to look forward to, and though football for us won’t begin for over five months, it doesn’t hurt keeping up with and getting excited about the next season of Packer football.

First, let us discuss the one and only, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Aaron Rodgers. How good is this man? My dad once told me that when the San Francisco 49ers went from Joe Montana to Steve Young that it didn’t even seem fair. Well, that may have seemed like the case, but admittedly, it’s a pretty wonderful feeling going from a legend to another superstar.

To all critics of Rodgers, look at his stats, let them sink in, and then put a big slab of duct tape over your mouth. Honestly, I welcome our rivals running their mouths. Looking at our squad, from Rodgers and Grant, to Mr. Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji, who do you think will be running the NFC North for the next decade? No one thought that the Packers would even have a shot at going over 500 after losing to the winless Buccaneers last season. We did. I fully expect the Green Bay Packers to come out as an explosive and dominant team in 2010.

My confidence and excitement aside, there is obviously plenty of room for some improvements. Overall, I think the transition to Dom Capers’ 3-4 defense was a great success. I can understand how some might seem skeptical after Kurt Warner tore up our secondary in the NFC Wild Card game. Personally, I believe that that was just the magic of Warner, and I think that the Packers just realized “Hey, we’re not there just yet.” It’s a transition period, and it’s hard to do, but it’s necessary to be patient.

Our record showed that this period is going about as smoothly as it can. It was fun to see the team’s success progress as the season went on, and that doesn’t only apply to our defense. Halfway through the season, Rodgers was the most sacked quarterback in the NFL by far. Luckily though, we yet again made some hardcore improvements. With the re-acquiring of Mr. Mark Tauscher, as well as some stability in our O-line, Rodgers was able to stay more comfortable in the pocket.

I do think that we should take an offensive lineman in the first round of the draft, but again, that’s up for debate. Some might think that a player like Al Harris is past his prime, and that perhaps we need a cornerback. I, however, am a believer in players like Williams, and obviously, unless you don’t like amazing talent, you too believe in someone like Charles Woodson. I don’t think that our secondary should be our number one concern, although it is most definitely, a concern. It just excites me for the draft next month,. Though people like to say they hate Ted Thompson, come on now, you can’t deny he had an incredible draft this last year. If you want to complain about something, perhaps you should write a letter to McCarthy about his play calling.

I expect a lot to happen this offseason that will both surprise and excite Packer fans. Knowing that there are plenty of NFC North titles waiting for us in the future, it’s hard not to already start engaging in a little trash talk with our neighbors to the west and south. Ok, mainly just to the west.