Packers-Giants Divisional Playoff Preview

If any of you don't know, whether it's because you stumbled upon this by mistake or because you are one of our Chinese followers and don't get American football news, the Giants defeated the Falcons 24-2 on Sunday and advanced to the NFC Divisional Playoff round. They will go to Green Bay to face the Packers at 4:30 EST (3:30 CST) on Sunday, January 15th.

The Giants have the look of that team that gets hot at the end of the year and nobody wants to play. Much like the Packers were last season. We here at the Malnarn agree that we would have rather played the Falcons, but I am confident that the Packers have what it takes to win this game. Here are some things to watch for.

1. Packers O-line vs Giants' Pass Rush - Rodgers is one of the best QBs in the league against the blitz. The problem here is that the Giants have possibly the best defensive line in the NFL and do not need to blitz much. This allows them to focus more on coverage. The Packers offensive line will be as healthy as they have been all season with the return of Bryan Bulaga and Chad Clifton. If they can keep Aaron clean, the game will be lopsided in the Packers' favor.

2. Giants Receivers vs Packers' Secondary - We really miss Nick Collins. To me it's the biggest reason for the Packers' last place passing defense. The Giants have very good WRs as well (not as good as the Packers, but that's beside the point). Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz have been lighting it up the past 4 weeks. Tramon Williams and Sam Shields will need to pick their game up and become lock down corners.

3. The Return of Greg Jennings - Jennings missed the final 3 games of the season with a torn MCL in his left knee. He has since returned to practice and is expected to be close to full strength against the Giants. The Packers proved that the offense can function without him, but the margin of improvement from James Jones to Greg Jennings is significant. Every Packer fan will be happy to see #85 back on the field.

4. Clay Matthews and Dom Capers - The Packers have thrived on forcing turnovers this season. It's been the one redeeming factor in an otherwise loose defense. Turnovers almost always start with pressure on the opposing QB, especially in Capers' 3-4 scheme. Will Dom bring back the psycho defense and add some new wrinkles to get Clay more opportunities? I hope so. We all know that Eli is prone to mistakes when he's under duress.

5. Running Game - This is something to watch for on both sides of the ball. James Starks' status is still in question for the game and the Packers have been neglecting the run ever since he went down with an ankle injury several weeks ago. Can he return and give the Packers' run game a boost like he did in 2010? If we can run the ball and control the clock, it will help the defense to rest and be absolutely huge for the offense. On the flip side, the Giants' RBs have been phenomenal as of late. The return of Ahmad Bradshaw gave them a new look on offense and that honestly scares me a little. We will need Raji and Pickett to be dominant up front to close any holes that the Giants' o-line opens up.

6. Special Teams - On a cold day at Lambeau, special teams could be the difference. I don't anticipate either team punting too often, but when they do they will be trying to flip the field. I also don't anticipate many field goals being attempted, but at the end of the 1st half and at the end of the game last second field goals could be the difference...much like the meeting in the regular season between these 2 teams.

The Packers are favored in this game, but I think that the Giants match up really well with us. I think if the offense can execute and the defense can come up with a handful of stops that the Packers will win by 10+. But if the offense struggles and the defense shows no improvement then it's going to come down to a last second field goal. We'll all hope for the former! GO PACK!

Packers Embarrassed by Lowly Chiefs...Fall to 13-1

The first loss of the Packers' season came when nobody was expecting it. We had heard predictions of the Lions being the first and then the Giants and later the Raiders. But none of these were up to the task. No, it was the 5-8 Kansas City Chiefs that welcomed the challenge of facing an undefeated Packers' team. Less than a week after firing their head coach, and starting a recently acquired QB off of waivers the Chiefs looked more prepared, more motivated, and like the better team on Sunday afternoon. The Packers looked flat, unfocused, confused, and sloppy. It was embarrassing. Here's my analysis:

Things I Liked

Tim Masthay - Masthay was the one bright spot in the Packers' debachal of a game in Kansas City. He boomed every punt (he had several opportunities) and one even went for a career best 71 yards!

Things I Didn't Like

Aaron Rodgers - For the first time all season Rodgers completed less than 50% of his passes. He finished with an 80 QB rating. With the exception of the 2 TD drives, he looked nervous in the pocket, out of sync, off target, and had trouble finding open receivers.

Offensive Line - The o-line was beaten up badly. Even before the injuries started, they couldn't protect Rodgers. They opened some nice holes for Ryan Grant to run, but the Packers didn't run the ball that often. Then the injuries started. First Bulaga left witha knee sprain, then his replacement (Derek Sherrod) left for the season with a broken leg. This could be a HUGE problem for the remainder of the season and playoffs. Maybe Mark Tauscher is still available...?

Defense - The defense was not very good. Granted they came up with a handful of goal line stands, otherwise this game would have been even more lopsided, but they made the Chiefs look like a top tier offense. They couldn't tackle, they couldn't cover, and I dont remember them even getting close to Kyle Orton. In reality, the Chiefs have one of the worst offenses in the league and hadn't broken 10 points in over 3 weeks. Pathetic.

Receivers - It seemed like every time Rodgers threw a good pass, the receiver would drop it. And most of them came on 3rd downs. Finley dropped at least 3, Driver dropped 1 and so did Jones, Crabtree, and Nelson. The only player I saw catch all of the passes thrown to him was rookie Randall Cobb. This unit obviously missed Greg Jennings.

I could probably keep going with this, but it's starting to depress me. We're still 13-1 and one more win will give the Packers the 1st seed in the NFC for the playoffs. The season is not over, and if the patchwork offensive line can protect Rodgers at all then I think we will be fine for the playoffs. Jennings should return and this team has good veteran leadership and the ability to motivate itself and rebound from adversity. Up next, the Packers are at home with a chance to sweep the Bears and clinch home-field advantage. GO PACK!

Injury Update: Chad Clifton

Mike McCarthy stated that starting Left Tackle Chad Clifton will miss "a number of weeks" with a "significant hamstring injury." This is not good news for the Packers, and it will not surprise me if this is the end of Clifton's career in Green Bay.

The good news is that Marshall Newhouse held up well in his place, and will be the likely starter against the St. Louis Rams this week.

There is a chance that Bryan Bulaga could return against the Rams as well and would likely return at Right Tackle. If Bulaga is unable to go, then rookie 1st round draft pick Derek Sherrod will get the nod at RT.

Both young tackles played well against Atlanta, and if Newhouse continues to improve and protect Rodgers in the coming weeks Clifton will be out of a job by the time he is able to return.

As always, stay tuned for more updates. GO PACK!

"We Can Only Beat Us." Packers reach 5-0...

Donald Driver made the statement after the game on Sunday night that there is only one team capable of beating the undefeated Green Bay Packers...and it's themselves. I agree with this statement and I believe it was a true statement in 2010 as well. When the Packers play the way they are capable, there is no team in the NFL that can beat them.

The Packers moved to 5-0 with a 29-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons last night. It started off rough, but the Pack stayed the course and came up with a big win. Here are my thoughts on the game:

Things I Liked

Defense - The defense finally made the kind of impact we had been hoping they would all year. I would still like to see more pressure on the QB and for Capers to use Clay Matthews in more of a variety of looks. But all in all it was good to see the defense pick it up after giving up 2 quick scores.

Receivers - Rodgers hit 12 of them, tying a Packers' record. Nobody can defend the Packers' passing attack.

Marshall Newhouse & Derek Sherrod - The 2 young tackles were thrust into active duty with injuries to Bulaga and Clifton. I was more impressed with Newhouse who started the game at Right Tackle and then when Clifton went down shifted to Left to allow Sherrod to take over the Right. Rodgers was sacked 3 times after Clifton went out, but all 3 came from interior pressure.

Poise - Being down 14 points is nerve racking. But the team and coaching staff remained calm, stuck with the game plan, and came out on top. It's great to see our team playing with confidence.

Things I Did Not Like

Dropped Passes - Jermichael Finley dropped 2 big-time passes. 1 for a Touchdown and the other for a 3rd down conversion. The 3rd down conversion is less of an issue because he was hit by 2 defenders, nevertheless he still should have made the catch. He redeemed himself with a big catch in the 4th quarter, but it would have been nice to be winning at half time.

Slow Start - The defense missed tackles and assignments, and Ryan Grant fumbled on the first drive of the game putting the Pack in a 14-0 hole. Thankfully this did not ultimately affect the result of the game.

Clifton Injury - The fill-ins were satisfactory at Tackle last night, but it makes me nervous to think that they could be our starters for the remainder of the season. Will Bulaga play Left Tackle when he returns, or will we keep Newhouse at that spot? More on this in the days to come.

Ultimately, I am very happy with the win against a very good team at their stadium. Tune in tonight to find out of the Lions can beat the Bears and remain atop the division (and league) with the Packers. Go Pack!

Update: Bulaga Injury

Coach Mike McCarthy explained that Starting Right Tackle Bryan Bulaga sustained a knee bruise and sprain in Sunday's win over the Bears. The Packers may have "Dodged a bullet" here because on film the injury certainly looked like it could have been season ending. The full extent of the injury is not known as the team doctors will continue to do tests this week.

Although the Packers have not made an official statement on Bulaga's status, I would be surprised if he was able to go against the Broncos this Sunday. If he is not ready, then Marshall Newhouse - who played well against the Bears - will likely get the start. It is likely that we will see 1st round pick Derek Sherrod suit up for the first time in Green and Gold as well. But we hope he doesn't have to get into the game beacuse of injury. Go Pack!

Packers Outplay Bears, Move to 3-0

It's always nerve racking for me leading up to the Packers-Bears matchup. Especially the one at Soldier Field. There aren't many things that can slow down the Packers' potent offense, but the bears defense and the crappy field in Chicago seem to do a decent job every year.

But it seemed like McCarthy and the Packers had a great gameplan ready this time to kill the bears...Here are my thoughts:

WHAT I LIKED:

JerMichael Finley - This is the most obvious of anything that we saw in the game. Finley finally showed the dominance we have been expecting of him all season. I expect this to be a trend that will continue and the Packers' offense will only get better the more that Finley is involved in it.

Ryan Grant - Grant put up 89 yards on 15 carries. We had thought up until yesterday that Starks was starting to move into the featured back role for the Packers, but seeing Grant play well is a good sign for us.

Matt Forte - We have agreed all week that the Packers' focus needed to be to stop RB Matt Forte and that if the defense could do that, it would be a W for the green and gold. Forte had 2 yards on 9 carries and only a couple of catches for minimal yardage...impressive.

Morgan Burnett - With the loss of Nick Collins, someone in the secondary needed to step up. Burnett looked great yesterday with 2 INTs. Let's hope this continues.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

Charlie Peprah - I understand that Peprah is a significant downgrade from 3-time Pro Bowl Safety Nick Collins, but Charlie was out of position, missed tackles, and was the reason for several big plays for the Bears. I expect him to improve, but we are lucky that it didn't result in a closer game or a loss.

Penalties - Thankfully none of these killed us like they did in the Packers-Bears game last October, but there were too many false starts and delay of games. Simple mental errors that can easily be avoided.

Bryan Bulaga - Bulaga's injury raises concerns with our already shake offensive line. Marshall Newhouse is the backup, and while he didn't make any glaring errors that I saw, I have a feeling that if Bulaga's injury is lingering we may be in for some trouble.

Pass Rush - The Pack's D amassed 3 sacks and a few more hits on Cutler, but I was not impressed. With the Bears depleted offensive line, I was expecting Jay to be on his back all afternoon. This needs to improve for the Packers to get to Super Bowl XLVI.

Special Teams - The crazy play the end of the game concerned me, we got lucky with the holding call. But I just don't understand why we would kick the ball to Hester at all. Crosby needs to kick touchbacks every time and Masthay should just kick the ball out of bounds.

All in all, I am very happy with the win and it's great to be on top of the division (in a tie with the LIONS?! Crazy!). I feel a lot better after the win yesterday than I did before. Bring on the Broncos! GO PACK!

About What We Expected...

The Bills are probably the worst team in the NFL, so the 34-7 victory comes as no surprise. Here are my notes:

Clay Matthews = still awesome (Defensive Player of the Week)

Ryan Grant = missed. Jackson and Kuhn are not going to cut it, Thompson will have to break out of his comfort zone and trade for someone who can get the job done.

Chad Clifton = getting old. This is also not new news, but Bulaga saw some significant playing time against the Bills. I like that he's starting to see the field, but it's not a good sign if Clifton is injured.

This week we travel to Soldier Field to take on da bears. Cutler and the offense have looked much more impressive so far this season under Mike Martz's direction. I think that Chef Dom has a special recipe cooked up for that attack though. GO PACK!

Recap: Bryan Bulaga

When the 23rd pick rolled around last night, Ted Thompson must have been in a bit of a quandry. I figured the pick would be easy because there were only a handful of players we were considering. But when the Pack was on the clock...THEY WERE ALL STILL AVAILABLE! Crazy! Bryan Bulaga, Jerry Hughes, Sergio Kindle, and Kyle Wilson were all still on the board. I had never been so excited about one of our draft picks because I had no idea which way old Teddy would go. In the end it was Bulaga, and aside from the fact that he grew up as a Bears fan, I really like the pick.

Clifton and Tauscher are solid tackles, but both are aging and are injury prone. This should give the Pack some time to groom their future starter by working him into the lineup as a guard or at least giving him some time to work against some NFL talent while waiting for an inevitable injury to one of the other starters.

I wasn't sure how i was going to like the new draft format, but I like it better than i thought i would. It gave me a whole nother day to look forward to meaningful rounds of the draft. I'm predicting the Packers will take either an OLB or Safety in the 2nd round...hopefully it's as exciting as the first.