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After the “Fail Mary” in September, the Packers could play the Seahawks again in the playoffs.

After defeating the Minnesota Vikings last week, the Green Bay Packers are two wins away from Super Bowl XLVII.

If the Packers defeat the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night, they’ll move on to the NFC Championship. Who and where they’d play would be determined Sunday afternoon when the Falcons and Seahawks square off in Atlanta.

If the No. 1 seed Atlanta Falcons win, they’ll host the NFC Championship at the Georgia Dome. But if the Seahawks win, then the winner of Saturday’s Packers-49ers game will host the NFC Championship.

(Now would be a good time to mention that I fully expect this Saturday’s game against the 49ers to be a hard-fought, down-to-the-wire matchup that could go either way. The purpose of this post is not to overlook a good 49ers team, but rather, to look at (what could be) the next game on the Packers’ schedule.)

A rematch with Seattle would surely result in an amped-up Lambeau Field crowd, hungry for revenge after what happened on Sept. 24. But a rematch with Atlanta would mean the Packers, a team built for a fast track, would be playing indoors with a chance to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.

This begs the question…

Would you, as a fan, rather see the Packers host the Seahawks at Lambeau Field or have them play the Falcons in the Georgia Dome?  Read more... (1506 words + 1 image, estimated 6:01 mins reading time)

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Aaron Rodgers will use the hard count this weekend to help keep the Giants' pass rush at bay.

All week, the discussion surrounding the Green Bay Packers’ Divisional Round game has been primarily about their matchup with the New York Giants’ defensive line. It seems to be the biggest focal point of the whole game, especially with the young talents of Jason Pierre-Paul matching up against veteran Chad Clifton.

But there is an X-factor to this “battle in the trenches” that hasn’t been mentioned much: Aaron Rodgers’ use of the hard count.

It’s no surprise that the Green Bay Packers are looking forward to having the home field advantage. For one, they don’t have to travel, but most importantly, they don’t have to deal with a hostile crowd. As someone who witnessed the last Packers-Giants matchup at MetLife Stadium, I can attest to the impact of crowd noise.

The “twelfth man” can create a lot of stress for opposing offenses. Sometimes they will revert to a silent snap count, which affords the defense an edge in getting off the line as quickly as the offense. Other times it can create communication problems which lead to pre-snap penalties and clock management issues.

Let’s not forget, though, what advantages are provided to the home offense.

Finding ways to slow down the Giants’ pass rush will be important for a Packers victory. Common tactics include establishing a solid ground attack, utilizing screen passes and draw plays, and chip blocking the outside rushers with tight ends.  Read more... (636 words + 1 image, estimated 2:33 mins reading time)

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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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