Green Bay Packers get set to take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday evening. They’re the last game of the Divisional round game. The hype around the game will be rather significant. Out of the four games, this is the only rivalry game with some legitimate narratives around it. You have the 2014 NFC Championship Game, the Fail Mary, Russell Wilson’s struggles at Lambeau Field. Packers fans are cautiously optimistic about their team getting past Seattle with the cold weather, Seahawks’ less than stellar recent play, etc. But there’s a chance they could lose like any other NFL game, and if they do lose, this year is not a failure… By a longshot.

Packers fans should look at this season before the kickoff happens on Sunday as a success. Green Bay turned around a 6-10 team to 13-3 team in one year. Adding seven wins to this team is tremendous no matter what happens to them in the playoffs. That doesn’t happen often in the National Football League. Usually, it is a progression to get maybe nine or 10 wins with a potential playoff spot then the second year is the big year for the team.

I keep trying to stress this to Packers fans, and I hope people are listening to me. Year two is the year to be very excited about for Aaron Rodgers, Packers, and Matt LaFleur. Kyle Shahanan with LaFleur brought Matt Ryan to a Super Bowl and an MVP trophy in the second year. The system is complex and needs time for everything to truly sink in. We say ‘House money’ a lot when it comes to things for Wisconsin sports, but this is a true house money situation for Green Bay.

If the Packers lose on Sunday, I will definitely be disappointed. Make no mistake about it. But at the same time, I’ll likely remember on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning that this year was never supposed to be this good.

Charlie.