Week 8: (6-1) Minnesota @ (4-2) Green Bay

[Point Blank]

Discuss.

 

[ram29jackson]

I like both but i'm pulling for Vikings

 

[Woy]

Favre goes 2-0 against the Packers.

 

[Primetime]

Packers didn't give up a sack last week and they won. I don't see them protecting Rodgers very well this week.

 

[Macken]

i see jared allen having a pretty big game and it being a low scoring game

 

[Spidey]

Our O-Line plays well, Packers win. We will shred that weak secondary.

If not we lose again.

D will also have to apply more pressure this time. Last time they barely blitzed and Favre had all day to throw. Can't have that happen again. Hopefully they learned from that mistake.

 

[Primetime]

Our O-Line plays well, Packers win. We will shred that weak secondary.

If not we lose again.

D will also have to apply more pressure this time. Last time they barely blitzed and Favre had all day to throw. Can't have that happen again. Hopefully they learned from that mistake.

Capers has a soft spot for Favre. He doesn't wanna hurt him.

 

[Spidey]

Capers has a soft spot for Favre. He doesn't wanna hurt him.

Certainly seemed that way in the dome.

 

[abj]

Capers is "so far" saying he won't do anything different against Favre... which hopefully is a bunch of BS he's saying for the media.

Green Bay — A lot has changed for the Green Bay Packers defense since it played against the Minnesota Vikings and quarterback Brett Favre Oct. 5.

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers' group is on a two-game streak in which it hasn't allowed a touchdown, moving from 18th in the NFL in total defense to No. 3. Linebacker Aaron Kampman is lining up more with his hand down, rookie Clay Matthews is a full-time starter and safety Atari Bigby is back in the lineup.

What hasn't changed, however, is Capers' belief that he did the right thing defending the Vikings' score-a-minute offense with caution in the first meeting, a 30-23 defeat at the Metrodome.

Fearful of blitzing a lot because he was playing with an inexperienced backup safety in centerfield, he pulled back on his blitz package and tried to generate most of his pressure with four rushers.

Capers still blitzed, it just wasn't of the five- or six-man variety. After Favre torched his defense for 271 yards and three touchdowns, Capers came under fire - both from fans and cornerback Charles Woodson - for letting Favre sit comfortable in the pocket all game long.

Now faced with the rematch this Sunday at Lambeau Field, Capers has to decide whether he should let the dogs loose, stick to his previous game plan or find a middle ground. The fans' vote would be for wholesale blitzing, but Capers is wary of such a plan, particularly since the defense held running back Adrian Peterson to 53 yards on 25 carries.

"I went back and looked at the film because I wanted to go back and look at our pressure stuff," Capers said Monday afternoon. "And there were a number of times we had a guy coming free that was a non-factor. It was a non-factor because he (Favre) got rid of the ball so quick.

"So, you aren't going to pressure him if it's one-two-three and the ball is out because you can have a guy flat free in the 'A' gap and you can't get any closer than that, right up the middle, which we had, and he gets the ball out. Many times perception and reality are two different things."

The statistics only seem to confuse the matter.

Whenever Capers either added rushers or took them away, Favre hurt him. The six times Capers rushed just three, Favre completed 5 of 6 for 101 yards, including gains of 43 and 31 yards. The three times he rushed five or more, Favre completed 3 of 3 for 39 yards.

During the times Capers rushed four, the standard amount for any base defense, there weren't as many big plays, but Favre completed four critical third-down passes that kept drives moving and the Packers' offense off the field.

So what does he do this time around?

"I think we have to play our game and do what we think gives us the best chance of winning," Capers said. "You can't get so hung up (on blitzing). We go out there and blitz every down and probably hit Brett Favre a few times, but our chances of winning the game, I think, go down."

In Capers' assessment, three things ruined the Packers' chances of pulling the upset: four big plays worth 122 yards, too many third-down conversions allowed (57%) and poor play in the red zone (three touchdowns allowed in three attempts). Some of those failures were due to the lack of pressure applied to Favre, but others were the result of poor play in the secondary.

Since that game, Bigby has been back, which means the other starter, Nick Collins, hasn't been forced to play near the line of scrimmage every down like he was when Derrick Martin was in the lineup. Bigby and Collins are interchangeable and part of the confusion the Packers try to create for quarterbacks is guessing where each of them will be at the snap of the ball.

"We've played better," Capers said of the defense since Bigby's return. "I think we've played more like a confident defense. Again, I think success breeds success. I think there are some positive things we can build on. We still have a lot of areas we can get better."

Over the last two games - against a pair of opponents with two wins between them, Cleveland and Detroit - the Packers have been dominant, allowing just three points, 2 of 22 third-down conversions and no touchdowns in three red-zone possessions. Given this is the first year of the 3-4 installation, a streak like that could provide the Packers with a shot of confidence.

Maybe getting excited over shutting down two lousy offenses is an exercise in absurdity, but Capers and others refuse to pooh-pooh the way in which they've come together.

"It's the NFL," defensive line coach Mike Trgovac said. "Just look what happened to the Philadelphia Eagles when they went out and played the Oakland Raiders (13-9 loss). Every win is important."

As he prepares a game plan for stopping Favre, the thing Capers wants his players to remember is that it's possible to play the defense next Sunday the way they've played it the last two Sundays. The results might not be exactly the same, but Capers is betting that those two previous victories will lead to better play overall this week.

"The arrow to me is pointing up or pointing down," Capers said. "We talked about that a lot this week. We got out to a good start against the Bears and we didn't follow it up the next week with one of our best performances. We went out and had a dominant performance against the Lions and our challenge was to go out and have another one."

Now it's on to the next challenge.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/66240557.html

 

[USCChifan]

Minnesota will unfortunately win. Jared Allen won't have the game he had at the Metrodome, but he should have a good game at Lambeau. Though w/o Antoine Winfield, Minnesota's pass defense is very vulnerable and Aaron Rodgers will pick is apart. That is, if he gets time to throw the ball.

 

[theMINI]

If O-line can protect Rodgers I can see him shredding our vulnerable secondary. If not, Vikings win.

 

[Derrville]

Lets go Favre!

 

[Juggernaut]

I want to see Favre throw 5 td passes, 0 interceptions, and hustle on every play

That being said, i want to see the Vikings win.

 

[Th3ChosenOne]

Fuck Favre.

Really hope the packers can sack his ass a few times.

Go pack Go!

 

[Th3ChosenOne]

Clifton out, Lang starting. :facepalm:

 

[MrBill]

The Packers have been running up huge numbers against Junior Varsity teams after the bye while the Vikings were playing the Ravens and the reigning Superbowl champs. Let's see how the Packers look this week against an actual winning team.

Starting another rookie at LT doesn't bode well for Rodgers. I think it might still be a close game but I want Favre to have his revenge against TT, then I will be pulling for the Packers the rest of the way.

 

[theMINI]

LETS GO VIKINGS. starting in 10 mins

 

[theMINI]

Wow... 2nd play and already the Vikings get screwed out of a TD by the refs.

 

[Primetime]

Aaron to Driver. Rodger that.

 

[Macken]

good defense.. time for Apete and Favre to do some work