It's almost unheard of for a team to win 13 games and not have a positive turnover differential. So while the Packers didn't force as many turnovers this season, they made up for that deficiency in other areas. Defensive lineman Santana Dotson has other reasons to believe the Packers are better this year. Injuries cost the Packers the services of starters Craig Newsome and Edgar Bennett for the entire season, and Gilbert Brown for a significant portion of the year. The defense in particular has struggled to fill the gap left by Newsome and Brown.
Statistics show a dropoff in most major categories.
There's no question Butler's argument is supported by statistics. The numbers say the '97 Packer defense isn't as good as last year. Last season things seemed to come easy for the Packers, who racked up a string of lopsided victories. This season the Packers had to scratch and claw for a lot of their early-season wins as injuries mounted and opponents week after week got revved up to play the defending Super Bowl champions. But while the Packers were battling adversity, they were at the same time building character and strength that has produced sweet results over the final month of the season.