Alright Packer fans, time for a team meeting. Yeah, most of us probably don’t live in Green Bay and aren’t stockholders, so we don’t actually own the team. But I asked my stockholder buddy if I could say ‘we,’ and he said it’s okay since they robbed Milwaukee of its home games back in the day.

First order of business: Ted Thompson

Anyone who hadn’t heard of the guy before the offseason probably thought his official title was “that idiot.” So after all those months of going after him, let’s give the guy some props. Yeah, we don’t have Randy Moss, but we’re far enough under the cap to ensure a prosperous post-Favre era and the team is 6-1. The Greg Jennings/James Jones gamble paid off, and now we’ve got two cheap, highly productive receivers. (Yeah, I know. Dave Clowney was a bust, but who knew he couldn’t carry his pads?) I’ll be the first to criticize his lackluster management of the Seahawks once they became a decent team, so we’ll have to see if he’s willing to let the Packers take the next step. For now, though, in the words of John Madden circa the 93′ edition of his game, “Now that’s the way to catch a ball in a crowd.”

Next on the agenda: The run game

I’ll admit, before the season I was actually excited about it. We saw flashes of greatness from Vernand Morency last year, looking like Ahman 2.0 at times. But now that he’s essentially healthy and was behind DeShawn Wynn on the depth chart before the Broncos game, it’s clear both Coach McCarthy and I were fairly desperate.

First, it was Brandon Jackson, a selection that I can’t understand to this day. Anyone who watched Nebraska games last year could see that this guy is physically talented, but couldn’t run his way out of a paper bag equipped with runway lights, a compass and OnStar.

Here’s the standard play-by-play for a Brandon Jackson run: “Favre hands to Jackson, he accelerates into his own offensive lineman, he churns his legs and doesn’t change direction. … Can someone make sure I’m not watching a video game? And he goes down. It’s a one-yard gain.” But to be fair, it’s hard to find the hole when you run with your eyes closed.

Then we saw some brilliance from Wynn. He’s certainly a competent back, and if he can ever stay healthy (something Florida fans would chuckle at) he could be a 1,000-yard back in this league. Still, from memories of his college days and what we’ve seen so far, he doesn’t have great eyes. Nonetheless, the potential is there.

Finally, Monday night we saw Ryan Grant. Since we spared him from the Giants’ practice squad, he’s run hard and reaches full speed in two steps. As an added bonus (for this year’s group anyway), he runs toward the hole rather than that orange spot in the back of his eyelids. Still, he’s not a 22-carry per game guy yet. By the end of Monday night’s game, he had lost more than a step. Ideally, he’s a spell-back, but who knows? The pressure of being No. 1 might force him to step up and become a Dorsey Levens-type back.

Overall, the zone-blocking scheme hasn’t worked well so far — it’s full of holes and everything develops way too slowly, sort of like an episode of “Weeds”. But hey, we shouldn’t lose hope for the playoffs just because the run game will likely be inconsistent. Just look back to Monday night’s game plan — passes and deceptive runs.

Against the Broncos, everyone expected the Pack to come out running, and Coach McCarthy successfully deluded the media and his opponents, opening the game with pass after pass. Although it didn’t exactly work in the first drive, it left the Broncos D off-balance for the rest of the night.

Another point of order: The defensive line

The line is the ultimate vindication of former head coach Mike Sherman’s vision for the team. These guys are quite simply amazing. Make no mistake about it, the defensive line is the reason the Packers are 6-1. It’s the same risky defensive scheme as previous years, with the exception of timely up-the-middle pressure.

There’s about a dozen of these guys and first-round selection Justin Harrell is rarely one of them. He may be a Ted Thompson bomb, but who knows? Now that he sees himself at the end of the depth cart, Harrell might show up to camp next year in NFL shape. Plus, talk to most Tennessee fans, and they’ll tell you how tenacious he can be in the middle.

Finally: The playoffs

Let’s face it; this is the NFC. We don’t have two nearly unbeatable teams to worry about. The Packers can get through to the Super Bowl if they minimize mistakes and win a toss-up game against the Cowboys. Sure, the only thing on the line may be the privilege to get torn apart by the Colts or Patriots, but the game is only played once, and stranger things have happened.

Bassey Etim has officially adjourned this meeting. Additional points of preference can be sent to [email protected]. If you still think Vernand Morency can be a pro -bowler someday, please give me some hope.