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A quick look at the NFC North offensive units explains why the Vikings have run away with the division thus far…the Vikings are best in three of the four units and second in the fourth. Green Bay, clearly the second best offense in the division, is first in the other unit, and second in two. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions’ struggles are obvious considering they are last in two categories and third in the other two.

Green Bay Packers Have Reason to Be Thankful

On Thanksgiving morning, the Packers were away from their families in Detroit. By evening, they had many reasons to be thankful.

Not only had they soundly beaten the hapless Lions again, but with the New York Giants loss to the Broncos, the team was guaranteed to enter the last month of this season as one of the six teams in the playoff picture.

Even Rodgers’ lone fumble came on a fourth-down play and thus did not hurt the team (the only Detroit sack, for a loss of six). He was 28-of-39 (.718) for 348 yards (8.9 per ATTEMPT) and three touchdowns without a pick, earning a passer rating of 124.7. He ran just once for five yards.

So with those stats, why did he get just a B+? For one thing, he was facing the league’s worst defense and worst passing defense: Rodgers needed a perfect game (157 passer rating) to get an A. Also, his accuracy was off in the first half, lending to the close score going into the break.

Ryan Grant ran 20 times for just 61 yards (3.1 average) and was tackled for a safety. True, by that time the Lions were focused on stopping the run, and he had a few good runs in the first three quarters, but you need your top runner to do better than that. Brandon Jackson was less effective, with six carries for 14 yards (2.3).

The unit was effective in the passing game: Grant and fullback Korey Hall combined for five catches for 52 yards. However, this totals just 127 yards on 31 touches for 4.1 yards per touch with no touchdowns.

Again, they were up against the Lions, so I am hard-pressed to give out an A. However, the Lions have a pretty good linebacking corps and the Packers still got production out of both tight ends.

Donald Lee lept (how come everyone insists on using leaped and dived instead of lept and dove, anyway?) over the defense for his one score, and combined with Jermichael Finley for seven catches and 47 yards.

Of course, the other Donald was the unit’s Driver, with seven catches, 142 yards (20.3), and a score. Greg Jennings had four catches for 53 yards and James Jones had four for 35 with a touchdown. Jordy Nelson had just one catch, but it was for 19 yards, giving the corps 23 catches for 296 yards (12.9 average).

Sure, this unit was up against the same bad defense, but this same team got five sacks in the last matchup and just the one today.

On Rodgers’ 68-yard completion to Driver, he had time to prepare the Thanksgiving turkey complete with stuffing. He was rarely even hit on the day, making this a nearly flawless performance in the passing game.

However, they struggled in the running game against a decent run defense. The one area the line actually ranks near the top of the league is not giving up negative plays, but twice the Lions were there to get the safety, and only Grant’s effort kept it from happening the first time.

Much of the problem in the running game can be attributed to them not providing any holes in the second half.

The line’s stats are poorer than usual for a 3-4 defense, with just three tackles and five assists between them.

However, they deserve most of the credit for holding Kevin Smith to just 43 yards on 18 carries (2.4 average); even with Stafford’s scrambles, the Lions only managed 73 yards on 23 carries (3.2). Detroit may be 26th in the NFL in rushing yards, but that is a solid performance.

Moreover, while they generated no sacks and the team had only two, Stafford was under pretty consistent pressure. That led to a couple bad decisions that enabled the defense to generate five turnovers.

The linebacking corps combined for 16 tackles, 10 assists, and a sack (again by Clay Matthews), and deserve a lot of credit for applying pressure on Stafford, as well.

However, nearly all the passing yards yielded went to the running backs (six catches, 62 yards is entirely on the linebackers) and tight ends (nine for 73 is primarily on them).

Charles Woodson once again shined, and if he is not the defensive player of the year, it will be the biggest injustice since a Minnesota judge got to overrule the entire league about the suspensions issued to its own players.

Sure, he gave up the lone touchdown to Calvin Johnson, but he also scored one of his own from Stafford. In fact, he had as many picks as Johnson had catches, plus a fumble forced that he then recovered on a sack.

The rest of the backfield may not have been playing elite talent like Johnson, but outside of one 47-yard catch by Dennis Northcutt (a pretty good receiver), they gave up just two catches for 21 yards.

Nick Collins and Tramon Williams added interceptions, and the backfield accounted for 16 tackles, an assist, a sack, four picks, and the fumble forced and recovered.

The one blemish was Jarrett Bush, who once again proved he was athletic enough to be there to make a play but lacking in the ability to do it.

He missed on two interceptions, including the big play to Northcutt; were it not for those failings, the unit grade would have been an A+.

Same tune, different note. This time, the Packers did not give up any exceptionally long returns, but did have two pretty long ones of 34 yards. And of course, Jordy Nelson’s fumble on the opening kick led to the only Lions touchdown and lead.

Finally, Mason Crosby missed a 43-yard field goal, making two others from just 22 and 25 yards and getting only one kick into the end zone in a dome.

In all, the Packers averaged a mediocre 20 yards per kick return besides fumbling, and just two yards per punt return.

The Lions averaged under 20 yards per kick return because they muffed one kick and had to cover it, but they did get 14 yards on their one punt return.

Jeremy Kapinos had just over a 32-yard net despite having only one of three punts returned and not having one land inside the 20.

Packers-Niners: Q&A with Samuel Lam

The Niners and Packers have been inextricably linked from the 2005 draft, when the Niners selected Alex Smith over Aaron Rodgers. Since then, the teams have picked back-to-back twice (A.J. Hawk before Vernon Davis in 2006 and B.J. Raji before Michael Crabtree in 2009).

I posed the following five questions to Samuel Lam, a 49ers writer for Examiner.com, Mining the Gold Rush on MVN.com, and Bleacher Report . You can go to Examiner.com to see my answers to his five questions…

1. With the Packers being fourth in the league against the run and tied for third in yards per carry allowed despite having played Adrian Peterson twice, do you think the Niners will have to adjust to not having Frank Gore’s usual production or can they find a way to get over 100 total yards out of him anyway?

Either way, the 49ers have been able to win. In the team’s first game, Gore was held in check by the Cardinals, but the 49ers were able to find a way to get into the endzone in the very end. If Gore cannot get to his 100 yards, I think the 49ers still have to establish the run.

One of the things that the 49ers have done since Alex Smith took over center was a change in offensive philosophy. The 49ers are a passing team now and if the 49ers can’t get the ball moving on the ground, Smith will be asked to pass. It may not seem too much of a change for the 49ers, but a passing game that has struggled is a big deal to the 49ers. Getting Gore going will be very important, but the confidence in Smith’s passing attack will just be as important.

2. How much more of a threat is the Niners passing attack with the development of Vernon Davis, arrival of Michael Crabtree, and switch to Alex Smith?

On paper, they should be dangerous. Since Smith took over, the 49ers have used his comfort with Davis as a key component to their attack. Smith is a quarterback that is designed to throw. With the play of Davis and the two starting wide receivers in Crabtree and Josh Morgan, the 49ers should be dangerous. We have yet to see Crabtree and Morgan break out and change games. But if we look at what the 49ers had in the beginning of the year compared to now, their passing attack has definitely improved.

3. Do you think the Niners will struggle at all to adjust to the 3-4 since they have not seen it, and how much will the fact that they have tinkered with implementing it help them?

Being in the 3-4 defense itself will definitely help the 49ers our in their strategy against the Packers. And since the 49ers also got an opportunity to face a 3-4 defense in the preseason against Denver, that can help as well. I don’t think the team will struggle against it. But I would believe that Smith will take extra precaution before the snap to recognize which linebackers might blitz on the play. Given that the 49ers are almost on pace to match last year’s sack total, the 49ers have to be extremely careful.

4. San Francisco is tops in the league in yards per carry allowed and third in rushing yards allowed. However, they are one of only ten teams to have fewer sacks than the Packers.

Do you expect them to blitz a lot to compensate for their lack of pass rush because they are facing a mediocre rushing attack, or rely on their front four given that Green Bay has allowed over a third more sacks than any other team in the league?

I hope the 49ers get blitz-happy. Even though Mike Singletary said that he isn’t too worried that the pass rush isn’t as effective as last year, I’m sure he will use whatever schemes out there to confuse Aaron Rodgers. The 49ers team has done extremely well in applying pressure on quarterbacks this year. However, they haven’t finished the job with sacks.

The 49ers front-seven has the talent to bring pressure. With the Packers struggle to protect Rodgers, the 49ers should send their blitzes and force Rodgers to throw early. It’s a gamble that the team has to take. We haven’t seen enough aggression from the 49ers all year and this looks to be the perfect opportunity for them to send the blitzes.

5. Having played for the Packers chief rival for his entire career, do you feel this game will have any more importance for Mike Singletary than the others on his schedule?

I want to believe that Coach Sing is thinking about it, but I doubt he is. Even against his former team the Bears, he said that they were just another team on the schedule. I think right now, Singletary is just concerned about winning. At 4-5 and a playoff spot right in front, Singletary won’t occupy his mind with any former rival talk. He just needs to win the game.

Green Bay Packers Midseason Grades, Volume II

I will now grade the defense and special teams. I would like to remind everyone of my first prediction before the start of the season: “The defense will finish the season in the top quarter of the league.”

Let me read some of the comments I got from doubters on both Sports Scribes and Bleacher Report when I made points about expecting great things from the Packers defense:

Instead, the Packers are better than the top quarter—we are in the top eight. More than that, we have balance—Green Bay is in the top 10 in nearly every category: points allowed (10th) third down percentage (third), time of possession (fifth), turnovers forced (second), total yards allowed (fourth), passing yards (sixth), yards per pass attempt (tied-ninth), rushing yards (fourth), and average per carry (third). The one shortcoming is we are ranked 20th in sacks.

Let’s analyze how each unit graded in each game and what the resulting mid-term grade is:

Defensive Line: B… A+, C-, C+, A-, C+, A-, B+, B-, and B average a high B.

The line is much better than it was last season. The Packers have faced top–six backs in Cedric Benson, Stephen Jackson, and Adrian Peterson twice, and still are dominating the running game primarily because of the play of the line.

Statistics are not the measure of a defensive line in a 3-4 since their role is to occupy blockers. But the line has generated 64 tackles and 25 assists, plus 3.5 sacks, seven passes defended, two interceptions, three fumbles forced, and two recovered.

Cullen Jenkins leads the way with every sack and fumbles forced, two passes defended and one pick. Johnny Jolly has both fumble recoveries, five defended passes, and one interception. They also account for 33 of the tackles and 15 of the assisted tackles.

Here the play has been inconsistent—much as predicted by myself and the Packers doubters—with two F’s and a D but also an A and two B+ scores.

There have been times the backs and tight ends gashed the Pack and times when they were held in check. Other than the Cowboys game, the lack of sacks can be attributed as much to a lack of blitzing (supposedly the cornerstone of a 3-4 defense) as poor linebacker play.

Kampman has clearly not made the adjustment (going from being a Pro Bowl player to an only above average linebacker), but there is still no doubt the new defense is a success for his new unit as well as his old one.

This unit has 184 tackles and 60 assists to go with 11.5 sacks, three fumbles forced, four recoveries, and one touchdown.

Clay Matthews leads the team in sacks (four) and fumble recoveries (three), also getting the only touchdown and a forced fumble. Nick Barnett has three sacks and leads the team with 49 tackles; he is tied for second with Brandon Chillar and A.J. Hawk with 10 assists, behind only Kampman’s 12. Kampman also has 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble, Hawk 36 tackles and a sack, and Chillar 26 tackles and a forced fumble.

Defensive Backs: B …B-, B+, B, C+, A+, B+, B-, D+, and A average a high B.

It might seem a low grade given the dominance of this unit, but remember they have faced the Lions, Rams, Browns, and a rookie Buccaneers quarterback.

They also contributed to giving up a high completion percentage and fair number of yards and scores to the Old Guy.

However, the unit has been the team’s best overall, with 143 tackles, 27 assists, three sacks, 36 passes defended, 11 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), three fumbles forced and two recovered.

They have shut up the detractors who kept saying how old the corners were or how they would not adjust to playing zone instead of bump-and-run.

Not surprisingly, defensive player of the year candidate Charles Woodson (“old” at 32) leads the unit in all but one category—assists (Nick Collins has seven). Woody has 41 tackles, three assists, one sack, 11 passes defended, three forced fumbles, and five picks including one returned for a score. However, the rest of the backfield has gaudy stats, too.

Collins has 22 tackles, one sack, eight passes defended, two picks and a fumble recovery. Al Harris has 28 tackles, including five assists, and a sack to go with five passes defended, two picks, and a fumble recovery.

Tramon Williams has 18 tackles, two assists, eight passes defended, and a pick, and Atari Bigby has 15 tackles, six assists, four passes defended and a pick.

We are dead last in the league in punting net average, 27th in kickoff net average, 24th in field goal percentage, tied for 17th in kick return average, and 23rd in punt return average. The Packers are one of four teams to have a punt blocked.

Given these rankings, a grade of C- seems too high. However, four of Crosby’s five misses have been from over 50 yards and the other was in the 40-49 yard range, where he is still 80 percent. Crosby did miss an extra point, but has still done a fine job kicking.

They also have faced some pretty good special teams units in the Bears, Browns, Bengals, Cowboys, and Vikings (what a difference a year and the addition of Percy Harvin makes) twice. It also does not help that the Packers top returners have spent time injured, including Will Blackmon missing most of the season, but their replacements still have to perform.

Thus, the Packers composite GPA is a 2.22—four B’s, three C’s, and two D’s. That is five-ninths the possible grade, which appropriately spells a 5-4 record.

Prospects for the future range from 11-5 to 8-8—I rate the team’s chances for the remaining games as follows:

This adds up to almost exactly four more wins, or nine for the season. That will not be good enough to beat out the Falcons and whoever finishes in second place in the NFC East.

Green Bay Packers Midseason Grades

Every course has a midterm grade, and we have reached that point in the season. (Technically, the Packers reached that before the Dallas game. However, with all teams having now had their bye week, Week 10 is the most appropriate time to do any comparison.)

Thus, I will be examining the grades I have given each unit, and analyzing the team strengths and weaknesses. In this article, I will focus on the offense and aspects of coaching; my next installment will focus on defense and special teams.

Like any good teacher, I have also re-examined some of the grades to see if they are fair.

For instance, as was pointed out by my most frequently-commenting Vikings fan, Mark, even considering the strength of competition and special teams failures that enabled the Vikings to score 38 points, I clearly graded the defense for that week too high (A-/D-/B+).

Likewise, even with the sorry competition of the Lions and Rams, I graded the units too low considering both games were over early in the second half.

Hence, below are my revised midseason grades by unit. (For the original grades, you can look back at my articles following each game with key words in the titles like game recaps, analysis, and report cards.)

Note: To enable a B+ to rate higher than a B-, I am using the following values for each grade to determine average: A+=12, A=11, A-=10, B+=9…D=2, D-=1, F=0.

This averages to a value of 8.6—nearly a B+, but I will only give Rodgers a B thus far. His passer rating of 101.8 is good for fourth in the league, and despite the poor blocking, he has led this team to the 11th most passing yards in the league, and the third most per play.

However, 20 to 25 percent of the sacks Rodgers takes are the result of him holding the ball too long. He will not reach an A grade until he can correct this tendency. However, he is 189-296 (63.9) for 2444 yards (8.3 per attempt) with 17 touchdowns and only five interceptions.

Rodgers is also the team’s second-leading rusher with 33 carries for 229 yards (6.3 average), three touchdowns, and only two fumbles lost. That gives him 2673 total yards, 20 scores, and seven turnovers.

These grades average to a value of 5.4, or a high C—that is about right given decent production behind a horrible line. The team is 12th in rushing and tied for 11th in yards per carry.

Ryan Grant is ninth in the league in rushing with 168 carries for 700 yards. The resulting 4.2 yard average is 17th in the league among backs with 100-plus carries. He also has 18 catches for 132 yards (7.3 average), but has just four touchdowns and one fumble lost.

Those numbers are solid and would rate somewhere around a B-. Unfortunately, the rest of the backfield has accumulated just 131 yards on 38 carries (3.4) and 19 catches for 131 yards (6.9), with a total of three touchdowns. It is generally not a good thing to have one back account for 76 percent of a unit’s production.

This unit has totaled 154 catches for 2196 yards (14.3) and 15 touchdowns with just one fumble lost.

Donald Driver is leading the team with 41 catches for 663 yards (16.2 average) and four touchdowns, but does have the unit’s only fumble lost. Greg Jennings is right behind him with 38 catches for 543 yards (14.3 average) and two scores.

Beyond them, the Packers have three players with over 200 receiving yards: James Jones (14 catches for 280 yards, a 20.0 average, and three scores), Jermichael Finley (17-260, 15.3, 1), and Donald Lee (26-202, 7.8, 0), despite Finley missing a couple games. Jordy Nelson (11-136, 12.4, 1) and Spencer Havner (7-112, 16.0, 4) round out a deep and talented corps.

This averages to just under a D, but in looking at the line’s running stats, I think they would warrant higher were it not for some pretty soft defenses faced.

Even if one blames Rodgers for over 20 percent—say nine—of his 41 sacks (a reasonable guess, but consider that every quarterback can be blamed for almost half that percentage), this line would have yielded the most sacks in the league. They also “lead” the NFL in quarterback hits allowed.

The team is 14th in yards per carry, but that includes how well a back exploits a secondary when he can reach it. A better indicator of a line’s blocking is the number of negative plays they yield.

Surprisingly, the Packers are fifth in the league in lowest percentage of runs that result in a loss. (The ratio of rushes of 10-plus yards to negative plays gets better as the carries move to the right.)

Offensively, the team ranks eighth in yards, is tied for seventh in points, ninth in third down percentage, and tops in turnover ratio. However, the Packers struggle on special teams and with penalties. We have the most penalties and second most penalty yards.

Last season when the team was racking up penalties and yards, I chalked it up to inexperience. But after 25 games, those excuses do not hold up. The coaches are accountable for bringing discipline to the team.

I could live with the penalties, but there are other indicators of poor coaching, too. For instance, on Nov. 8, the Packers faced off against the previously win-less Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and looked like a team that took the win for granted.

It is absolutely unacceptable to have a lack of intensity. The failure to wrap up on tackles, no sense of urgency as the game was slipping away, no game plan to rattle a quarterback making his first start…

That lack of effort and preparation has led me to believe that not only should Ted Thompson be fired for the lack of talent on the roster, but Mike McCarthy has to go for not getting enough out of the talent he has.

Much like he did last season, McCarthy made the same mistakes leading to the same results.

He had a chance to rattle the emotional Old Guy in the previous two games with his chief rival. Why would you not pressure a player who is known throughout his career for making poor decisions because he wants to make big plays and who really wanted to show his old team up?

Yet he and Dom Capers sent almost no blitzes at the Old Guy in either game. They followed that up by rarely blitzing the young and presumably emotional rookie in his first start—a player who was described as raw coming out of college.

Moreover, the Packers were running the ball better than they were passing, and Ryan Grant is a back whose yards per carry go up as the game goes along. Nevertheless, McCarthy abandoned the run altogether once the Bucs took the lead.

If last week’s well-designed game plan is an indication the coaching staff is getting a handle on their role, fine. But they may have waited too long. Should the Packers fail to finish with a winning record, the coaches deserve as much blame for not maximizing talent as management does for not getting enough of it.

Packers-Cowboys Report Card

The Green Bay Packers bounced back from their shameful effort (or lack thereof) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with an inspired performance against Dallas on Sunday to jump back into the playoff race. This was easily the most impressive game of the year for the Pack, as they played well from top-to-bottom.

The fact that they did it against a division leader—the fourth they have played but first they have beaten—nullifies the help they got in having Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Chicago lose to put them in the hunt.

As of now, the Packers are the second wild card team, with a record overall and within the conference equal to the Altanta Falcons but better record against common opponents. (Note: Green Bay has had one more home game than the Falcons.)

This was Rodgers’ third-worst game of the season statistically, as he compiled a passer rating of only 91.1. In this contest, he was a game manager: no interceptions or fumbles lost, completing 69.4 percent of passes (25-36), but averaged just 5.3 per attempt (189 yards). He was sacked four times, but one was for no loss and he did not hang onto the ball as long.

He added another touchdown (rushing) and completed passes to 10 different receivers (another thing the Old Guy has never done, even though he has always been exceptional at finding diverse targets). It is a mark of leadership to be able to change your style (in this case, big plays for dink-and-dunk), and even more of a mark to be able to find so many different teammates to get it done.

The backfield combined for 90 yards on 23 carries (3.9 average) with no scores or fumbles, nor any runs of over 13 yards. Ryan Grant led the way with 79 yards on 19 carries (4.2 average) against an above average rush defense (ranked 11th in both yards and yards per carry coming in).

Through the air, a foursome of backs caught seven passes for 22 yards (3.1 average), also without any scores, thanks to Ahman Green’s four-yard loss. Brandon Jackson had three catches for 15 yards to lead in both receptions and yards for the unit.

There was nothing spectacular about anyone’s performance in this unit. Donald Driver led in all categories except touchdowns: four catches, 50 yards, 12.5 average. Overall, this unit produced 18 catches, 167 yards (9.3 average), and one score (a two-yard toss to third tight end Spencer Havner) without their best receiving tight end in the lineup. They had only one dropped pass, but also did not get a lot of yards after the catch.

They were playing a pretty good front seven and a pretty good pass rush—Dallas was averaging 2.5 sacks per game coming in, ranking them in the top third of the league. While they gave up four sacks and none of them can be blamed on Rodgers proclivity for holding onto the ball, for this unit against this team, that is a pleasant surprise (How sad the bar is so low, but as is too often said, it is what it is). And they opened up just enough lanes for the team to generate 105 yards rushing, albeit on 28 carries.

The Packers gave up just 61 yards in this game, and while it was on only 14 carries (4.4 average), it was to one of the league’s best trios of backs. They also did a great job occupying blockers to finally resurrect an anemic pass rush. They only generated six tackles and no assists, but particularly Johnny Jolly and Cullen Jenkins seemed to be disrupting every play.

This was probably the corps’ best performance of the season, facing good backs and a Pro Bowl tight end in Jason Witten. In the passing game, Cowboys backs and tight ends got 10 receptions for just 73 yards and no scores. Meanwhile, the unit compiled 21 tackles, four assists, three sacks, and two fumble recoveries (both by rookie Clay Matthews).

Charles Woodson was a monster. Apparently, he is like fine wine—getting better with age—because all I heard about the entire off-season (albeit mostly from subjective Rodgers/Thompson haters and Vikings fans…yeah, you know who you are!) when I was trumpeting the virtues of this defense was how old our backs were. (For the record, Woodson is only 32.) He had eight tackles, one assist, one sack, two fumbles forced, and an interception.

The rest of the unit wasn’t bad, either: 11 tackles, two assists, and a sack. Overall, former first round pick Roy Williams had five catches, 105 yards, and a score. But that score came with a 17-point deficit and 38 seconds remaining. Moreover, on his longest reception, Woodson got one of his two fumbles forced and Matthews one of his recoveries.

They held dangerous downfield threat Austin Miles to just 20 yards on four catches, and Cowboys receivers totaled 14 catches for 178 yards (12.7 per catch). The only reason this is not an A-plus is they have to shoulder a little of the responsibility for the tight ends’ 53 yards and they did give up some yards along the way.

Mason Crosby missed another field goal, but it was from 52 yards out and he hit from 48 to take a lead at the end of the first half. None of his three kicks went into the end zone, but the Cowboys averaged just 20 yards per return. (He hit on both extra points).

The punting game saw a lot of work and improvement: Jeremy Kapinos punted seven times for a 35-yard net average (Patrick Crayton averaged eight yards on five returns) and one kick inside the 20. Meanwhile, the Packers return game averaged 12 yards on two punt returns and got 24 on its only kick return, plus recovered the onside kick to seal the game.

Finally, the coaching staff came in with a gameplan. Rodgers’ seven-step drops were gone, and the ball was out quickly. The blitz was turned loose to rattle Tony Romo.

Now let’s see if this means the coaching staff is going to get the most out of talent on this roster—if so, this team should be playing meaningful games at least a few days into the new year.

Green Bay Packers Report Card: Grading the Team

Here is how each unit ranked last week and how that applies to this Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys:

Aaron Rodgers had easily his worst game of the season, and second worst of his career—at least in last season’s game in Tampa Bay he had the excuse of an injured shoulder. It was the first game of the season in which he did not have a passer rating over 80, dropping him from first to fifth in the league.

For only the third time in 24 starts, he had more picks (three) than scores (two, although he did add a third rushing), more than doubling his season total. While he had 266 yards, he failed to complete half of his passes (17 of 35).

Of the Packers are to have any chance against the Dallas Cowboys, he has to have a huge bounce back game.

Both Grant and Ahman Green had runs of 20-plus yards, and Grant got into the endzone. The unit provided 144 yards rushing on 29 carries for five yards per carry and three catches for 26 yards (8.7), for 170 total yards on 32 touches (5.3). There were no fumbles.

Green Bay will need to run the ball effectively against the 11th-ranked (both in yards per game and per carry) rush defense of the Cowboys in order to keep the pressure off Rodgers.

The wide receivers did great, as third receiver James Jones led the way with four catches for 103 yards and a score. Donald Driver had four catches for 71 yards and a score, and Greg Jennings had five for 61.

But there was nothing from the tight end position—it is clear the team misses JerMichael Finley. Donald Lee had just one catch for five yards and Spencer Havner did not appear on the scoresheet.

Dallas is 20th in passing yards allowed and tied for 17th in yards per play. This is one area the Packers can exploit.

What is left to say? Sure they did okay in opening holes for the running game, but this is still the worst unit in all of the NFL.

They allowed six sacks to a team that came in with 11 in seven games. It is the sixth time in eight games they have allowed four or more sacks and the fourth in which they allowed six or more.

1) The Minnesota Vikings lead the league in sacks thanks to getting 14 of their 31 in the two games against Green Bay. That means they averaged fewer than three sacks a game against the rest of the league and seven against the Packers.

2) The Cincinnati Bengals had six sacks against Green Bay and have just 15 in their other seven games, an average of just over two per contest.

3) The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions are also among the five of seven Packers opponents to garner at least twice as many sacks against Green Bay than they have averaged against the rest of the league.

And now this line has to face the pass rush of the Cowboys? They average 2.5 per game, more than any Packers opponent thus far has against teams not dressed in green and gold. The only question is whether Dallas can top the Vikings’ week four total of eight sacks.

Defensive Line: B-

Tampa Bay had 25 rushes for 81 yards (3.2), helping the Packers maintain their ranking of third best in yards per carry allowed. At the same time, they managed just four tackles and two assists. They will need to continue their control of the line of scrimmage with Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Deshard Choice coming to town.

Linebackers: F

They had 16 tackles, four assists, and one sack, led by AJ Hawk’s six, one, and one respectively. That might not seem worthy of an F, but remember the line does all the work in a 3-4 so the linebackers can make the big plays.

In a game in which a rookie started at quarterback, you need to contain the dump off options and make him throw downfield under pressure. Instead, this unit that failed to pressure him or make any big plays also allowed seven catches for 111 yards and two scores to the tight ends and running backs.

If the Packers are going to have any chance against the Cowboys, they will need to put pressure on Tony Romo and get some plays out of this unit.

Defensive Backs: D+

This unit looked good on paper. They gave up one score and generated one pick. They contributed greatly to Josh Freeman’s sub-50 percent completion rate, the fourth game in which they have accomplished that feat. Only seven passes were completed to wide receivers.

However, those catches amounted to 94 yards, a 13.4 average per catch, and Tampa was without its only real wide receiver threat, Antonio Bryant, injured. And they have to take some responsibility for Kellen Winslow’s big day, too.

Finally, while they amassed 15 tackles, they missed a few by tackling high and not wrapping up. My high school coach would have had us doing grass drills for a good 30 minutes for that!

Dallas comes in with solid receivers in Roy Williams and Miles Austin, plus Patrick Crayton as a third option. If they can shut down Williams for the first half, he will shut himself down in the second and they can focus on Austin.

Special Teams: F

Mason Crosby did okay, hitting all four extra points (he did not attempt a field goal) and putting five of his six kickoffs in the endzone resulting in four touchbacks. But every other phase of this unit struggled—on the two kicks that were not touchbacks, the Packers allowed over a 50-yard average on returns.

Jeremy Kapinos had two punts inside the 20, but Clifton Smith averaged 13 yards per return. The Packers managed just four yards per punt return and, thanks to a Tramon Williams fumble that limited his return to two yards when the team really needed a big return to regain the lead and the momentum, the Packers averaged only about 16 yards per kick return.

Sunday is going to be a long day for Packers fans…Cowboys 27, Packers 16.

Green Bay Packers’ Playoff Chances Already Ended Last Week

Last Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings came into Lambeau Field and beat the host Green Bay Packers 38-26. In the process, they made a statement: “We are the better team.”

Packers fans made a statement, too, booing their former signal caller when he took the field and, for a while at least, when he touched the ball. Apparently, he was wrong to exclaim that “real Packers fans would understand” his joining the Vikings.

Or maybe the stadium was filled with others who, like me, are not “real fans” in The Traitor’s eyes because our world does not center around him like his does.

I have lived and died every fall Sunday with the Green Bay Packers for over three decades, which is precisely why his actions are unforgiveable—I was a fan of this team before he came along, and I remain a fan after he has left.

(Okay, one more time: you are either a Packers fan or a Traitor fan. You can still like him and be a real fan. You can even think it is okay for him to play in Minnesota—unlike his world, in mine there is room for someone who disagrees with me. But if you rooted for him to win on Sunday, I hope there is no room on our bandwagon if Rodgers is ever surrounded with enough talent to put up the titles commiserate with his performance.)

The Traitor’s reaction once the game was in hand—as though he had won a playoff game— also made a statement: This game was personal for him. In my mind, this confirmed that his choice to go to Minnesota, the only team he admitted he even considered, was motivated by revenge as much as a chance to win a title.

Then again, for all intents and purposes, the victory did secure the division for the Vikings. The Chicago Bears, with two games left against the Vikings and two-and-a-half games back, still could certainly catch Minnesota.

But the Packers were considered the Vikings’ chief contender coming into the season because of the talent at so many positions. Green Bay has one of the top four units in the receiving corps and defensive secondary as well as a quarterback in the top quarter of the league, similar to the Bears.

The Packers also have owned the division, winning it for seven of 14 seasons before their injury-plagued 6-10 2008 campaign. Even that year, only Green Bay won the head-to-heads with every other team in the division, getting two of its six wins over division rivals that finished with a winning record.

Now Green Bay’s chance at an NFC North title is a pipe dream only the most ridiculous optimist could foresee. The Packers are as far back as the Bears and cannot win any tiebreak unless there is a three-way tie.

Moreover, Green Bay still has the toughest part of the schedule coming after Thanksgiving: vs. Baltimore, at Chicago, at Pittsburgh, vs. Seattle, and at Arizona. There are likely three more losses in there, plus a tough game on Nov. 15 against the Cowboys.

Even if the Packers somehow shore up their offensive line and manage to go 10-6, it is unlikely the Vikings will win just three more games, and even more unlikely the Bears also end at 10-6 by both winning against Minnesota and losing the game at home against the Packers, forcing a three-way tie.

The Falcons and Saints are virtually locks to make the playoffs, and three teams in the NFC East (Philadelphia, New York, and Dallas) will be fighting for two spots. Thus, the second-place team in the North will see its season end Jan. 3.

In other words, I will still have to hear all the Rodgers-bashers say he has still not led us to the playoffs, totally ignoring that wins and losses are not all on the quarterback.

It’s the same argument I always hated for everyone who made Joe Montana the undisputed greatest quarterback of all-time, even though I think it’s very disputable.

Thank you, Ted Thompson, for failing to put this team in a position to win and adding fuel to this controversy that you could have avoided in the first place. If we don’t win half of our remaining games, I will go from calling for your job to calling for a mob.

Packers-Vikings: Minnesota Dominates

Before assessing what Sunday’s 38-26 loss to the Minnesota Vikings actually means to the Green Bay Packers (the subject of my next article—look for it Sunday morning), I want to provide the report card on each unit:

Aaron Rodgers had a passer rating over 100 for the fifth consecutive week, raising his season rating to 110.4. He now has 14 TDs and just two picks, plus one rushing TD and two fumbles lost for a 15:4 touchdown to turnover ratio. All of these stats are better than The Traitor has ever had.

In this game, he was 26-41 (.634) for 287 yards, three scores, and no turnovers despite being under constant pressure that led to six Viking sacks, giving them 14 in the two games between the rivals.

While these stats are worthy of an A grade, two of the sacks he took could have been avoided—knowing the lack of pass protection, Rodgers has to get an internal clock and learn to get rid of the ball sooner to become an elite quarterback.

Granted, the Packers were up against the defense that, while coming in only tenth against the run, has been the league’s best in this category in each of the past three seasons.

But the three running backs accounted for just 38 yards on 14 carries (2.7 average), failing to allow coach Mike McCarthy to get some pass-rush relief for his beleaguered signal-caller. While they did catch seven passes for 59 yards, there were no scores out of this unit.

This unit accounted for 20 catches, 231 yards, and three scores. Spencer Havner stepped into the second-tight end role and had 16- and five-yard touchdowns on both of his catches, and Greg Jennings looked like a Pro Bowler again with seven catches for 81 yards.

However, while I do not remember a single drop, the yards per catch was low (11.5) because there was only one reception that went for over 30 yards. It is a fallacy that you cannot get deep if there is no time to pass, as most long pass plays are on rather direct routes or runs after the catch.

After a brief respite from the failing grade, the line has returned. They one again opened no significant running lanes and did not give Rodgers enough time to go through his progressions on pass plays.

The Packers will be the only team to hold Adrian Peterson under 100 yards rushing twice this season—he finished with a solid 97 yards on 25 carries (3.9 average) and one TD, giving him just 152 on 50 carries (3.0) for the two games combined.

Overall, the Vikings ran 31 times to get their 111 yards (3.6 average), and the line deserves most of the credit for this, even with a pedestrian eight tackles, four assists, and one fumble recovered.

This shows that the game plan for McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dom Capers was not personal regarding The Traitor. They focused on Minnesota’s best player to the expense of allowing No. 4 to be successful.

This unit finally looked like the one that would struggle to adapt to the 3-4. Based on their performance in five of the seven weeks so far, I do not think it is the new system that accounts for this performance, but rather the game plans and talent levels of the two teams.

Packer linebackers had 20 tackles and six assists, but no big plays—not one sack, interception, or fumble recovered. Moreover, they surrendered five catches for 73 yards and two scores to Vikings running backs and tight ends.

Despite no pass rush and no help covering backs and tight ends, The Traitor completed just 60.7 percent of passes and had only 12 completions for 185 yards (a somewhat hefty 15.4 average) go to wide receivers, even if you include Percy Harvin in that group (he plays wide receiver and running back).

They did give up two scores, but also recovered a fumble. The unit accounted for 14 tackles and three assists.

The Vikings return game did a lot of damage—they had a 20-yard punt return and Harvin averaged about 35 yards on five kick returns. Jeremy Kapinos still managed a 35.8-yard net average on five punts, with one inside the 20, but Mason Crosby did not help the cause by failing to get one kick in the end zone (and missing a field goal attempt, albeit one beyond 50 yards).

The Packers got eight yards on their one punt return, and averaged only about 20 yards on their seven kick returns.

The most disappointing thing about the loss was the game plan and execution. There were not enough max protect schemes, not enough blitzing to force quick decisions that would play upon the emotions running through a gambling opposing quarterback, and not enough taking advantage of early successes that could have put mental pressure on him to make big plays.

The only time this game was in doubt was after the Vikings had surrendered 17 of the 21 point second half cushion they had established.

Once the defense quickly yielded a big play to let the Vikings widen that margin, there was no chance that poor decisions would hand the game to the Packers.

NFL Game of the Week: Packers-Vikings Rematch

At 1:15pm PST (that’s right—daylight savings is over, and it’s time to change your clocks back to real time!), the second-place Green Bay Packers host the division-leading Minnesota Vikings.

It is a rematch of the Week Four matchup won by the Vikings, 30-23. And I think I have heard something about a future Hall of Fame traitor’s return…

(Incidentally, for all of you still holding the ridiculous notion that The Traitor did not go to the Vikings to stick it to the Packers—catching us fans who love(d) him in the crossfire—read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel piece from Oct. 31. In it, they examine his changing of a late third-down play from a clock-managing run to a deep pass to rub it in.)

But then, you have already ignored previous evidence of the team’s efforts to talk him out of retirement, his declaration to Peter King that he was not forced out when he announced his retirement, reports that he fed an opponent inside information to help them still lose to the Packers—and his claim that even if he did, it’s not against the rules, all but an admission he did do it—and how about his own admission that he did want to go to Minnesota last season out of revenge! So what’s one more piece of evidence to refute your irrational position?

For me, this is about two rivals that hate each other and are the top contenders for the division title. I could care less about the quarterback matchup (And no, I am not one of those who says “could care less” when he means “couldn’t care less”…I am acknowledging that it does matter to me, since denial of that would be as irrational in light of the above rant as the position that rant was directed toward).

So how do the teams match up? Let’s first examine the injuries: CB Antoine Winfield will miss the game for the Vikings, while FB Korey Hall and WR Jordy Nelson will for the Packers.

TE JerMichael Finley is listed as doubtful for Green Bay, but I expect everyone else to play—several players have missed practice time for both teams and are listed as questionable or better, but they are not going to miss this key matchup.

The loss of the Vikings best corner means more than the loss of the fourth wide receiver and platooning tight end combined, and the Packers had this matchup won with both teams healthy.

The Packers have the 10th-best passing attack in the league in yards per game (258.3) while the Vikings have the 20th-ranked pass defense (ironically, giving up less than the Packers attain, at 234.6).

Green Bay’s offensive line—clearly its Achilles heel—is bolstered by the return of the tackles who have been their bookends over the past eight seasons, and the young players are improving.

And while the Vikings have played with a lead, leading to them facing more passes, the Packers have been in the lead almost as much, leading to running out the clock late.

On paper, these two teams seem close—Green Bay is ranked 13th (118/game) and the Vikings 10th (95.4), with both teams numbers being artificially high because of playing with leads. However, anyone who has been following the teams knows better.

In recent years, the Packers ground game has been inconsistent and the Vikings have been dominant. While it is fair to think this deep into the season that paradigm is shifting, it is foolish to think it has shifted as much as the stats indicate.

Minnesota has the league’s 13th-ranked passing attack (233.7) while Green Bay has the fourth-best pass defense (174). Both are equally affected by their scores coming in, but Green Bay is also among the league leaders in interceptions and takeaways, while Minnesota is only above average in preventing them.

The only shortcoming the Packers have here is the pass rush (supposedly improved in a 3-4), but it has not stopped them from attaining elite status.

Here again reason must win over statistics. Both teams rank 12th in their respective categories (97.5 yielded by Green Bay and 119.9 gained by Minnesota), and both teams are helped by the scores their opponents have faced.

But come on, the Vikings have Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. I know the Packers held Peterson to 55 yards on 25 carries in the first contest, but that will not happen again.

Minnesota has a slightly more reliable kicker and punter, but horrible coverage units. They may have better return units, but not enough to offset the coverage, or Mason Crosby’s substantial superiority on kickoffs.

Almost every one of these lines up in the Packers favour outside of penalties—the Packers are second worst in the league with 429 yards and the Vikings (despite one more game) are sixth-best with 280.

Minnesota has a slight edge in time of possession and third-down conversion comparison (offense vs. defense), but not enough to tip the scales.

There is the idea that the Packers are under more pressure—if Green Bay loses, they fall 2.5 games back and the Vikings have the tie-breaker. But that also gives them more urgency, so that is one of those half-full/half-empty things.

Moreover, the Traitor will counter any perceived advantage by putting pressure on himself to win this one, especially when he resents the plethora of boos he will receive.

He has a long history of trying to win the big games on each play, actually losing them in the process.

He will scrap the gameplan and throw deep on a regular basis, not a good idea with the matchup of his receivers against the best secondary in the world.

When you factor in that the Vikings have no virtually no statistical edge in the two categories in which they were given their advantages in the above assessment, while the Packers’ edges are concrete, and this one is clearly in Green Bay’s favour. That is why every analyst on NHL.com picked Green Bay, and it is why I am, too…

Prediction: Packers 31, Vikings 27

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