The Green Bay Packers got the win today over the Carolina Panthers with a score of 31-17. The win in Lambeau brings the Packers record to 9-1, their best start since the Lombardi led Packers went 10-0 in 1962.

Let that sink in a second. This is the best Packers start since 1962. This is a great season, and a great team.

The Panthers team they beat today was not so great, but they are a good team. The Packers showed a lot of guts today to come in and shut the Panthers down. People would have understood if the Pack were thinking forward to Thursday and the Lions, but they didn't. They manned up to the Panthers and shoved them backward.

In fact, that might be the defining trait of this Packers team. McCarthy blows off a lot pass interference penalties by saying, "we are a physical team, and we play physical defense." I think the Packers are a very physical, relentless team, and the Panthers saw that first hand today. The Panthers came out and played with the Packers for the first quarter, and played them tight, but the Packers never stopped punching, and it wore the Panthers down.

That is a big part of what enables the Packers to win so many close games in the 4th quarter. If it's not Favre, it Grant. If it's not Driver it's Jennings. Or Jones. If it's not Jones it's Woodson. If its not Kampan it's KGB. Or Tramon Williams running a punt back 94 yards for a touchdown.

Who is Tramon Williams anyway? The point is, when people like Tramon start scoring touchdowns, the other team is in trouble. At the same time, the reason players like Tramon score touchdowns is because opposing teams spend so much energy looking out for the other threats the Packers have.

The Panthers are not a great team, but they are not a bad team either. The Packers manhandling of them, and the Packers seeming ability to score at will from the second quarter on has me thinking the Packers are coming together at the right time, and maybe Dr. Z was right, unlike what I wrote in my How Good are the Packers post.

With the Colts losing today, I would tend to agree with the doctor. The Packers probably are the third best team in the NFL.