Bill Barnwell is an excellent writer working for Football Outsiders, and he had a chat session this week. There were a couple of positive references to the Packers.
When asked if the Packers can make the playoffs:
Oh yeah! They're in a weak division (Bears notwithstanding), their offensive line is rapidly improving, and their defense should be better. I wouldn't say it's a likely occurrence, but there's plenty of ways to imagine the Packers working their way into a playoff spot. It's the NFC!
He approved of the way the Packers are looking to fill the fullback position:
The best way to find a good fullback is to bring five freely-available fullbacks into camp and see which one learns the playbook first. They're like lefty-mashers; easily loveable, but even easier to replace.
GM Ted Thompson only has four freely-available fullbacks in camp, Brandon Miree, Korey Hall, Corey White, and Ryan Powdrell. Under Barnwell's system, it would appear that Miree has the advantage since he was on the team last season and probably knows the playbook better.
The defense finished strong in 2006 but it was still surprising how much Football Outsiders loved the Packers defense:
The Steelers and the Packers look like underrated defenses this year -- KUBIAK projects them to be 1-2 this year. Just don't start the Steelers against the Bengals. Kryptonite.