WHAT A SHAME. One of the Green Bay Packers’ top receivers, Jordy Nelson, suffered a season-ending ACL injury in a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Preparing predictions in the preseason can be perilous. A common saying is that “Team X will be good if they stay healthy,” which may prove particularly prescient for the Packers. As we prepare for the Fourth Annual Athletic Aesthetic Football Preview, understand that the guesses may well have been different had the column deadline been before the second preseason game for the Pack – the game in which the best Packer wide receiver, Jordy Nelson, suffered a season-ending ACL injury. As always, I polled sports media folks from the Chippewa Valley for their opinions on what we shall see in the 2015 football season, from the pros down to the preps. There were some varieties in the responses, but by and large, there was a similar sense of what to expect as the temperatures turn colder and the gridiron heats up.

Referring to the aforementioned Packers, I cannot help but wonder if our area sports guys would have followed national offseason expectations of a Super Bowl appearance. While one person still thinks that will be the final game of the season for the Green and Gold, the consensus is about an 11-5 record with a fifth-consecutive NFC North title, with the road ending in the Divisional Playoffs. The folks still think the offense will maintain its quality – after all, Aaron Rodgers remains the quarterback – and receivers like Davante Adams and Ty Montgomery will play key roles. More critical to success will be the focus of skepticism even pre-Nelson injury: the defense. One could see that and the extra edge Nelson could have provided as being what keeps the Pack from a return to the conference title game.

The Badgers should see continued success, although they go into the season without the punchy, untouchable Melvin Gordon running the ball. Gordon got snatched up by the San Diego Chargers.

The Big Ten conference title game should get a return visit from the Badgers, as the area sports media predicts a B1G West crown and about a 9-3 record, ranking around No. 20 at season’s end; you might want to keep an eye out for Minnesota and Iowa as possible competitors, and maybe – according to one respondent – even a long-awaited return of Paul Bunyan’s Axe to the U of M. Nevertheless, do not expect a Bucky win in the conference championship, with a likely post-season destination being another Jan. 1 non-College Football Playoff bowl in Tampa or Orlando – which often seems to be the case. If they are to finish lower or higher, the direction is probably down. The team maybe getting a trip to the Holiday or Russell Athletic bowls.

Much excitement surrounds the Blugold athletic program one year into Dan Schumacher’s tenure as athletic director, and the on-field product may well be improved from 2014, with the consensus being a 4-6 record near the middle of the WIAC. (UW-Stout will be about 2-8 near the bottom of the conference.) Once again, UW-Whitewater will win the WIAC.

Menomonie not winning the Big Rivers Conference in 2014 seemed an aberration, and we should see the Mustangs wear the BRC crown this fall, probably with a state appearance riding Nate Stanley and Mason Stokke, Iowa and Wisconsin recruits respectively. Rice Lake (another likely state-bound squad), Superior, and Hudson will mix second through fourth place; Eau Claire North and Chippewa Falls will show improvement – the Huskies maybe fifth or sixth; and River Falls will be at the bottom, with Memorial falling towards the back end.

Across the rest of the prep landscape, Stanley/Boyd should be back atop the Cloverbelt, Bloomer will dominate the Heart O’ North, Eleva-Strum should take the Dairyland, Spring Valley is likely to win the Dunn-St. Croix, and Athens will end atop the Cloverwood. Pepin/Alma from the Lakeland South will probably join Bloomer on I-90/94 down to Camp Randall in November. We might also see a good year from the Middle Border’s New Richmond; player-wise, Zach Turner from Stanley/Boyd, Rice Lake’s Isaiah Secrest, and the North offensive combo of Adam LaRock and Lukas Lanners should be names highlighted in the game recaps.

Of course, all of the above applies “if they stay healthy.” More injuries will come, with varying degrees of severity, in practice, preseason and the games that count. Destinies will change. The only things we know for sure in the 2015 is that teams will play, score and win – as always, the only question is which ones do the winning.