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!

8-0 Becomes 9-0 as Pack Stomp Vikings

Sorry for the late post, but with it being a MNF game and things just being a little hectic this week, I am a little behind schedule.



This game was never in question. 45-7 is convincing no matter who you are. Here's my analysis:

THINGS I LIKED

Aaron Rodgers - I think Rodgers has been on this list every week so far and for good reason...Nobody in the league is playing as well as #12. 4 more TDs puts his total at 28 through 9 games. 28 is a really good number for 16 games!

Randall Cobb - It has to be the most improved part of the Packers' team this year, I'm talking about the return game. Cobb took a 1st quarter punt 80 yards for a TD and nearly took another later in the game. This guy has the potential to change a game and that's huge! He also had 3 catches. Good to see him getting more involved in the offense.

Defensive Intensity - The whole defense looked good. They held Peterson to 51 yards and blitzed on over 70% of their plays! Dom Capers must have listened to Charles Woodson.

Clay Matthews - Clay was dominant for the first time all season. He posted 2 sacks, bringing his total to 5 for the year. He also looked great in coverage and on run support. I hope to see this continue going forward.

Charles Woodson - Woodson looked like himself on Monday for the first time all season. He was all over the field and looked like the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year. My only knock on Woodson is that he dropped a sure pick 6...I'll forgive him though.

THINGS I DID NOT LIKE

Muffed Punt - Cobb is a huge Boom or Bust. He either returns a punt for a TD or muffs it and gives the other team a 1st down inside the red zone. In this case, it did not affect the game. But when it comes to playoff time, this could kill us.

Offensive Line - Rodgers was sacked 3 times. It didn't seem to me on any of them that he was holding the ball too long. The line needs to improve to keep Rodgers on his feet. Especially with some good defensive lines on the upcoming schedule (Lions, Giants, Bears...oh my!).

Jared Allen - I just don't like him.

A sweep of the Viqueens is always sweet! 9-0 is sweet too. Next up, the reeling Buccaneers at Lambeau on Sunday. GO PACK!

Packers Dominate Broncos - Remain Undefeated

The defending Super Bowl champions looked like a well-oiled machine against the now 1-3 Denver Broncos, pummeling them with a score of 49-23. Here are my game notes:

Things I Liked

Aaron Rodgers - Anytime a QB throws for 400+ yards, 4 TDs, and runs for another 2...it impresses me. Rodgers has moved into elite status this year to join the likes of Tom Brady and Drew Brees, and I don't think I would even take one of those guys over him.

Mike McCarthy - We have been critical of McCarthy here at the Malnarn regarding his play calling. He tends to get conservative to try to protect a lead rather than building on it. Mike kept his foot on the gas against the Broncs and drove them into the frozen tundra!

Motivation - This team looks motivated to repeat. I don't see any complacency or apathy in the game. They want to win and are motivated to do what it takes to do it.

Things I Didn't Like

Pass Defense - Again, the pass defense gave up too many big plays. The Broncos aren't a good deep passing team and yet, the secondary still allowed them to gash them with big gains on several occasions.

Dom Capers - It seems to me that he has become the conservative playcaller. I don't know if it's that he's lazy or that opposing offenses are figuring out his schemes, but I'm not seeing the multiple-look dynamics that he used over the past 2 seasons.

That's really it. Not much can be said about a 49-23 blowout except that the Packers were obviously the better team and I don't think it will be long before Brady Quinn or Tim Tebow replaces Kyle Orton as the starter in Denver. Bring on the Falcons on Sunday night! GO PACK!

And We're Back in the Hunt!!!

Where did this defense come from? Dom Capers may have single-handedly saved Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson's jobs in one fell swoop. This is how we all hoped this 3-4 defense would look when it was announced that we were making the switch from the 4-3. We blitzed the lights out, got pressure on the QB, and held a potent offense scoreless until there was only 0:38 left in the game. The Pack registered 5 sacks on Sunday...before then we had a total of 13. I think if this type of pressure was put on Favre, the outcome of both Vikings games could have been different.

Maybe the loss to Tampa was exactly what this team needed...a kick in the rear to get them jump started. And with losses to Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Chicago an NFC Wild Card spot is a realistic possibility for this 5-4 Packer team. The big question is will we keep up this defensive aggressiveness or will we go back to our conservative ways? I think it's proven that if you pressure the QB, you have a heck of a lot better chance to win the game. So my vote is to keep blitzing and keep up the momentum gained by beating the Cowboys. With the 49ers and Lions coming up, it's a legitimate possibility that this team could be 7-4 going into the game against the Ravens which will be a tough one. But with yesterday's performance at Lambeau, I finally believe that this team can be good!