AllGreenBayPackers.Com

Crabtree and Nelson celebrate a Packers TD

Green Bay Packers vs. Houston Texans:

My unfitered game day recap and blog post of comments, observations and first impressions.

Inactive for Packers today:

• S Sean Richardson
• CB Davon House
• LB Terrell Manning
• G Greg Van Roten
• TE D.J. Williams
• WR Greg Jennings
• DT B.J. Raji

Inactive for Texans today:

Game Notes:

Texans will be missing the heart of their defense, Brian Cushing, who is out with a torn ACL suffered last week against the Jets.

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Mike McCarthy Pregame Show on 620 WTMJ:

Daughter’s 21st birthday: A big day and it makes me feel old.

Team’s psyche: They’re confidant and ready to go. We knew this was going to be a tough one when the schedule came out. We respect the Texans.  Sunday night is always an exciting time to play.  Our guys are ready to go.

Noise: Yes, this is going to be a great environment. It’s my first time in this stadium, the only one I haven’t been in. We practice a lot for these conditions

Practice: We’re always working on improv ing our practices. We aren’t making any excuses. Our practices this week, I was very pleased with the walk throughs and the meetings.  Read more... (1036 words + 3 images, estimated 4:09 mins reading time)

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J.J. Watt has been the NFL’s best defensive player so far in 2012

The Green Bay Packers have a big road matchup on Sunday Night Football against the Houston Texans.  It’s a tough matchup following an tough loss at Indianapolis last weekend.  The Texans are clearly one of the best teams in the NFL and are undefeated at 5-0.

The Packers will need to put together their best overall performance in order to get a win.  Doing so would be big step in the right direction for the Pack.  Let’s look at the key matchups that will likely factor into the outcome.

Texans DE JJ Watt vs. PackersBryan Bulaga and Josh Sitton

Normally a QB matchup would lead off this segment but JJ Watt is the most important guy on the field for the Texans right now.  He leads the NFL in sacks with 8.5 and talk of his being Defensive Player of the Year has already begun.

The Texans run a base 3-4 and Watt lines up on the left side of the line.  Because of his skill set, Watt can stunt outside or in and will likely matchup against both Bulaga and Sitton along with C Jeff Saturday.  Houston will likely mix it up in order to keep the Packer OL off balance and create favorable matchups.  Any success by Watt spells trouble for the Packer offense.  Read more... (1358 words + 3 images, estimated 5:26 mins reading time)

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Will Texans RB Arian Foster run all over the Packers on national television?

Their backs are against the wall and they go up against an undefeated Houston Texans team at Reliant Stadium.

It’s not exactly the script Mike McCarthy drew up for the 2012 Green Bay Packers

Joking aside, after a stunning 30-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts many people have begun to write off the Packers for this season.  Reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers has had accuracy issues and the Packers defense actually looks even worse than the horrible unit of a year ago.  With the Packers at 2-3 and staring 2-4 in the face with the mighty Texans with the league’s best defense up next, there is very little reason for optimism in Titletown, right?

Hold your horses, folks.  Look back two seasons ago in the game before the Packers started their magical run to Super Bowl XLV. The team was 8-5 and would eventually fall to 8-6, but in that game against the New England Patriots with a still unproven Matt Flynn at quarterback the Packers fought hard and had the Patriots on the ropes until losing on the final play.

The Packers face a similar situation Sunday night at Reliant Stadium.  The Texans are 5-0 and have the best defense in the league to go along with an incredibly potent offense.  It almost like the Packers are looking into a mirror of what they should be but are not.  Read more... (1384 words + 1 image, estimated 5:32 mins reading time)

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Around the NFC North

Here’s a look at the Week 6 matchups around the NFC North.  The Chicago Bears are on a bye and do not play.

Detroit Lions (1-3) at Philadelphia Eagles (3-2)

The Lions emerge from their bye to face the Eagles in Philadelphia.  Detroit needs a win to halt a three-game losing streak.  Their last loss was at home to the Minnesota Vikings.  They haven’t won since week one.  Having been to the playoffs last season and coming into this season with high expectations, they would be digging a big hole with a loss.  It would leave them at least 3 games behind division leaders Bears and Vikings.

The Eagles dropped a close game at Pittsburgh last week.   The Eagles are looking for more consistency.  After a close week 1 win over the underdog Browns, Philadelphia came home and beat the Baltimore Ravens.  They followed that up with a loss at Arizona and then a win at home against the New York Giants.

Eagles QB Michael Vick is also looking to establish some consistency.  He has six TD’s and six INT’s on the season.  Vick has been sacked 14 times and has endured a few dings.  He is not taking off and running at will as he once did and the Eagles offensive line hasn’t been great.  They have to find a way to protect Vick against a potent Detroit defensive line.  Despite the Lions’ struggles, they still feature very good pass rushers in Ndomakong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch.  Read more... (1042 words + 3 images, estimated 4:10 mins reading time)

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Current Standings:

“Jersey” Al Bracco, 6-2
Thomas Hobbes, 5-3
Zach Kruse, 5-3
Chad Toporski, 5-3
Kris Burke, 2-6

Chad Toporski, a Wisconsin native and current Pittsburgh resident, is a writer for AllGreenBayPackers.com. You can follow Chad on twitter at @ChadToporski

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The strength of the Giants' defensive line is just one observation from the 2011 NFL Wild Card weekend.

With four teams out of the playoff race and the New York Giants scheduled to take on the Green Bay Packers next week, I thought it might be prudent to take a look back at the weekend and reflect on the results. The games mostly went as expected, minus the Pittsburgh Steelers getting “Tebowed” in Denver.

Let’s get right down to it, then. Here are some observations from the four Wild Card games and how they might relate to the Packers going forward:

1. Regular season records don’t mean anything. This weekend, we saw two division champions take down Wild Card teams who held a better record in the regular season. The New York Giants (9-7) practically shut out the Atlanta Falcons (10-6), and the Denver Broncos (8-8) stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) with an overtime bullseye strike.

Yes, the Packers made an impressive run this season going 15-1, but don’t let that alone give you any sense of false hope. It won’t afford Green Bay any advantage on the field, because the only thing that matters is how well they are playing right now.  Read more... (1078 words + 1 image, estimated 4:19 mins reading time)

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