Is there a day in the football year more full of hope and optimism than the first practice of training camp? That magical day was today for the Green Bay Packers. Just as I did last year, I took a survey of CheeseheadTV readers and Twitter users to determine how people were feeling heading into this year new of change and uncertainty.

Unlike last year, in which fans had sky-high expectations (a majority said the Packers would win the Super Bowl), this year's survey respondents can be described as being "cautiously optimistic." Two straight losing seasons apparently do temper expectations, at least somewhat, though most respondents expect the Packers to be back in the playoff race once again.

Here's a look at our survey responses. Many thanks to the 513 readers who submitted their opinions!

First question was meant to simply gauge how people are generally feeling heading into this year. A plurality of respondents gave a 7 out of 10, indicating that they're feeling pretty optimistic, but not sky-high about the Packers' chances. The 8/10s were close behind, followed by the 6/10s. Read the comment sections of any CheeseheadTV article, and you can probably guess who the ones and twos are :)

Next question is simple: how many games will the Packers win?

The most popular response here was 10 games (39.4 percent) followed by 11 games (23 percent). Another 18.7 percent said nine games, and no other number of wins had double digit percentages. Again, not the highest expectations, but people at least expect the Packers to be a playoff-level team once again in 2019. Nobody said fewer than five games, but only two negative Nancies out of our 513 respondents said that.

Far and away the most popular answer to who would pose the toughest challenge for the Packers on their schedule this year was the Kansas City Chiefs, who accounted for nearly half the responses. The Chicago Bears were a distant second. The Bears got much more respect from voters in this year's poll than they did in last year's poll, before they had their surprise breakout season.

Last year, a majority of fans thought the team would win the Super Bowl. This year, 20.9 percent of respondents still have Lombardi Trophy dreams, but 36.3 percent of respondents have lower expectations, believing the Packers will be eliminated in the Divisional round of the playoffs. The last time the Packers were eliminated in the divisional round was the 2015-2016 season, when they lost to the Arizona Cardinals after defeating Washington in the wild card round.

The majority of respondents believe the Packers will win the division this year, though last year 81.6 percent of respondents believed so, versus less than 61 percent this year--a 20 percentage point drop in confidence for the Packers' divisional title aspirations. As for who Packer fans believe to be the biggest threat to the team's divisional title hopes...

Last year, 96.2 percent of respondents expected the Vikings to take the division if the Packers didn't. The Vikings ended up flaming out nearly as badly as the Packers. This year, it's the Chicago Bears who are getting the respect, with 75.6 percent of respondents saying the Bears are the team that's next-most likely after the Packers to win the divisional crown. Only a few people picked the Lions.

The Packers have a new head coach this year, and it looks like the fans are willing to give him a bit of leeway in his first year. When asked what a reasonable expectation is out of Matt LaFleur's first year, just over half of readers say a playoff berth, while another 33.9 percent would simply be satisfied with a better record than 2018. For about 7.4 percent of readers, however, it's Super Bowl or bust.

Readers generally feel pretty optimistic about the Packers' offense heading into the season, despite a comparatively weak (by their standards) effort in 2018. The hope here is likely that a new coach and offensive system as well as a greater reliance on Aaron Jones in the backfield will lead to big things for the Packers this season.

For the first time in... God only knows how long, Packer fans are apparently more confident about the defense than the offense heading into the 2019 season. 55.8 percent of respondents say the Packers will have a top 10 defense this season, which would be a massive upgrade.

From here, we move on into the free answer section of the survey. Questions were:

Which player will be the biggest (positive) surprise in 2019?

Here are the five players who received the most love in this question:

• Jimmy Graham (a good number of fans apparently expecting a rebound... get it? Jimmy Graham played basketball. Did you know that?)
• Kevin King (dreams of a healthier season for Kevin King abound in our survey)
• Marquez Valdes-Scantling (a chance of a breakout season for one of the Packers' trio of young receivers)
• Rashan Gary (a big first year for the top pick would be huge for the defense)
• Equanimeous St. Brown (similar to MVS, in that he's got breakout potential if he gets the targets)

Which player not named Aaron Rodgers will be most vital to the team's success in 2019?

Here are the five players who were the most common answers to this question:

• Davante Adams (far and away the most popular answer)
• Kenny Clark (easily the most popular answer on the defense)
• David Bakhtiari (plenty of respect for the best LT in the game)
• Aaron Jones (fans are hoping Matt LaFleur utilizes him to his full potential)
• Adrian Amos (respondents seem to believe if Amos can play well, it'll be a big difference maker on defense)

What are you most looking forward to about the Packers' 2019 season?

Here are a few of my favorite responses:

-From @s_cannoli on Twitter: "Change. It's been over a decade of the same offense. This change just seems exciting." 

-"Aaron Rodgers in a new offense looking to silence his critics."

-From @MagicalJimmy: "Everything. FOOTBALL WILL BE BACK! .... Will, Packers football, because that's what really matters :)"

-"This organization has evolved. They have new leadership from the top down. This year creates a template, or a baseline for the changes that have transpired. To see how this translates into wins or losses is very intriguing." 

-From PBaller on CHTV: "Seeing our defense put fear into the opposing team's QB."

-"Seeing how they bounce back from a down year."

-From @ZackChurchy: "Watching the bad man sling the rock."

-From @zachgile: "Discovering the trajectory of the remainder of Rodgers' career."

-"My neighbor is a Vikings fan, and my cousin is a Bears fan. I am looking forward to calling them and asking, 'What happened?'"

-"An offensive scheme that gets the ball out quickly."

-"Beating the Bears on opening night of the NFL's 100th season."

-"Running the f#$%ing ball."

-"Some actual watchable football for the first time in a few years."

-"Traveling over to watch some games from Norway."

-From @mickey0179: "Hopefully seeing the joy in Rodgers again."

-From @charlie_kaplan: "Winning (please God)"

-From @colemcq: "Aaron Rodgers going full John Wick on the league after two down years and an offseason of people disparaging him."

-From @bobbyawinter: "Seeing if Darnell Savage was worth all that draft capital."

-"The development of a young core."

-"Lynn Dickey appearing for the alumni game (1982 division champs!!)"

-"Finally seeing some receivers 'schemed' open"

-From CHTV's Old School: "Reality setting in." He may or may not have picked the Packers to win just six games :)

-"Two new safeties."

-Stopping a four-game losing streak against the f***ing Lions."

-"A Super Bowl championship!"

Bonus question: What teams will be playing in this year's Super Bowl?

The most common AFC teams chosen were, in this order: New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers

The most common NFC teams chosen were, in this order: New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams

The most common indviidual matchup was Patriots vs. Saints.

That does it for this year's survey! The players are back, practices have begun, and real football is so close you can taste it. Enjoy this one, Cheeseheads!