There were some shining moments in the Green Bay Packers 2008 season.  Unfortunately, those little sparkles were the crystalline morning dew drops found on what was generally a turd of a season.   But the robot, Aaron Rodgers, looked this preseason like a man on a mission.  There are still a lot of question marks on the eve of the season opener against the Chicago Bears, but optimism shines bright at the home of JPFootball tonight.

And here are those question marks, all 16 of ‘em, in no particular order.

  1. Will Aaron Rodgers really be as good as he appeared to be in the preseason?  Zipping downfield strikes while on the run?  (And not taking 4 years to learn where the line of scrimmage is and passing before he crosses it?)  Able to use his legs to get out of trouble or even create opportunities?
  2. Is the 3-4 defense really as effing exciting as it looks like it’ll be, with blitzes and ball-hawking?
  3. Will AJ Hawk live up to the promise that his high first round selection would indicate is due us?  Or will he always be a slightly undersized, stiff-bodied linebacker?
  4. Will Ryan Grant play to the level of his pay?  (Prolly not…)
  5. Will we ever see Tausch in a Packer uniform again?
  6. Will Donald Driver, the Lunchbox Hero, continue to be as dependable, smart and productive as he was in recent years past?
  7. Can Charles Woodson and Al Harris continue to fool the rest of you into thinking they aren’t vampires?  That the aging process does not apply to them?
  8. Will Atari Bigby be successful in extracting his head from his ass and be able to play smart football, not just look to tear the heads off opponents?
  9. Will Tramon Williams improve on his fast-tracker performance last year?  Will he hire a PR rep when his first baby is due?
  10. Is Jordy Nelson really faster than a lot of DBs?
  11. How much better did Greg Jennings get after training with Larry Fitzgerald, Cris Carter and Jerry Rice, among others?
  12. Will I go out and buy a Nick Barnett jersey because he lays out Brett Favre during one of the meetings with the Vikings?
  13. Is Jermichael Finley ready to be all that he thinks he is?
  14. Will Jeremy Kapinos help us get over the dumb move that was the release of Jon Ryan?
  15. Will Will Blackmon find a permanent spot on the field besides returning kicks?  (I hope not, ’cause he’s pretty damn good at that.)
  16. Will Nick Collins play so well this year that he’ll force the Packers to back the dump truck up his driveway and unload several tons of cash?  Peter King thinks the Packers will let him sit and not get a new deal done.  Then again, Peter King was pretty sure, based on the timber of his voice this time, that Brett Favre was really retiring this time.

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