Who will hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy in February 2012? Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Yesterday, July 26, everyone was pretty giddy with the start of NFL training camps across the league.

The focus here, of course, was Green Bay. But it didn’t matter whether you were – Chicago, New Orleans, New York or San Francisco – the talk was all the same.

“Guys are flying’ around;” “Great to be back;” “Ready to get going;” “Super Bowl.”

Everyone is going to the Super Bowl, if you believe what players and coaches were spouting yesterday. Well, of course it’s great to hear that all are optimistic about going to and winning a Super Bowl. That’s the way it should be on the first day of training camp.

But now that the first day is gone, let’s get real. Let’s stop the talk and let’s just get down to brass tacks. Jacksonville is not going to the Super Bowl. Tennessee is not going to the Super Bowl. Cleveland is not going to the Super Bowl. St. Louis is not going to the Super Bowl.

To get to the Super Bowl may never happen for some teams in the NFL, such as Cleveland and Jacksonville, but I guess it’s OK to have goals and the set the bar high.

But let’s move on now. Let’s start talking about the nuts and bolts – the competitions within each camp where players are fighting for that 53-man final roster spot. Yes, let’s get real.

While the Chicago Bears have as good a shot at reaching the Super Bowl as just about anyone in the League, at least Brandon Marshall hit the nail on the head in his interview yesterday when asked about the words “Super Bowl.” Almost in awe, he said, “It’s real.”

Will Marshall, Cutler and company make it real? Well, they have to get by the Packers, Lions and Vikings to do it. Is that “real?” I can’t say yet.

All I can say at this point is that it truly is time to get real.

The quick-scoring abilities of the Packers' offense has caused problems for the Packers defense. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Expectations were high for the Wisconsin Badgers football team in 2000. The year before, they won the Rose Bowl and Ron Dayne won the Heisman. Despite Dayne’s departure to the NFL, UW fans weren’t worried because the new starting running back, Michael Bennett, looked like another superstar in the making.

But when the Badgers switched running backs it also altertered the way they played games. How could just one player affect nearly all other aspects of the game, including the defense?

The answer lies in a couple statistics that are wreaking havoc on the Packers’ defense this season: Time of possession and number of possessions.

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