Green Bay Packers: How much longer will the window be open?
By Hunter Noll
Once again, the Green Bay Packers made a playoff run last season and are perennial contenders, but for how much longer will that be the case?
Since 1992, the Green Bay Packers have had two primary quarterbacks. Those two would be Brett Favre (a Hall-of-Famer) and Aaron Rodgers (future Hall-of-Famer). Needless to say, they’ve been Super Bowl contenders more often than not since 1992.
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Rodgers isn’t getting any younger, though. Now 33, the quarterback still looks as good as he ever has. He threw for 4,428 yards last season, and connected on 40 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions. With those numbers in mind, it’s hard to say a downfall is coming anytime soon for Rodgers.
Still, his age has to get you thinking — how much longer do the Packers have? At some point, Rodgers is going to start to decline and eventually retire. When that happens, do they have the right roster pieces around him to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive?
The perfect storm was the Denver Broncos with Peyton Manning. He had some of his best seasons with them, keeping the Broncos Super Bowl relevant for a few years. When he saw a major decline, though, the defense picked him up and carried the team to a ring.
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You don’t need to worry about Rodgers seeing a rapid decline just yet, but you do need to worry about the rest of his roster. The offensive line is good, but has some holes. Meanwhile, the running backs are a complete question mark. The receivers are still an extremely strong group, but the leader (Jordy Nelson) is starting to creep up in age too (32).
Finally, there’s the defense. While Manning’s defense carried him without a problem, Rodger’s shouldn’t ask the same from his group. They’ve definitely seen improvements over the last few years, but they’re still far from good. If it wasn’t for that Green Bay offense, the playoffs would be out of the question.
That brings us back to Rodgers. The window of opportunity closes as he goes. That is, of course, unless the Packers build around him correctly.
It’s safe to assume Rodgers has at least three more elite seasons in him. Personally, I believe he’s got more than that, but we’ll stick to the low numbers for now. The Packers roster is built nicely for him now, with a bunch of weapons he can sling to.
As he gets older though, he’ll need more protection, a better run game, and more defense. Those three will keep Rodgers healthier, and take some of the pressure off. Green Bay needs to start working on this now, though, if they want that window to stay open.
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The clock is ticking. Right now, the Packers are at three-to-midnight. They’re in an usual situation though, as they have the power to expand the clock by adding protection for Rodgers.
As long as No. 12 is on the roster, midnight won’t come.