The Green Bay Packers went 13-3 last year and made it to the NFC Title Game. They also have a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who is 36 years-old, more than young enough in today’s NFL to get the job done.
So when the NFL Draft happened recently and the team moved up in the first round, most fans and analysts alike were not expecting a quarterback to be taken. But that’s exactly what happened with Utah State’s Jordan Love.
Rodgers was miffed about the situation, knowing the Pack needed immediate help at wide receiver and other positions. The drafting of Love seemed to be an indication that Green Bay was preparing to move on from their star quarterback, even if it’s two years from now.
Coach Matt LaFleur was seen to be a proponent of the drafting of Love, but he tried to downplay things by claiming it was simply because he was the best player on their board. LaFleur was quoted as follows on ESPN Radio in Wisconsin (source Pro Football Talk).
“It was just one of those situations where there were a couple guys targeted that had just previously been picked and Jordan was the next guy on the board, and so we went with the best player at the time,”
Green Bay getting no respect in the betting odds.
The Packers are +1760 odds to win the NFC Conference at the Winning Poker Network sportsbooks. That ranks eighth behind San Francisco (+380), New Orleans (+470), Tampa Bay (+530), Dallas (+835), Seattle (+940), Philadelphia (+1040) and Minnesota (+1500).
Now, I am one of the people who thinks there will be on-going tension between Rodgers and LaFleur this year. However, if the team gets off to a good start, most of that will go out the window.
Green Bay is a very good value at these +1760 conference odds.
