Back, Back, Back Gone! Packers Deep Threat is Key

MOmilkman - Darin House via Flickr 

The Packers are an exciting team on offense, no doubt, but there is a reason they have been successful over the past couple seasons.  They have great balance.  For the first time in NFL history, they have produced a 4,000 yard passer (Aaron Rodgers), 1,200 yard rusher (Ryan Grant), and TWO, count 'em, TWO 1,000 yard receivers (Greg Jennings & Donald Driver) in back-to-back season.  BUT, what drives this high powered offense?  

Is it the consistency of Ryan Grant, who may never be an "elite" NFL running back, but still is able to carry the load when called upon?  Is it Aaron Rodgers and the incredible statistics he has put up in his first two years as a starter?  Is it Donald "DD" Driver and his constant toughness and ability to get open in the middle of the field?  While I believe these are all important cogs to this well oiled machine, they are not the driving force.

It definitely has been no secret around the NFL who the Green Bay Packers deep threat has been over the last few season and who will be catching the long ball this season, Greg Jennings.  While it is impossible to say that each of the aforementioned players would NOT be easily replaced, I believe that Jennings does more for the offense than any of the other skilled positions.

By having a deep threat with the talent he has, this opens up the field for each of the other guys to work their magic.  Jennings has been consistently one of the best receivers for 20+ and 40+ yard receptions over the last two seasons.  Just the threat the Packers present of being able to go deep on any given play allows running room for Grant because defenses are not able to stack the line with 8 in the box.  This also opens the middle of the field for a guy like Driver and allows Aaron Rodgers an extra split second to find the open man in the middle of the field.  When a team gameplans for this team, they must account for the ability of Jennings to catch the deep ball, much like the Vikings had with Randy Moss.

Without this deep threat, the Packers offense would surely slow down and quite possibly lose much of its dynamic if nobody was able to consistently replace his production.  That is why I feel Greg Jennings is the Packers MVP this year.