Apathy: the absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.  A lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.

My intent isn’t to depress, however it’s tough to be such a die-hard fan and not be apathetic towards the Packers…or any sports team in this state.  I’m now passed the point of associating blame and just want major change – think Definition of Insanity.

In the last 8 months, the Packers find themselves in a position to replacing 2 All-Pro Guards (Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang).  If you’ve followed along with my previous writing, or have known me for a while, you understand I’m a firm believer of great line play is the key to each side of the ball.  The better the OL the better the offense; the better the DL the better the defense.  The Packers possessed the 5^th ranked offensive line and the 9^th defensive front 7 in the NFL for the 2016 regular season (source: Pro Football Focus).  The Packers ranked 8^th in total offense and 22^nd in defense.  That shoots a hole in my theory, however the old adage holds true, if you can run the ball and stop the run it bodes well for your playoff fate.

The Packers used their 1^st round pick in 2016 on Kenny Clark, a defensive lineman with solid upside.  He was the youngest player in the draft last year and if he turns out to be a Pro Bowl caliber player, that will help this Packers’ defense, immensely over the next 10 years.  He was graded with a 68.0 by PFF this season and it looks to only rise from there.  I state this with the intent that the Packers have the option to go any route they want in this year’s draft.  However, while many think the secondary was a major issue last year, continuing with a great OL is what will drive the offense’s “success” and improving the defensive front will improve the overall defense and directly help the secondary.  The Falcons tore up the Packers’ defense, but the major difference in that game was Atlanta being able to generate pressure with 4 and the Packers getting none, regardless of how many were brought.  (Stop me if you’ve heard that before).

Stay tuned for the NFL Draft preview…I’ll wait for all the mock drafts and experts to predict whom will go where, and why.  Meanwhile the teams will continue to change until that week.  My stance is still to draft the best player available or trade back to accrue more picks.  I still believe that’s the best system in any sport to build the best team, the key is to not suck at drafting – which much has been left to desire in recent drafts for the Green Bay Packers.

Thanks for reading and expect more consistency from me now that the weather is turning and there will be more action from here on out!

Your favorite apathetic Packer fan.