The Packers’ season and their pride are both on the line this week as Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings come to town this Sunday night.
The Vikings enter the contest at 2-3, coming off a big win at home against the Dallas Cowboys who quite possibly may be the only team in the NFC more desperate for a victory than the Packers.
With Clay Matthews coming back from injury, so should the Packers’ pass rush. Without Matthews last Sunday, the Packers failed to get much if any pressure on Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne and that no doubt played a key role in the Packers losing the game.
Penalties played another big role in the outcome, in particular one that nullified a punt and gave the Dolphins the ball back with a fresh set of downs.
To quote Vince Lombardi:
“What the hell is going on out here?”
The Packers now face a must win game Sunday night. A win and their season is back on track and the Packers can continue to make their push for the NFC North title. All will then seemingly be well in Dairyland despite the Packers being hampered by a rash of injuries.
A loss? Well, lose to the Vikings and Titletown may burst into flames. Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy will face calls from many fans for their heads and the team could have a meltdown of epic proportions making 2010 one of the most disappointing seasons in the Packers’ illustrious history.
Breaking down the Vikings
Favre returns to Lambeau. Enough said.
No. 4 returns to the place he once called home but unlike 2009, his season has gone south in a hurry. The old Favre has returned, and I mention that without his age. The sacks. The turnovers. The boneheaded throws. All the problems that went away in Favre’s first season in a Vikings uniform have suddenly reappeared in his second.
Throw in a scandal involving him, a former Jets employee and Little Brett (no more jokes about that, I promise. You want them? Google them), some injuries that nearly caused him to miss last week and the three-time MVP is feeling low.
Still without Sidney Rice, the Vikings passing game has suffered. Have no fear, Randy Moss is here! Favre finally got his wish when the Vikings acquired Moss from New England. The Favre-Moss connection has only had one week to get it together, but it has the potential to be one of the best in league.
That is, if the Vikings patchwork offensive line can keep Favre in one piece. No. 4 has been under siege so much he is spending more time on the ground than his pants (I’m referring to the song that the Vikings mimicked after their win in the playoffs last year, you perverts!)
With the passing game getting it together, the Vikings offense once again rides on the legs (and hands) of Adrian Peterson. Peterson’s turnover problems of 2009 seem to have disappeared as quickly as Favre’s returned. That means bad news for the NFL as Peterson remains the most explosive running back in the league.
On defense, Jared Allen surprisingly has been kept quiet for much of the season so far. He has fallen victim to a lot of double and even triple teaming. The Williams brothers and Ray Edwards thus becoms the biggest threat to the Packers keeping Aaron Rodgers upright.
The Vikings secondary is led by Antoine Winfield and Asher Allen. This is probably the weakest link on the defense for the Vikings, so look for the Packers to continue to go with their one-dimensional pass-only attack against the Vikings.
When the Packers have the ball….
I hate repeating myself, but here it goes anyway.
The Packers will be attacking the Vikings through the air. Stop the presses, I know.
Even though McCarthy will likely try and establish the run, the solid Vikings front of the Williams brothers likely grinds to a halt that plan. So look for Aaron Rodgers to target Greg Jennings early and often.
For the Vikings, the key will be getting their secondary to stop the Packers’ receivers. Even without Jermichael Finley, the Packers still have a lot of offensive weapons at their disposal so the Vikings with have a challenge matching up against the Packers three and four receiver sets.
When the Vikings have the ball….
Peterson likely will have to be “All Day” once again for the Vikings to win the game.
The Packers undoubtedly will take cues from every other team the Vikings have faced this season and throw the house at Favre. In their two matchups last season, Favre was kept upright for the majority of both contests and the Packers paid dearly for it.
Generally speaking, the Packers have had good luck in stopping Peterson and now with the emergence of B.J. Raji, the Packers have a front three that can do a good job holding Peterson at bay.
Matthews will be key for the Packers. Without him, the Packers don’t have a pass rush and Favre is still dangerous when he has time to throw.
Three keys to the game (plus a bonus)If Favre gets sacked, look for Lambeau to erupt like a dormant volcano.
1. Can the Packers hit Brett Favre?
The Packers establishing the tone of the game on defense early will be crucial to stopping the Vikings. Rattling Favre and forcing some classic Favre mistakes will make it that much easier for Rodgers and the defense to put points on the ball.
2. Can McCarthy make the right play calls?
This week McCarthy has been under siege by many for his play calling abilities. The argument is that he is not putting Rodgers in position enough to do the things he is best at.
McCarthy should be calling some roll out plays so Rodgers can utilize his natural scrambling abilities. He also needs to start utilizing some of the slant routes that helped make his offense so explosive regardless of who was under center.
McCarthy will be under the microscope in this game, so he has to get it right to stop the calls for his job.
3. Will Rodgers get rid of the ball faster?
Rodgers has slipped into some old bad habits. Like the early part of the 2009 campaign, Rodgers is holding onto the ball far too long and is taking some brutal hits because of it. A lot of plays seem to be designed for him to take a three step drop and then throw. If so, those plays are obviously not being executed to design.
With the Vikings expected to blitz, how fast Rodgers’ release is will be key to his team’s hopes for victory.
Bonus! How will the league’s new late hit policy affect such an intense rivalry game?
Much of the talk this week has been on how the league will be handling helmet-to-helmet and other vicious hits. The NFL announced it will increase fines and will not hesitate to suspend players who lead with their helmets when making a tackle, even for first time offenders.
Hard hits are common in any rivalry game in football. With both teams playing such aggressive styles on defense, it will be interesting to see how Dom Capers and Leslie Frazier alter their attacks (if at all) to prevent such things from occurring.
Prediction:Chalk this one up as a vote of “no confidence” in Mike McCarthy’s leadership of the Green Bay Packers.
Vikings 28, Packers 24
All season long the Packers appear to be playing as a team with no fire and no emotion. They have been on a real even keel (not that this is always a bad thing) through the first six games and don’t seem to realize their season is coming apart at the seams.
If the Packers can’t get up and be fired up about this game, a nationally televised affair with your former Hall of Fame quarterback coming to town, then they should be ashamed of themselves and really don’t deserve to wear the G of Lambeau, Lombardi and Holmgren on their helmets.
Your season is on the brink. Forget about the crocs, ignore the sexts, and get ready to rock and roll…
——————Kris Burke is a sports writer covering the Green Bay Packers for AllGreenBayPackers.com and WTMJ in Milwaukee. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) and his work has been linked to by sites such as National Football Post and CBSSports.com. Follow @KrisLBurke
——————
Another great look at the Packers. Keep up the good work. Speaking of quotes, whatever happened to “Ya don’t practice ’til ya get it right. Ya practice ’til ya can’t get it wrong!!”
I’m jus sayin’…
Final score WILL be: Packers 38 Viqueens 17
Lombardi was the king of repetition. They could run those plays blindfolded.
POWER SWEEP!!
Kris, great article. I see this as a close game and maybe, just maybe, the Pack can pull it out at the end. But I would not be too surprised if your prediction came true, though I pray it does not.
I may be the last man on the planet to feel this way, but Brett Favre is still capable of beating you singlehandedly. Especially when you think you can count him out. I fear Kris will be right about the outcome. I picked 27-24 Vikings on Cheesehead radio last night. Sure home I’m wrong…
Sadly, I have been relatively close on most of the games. I hope I am wrong and the trend stops. If not, I may need to go to Vegas!
The game will be decided by the less incompetent HC. Both OLs can’t block squat, both front 7 (with CM3) wreak havoc, we have a better secondary, they have a better running game, and both passing Os are disfunctional.
Who will screw up less? McCarthy or Childress? I hope it’s McCarthy…
Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if come 2011 Jim Schwartz is the longest tenured coach in the division. Not good.
I disagree that both front sevens can wreak havoc. Vikings will cause more problems for Rodgers than the Pack will for Favre. You heard it here…
Anyone here have small kids or watch Sesame Street and notice how much Childress looks like Mr. Noodle on Elmo’s World? I know the actor (or one of them) died, but still….creepy.
Last week’s poor Oline play gives me little confidence that MM will be able to game plan against Minn. That and a recurring nightmare of Dom’s 3-8 or 4-7 defenses with all the pass defenders running away from the L-O-S at the snap. The result a ten yard dump plus a 20 yd. RAC.
I hope it’s as close as you predict Kris (and Al). I’m not so sure. This is a huge game and they need to be emotional from the start. Also, play all four quarters for a change.
So Ron, you’re even less optimistic?
Yep! Bulaga is not ready to play RT yet. Why is he starting there? My other hope on the Oline, Lang, has not been used in the Oline at all. He is a backup for the Dline. He should be starting at RT and Bulaga should be on the left. The left being the position that he has always played. He proved his value last year and what does MM do with him? Dline backup.
If they play as I’m afraid they will Sunday the season is not looking so bright any more. Certainly, the innjuries are a major component of that, but MM is a big time contributor as well. GB has lost three games by 3 points, a good coach could have won them all.
“GB has lost three games by 3 points, a good coach could have won them all.”
Amen…
The perfect game to check on my “evaporation” theory and hoping we got extra water(CM3,Pickett etc)to refill that glass to a respectable level.
A slow and turturous procedure watching water evaporate,unless it just gets GULPED down.
Maybe T’ll watch “The Waterboy”(Sandler) before the game for extra…
Well, a couple more guys evaporated this week (Neal & Poppinga) We could be dry by next week…
if they respond this game..and i think they will… skys the limit….if they lose this game the season is lost perios
I think it is that pivotal, especially with the upcoming schedule. But I’m not optimistic that we’ll a different result than last year vs. Minnesota.
Please run some draws and short dump passes to slow down their rush. Please help out new RT if needed. Please sack Farvey. I said PLEASE.
Are you listening Mike? The man did say PLEASE…
As I website possessor I believe the content matter here is rattling magnificent , appreciate it for your hard work. You should keep it up forever! Good Luck.