Thursday Cheese Curds: Are the Packers better off than they were one year ago?

Even as the Rodgers saga hangs over everything, the bottom line is this: Do the Packers have a better roster than last year or have they taken a step back?

Consistency and stability are two of the biggest keys to sustained success in the NFL, and the Green Bay Packers have that.

Don’t let the ongoing brouhaha with Aaron Rodgers fool you. The Packers are sitting in a unique position to run back a team that came within a whisker of the Super Bowl last season.

While Rodgers’ absence hangs like a cloud over everything Green Bay is doing, the team will return 19 of 22 starters (20 if Rodgers indeed returns). While the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers return all their starters, the Packers are in position to challenge them for NFC supremacy once again.

Whether or not that pans out remains to be seen as each NFL season is unique and it’s fair to wonder if Green Bay is better, worse, or the same as they were in 2020. General manager Brian Gutekunst clearly liked this roster given the quiet free agency period for the team (outside of bringing back Aaron Jones of course) so he’s content to take his chances with the same hand as last year.

There are a few wildcards and while Rodgers is the biggest one, there’s also the new defense under Joe Barry that actually could have an even greater impact on how the team finishes than many realize.

Overall, Green Bay has a talented roster but how much better (or worse) they are than 2020 remains to be seen.

Better, worse or the same? Packers’ answer at QB same with or without Aaron Rodgers—ESPN

While I don’t think Rodgers missing the off-season program will have as much of an impact on the field as Rob Demovsky says here, I do worry about what this might do to the locker room despite what the players have been saying publicly.

That said, losing Rodgers obviously makes the Packers much worse at the position unless Jordan Love writes the greatest first season starting story the league has seen since Kurt Warner in 1999.

Should Aaron Rodgers stay or go? Fans weigh in on quarterback’s feud with the Packers—PackersNews.com (subscription)

Team president Mark Murphy has taken a beating in the public relations arena recently but he was right on one thing: the Rodgers situation has indeed divided the team’s passionate fans.

Packers’ toughest stretch in 2021 could come between Weeks 7-10—Packers Wire

A tough four-game stretch in the middle of the season which includes back-to-back games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks ultimately could determine the fate of Green Bay’s season.

How it happened: Brett Favre’s 61 pass attempts—Packers.com

That 1996 Monday Night Football game was legendary for many reasons including Chris Jackie’s overtime field goal and Don Beebe going off, but Brett Favre was slinging in that game which would help set up his second MVP.

Iowa Man Calls In Bomb Threat Because He Didn’t Get Sauce For Chicken McNuggets—Huffington Post.

I know Chicken McNuggets are the bomb but this takes things a little too far.