Favre Vs. Packers: Some Things Change, Some Don’t

This is it—Packers/Vikings II at Lambeau Field—the game Packers fans have long looked forward to hating.

It hasn’t been long enough since these two teams faced each other in that eyeball-o-meter record breaking Monday night game. Forced to think about the loss all bye week long, you can bet the Packers want to return the favor this week.

Surprisingly, quite a bit has changed since that game in early October:

The game being in Green Bay instead of Minnesota is going to make a difference for the Packers. Since Mike McCarthy and Brad Childress took over their teams in 2006, the Vikings have never won in Green Bay.

Rookie Clay Matthews has become a force and is an improvement over Brady Poppinga at outside linebacker.

Inside linebacker Nick Barnett is starting to regain his pre-injury form, and last week A.J. Hawk reasserted himself as a factor in the middle. Safety Atari Bigby is back—a huge boost for a secondary that looked lost and confused without him.

Since the bye week, the Packers defense has been nearly perfect (and yes, that is an achievement—even against the lowly Browns and Lions). You have to go all the way back to the third quarter of the Vikings game to see the Packers give up a touchdown.

It’s not all good news for the Packers: Tight End Jermichael Finley will, most likely, miss the game.

This may be a big loss since the Packers effectively exploited matchups between Finley and the Vikings’ secondary. Finley had 6 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown in the first matchup.

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson is out with a knee injury, and receiver Brett Swain was lost for the season last week.

The Packers signed Jake Allen from the practice squad, but that won’t make up for the loss of Nelson, who was a quality option for Rodgers in the passing game.

Packers will be on their third return man, since Will Blackmon is on IR and Nelson is injured.

The Vikings also have some injuries. Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield will probably be out. He’ll be replaced by either Karl Paymah, Benny Sapp, or Asher Allen. That’s a big step down for a secondary ranked 24th in the league.

Vikings wide receiver Bernard Berrian didn’t play in the second half against the Steelers and his status for Sunday is uncertain.

The Packers won’t field the same offensive line that gave up eight sacks—which has to be considered an improvement.

Allen Barbre has shown more consistency since the opening weeks of the NFL and Mark Tauscher is cleared to compete for the job. Between the two, someone should play better than last time.

Either veteran Chad Clifton or rookie T.J. Lang, the likely starters at left tackle for the Packers, will be an improvement over Daryn Colledge’s performance against Vikings’ pass rushing specialist, Jared Allen.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers praised Lang. Despite the risks of playing a rookie against Allen, Rodgers seems to think it’s a good idea. He talked about Lang’s attitude and presence in the huddle. I think it’s safe to say Rodgers likes him.

Rodgers joked with the media while taking questions in front of his locker. He gave all the correct answers and he seemed confident. For a guy who was beaten up by Jared Allen and this Vikings defense, Rodgers doesn’t show it.

If the idea of getting sacked multiple times doesn’t freak him out, forget about media hype fazing him.

As the swelling number of media-types at Lambeau indicates, interest in this game hasn’t waned in the weeks since the last matchup.

The furor to cover Brett Favre’s return hints at what he’s become: the Princess Diana of the National Football League. He draws viewers and mouse clicks, so they will cover him to death—not literally, hopefully.

The coverage over the past year and a half has been excessive (helicopter surveillance, people camped in his yard, etc). Sunday is a rare noteworthy event in the bigger-than-life Favre saga. The game will probably decide who wins the division, but it is more than that.

This is a game so monumentally large that you have to talk about it in Protestant Reformation terms before you reach the point of satirical hyperbole.

Brett Favre returns to that holy shrine of football, Lambeau Field. Like Martin Luther, he intends to nail his protest to the door as a message to Ted Thompson, the Packers’ Pope of Football Operations.

Favre will say he likes major free agents, high risk/reward draft picks, poaching from your neighbors, and winning championships this year.

The only obstacle that can stop Favre from making his point is a football team built completely Ted Thompson’s way. If that makes Packers fans feel uneasy, it’s not too late to pray.

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Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers: May The Best Quarterback Win

Monday Night Football.

The Green Bay Packers versus the Minnesota Ex-Packers.

The Williams Wall and Capers’ Crusaders.

The Ironman and Mr. Cool.

As the players will tell you, wrestling-grade caricatures are fodder for the league, networks, and fans. Hype aside, this is still an unusual football game.

For Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, taking the field Monday night seems like a star-crossed event. Much like a Shakespearean play, or a bad TV Show, improbable plot twists brought these two characters to this cliffhanger. Fate’s bad writers demanded that one succeed and the other fail.

For many Packers fans, it’s difficult to reconcile feelings about Favre—reserving a place for him somewhere between Don Quixote and Darth Vader.

Others see the villain as Ted Thompson—reserving a place for him somewhere between the Emperor and Matt Millen. If Favre sees the villain as Thompson, Monday’s game could be difficult for him.

This isn’t a first for Favre. Favre faced the Atlanta Falcons, in one of his first starts with Green Bay 17 years ago. It was a different time and player than the 39-year-old future Hall-of-Fame quarterback preparing for Monday night’s showdown.

There had to be some emotion for Favre facing the team that cast him aside. Favre threw 33-of-43 but lost the game 24-10.

And then there is the 1999 game when Favre’s former coach, Mike Holmgren, returned to Lambeau Field with the Seattle Seahawks. That too ended in a loss (27-7) and Favre threw four interceptions.

“When Mike Holmgren was coaching me, that was always a big key for him—and for me too—was to keep your emotions in check,” said Favre this week on a conference call with Wisconsin media. “Statistically speaking, that night it was not a good night. But, I don’t think our team in general had a good night. It all starts with the quarterback, good or bad, as we all know.

“I thought the world of Mike Holmgren. I was not trying to get back at him, or whatever you want to call it. I hated that he left. So that had nothing to do with it—like I had to prove something to Mike or I wanted to get at him for leaving us and all that stuff.

“I still talk to Mike to this day and have the utmost respect. And no, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him. So, that was just bad play.”

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was Favre’s quarterback coach at the time, and tasked with getting Favre to calm down.

“I didn’t do a very good job of it,” said McCarthy this week. “I think he was definitely excited about that game. I can remember the first interception like it was yesterday, because he tried to throw it through three people to the post down in the red zone.

“He was gunned up for that game. But also, frankly, he was put in some tough spots in that game too. I’m not just crying because I was his position coach and it didn’t go very well. That was a rough night.”

Favre has struggled in other big games—having bad rivalry games against Dallas and Minnesota or playing in bad weather and playoff games.

Minnesota shouldn’t ignore the personal aspect of this game for Favre. The Vikings have an option if emotion gets the best of Favre. The question is: Will Vikings coach Brad Childress have the patience—and influence—to make Favre hand the ball to running back Adrian Peterson the whole game?

“We all know that some games are bigger than others, even though it is still another game … At times I wish I would be a little more emotional, not that I want to ride the roller-coaster, if you will,” said Favre.

Rodgers has never been on that roller-coaster. Through the Favre whirlwind of last training camp and through a frustratingly close 6-10 record last year, so far this season Rodgers has never lost his composure.

One or maybe two bad comments come to mind in all that time—certainly a sign of maturity.

He has also been completely calm, or something like it, while running for his life and taking 12 sacks this season. While he has picked himself up each time and played well, it has disrupted the prolific Packers offense that was on display in the preseason.

Aside from the Packers struggles, he has a lot to be emotional about in this game too. Rarely do players standing in the shadow of legends get such an opportunity to forever step out into the light.

After it was clear the 49ers would win the 1994 Super Bowl, quarterback Steve Young, who threw for six touchdowns, asked, “Hey, someone please pull this monkey off my back!” The monkey was the legend of Joe Montana.

Beating the actual Favre with the Vikings can only help Rodgers get beyond the legend of Favre in Green Bay—as would leading the division race.

Rodgers’ last big game was his starting debut on Monday night against the Vikings in Week One last year. The fact remains Rodgers has never played in a game this important. His cool will be tested and no one knows how he’ll respond.

Both these quarterbacks lead teams that are loaded with talent and have very high aspirations this season. Neither team has hit its stride or been able to protect its quarterback.

Winning Monday night will set everything right for one team.

May the best quarterback win.

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Packers’ Jekyll and Hyde Run Defense Prepares For NFL’s Elite Runners

The Packers’ defense should thank Cedric Benson.

What better way to prepare for facing Steven Jackson and Adrian Peterson than by giving up 141 yards, 12-yards at a time? Better to know your run defense needs work before you’re in the midst of a two-week span against two of the NFL’s most dangerous backs.

“Sometimes you’re going to have some bumps in the road,” Packers’ defensive line coach Mike Trgovac said of the run defense’s poor performance against the Bengals.

Wherever the bumps in the road were, they didn’t stop Benson from rolling early in the game. He had six runs of 10 yards or more and averaged 4.9 yards a carry. The entire defense had guys making poor decisions, not giving enough effort, and missing tackles. But the Packers’ defense showed some ability to adjust.

“Maybe somebody gives you something a little bit different that you don’t expect and you have to take time to adjust it on the sideline,” Trgovac said. “And that’s a lot of what happened in that game.”

The in-game adjustments did seem to yield some results. In the second half, Benson only had one run of over 10-yards and was tackled for a loss multiple times. The team hopes a week’s worth of focusing on the run defense will yield more improvement.

“One thing about these guys here—and what [defensive coordinator Dom Capers] does a great job with—is we went into that meeting, we showed them the mistakes, we corrected the mistakes, and held them accountable,” Trgovac said. “And then it’s time to move on and work on the Rams.”

Indeed, Benson was just the warm-up act. This week they face Steven Jackson, before the headliner against Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson. How the run defense responds could make or break the season.

Jackson only has 171 yards in two games with St. Louis’ ‘Lamest Show on Turf.’ Despite his offensively-challenged team, Jackson averages a healthy 5.2 yards a run.

“He’s a big guy,” Packers running back coach Edgar Bennett said of Jackson. “He’s a very good receiver out of the backfield. He has power. He has the ability to make people miss. And he breaks tackles. That’s the bottom line. And I also think, when you talk about a complete back, he’s a guy who never comes off the field.”

Peterson’s numbers look even better. He leads the league with 272 yards in two games and has a 6.8 yard per run average.

What can the Packers do to stop these guys?

“You just tighten things down,” Capers said. “Know that you’re going to play backs like that, and those are two of the really good backs in the league. We have to do a nice job of being able to play gap-control defense, get off blocks and then tackle well; because they’re both physical runners.”

The Packers did have success stopping the run in Week 1 against Chicago. Matt Forte was held to just 55 yards on 25 carries. I’m not a math guy, but 55 divided by 25 equals consistently good run defense.

These Jekyll and Hyde performances cast some doubts about the defense going forward. Whichever run defense shows up, the one that was so gracious to Benson or the one that shut down Matt Forte, will probably be the difference between success and failure for the Packers; in the next two weeks and throughout the season.

“So, we have another challenge ahead of us,” Trgovac said. “In the NFL, that’s a challenge every week. You have to have a priority of stopping the run in this division. We put a lot of emphasis on it this week and we’ll see how we respond to it.”

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What We Learned About the Packers in the Preseason and What We Didn’t

If the Green Bay Packers hoped to sneak up on teams this year, those hopes were dashed this preseason.

While the offseason buzz has been focused on the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, the Packers have forced themselves into the conversation by playing outstanding football. The confidence this group showed during the preseason suggests this isn’t the kind of group that feels they have to sneak.

The offense showed greatness. The Packers have added firepower and experience to a top-10 offense. Tight End Jermichael Finley has emerged as a weapon and quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks more mature and in control running the offense.

On the other side, the Packers are nearly giddy with how their new 3-4 defense has looked under the guidance of Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers.

The defense has been everything it was designed to be; explosive, aggressive, attacking and always capable of making a big play.

If there was a steep learning curve, the defensive players are acting like A+ students. Veteran Pro- Bowl players like Charles Woodson and Nick Collins can hardly contain their excitement. It seems like the team has more linebackers than it knows what to do with. “We have more than 11 starters,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said after Monday’s practice.

All this praise is good. The transition could have been much rougher.

Showing the players could thrive in the 3-4 was important this preseason. But, we should remember: so far all the team’s defense has shown is it’s capable of defeating teams during the preseason (when teams don’t properly prepare for a blitzing confusing defense). 

We shouldn’t overestimate big plays. Last year the defense had playmakers that made big plays. The unit was one of the best in takeaways and seemed determined to break the defensive scoring record. But where did that get them? They still gave up critical yards when the game was on the line. They still ended up 6-10. So ignore the stats—the INTs, forced fumbles and highlights that was the buzz in the preseason.

There is one thing this defense hasn’t shown—and won’t be feared until it does. Once the season starts, watch for third and short. Watch for opponent’s running backs getting stuffed. Who is doing the tackling, D-linemen, linebackers or DBs? Notice if the Packers keep the running backs from getting 100 yards. Watch for three-and-outs, punts and good field position; the hallmarks of good defenses.

If this defense can do that, this team’s potential will finally be unleashed and it will be a very good year for Packers football.

 

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