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The Falcons are just one of four NFC playoff teams to have lost to the Packers in 2011 and would surely love one more crack at them.

On Sunday night, the seeding for the NFL playoff games was set in stone when the New York Giants soundly beat the Dallas Cowboys in a game that decided the NFC East division champions. Earlier that day, the San Francisco 49ers eked by the St. Louis Rams to maintain their second seed and first-round bye, while the Atlanta Falcons secured the fifth seed after their big win over Tampa Bay and the Detroit Lions’ loss to the Green Bay Packers.

With the regular season complete, we finally have a clear picture of how the playoffs could progress. Before continuing, though, here is a quick list of the final seeding for the NFC:

1. Green Bay Packers (15-1)
2. San Francisco 49ers (13-3)
3. New Orleans Saints (13-3)
4. New York Giants (9-7)
5. Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
6. Detroit Lions (10-6)

The rules dictate that, in each round of the playoffs, the lowest seeded team will travel to face the highest seed, while the second lowest seed will face the second highest. The lone exception is the first round, where the two highest seeds (the Packers and 49ers this year) get a bye for that week.  Read more... (1411 words + 1 image, estimated 5:39 mins reading time)

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Aaron Rodgers has hogged most of the highlights for the 11-0 Green Bay Packers this season, and rightfully so. The frontrunner for NFL MVP had to make a little room for some newcomers in Thursday’s win over the Detroit Lions, however.

Offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and linebackers Robert Francois and D.J. Smith stepped in after injuries to starters and left their mark on the Packers latest victory. Unknown players stepping up when needed has become a trend for the Packers over the last two seasons.

Who are these latest unknowns and where did they come from?

Evan Dietrich-Smith

How he got here: Cut by the Packers at the end of training camp in 2010, Dietrich-Smith resigned with Green Bay in Week 17 and remained on the roster throughout the postseason. The Packers originally signed Dietrich-Smith as an undrafted free agent out of Idaho State in 2009. He was the only undrafted player to make the team.

Why he’s here: Dietrich-Smith has the athleticism to play all three interior OL positions. He can also handle a zone blocking scheme. At Idaho State, the 6-2, 308-pounder started 44 games and received All-Conference honorable mention four times.  Read more... (765 words + 1 image, estimated 3:04 mins reading time)

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In this week’s installment of “Know Your Packers Enemy,” I talked with Max Ginsberg of Purple Pants, Green Jersey, a blog dedicated to news and information about both the Vikings and Packers. Max also writes on occasion for Cheesehead TV. He’s a great follow on Twitter (@MaxGinsberg) for news and opinions on both franchises.

Enough with the intros, let’s get to some Packers-Vikings talk.

ZACH KRUSE: The big news this week is the transition from Donovan McNabb to Christian Ponder at quarterback. McNabb has historically done well against the Packers, but I think we could all see that this move needed to happen sooner rather than later. What are some of the pros and cons of the Vikings’ decision to start the rookie this week?  Read more... (1322 words + 1 image, estimated 5:17 mins reading time)

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Remember back in the mid-90′s, when every time the Green Bay Packers ventured into an indoor stadium, you knew something horrific was about to unfold? Well, you can stash those memories away. The days when domed disasters were common place are now long gone with Aaron Rodgers under center.

The Packers quarterback has simply taken his game to another level when Green Bay plays in the comfortable conditions of indoor stadiums. In 15 career games indoors, including playoff games, Rodgers has thrown for nearly 4,400 yards with 31 touchdowns and six interceptions. The Packers are just 8-7 in those games, but most of the losses either weren’t Rodgers’ fault statistically or came early in his starting career.

On Sunday in Minnesota, Rodgers aims to continue that streak of statistical dominance indoors as the Packers take on the Vikings at the Metrodome.

Rodgers had one of the best games of his career at the Metrodome last season, as he threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns in the Packers’ 31-3 romp.  The 141.3 passer rating he posted in that game is his highest rating ever in an indoors game.  Read more... (814 words + 1 image, estimated 3:15 mins reading time)

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The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers are just two years removed from playing a pair of games that essentially decided the NFC North in 2009, but the franchises couldn’t have veered in more different directions since then.

The Packers rebounded from two crippling losses to Brett Favre in ’09 to win the Super Bowl last season, and they’ve started 2011 with six straight victories. Green Bay is the last remaining undefeated team in the NFL and the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season.

The Vikings, on the other hand, went through a circus year in 2010 which saw them stumble to a disappointing 6-10 record. Things haven’t gotten better this season under coach Leslie Frazier, as the Vikings are fresh off a 39-10 drubbing at the hands of the Chicago Bears which dropped them to 1-5.

But despite everything suggesting an easy path for Green Bay to get to 7-0 this week in Minnesota, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is standing firm that Sunday isn’t a game that his team will overlook on the schedule.  Read more... (696 words + 1 image, estimated 2:47 mins reading time)

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Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (4-0) face off with Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons (2-2) in Week 5 of the NFL season on Sunday Night Football.

The basics 

When: 7:20 CDT; Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011

Where: Georgia Dome; Atlanta, GA

TV: NBC; Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth with the call, Michelle Tafoya on the sidelines

Radio: 620 AM WTMJ (Milwaukee), Packers Radio Network, Westwood One Radio, NFL Sunday Drive (Sirius Radio)

Series: Packers lead, 14-13 (Falcons won the last regular season game, 20-17, in Atlanta on Nov. 28, 2010)

Five things to watch

1. The beat goes on  Read more... (1684 words + 1 image, estimated 6:44 mins reading time)

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Clay Matthews gets a hit on Drew Brees in Week 1, but is it too little too late?

One sack.

Through four games in the 2011 regular season, Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews has just one sack. As the 26th overall draft pick two years ago, he notched 10 sacks in his rookie season, followed by a 13.5-sack performance his sophomore year in the NFL. Opposing offenses have resorted to giving him plenty of attention through chips, double teams, and moving the pocket away from his side. Fans and coaches alike have come to expect an elite level of play from Matthews.

And yet it doesn’t seem like they’re getting it.

Despite playing against a porous Chicago Bears offensive line and matching up against pedestrian right tackles, Clay Matthews has just one sack to his name. The worst part is that his sack is no more than a technicality, as first draft pick Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers was running out of bounds on the play.  Read more... (1803 words + 1 image, estimated 7:13 mins reading time)

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