High-powered Packers embracing expectations

With a young quarterback knocking on the door of the NFL's elite and the 2009 defensive player of the year running the show on the other side of the ball, the Green Bay Packers aren't just embracing the Super Bowl-or-bust expectations they'll face this season.

It's more like a bear hug.

In a talk with the team just before the start of training camp, coach Mike McCarthy pointed out that the only pictures on display in the meeting room depicted past Packers teams that won championships.

''Everything that we have done throughout the offseason and everything that we'll do starting tomorrow will be taking a step to being the next team up on that wall,'' McCarthy said before the team's first camp practice. ''That's our goal.''

Sure, every team talks about wanting to go to the Super Bowl. But the Packers truly expect to go, and don't mind saying so.

Brett Favre is back in Minnesota?

Big deal.

''I haven't really thought about it, to be honest with you,'' Aaron Rodgers said.

The Packers are aiming for more than just trying to beat their ex-quarterback this season - although that would be nice, too, after Green Bay lost a pair of emotionally draining games to the Vikings last year.

Rodgers says the Packers have ''real confidence,'' a sign that one of the league's youngest teams is maturing.

''In the past, there hasn't been that more calm confidence, I'd say,'' Rodgers said. ''It was kind of an uncertainty. This year, there's more of a confidence that, you know what, we've had success from the previous season. We have our guys back and we feel like the expectations in this locker room - now, I'm not going to address the expectations (outside) of this locker room - but in this locker room, we feel like they're realistic expectations.''

The Packers are loaded on offense, fielding one of the league's deepest and most talented group of receivers.

Tight end Jermichael Finley, whose remarkable combination of size, speed and agility is a nightmare matchup for opposing defenses, is expected to have a breakout year.

Rodgers proved last year that he can take a pounding behind a shaky offensive line without getting rattled. Despite being sacked a stunning 50 times, Rodgers completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 4,434 yards with 30 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.

Veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher is back for a full season and first-round draft pick Bryan Bulaga has spiced up the position battle at left guard, providing reasons for optimism about improved pass protection.

The Packers' passing attack is so good that it's easy to ignore Ryan Grant, who has rushed for more than 1,200 yards in each of the past two seasons.

''We can be the best offense in the league - and that's what we're going to be, to tell you the truth,'' Finley said. ''How good can we be? We're going to go out, and everybody can see, we can score when we want.''

The Packers' most significant questions are on defense and special teams.

They'll need to find a punter, a glaring weak spot in recent years. Kicker Mason Crosby needs to improve after an unsettling 2009. Coverage and return units need to improve dramatically.

On defense, the Packers made remarkable strides under new defensive coordinator Dom Capers and his 3-4 scheme last year. Still, they'll need to muster a better pass rush.

Presuming his nagging hamstring injury is OK for the start of the regular season, Clay Matthews is expected to continue his progression into becoming one of the league's elite pass rushers. But the Packers didn't do anything to address the other outside linebacker spot, relying on second-year player Brad Jones, veteran Brady Poppinga or converted inside linebacker Brandon Chillar to grow into the role.

Defensive player of the year Charles Woodson and Pro Bowl safety Nick Collins return as a steadying force in the secondary. But there are questions all around them.

With veteran Atari Bigby likely to miss the start of the regular season after having ankle surgery, the Packers will probably rely on third-round draft pick Morgan Burnett to start at safety. And for a team that proved to be vulnerable to multiple-receiver formations last year, cornerback Al Harris must return and prove he can be the same player he was before 2009's season-ending knee injury.

The Packers also won't have defensive lineman Johnny Jolly, who has been suspended for at least this season under the NFL's substance abuse policy. Ryan Pickett is moving to defensive end, making B.J. Raji the primary nose tackle. Getting meaningful contributions from oft-injured defensive lineman Justin Harrell would help.

If all that comes together, the Packers are poised to go far.