Packers Prediction: Expect Green Bay to Be Even Better After the Bye

Well, we've reached the time of fall I dread the most; the Packers' bye week. Now I no longer have an excuse to avoid raking leaves and doing some of the other prep work in anticipation of winter (and I'm not looking forward to that).

But, as I'm doing those things this upcoming weekend, I'll be content knowing that, when Green Bay comes back from their week off, they will be an even more dangerous team than they were before.

There have been two basic truths that have emerged through the first seven games of the season. Truth 1 is the defense isn't as good as it was last season. And, truth 2 is the Packers offense is capable of scoring more than enough points to make up for it.

When the Packers return from the bye week, I expect the defense that shut down opponents last season to return too because they will finally be getting healthy.

The biggest loss for the Packers this season was starting safety Nick Collins and Charlie Peprah has filled in pretty well in his place. However, several Packers (including Charles Woodson and Clay Matthews) have been nursing nagging injuries while still playing. Getting a week to rest will only make them better and put them in a better position to make plays.

If you think the 7-0 Packers are impressive now, wait until that defense finally shows up.

Other predictions:

The Baltimore Ravens will beat the Arizona Cardinals

The Carolina Panthers will beat the Minnesota Vikings

The Houston Texans will beat the Jacksonville Jaguars

The New York Giants will beat the Miami Dolphins

The New Orleans Saints will beat the St. Louis Rams

The Tennessee Titans will beat the Indianapolis Colts

The Detroit Lions will beat the Denver Broncos

The Buffalo Bills will beat the Washington Redskins

The Cincinnati Bengals will beat the Seattle Seahawks

The San Francisco 49ers will beat the Cleveland Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers will beat the New England Patriots

The Philadelphia Eagles will beat the Dallas Cowboys

The San Diego Chargers will beat the Kansas City Chiefs

My Overall Record: 67-37 (.644)