thank you Rex, great timing for this content.
Thank you also for the espn quotes, if nothing else, just for context.
As a non-subscriber, I can't read it nor dig into the details, but I can't argue the results either.
Hold this for about 6 months, only then will the abundance of questions have answers.
GPG!

I'm in same boat as non-subscriber there.

I'm curious..."The three graded each NFL team based on five categories: the team’s quarterback situation, the rest of the roster, draft capital and team’s draft prowess, coaching, and front office."

I guess free-agent acquisition isn't considered important enough to be it's own separate category (or it's subsumed into 'the rest of the roster')? I ask b/c GBP ranks #1 over last several years in value obtained by FA acquisitions by some analysts and they single out both draft prowess and also draft capital. If draft capital describes either value of players on rookie contracts or 'having a high draft position' this would seem to be a contra-indicator...the worse a team you are, the higher draft position (draft capital) you accumulate. Hmmm...

IMO the "caving in" is just a QB away.
"If Love elevates his game."
What sort of positivity can I take from that statement?
And whats with that;" IF" the OL talent develops!
TT dumped his guards and drafted new.
Whatever happened to moving Jenkins back @ LT.?
And the Center has been the packers way to great OLs.

Okay, so ESPN gives us input from a genuine journalist, a former NFL player, and a data nerd. That's fine. This time of year glasses are half full, half empty and sometimes there's no glass at all but some insist it's there. A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse.

The Packers will win the NFC North. The Bears will be an improved team. The Lions may finish 9-8 again, and have a parade though the streets of Dee-Troit (Dan Campbell masks will sell out at Halloween). KOC will coach the Vikings up to a respectable 7-10.

This rating is obviously all based on Jordan Love. With Rodgers, we knew what to expect over the years. Now with the unknown as qb, the national media is cool to the Packers. I think Love will surprise everyone and we will be saying Aaron who at the end of the season.

I have no idea how well, or not so well, the Packers will do this coming season.

Remember all that upside talk before last season began? Remember all the talk that the Packers would easily get into the playoffs. . . and maybe even get into the super bowl game? Remember that? Man oh man. All that talk. All that hype. And what a fizzle the Packers turned out to be. The bad defense, for example. And, of course, the arrogant big mouth fading quarterback who would not deign to show up for early training and workouts with his mostly new receivers. And the suddenly muddled head coach ( without the services of his former offensive coach for the first time in three years ) unable to create a credible offense on his own.

Yeh, I remember all the hype being given out before last season began.

Main thing is, the head coach has to prove himself all over again. Let's see, for example, if Matt LaFleur is willing to dump his defensive coach if the defense falls apart again.

I am so looking forward to this coming season because there is so much riding on the two main coaches, Matt LaFleur and Joe Barry.

There is no matter if there is glass (half empty or half full), only what matters can Packers coaching staff prepare team to play as unit. If they can, Packers will be pleasent surprise to NFL. If not, there will be a lot of painful moments.

As I said, one excellent player, even QB, will never alone win game for the team. Every win is team effort, so we all need Packers to play as team, which should give more chances to win the games.

I have the Packers in playoff contention this season at a record of about 9-8.
I think Love is a top-15 quarterback already this season, and that enough of the skill players on offense have enough development this season -- to go with a seasoned and stellar running game with at least two backs who are adept at catching passes -- to elevate the Packers into competitiveness.
I think a key to my predicting the Packers as contenders for the playoffs is having a solid offensive line with a good amount of both individual experience and group continuity.
***
I have the defense top-ten in the NFL for this season, because it seems that Barry just has to get it at last that he has to be more aggressive. What I hope is that it's not an extreme change to all gas no brakes, but rather a savvy mixing up of unpredictability which factors in opponents and game situations.
I think Matt LaFleur is a success this season, too, bringing out the illusion of complexity in a greater array of creativity. What I hope is that he doesn't try to do too much too soon, but that he gradually increases the variety over this season and the following seasons, not going any further than the execution can keep up.
***
What I'm hoping for overall, as alluded to above, is that the Packers have so much talent on both sides of the ball that enough players will step up this season to make it more wins than losses.
Then, it's up to LaFleur and Barry to show that they've hit their stride with all of their learning from prior seasons as far as implementing strategies and coaching up players.
No guarantees that this season won't be a flop, but one good sign is that the team didn't give up after a miserable slump last season, instead coming on strong at the end.
If there's a team dynamic of playing each game to the last second, and the entire season through the last game, then I think the Packers come out on top more often than not.
That's a glass at least a little more than half full.
I can't wait, and it'll be especially enjoyable to share it with the good people here at CHTV.

20-0 FTW

You can pretty much chuck out any early predictions for this season. No-one knows how the team will perform because things have changed so much and the team is so young, including a change at the key position (QB).

If you are an optimist there are things you can be excited about and if you are a pessimist, plenty of things to worry about.

It's the lack of any certainty that will make this a topsy-turvy season, exciting certainly, but its the spin of a coin whether the overall emotion will be positive or negative. As an optimist, I'm hoping for encouraging things and signs of a good road map to the future.

Tons of recency bias …the lIons have been abysmal franchise in front office and coaching and development for decades but close strong for one season- and didn’t even make the playoffs…and they rate high? Miami players hated Dan Campbell after his half season as interim head coach. They had a lot of veterans who didn’t buy his tough guy schtick after a few weeks of in season Oklahoma drills to toughen them back up. Campbell and the Lions will fail again in the near future.