Green Bay Packers Seating Chart

The Green Bay Packers were expected to be a strong contender in the NFC despite the defection of veteran quarterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets, but a postseason berth was not in the cards.

The funny thing is that it wasn't necessarily the absence of Favre that caused this team to struggle. Aaron Rodgers, despite battling through some injuries, played really well and finished with a better statistical season than Favre did with the New York Jets.

If Rodgers can stay healthy and learn from some of his mistakes from last year, he could be one of the top quarterbacks in the conference in 2009. He definitely has some talent and learned a lot from sitting on the bench and watching Favre.

The Packers got a disappointing season out of running back Ryan Grant, and they are hopeful that he can turn things around in 2009. If not, Brandon Jackson is ready to take away some carries from Grant.

Green Bay's schedule will certainly work to its advantage this year, as they take on both the AFC North and NFC West. That means three very tough games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals but five very winnable games against everyone else.

The AFC North is very top heavy, and the NFC West is considered the worst division in football by a landslide. Many think the NFC North is right in the mix, too, so it's not a daunting schedule by any stretch for the Packers.

As far as their two games outside of those divisions, the Packers will host the Dallas Cowboys and travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers. Both should be tough games, but definitely winnable as well.

Green Bay has plenty of games to take advantage of in their 2009 schedule. Now it's just a matter of doing it.