Aaron Rodgers' Green Bay Packers went 13-3 in their first season under Matt LaFleur.
They won the NFC North, and they reached the NFC Championship Game before they were pummeled into oblivion by the superior San Francisco 49ers.
The Packers are, by most accounts, expected to again win their division. Yet Rodgers believes his team isn't getting its deserved share of attention, creating an opportunity he relishes.
"I think the beauty is there's a lot of conversation about other teams," Rodgers said Wednesday, "whether it's Tom (Brady) in Tampa, or the teams that were really solid last year: New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia and Dallas with Mike (McCarthy) and what they've done with their roster. I like where we're at as far as kind of flying under the radar even though we went 13-3 last year. We've got a chance to prove what kind of team we are starting the season out on Sunday and I look forward to the opportunity."
NFL Media's 35 analysts gathered to make their predictions and picks for all things 2020 recently, and 18 of them (including this writer) chose Green Bay to win the North. Only one chose the Packers to win the Super Bowl: former Packers receiver James Jones.
New Orleans and San Francisco each received more picks to win the Super Bowl than Green Bay, so Rodgers has a point there, but Dallas tied with Green Bay in that regard, as did Tampa Bay. Nobody picked Seattle or Philadelphia to win the whole thing, so this perceived slight is, well, slightly inaccurate.
Look, any team with a quarterback the caliber of Rodgers will instantly be considered a contender. It's just a fact of life in the modern NFL: If you have a legitimate franchise quarterback, you have a legitimate shot. Green Bay has that and then some.
Plaster it on the walls and print it on your masks if you must, Aaron, but these Packers are not overlooked. They'll just need to provide a better showing on the doorstep of the Super Bowl than they did last time in order to be taken as serious as possible.
