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Packers RB DuJuan Harris scores in the first quarter of Saturday night’s playoff games against the Vikings.

I was at Lambeau for the Packers  bye week   NFC wild-card round victory over the Vikings on Saturday night. I have a couple of questions:

1. Should we be excited about the defensive performance? Or chalk it up to playing against Joe Webb?

2. How awesome is Aaron Rodgers?

3. Will the Packers turn in one of their “we’re nobody’s underdogs” performances against the 49ers?

4. What should we do with people (and I was kind of one of them) who thought the Packers defense was better without Woodson?

5. Since when did the Packers replace the Lambeau PA announcer with a guy from the NBA? Too much screaming, too much nonsense. Packers fans are capable of getting loud without gimmicks.

Now I will attempt to answer my own questions:

1. Somewhat excited.

2. Very.

3. Yes.

4. Ban them from blogging.

5. I already kind of answered this one. On to the stock report:

Rising

Aaron Rodgers
How many other quarterbacks can make the throw where Rodgers rolled right and hit Jordy Nelson inside the 5-yard line? Very few, if any. Rodgers has been excellent the last two weeks. If he keeps it going against the 49ers, I like the Packers’ chances.  Read more... (689 words + 1 image, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

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The Packers are playing well right now. Are they the best team in the NFC?

The Packers have already punched their ticket to the playoffs. And by defeating the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the Packers would be the No. 2 seed, earning a first-round bye.

My eyes tell me that the Packers are a better team than the Vikings. And a motivated team heading to Minnesota with a first-round bye on the line should should show up ready to play.

So when looking at the playoff picture, let’s assume the Packers get the win and the No. 2 seed.

Beyond where the Packers are ultimately seeded, there’s a lot still to be determined in the NFC.

Will it be the Washington Redskins or the Dallas Cowboys as the NFC East Champions? Will the Vikings or Bears sneak into the playoffs? Are the New York Giants really done?

There is a handful of teams competing for two playoff spots, so what should you watch for around the NFL after the Packers play on Sunday? Let’s take a closer look at the potential NFC playoff field.

1) Who will win the NFC West?

The 49ers play at home against the 5-10 Arizona Cardinals this week, and the Seahawks will host the 7-7-1 St. Louis Rams. If the 49ers win, they’re the NFC West champions and would have a home playoff game.

If the 49ers lose and the Seahawks win, then Seattle is the division champions, and the 49ers would be playing on the road on wild card weekend.  Read more... (1754 words + 5 images, estimated 7:01 mins reading time)

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With two more regular season games to go, here is an update on the Packers’ playoff situation:  Read more... (362 words + 1 image, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

• The Packers have already clinched the NFC North. They will be in the playoffs, guaranteed at least one home game and no worse than the fourth overall seed.
• If the season ended today, the Packers would be the third seed and host the sixth-seeded Vikings on wild-card weekend. That’s likely not going to hold up since the Packers play the Vikings in week 17. The Vikings also could win their next two games and still miss the playoffs.
• The Packers can move up to the second seed if they win out and the 49ers lose once. The 49ers are at Seattle this week and host Arizona in week 17.
• Whether the Packers move up to the second seed, or stay at No. 3, a second-round matchup with the 49ers looks likely. If the Packers are the third seed and win their first-round game, they would travel to San Francisco. If the Packers are the second seed and the 49ers win their first-round game as the No. 3 seed, San Francisco would visit Green Bay.
• The Packers can get the first seed if they win out and the Falcons lose their last two games.
• If the Packers stay the third seed, it’s very likely that their first-round game will be against a wild-card team from the NFC East or the Bears.

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If healthy, James Starks should get an opportunity in the playoffs.

With James Starks out, Ryan Grant has come to life late this season.

There’s no question that Grant has the hot hand heading into the playoffs. He’s got plenty of momentum, if you believe in that sort of thing. But as great as Grant has been down the stretch, Packers coach Mike McCarthy should give both Grant and Starks an opportunity in the playoffs.

Before Starks became hobbled by various injuries, McCarthy gave both Starks and Grant carries early in games. With the exception of the Bears game, Starks usually performed better and ended up getting the majority of the work.

Assuming Starks returns to 100 percent, there’s no reason to alter that strategy in the playoffs. Give each RB some opportunities early and go with the hot hand later in the game.

I know it’s easy to write-off guys that seem injury prone or don’t live up to high early-season expectations. But lets not forget that Starks ran for over 100 yards against the Eagles last season in the wild-card round and was the go-to RB on a Super Bowl winning team. He’s not the veteran that Grant is, but he’s been through the postseason before. I don’t want to hear about how he’s unreliable, unproven or inexperienced.

Any praise for Starks should not be taken as as a dismissal of Grant. Grant has made those that dismissed him this season look silly, and he might continue doing that in the playoffs.  Read more... (361 words + 1 image, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

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Matt Flynn likely will be shaking his agent's hand after earning a significant raise following his performance on Sunday.

I agreed 100 percent with Mike McCarthy’s decision to rest Aaron Rodgers on Sunday, but I couldn’t help but think about how I would feel if I dropped an entire paycheck to bring my family to the game, only to learn that Rodgers was resting.

“Resting?” I would have said. “I’m paying how much for tickets, parking, food, beer, a jersey and other stuff so my family can come watch Aaron Rodgers and he’s taking the day off?!?!”

Those angry thoughts would not have lasted much longer after the game started, though. How many fans can say they saw something historic and record-breaking happen at Lambeau Field? The fans at Sunday’s game can.

The Packers are definitely rising heading into the playoffs and there will be more opportunities to make history before the season concludes.

Rising

Matt Flynn
Matt Flynn may be the biggest mover of the entire season. Flynn’s performance and his statistics from Sunday speak for themselves, so I’d like to use this space to address the silly notion that the success of Aaron Rodgers this season and Flynn on Sunday was solely due to the Packers “system.” Yes, McCarthy has one of the best systems in the NFL, but anyone who suggests Rodgers is a “system quarterback” should be locked in a padded room with Skip Bayless and forced to watch replays of the Broncos-Chiefs game from Sunday. Tom Oates from the Wisconsin State Journal sums up my thoughts perfectly with this Tweet. You could put Rodgers on any team, with any system, and he’d still be one of the best QBs in the NFL. The throws he makes and the plays he digs out of his you-know-where are amazing and would be just as amazing under any “system.” And lets not cheapen what Flynn did on Sunday by lazily chalking it up to the Packers “system.”  Read more... (774 words + 1 image, estimated 3:06 mins reading time)

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Charles Woodson needs to sit on the bench next to Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews on Sunday.

When did it become the norm in America to shop before, during and after the holidays? When I was a kid, my parents sneaked away after work on a random night in early December to buy my Christmas presents (my favorites were games for my Sega Master System or WWF wrestler figurines).

They didn’t wake up at 3 a.m. to wait in line at some store on Black Friday. They didn’t buy additional crap on Cyber Monday. And they didn’t use the Holidays as an excuse to buy a bunch of stuff for themselves on the day after Christmas.

Speaking of the day after Christmas, I never once rushed to a nearby store to exchange one of my presents. If I got a Ricky Steamboat wrestling figure, then by God, that’s the wrestling figure I played with until my birthday came around.

Shopping for kids these days isn’t what it used to be. It’s hard. I don’t envy parents one bit. If I ever become a parent, I’m going to ask my kid to make me a list of things he doesn’t want in addition to the things he wants. I guarantee you the don’t want list will be longer than the want list.  Read more... (601 words + 1 image, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

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Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and the NFC Championship.

I don’t think it can possibly get any better than this.

After the Packers impressive 48-21 over the Atlanta Falcons and the Bears’ easier than it looked 35-24 win over the upstart Seattle Seahawks, both teams prepare to meet for only the second time in their long and storied rivalry. For the first time since 1941, the Packers and Bears get together for– to steal a line from Brent Musberger–all the Tostitos.

Since the Packers faced the Bears twice already this season, I don’t think it’s necessary to break them down once again. We know them well enough by now and the same could be said for the Bears knowing the Packers. It’s a division rivals against one another, so the familiarity between the two teams is rather obvious.

Instead let’s go ahead jump to FIVE (hey, it’s a big game alright?) keys to the NFC Championship

1. The condition of Soldier Field
Much has been made this week over the shape the sod in Soldier Field is in. It was already showing noticeable damage during the Seahawks game last week, and with brutal cold settling in across the entire Midwest, there hasn’t been enough time to re-sod the entire football field

With the game also expected to be played under cold temperatures, the condition of the field will be crucial to both teams. The Bears obviously have had some experience playing in it and the Packers have not. You would think that would give the Bears an edge, but the Packers have played their share of games in Lambeau with the sod coming up in chunks.  Read more... (1038 words + 1 image, estimated 4:09 mins reading time)

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