2002 Results

Coach: Mike Sherman Record: (12-4) Passing Offense: 10th, 226.7 yds/gm, 29 TDs Rushing Offense: 12th, 120.8 yds/gm, 12 TDs Scoring Offense: 6th, 24.9 pts/gm Team Leaders Passing Att Comp Yds TDs INTs Rating Brett Favre 551 341 3658 27 16 85.6 Doug Pederson 28 19 134 1 0 90.5 Rushing Att Yds Avg TDs Long   Ahman Green 286 1240 4.3 7 43   Tony Fisher 70 283 4 2 28   Najeh Davenport 39 184 4.7 1 43   Brett Favre 25 73 2.9 0 17   Donald Driver 8 70 8.8 0 17   Rondell Mealey 11 36 3.3 1 18   Receiving Rec Yds Avg TDs Long   Donald Driver 70 1064 15.2 9 85   Terry Glenn 56 817 14.6 2 49   Bubba Franks 54 442 8.2 7 20   Ahman Green 57 393 6.9 2 23   Javon Walker 23 319 13.9 1 30   Robert Ferguson 22 293 13.3 3 40   William Henderson 26 168 6.5 3 17

2003 Results

Coach: Mike Sherman Record: (10-6) Passing Offense: 16th, 202.5 yds/gm, 32 TDs Rushing Offense: 3rd, 159.9 yds/gm, 18 TDs Scoring Offense: 4th, 27.6 pts/gm Team Leaders Passing Att Comp Yds TDs INTs Rating Brett Favre 471 308 3361 32 21 90.4               Rushing Att Yds Avg TDs Long   Ahman Green 355 1883 5.3 15 98   Najeh Davenport 77 420 5.5 2 76   Tony Fisher 40 200 5 1 19   Donald Driver 5 51 10.2 0 45   Brett Favre 18 15 0.8 0 7                 Receiving Rec Yds Avg TDs Long   Javon Walker 41 716 17.5 9 66   Donald Driver 52 621 11.9 2 41   Robert Ferguson 38 520 13.7 4 47   Ahman Green 50 367 7.3 5 27   Bubba Franks 30 241 8 4 24   Wesley Walls 20 222 11.1 1 36   William Henderson 24 214 8.9 3 22   Tony Fisher 21 206 9.8 2 32

2004 Fantasy Outlook
Coaches: Mike Sherman (HC), Tom Rossley (OC), Bob Slowik (DC)
Passing SOS: 12th (1 = Easy, 32 = Difficult)
Rushing SOS: 15th (1 = Easy, 32 = Difficult)

The Packers have made very few moves this offseason especially on the offensive side of the ball which means the brass is comfortable with the personnel in place; and they should be. Green Bay finished 3rd in total rushing, Favre tossed 32 TDs and the team finished 4th in Scoring Offense in '03. Not too shabby. The interesting thing to note about Green Bay's '03 season was their shift to a run-first, pass-second offensive philosophy. Green Bay ran the ball 51.7% of the time a year ago, its highest figure since 1979. By comparison, they ran the ball only 43.8% of the time in '02 and 44.5% in '01. With Favre another year older and Ahman Green in his prime, this trend is likely to continue. Green's discussion of 2000 yards is a long shot at best but there's no doubt the rushing attack will again be the featured weapon on offense.

Quarterbacks: Brett Favre, Tim Couch, Doug Pederson, Craig Nall
For the past couple seasons Brett Favre has hinted at retirement and until he decides to hang it up, he will continue to be a top notch fantasy QB. At this stage of his career ( he'll turn 35 on Oct. 10th) and with the running game in full swing its hard to imagine him at the top of the fantasy QB list but you can basically pencil him in for 3300 yds and at least 27 TDs. His durability is well documented... 189 consecutive starts. You want consistency? Favre has thrown for at least 3,000 yards in 12 consecutive seasons, the most in league history. You can expect more of the same in '04.

After much back-n-forth the Packers finally landed Tim Couch to serve as Favre's backup. Its hard to imagine Couch even getting on the field considering Favre's remarkable durability making Couch, Pederson, & Nall fantasy afterthoughts.

Projected Stats
Brett Favre - 3,548 yds, 28 TDs, 17 INTs; 43 rush yds, 1 TD; 299.7 FF Pts
Tim Couch - 7 yds, 0 TDs, 0 INTs; 0 rush yds, 0 TDs; 0.4 FF Pts

Running Backs: Ahman Green, Tony Fisher, Najeh Davenport, Dahrran Diedrick
Fullbacks: William Henderson, Nicolas Luchey
The Packers offensive line ripped through defenses last season like a knife through butter opening big holes not only for Ahman Green but for backups Najeh Davenport and Tony Fisher as well. All three backs rushed for over 5.0 yds-per-carry. Wow. Green, who is a perfect mix of speed, size, and power, enjoyed his best season as a pro rushing for over 1800 yards and scoring 20 total TDs. His consistency was also amazing, rushing for more than 100-yds in 10 games also totaling five games of 40+ receiving yards. That kind of season won't go un-noticed by fantasy owners. He'll continue to be the Packers workhorse and won't fall past the middle of the first round in your fantasy draft.

Najeh Davenport and Tony Fisher are interesting fantasy picks and both have value considering the dominant Packers rushing game. Davenport is a power back that runs mainly straight ahead while Fisher has better skills as a receiver. Should Green miss an extended amount of playing time its likely that both Davenport and Fisher would see action in a committee role making it difficult for fantasy owners to select a proper handcuff. Davenport received 77 carries to Fisher's 40 last season, but since Green Bay loves to check-down to their backs in the passing game, I won't be surprised to see Tony Fisher receive more playing time than Najeh Davenport over the long-haul.

Projected Stats
Ahman Green - 1,504 yds, 12 TDs; 46 rec, 322 yds, 3 TDs; 262.6
Tony Fisher - 456 yds 2 TDs; 22 rec, 179 yds, 1 TD; 81.5 FF Pts
Najeh Davenport - 270 yds, 1 TD; 7 rec, 46 yds, 0 TDs; 32.6 FF Pts
William Henderson - 14 yds, 0 TDs; 39 rec, 251 yds, 1 TD; 32.5 FF Pts

Wide Receivers: Javon Walker, Donald Driver, Robert Ferguson, Antonio Chatman, Carl Ford
The Green Bay receiving group remains somewhat of a dilemma. We know the who but what we don't really know is the how much? Javon Walker, Donald Driver, and Robert Ferguson will end up the top 3 WRs on the team (barring injury) but in what order they finish is up for debate. Driver led the team in '02 with 70 catches and 9 TDs. Last season Javon Walker lead all Green Bay WRs in yards (716) and TDs (9) but Driver had the most catches (52)... A WR--By-Committee approach that drives fantasy owners crazy. The general consensus is that Walker has the most talent of the trio and is a better mix of size and speed. While he has demonstrated big-play ability (17.5 yds per catch last season) he lacked consistency in making the routine catches so its not out of the question that Donald Driver could regain his status as the top wideout on the team. While I'm cautiously optimistic that Walker will improve his all-around game this year and end up the top fantasy WR on the team, keep an eye on this situation between Walker and Driver in camp.

Robert Ferguson doesn't have a shot at becoming the teams top wideout if only for the reason he is valuable on special teams. Consider him the third option and only vault his value if Walker or Driver get injured.

Projected Stats
Javon Walker - 65 rec, 1,003 yds, 9 TDs; 154.3 FF Pts
Donald Driver - 56 rec, 707 yds, 5 TDs; 100.7 FF Pts
Robert Ferguson - 29 rec, 404 yds, 2 TDs; 52.4 FF Pts
Antonio Chatman - 11 rec, 126 yds, 0 TDs; 12.6 FF Pts

Tight Ends: Bubba Franks, David Martin, Tony Donald
Does any tight end get more TDs inside the 5-yard line than Bubba Franks? Always a fantasy favorite because of Green Bay's tendency to pass in the redzone, Franks saw his production drop last season to only 241 yds and 4 TDs on 30 catches. He drops too many passes and the Packers have so many offensive weapons that perhaps Bubba is getting lost in the shuffle? The retirement of Wesley Walls might help boost Franks back up into the fantasy elite but expect David Martin to be used in two-TE sets and deprive Bubba from reaching his fantasy glory.

Projected Stats
Bubba Franks - 41 rec, 357 yds, 5 TDs; 65.7 FF Pts
David Martin - 10 rec, 79 yds, 1 TDs; 13.9 FF Pts

Message Board Quotes
Kitrick Taylor - "At WR, I believe that Walker is ready to make the leap to #1 WR. By all reports he has worked extremely hard this offseason to prepare, and the coaches have said that things are coming very naturally for him right now. They didn't have a CB in minicamp that could cover him. I don't think that 1200 and 9 TDs is out of line. As for the competition with Driver, look for Ferguson to win the #2 spot this year. I am not sure that either one of them will be a very good fantasy player, but I think Driver would be a better player out of the slot."

Green Bay T.O.D Discussion on the FF Today Board