March 4, 2010.

T minus 17 hours and counting. And I'm not talking about some old QB appearing on a retread late night talk show on its second host in a month.

I'm talking about football Armageddon, the day that we have all dreaded for the last year. Free agency will hit the NFL in a way never before seen. It will be interesting to say the least. Unfortunately, unless a miracle happens, it is also the beginning of the end and the Doomsday Clock will start ticking toward a strike in 2011. For 2010, it will be an exciting offseason where the Packers can drastically improve their position.

On March 3, the Packers tendered 8 of 9 restricted free agents. The list of players tendered and their tender level is listed below.

Read more: And Away We Go...

Last season was a transition year for the Green Bay Packers. Even more than the 2008 season, 2009 was a season of change. We had a new special teams coordinator in Shawn Slocum. We had a commitment from Mike McCarthy that there was going to be stability on the offensive line.

But the most important change was in the defense. The Packers were abandoning the 4-3 defense and adopting the 3-4, with Dom Capers running the D. The main focus was going to be pressure, pressure, pressure from the linebackers, with the defensive line becoming players who would take up blockers, rather than force pressure as in the previous scheme.

A great thing happened along the way; Johnny Jolly emerged as a very good 3-4 defensive end. And that's where a big question mark now lies.

Read more: The Jolly Conundrum