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Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will take on the New York Giants next Sunday at Lambeau Field.

With a 24-2 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Wild Card round Sunday, the New York Giants (10-7) ensured themselves a trip to Green Bay next weekend to take on the Packers in the NFC Divisional Round. The game will take place at 3:30 CST and be aired on FOX.

The New Orleans Saints, who defeated the Detroit Lions 45-28 on Saturday, will travel to San Francisco to play the 49ers in the other Divisional matchup.

New York left no doubt who should be the team advancing in the NFC playoffs Sunday. They worked through a slow first half with a 7-2 lead, then poured in on the Falcons in the second half with 17 points, including two Eli Manning touchdown passes.

The Giants rushing attack, which ranked 32 in the NFL during the regular season, rushed for 172 yards on 31 carries and was a driving force for the offense all afternoon. Brandon Jacobs had 92 of those yards, and Ahmad Bradshaw tacked on another 63.

The Giants’ defense also had a standout day, limiting the Falcons to just 247 total yards and zero points. Quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked just twice but was generally under heavy pressure for most of the game, and Michael Turner ran for just 2.7 yards a carry. They did lose Deon Grant (groin) and Aaron Ross (concussion), two key players in their secondary, to injuries. That could be a big factor next Sunday if both are forced to miss.  Read more... (406 words + 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

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As the wise philosopher Homer Simpson once declared, “The waiting game sucks! Let’s play Hungry Hungry Hippos!”

That’s the dilemma facing the Green Bay Packers this week as they wait out their first round bye and for their opponent in the divisional round to be determined.  While it’s doubtful the Packers are playing children’s board games in the locker room (well, maybe), we fans can play the wishing game and debate for hours on end who we want to see the Packers play in their first home playoff game since the 2007-2008 season.

(Be sure to cast your vote in the Poll at the end of this post)

The Packers can face one of three teams: the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions or the Atlanta Falcons.  Should Detroit upset the New Orleans Saints the Lions come to Lambeau.  Should the Saints hold on, the winner of Falcons/Giants would get the defending champions next.

So who would be the best matchup for the Packers? Honestly, an argument could be made for all three.  The Packers played (and beat) all three during the regular season, and defeated the Lions twice.  So familiarity with the opponent will be an advantage regardless.

I’ve decided to rank the three from the best matchup to the worst.  This is by no means a rock solid list.  I tossed all sorts of different variations in my head but I finally settled on the order below.  Read more... (986 words + 1 image, estimated 3:57 mins reading time)

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Desmond Bishop joins the rising category this week.

Packers Week 6 Stock Report: The Green Bay Packers improved to 5-0 by beating the Atlanta Falcons 25-14 on Sunday night. The Packers overcame a 14-0 deficit and the loss of Chad Clifton to get the win.

Last season at this time, there’s no way the Packers win that game. But Aaron Rodgers is so good right now that the Packers are never out of a game.

It was tough finding candidates for the falling category this week. It was equally as tough limiting the rising category to three players.

Rising

Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers is the best player in the league right now. The Packers probably lose Sunday night if their quarterback is merely good. But Rodgers is great, and he played great once again on Sunday.

Desmond Bishop
Bishop keyed the defensive turnaround by slicing through a gap and bringing down Michael Turner early in the second quarter. From there, the Packers D controlled the game and looked like the defense from last season.

Greg Jennings
Jennings typically hovers between steady and rising, but there’s no doubt where he belongs after five games. He’s one of the best route runners in the game and he’s been making plays in every game this season.

Steady

Mason Crosby
Crosby is a perfect 9 for 9 on FG attempts, including a huge 57-yarder on Sunday. Can’t be much more steady than that.  Read more... (621 words + 1 image, estimated 2:29 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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In this week’s installment of “Know Your Packers Enemy,” I talked with Dave Choate of the widely respected Falcons blog, TheFalcoholic.com, to talk Packers-Falcons. He was referred to me by AtlantaFalcons.com writer Daniel Cox, who turned down the request in fear of sounding too biased. Both Dave (@TheFalcoholic) and Daniel (@FalconsDCox) are excellent follows for Falcons news.

Enough of the intro’s, let’s get to the Packers-Falcons talk.

ZACH KRUSE: Expectations were (and still should be) high as ever in Atlanta heading into the season, especially with such names as Peter King picking the Falcons to win Super Bowl XLVI in SI’s NFL preview. Packers fans know all about those kind of expectations, as last season Green Bay was the trendy pick to win it all. The Falcons haven’t exactly lived up to those high expectations yet in 2011, but remember, the Packers were just 3-3 after six games last season. Is there any sense of panic or lower feelings for this season being 2-2?

DAVE CHOATE: It’s happening quickly. There are many, many fans who have abandoned the Falcons playoff wagon entirely, leaving it a torched shell. Others barely think the Falcons will get a winning season at this point. That’s balanced out by a number of fans who think it’s all overblown. Personally, I haven’t wavered from my 11-5 prediction, and don’t plan to do so even if the Falcons lose to the Packers. It’s just too early.  Read more... (957 words + 1 image, estimated 3:50 mins reading time)

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Didn’t we just beat these guys?

Nine months after beating the top NFC seed handily in the divisional round of the playoffs, the Green Bay Packers return to the Georgia Dome this Sunday night to face the Atlanta Falcons.  The Packers enter the game on a ten game winning streak dating back to last season and are currently tied with the Detroit Lions for the NFC North lead at 4-0.  The Falcons come in struggling and are one of the NFC’s most enigmatic teams at 2-2.

Last Week in Review

The Packers continued to roll, defeating the hapless Denver Broncos 49-23 at Lambeau Field.  The Falcons meanwhile barely held on after blowing an early lead against the Seattle Seahawks 30-28. The Falcons are currently third in the NFC South behind New Orleans and Tampa Bay.

Key Falcons players

QB Matt Ryan

Entering 2011, if there was one quarterback who was the next to see a rise to superstardom like Aaron Rodgers had last year, it was Matt Ryan.  Despite the blowout loss at home in the playoffs, the foundation had been laid for the Falcons to be dominant for years to come.

So far, that dominance has gotten off to a sluggish start.  Ryan is under constant pressure and has been making uncharacteristic mistakes.  While he is completing 62.2% of his passes, he has 6 TDs against 4 INTs.  Read more... (1210 words + 1 image, estimated 4:50 mins reading time)

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