With the 2023 season nearly a month away, the Packers don’t look like the team they once were the last couple of years.
The Packers usually are top favorites to make the Super Bowl and the expectations are high for them.
The team usually doesn’t have too many questions surrounding the team.
But that is not the case this year as there is a lot of questions about the 2023 Packers.
But we’ve been in this situation before.
A young 3rd year Quarterback who is unproven in the NFL and a young team that doesn’t have many veterans on the team.
Sound familiar?
This was the Packers back in 2008 when Aaron Rodgers became the starting Quarterback for the Packers.
The key back then was patience and it still stands true today.
The key still will be patience for the 2023 Packers.
The Offense in the 2023 Season
We’ll start off with the offense, of course Jordan Love will need time to develop.
We cannot expect him to have an MVP like season with 45 touchdowns and below 5 interceptions.
Love will have to play to the best of his strengths.
But at the same time, we have to be patient will how he will develop.
Keep in mind in 2008, when Rodgers was in his first year of being a starting Quarterback, it took some time for him to get comfortable with the offense.
Rodgers also learned from his mistakes that he made in 2008.
In 2008, the Packers lost a number of games by a touchdown or field goal and ended up with a 6-10 record.
In 2009 Rodgers came back and led the team to a 11-5 record.
Like Rodgers, Love will have a support from the running game (Aaron Jones and A.J Dillion) and a young group of Wide Receivers.
But really it is up to Love to see how he performs, again though, it’s going to take some time to see what Love can really do.
The Defense in 2023
As for the defense, it does have a lot of similarities to the 2008 Packers defense, but there are some differences.
The 2008 wasn’t built to help Rodgers if the team had fallen behind.
The 2023 Packers defense is different because it is able to carry the load if Love is struggling.
The defense has a shutdown corner in Jaire Alexander, A middle Linebacker unit that will be much improved and depth at the defensive line.
Brian Gutekunst has done a fantastic job loading up on defense and stacking up talent on that end.
It will be interesting to see how they will perform in 2023.
I believe that if the offense is struggling the defense can take the load from there.
Conclusion
It does seem like we took a time machine back to 2008 but the 2023 Packers motto should be patience. Patience with their offense, patience with their first year starting QB and patience to develop this team.
There are a lot of questions this season but it will take some time to answer those questions. All it takes is patience.
——————
Hau Khuong has been a Packers fan since 1996. He currently works as a video editor in Green Bay and writes for PackersTalk.com and you can follow him on twitter at @HauKhuongSports.
——————
