Packers Gonna Pound A New Papa » Brats & Beer

October 27, 2006
posted under: Cardinals, Packers, Pre-game

Let me say first congratulations to Matt Leinart and Brynn Cameron on the birth of their new son. It’s good to see the former USC star finally settling down and with someone not named Paris. I’m sure Packer fans everywhere wish him and his new family well.

Of course, no one will be wishing Leinart well on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Green Bay has a chance to win back-to-back games for the first time since the end of the 2004 season and anyone that stands in the way is ripe for a smackdown.

The Cardinals might very well be the worst disaster this year in the NFL, a real feat considering how bad the Raiders, Lions, and Titans have been thus far. I’m still of the mind that shocker against Chicago on Monday Night Football only proved the Bears might be finally coming back to earth, rather than any sort of improvement by Arizona.

Compared to the Cardinals, Green Bay’s offensive linemen are All-Stars: Edgerrin James has rushed for just 432 yards in seven games, averaging 2.7 yards per carry, and Arizona has surrendered 21 sacks so far. Their defense has shown flashes but still allowed 22 points against Oakland last week. It’s a desperate situation for Denny Green, who is probably on the bubble at this point.

On paper, then, Sunday’s game should be a blowout in favor of Green Bay, but the Packers have their own problems to deal with. None of those is more pressing than the situation at wide receiver: Greg Jennings will probably be sidelined with an ankle injury suffered last week, leaving Donald Driver to lead a cast of unknowns such as Chris Francies, Ruvell Martin, and newly acquired Shaun Bodiford. Francies came up with a couple clutch receptions against Miami, as did David Martin, and they need to continue that trend this week.

Chad Clifton is back in the lineup this week, which is a boost for the beleaguered line. Hopefully that will mean better pass protection and a boost for the running game as well.

The defense, though, continues to be the weak spot in the Packers armor, giving up more than 400 yards through the air against Miami last week. Even against a rookie quarterback playing without his number one receiver, the Green Bay secondary needs to do a better job of covering and communicating or they’ll get burned. The pass rush, too, needs to step up and put some more stats on the board.

If everything goes the way it should, though, Green Bay will 3-4 with a road game against a struggling Buffalo team waiting in the wings. What do you suppose all the “pundits” out there in the mainstream sports media would say about about our Packers if they pulled back to even in the standings?