Behind Enemy Lines: Green Bay Packers
By Keith Myers
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Green Bay Packers come to town this week to take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game. This is a rematch from back in Week 1 of the NFL season, but both teams are much different today than they were back then.
To help get us ready for the game, I enlisted the help of Josh McPeak from Lombardi Ave. He was kind enough to answer a few questions to help us get a perspective on this game from a Green Bay point of view.
Aaron Rodgers is obviously hurting, but he still played great against the Cowboys last week. Is there any concern that his calf injury will cause major problems against Seattle’s tough defense?
As good as the Seattle defense is, this is a deceiving aspect. Sacking the quarterback isn’t what they rely on. They ranked only 20th in the NFL in total sacks during the 2014 season. Green Bay’s offensive line has arguably improved to one of the best squads in the game. It’s still a concern however, as his mobility was nonexistent against the Cowboys.
After struggling earlier in the season, Green Bay has been much better against the run recently. What has changed, and do you think the Packers can stop Marshawn Lynch?
Julius Peppers and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix really just needed time to gel with this group. Micah Hyde was also transitioning into a new position. Moving Clay Matthews to the inside linebacker at times has really seem to boost the run support as well.
Stop Marshawn Lynch –No! DeMarco Murray averaged nearly five yards-per-carry on Sunday. Lynch will get his but it will ultimately be just how much he gets, that could change the outcome of the game.
Green Bay has had serious difficulty with running QBs like Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick over the last couple of years. Has it been a personnel issue, or a scheme issue in your opinion? Are the Packers up to the challenge of stopping Wilson this week?
Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix are both very good run supporting safeties. Clay Matthews also has another athlete on the field with him in Julius Peppers this season. One more player that I think the Packers need to step-up in containing Wilson, is linebacker Nick Perry.
Dom Capers’ will spend the majority of his week building a plan to stop the run. I think the Packers would ultimately like to place the game on the arm of Russel Wilson and not his legs.
Green Bay has a great offense, and they are taking on a great defense this week. How do you think the Packers will attack Seattle’s defense if they are going to be successful.
I imagine they will try their best to establish a run game to alleviate some pressure off of their captain Aaron Rodgers. There should be a big dose of Eddie Lacy early and then some relief packages of James Starks and Randall Cobb.
There will be times in the game that McCarthy will completely abandon the run game for series at a time. Jordy Nelson will be very hungry after a not so “Jordy” like performance against the Cowboys. Davante Adams has also played his best games during the pivotal games as well.
What is your prediction for the game? How will the game play out, and what will the final score be?
Seattle is a great team with the best defense in the NFL and some crazy fans. This will be a very hard game for the Packers as they have struggled on the road all year. Mike McCarthy has quietly transitioned this team into a much more physical team that can get gritty if they need to in order to escape with a W.
A turnover would go a long way in shifting the balance in this one. Neither of these teams do that very often however.
Whoever wins the third down conversion percentage, will win this game. I don’t think Aaron Rodgers is willing to let this team lose.
Packers 23 Seahawks 20