What Do We Know?

Coming out of the preseason, the question was, "Just how good are these Packers?"

Coming off the loss to Tampa Bay at the halfway point in the season, on the other hand, the question had become, "Just how bad are these Packers?"

We were 4-4 going into our match-up with the Cowboys. But see the quality of those wins and losses...

We had beaten the Bears, Rams, Lions, and Browns. As of our kickoff on Sunday, those teams were an astonishing 7-28 combined. That sort of schedule is an embarrassment. Indeed, when the 2009 Bears are evidently the best team you've beaten, you've really got to wonder about yourself!

Meanwhile, we had lost to the Bengals, the Bucs, and the Vikings (twice). As of kickoff, those teams were a modest 16-11 combined.

So what to make of the Packers? They led the league in sacks allowed. They led the league in penalties. Those suggested a lousy team. On the other hand, both the offense and defense were ranked high statistically, suggesting a pretty good team. Put 'em together and what have you got?

4-4.

But now we are 5-4, and our fifth win came against a much more respectable opponent than our previous four did. The Cowboys, after all, were 6-2 and atop the NFC East -- no mean Division. And they had been playing well, so it's not as though we caught them in the midst of a bad period. They had shown some considerable explosiveness on offense and special teams along the way, yet the Packers managed to stifle both, pitching a shutout for all but the final minute of the game.

So, what to make of our Packers now? Were they underachieving in their four losses? Or did they overachieve on Sunday against the Cowboys?

I believe we showed a little more of what we are capable of, which is encouraging. I am also encouraged by the fact that we dominated Dallas without really playing our best game. That is to say, we still gave up too many sacks (4) and had too many penalties (12). If we could solve those nagging problems, just think how much more dominant we could have been!

Accordingly, I am willing to come down on the side of the "underachieving" alternative. Clearly that was the case last week in Tampa Bay. And our other three losses came against two teams (the Vikings and Bengals) who, after all, have beaten almost everyone that they've played this season! Those losses are no disgrace, therefore.

And so I take the Cowboys victory as a glimpse of our true potential -- and therefore as a promise of things to come!