We all know how important Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson are to the Green Bay Packers chances to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. However, there are 53 players on a football roster and each man is a necessary piece of the puzzle.

While players like Matt Flynn and Frank Zombo might not get the same recognition that Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews get, they are still crucial players to Green Bay. I'm not saying that Flynn and Zombo, or any other player on this list, is as talented as Rodgers and Matthews, I'm just saying that Aaron and Clay can't win the Super Bowl by themselves.

If Green Bay wants to once again hoist the Lombardi Trophy following the 2011 season, here are eight crucial players to their pursuit as repeat champions.

Matt Flynn QB
I'm really hoping that Matt Flynn only sees the football field due to the Green Bay Packers being up by 30 points in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening.

Aaron Rodgers had some trouble last year with concussions. He was knocked out of the game against Detroit and missed the entire New England game. While Flynn lost both games, he performed well and was crucial in keeping the Packers clicking towards the end of the season.

Flynn will need to stay sharp the entire season just in case Rodgers gets knocked out of a crucial game. He has the ability to be a starter in this league someday and is a great back-up to Rodgers

Alex Green RB
With Brandon Jackson likely leaving during free agency, Alex Green should become Green Bay's third down back. He might not see much action, but the action he does see will be very important.

Considering the fact that Green Bay loves to use their running back in the pass game, Green might potentially have a solid rookie year. He could become a similar weapon like Kevin Faulk was in New England for so many years.

Third down is a huge down in football, so when Green is on the field, he is going to need to make plays for the Packers to succeed.

Jordy Nelson WR
Jordy Nelson had a breakout performance during the Super Bowl and he should be able to continue to play at that level throughout the upcoming season. With Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and Jermichael Finley, why is Jordy Nelson crucial for Green Bay?

First, Donald Driver is getting old and his play is diminishing. We also haven't seen a complete season from Finley, so that really only leaves Jennings as a proven receiving threat. Nelson has the talent to be a solid second option for Rodgers and is dynamic in the open field.

If Nelson continues to grow and fixes his slight issue with dropped passes, he could develop into a great complement opposite Jennings.
Mark Tauscher OT
Mark Tauscher is near the end of his career and lost his starting job, due to injury, to rookie Bryan Bulaga last season. However, Tauscher can still prove to be a vital asset to Green Bay.

The Packers were hit hard by the injury bug last season. Even though I don't expect anything close to 16 players ending up on injured reserved, every team loses some players to injury and Green Bay will be no different.

Should Clifton, Bulaga or any other offensive lineman go down for an extended period of time, Tauscher will need to step in and keep Rodgers off his back.

Mike Neal DE
If Cullen Jenkins leaves during the upcoming free agency period, Mike Neal has a great shot at become his replacement. The most likely scenario is that Neal and Wilson will split time until one player proves to be the long-term answer for the Packers.

I expect Neal to separate himself from Wilson early on and become Green Bay's starting defensive end. In Dom Capers aggressive defensive there needs to be pressure off the edge. The Packers were most successful on defense when Cullen Jenkins and Ryan Pickett were getting pressure on the quarterback.

If Green Bay wants to ride their aggressive defense through the playoffs again, Mike Neal will need to have a big season.

Frank Zombo
Clay Matthews was dominant during the 2010 season, but the same can't be said about whoever was opposite him on the field. That will need to drastically change as teams will focus heavily on Matthews.

Frank Zombo only recorded four sacks in 13 games last season. Brad Jones didn't do much better, as he failed to record any sacks in the six games he played in. Sacks isn't the only important stat to an outside linebacker, but when offenses don't need to worry about a player attacking their quarterback, they can focus more of their attention towards Matthews.

There is no doubting the importance of Clay, but his success, and the overall success of the team, could weigh heavily on the shoulders of Zombo.

Randall Cobb KR/PR
It is possible that Randall Cobb could see the field in numerous ways next season. At Kentucky, Cobb was a threat to score in numerous ways including running, receiving and throwing for touchdowns.

Cobb will most likely only see the field on special teams his rookie season, but he could eventually become a rather unique threat as a receiver too. Green Bay has been terrible in punt and kick returns in recent years. Hopefully, Randall Cobb can change that trend.

Many forget the importance of special teams during a game, but just look at Chicago's success because of Devin Hester. Cobb probably won't have that type of an impact, but if Cobb can consistently give the Packers good field position it will only increase the potency of their offense.

Tim Masthay P
That's right, I said it.

A punter is crucial to the Packers repeating as Super Bowl Champions. How many times last season did Masthay keep the ball away from dangerous return men and pin teams deep in their own territory? In fact, in Green Bay's final regular season game against Chicago, Masthay might have been the MVP of that game.

If Green Bay wants to get past teams like Chicago and Philadelphia and their dangerous return men, Masthay will need to kick the ball beautifully.

Wow. This guy seriously smokes crack.

Matt Flynn? I guess he holds the clipboard better than ANYONE else in the NFL. Yes. Extremely crucial. How can we win a single game without him?

Alex Green? He'll more than likely get 0 carries when we win the SB after this upcoming season.

Jordy Nelson? OK. Good pick. He played a heck of a game in the SB last year.

Mark Tauscher? He probably won't even be on the team.

Mike Neal? I wouldn't say he's crucial. I hope he does well. But crucial to our success? Once again I ask, is this writer smoking crack?

Frank Zombo? See my response to Mike Neal.

Randall Cobb? I can see him as our returner. Would be awesome if he broke one in the SB.

Tim Mashay? Uh. His services won't be needed in the SB. Heck, I'll punt for us. My single 40 yard punt with 2 seconds hang-time won't really hurt the team that much.

Originally Posted by: zombieslayer 

I see what the writer is doing, though. I mean, this list could contain Rodgers, Woodson, Matthews, Raji etc and be the 90th article about who our best players are and how we're most likely going to need them if we want to win another SB. He went a different route and looked at our depth, see who we could really need to fall back on...

That said, there are still some iffy picks on there.

For a repeat, we certainly don't need Flynn. Mainly because we won't repeat with Flynn under center. You better have a very dominant team on defence and on the ground if you want to get away with playing an average QB, a la Trent Dilfer. And fairy tale endings like those with Jeff Hostetler don't happen all too often, either.

He might pick us up a game or two on the route to the play-offs, though, if that's what he means, and keep us in contention.

Mark Tauscher being vital is total BS. You have Clifton and Bulaga starting, you have Sherrod as a back-up at LT and Lang could still kick outside to the RT spot. Tauscher is pretty much obsolete right now.

I guess we could go with Frank Zombo as an important player, since we really lack talent opposite of Clay. I could see him get some snaps on running downs, going out in favor of Walden on passing downs.

Originally Posted by: Rockmolder 

I agree with all the criticisms of the original author save one.

I think he's right about Neal (or whoever ends up replacing Jenkins). Apart from the questions I still have about the OL (which I won't go into again here), and apart from the consequences if Rodgers or Matthews goes down for any length of time, I think that DE position offers the biggest threat to repeating as champs.

Yes, Jenkins missed 5 games. But even with the missed games, he was a critical component of the team's success last year. And so will be whoever replaces his production. Or doesn't: if Neal et al don't provide close to what Jenkins did, then (i) opposing quarterbacks are going to have more time to find open receivers; (ii) its going to be easier for players to run to that side; and (iii) it's going to be harder for CMIII to wreak his havoc.

If Jenkins is, as all reports have it, as good as gone, Ted and Mike are taking a major risk. Good as Neal looked before he got hurt, he wasn't yet at Jenkins' level. And he has to be reasonably close to that level if the Packers are going to go where we all want them to go.

So, yes, I think Neal (or at least the position he is scheduled to play) is critical.

Originally Posted by: Wade