Official Week 17 Green Bay vs Minnesota Thread Battle For The NFC North

It's the NFL. You get in the playoffs and you always have a chance to win 4 in a row. Would it surprise me if we're one and done? Not really, but we also apparently had "no chance" going into Seattle last postseason and we were a special teams brain fart away from going to the SB.

This team just has too many playoff tested guys for me to think that they go out with a whimper. I think we run all over the Vikings and win a grind it out game.

W 24-10
 
GettyImages-501243378.0.jpg

The Packers could face the Vikings without a cavalcade of their most important players.

The Green Bay Packers hope to see their injured players return for Sunday's NFC North-deciding tilt with the Minnesota Vikings. However, according to Mike McCarthy, the team's top cornerback and nose tackle remain in the concussion protocol, and the starting offensive tackles look like shaky propositions to play.

During his media availability Thursday, McCarthy said both Shields and Bulaga had made progress towards a return. Shields suffered a concussion during the first half of the Packers' Week 14 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys and has not practiced since. McCarthy claimed the corner had entered " the back end" of the protocol, suggesting a return could occur soon. As for Raji, who absorbed a blow from a teammate during last Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, a return appears less likely before the season finale.

McCarthy admitted that the offensive line hasn't handled the rash of injuries well enough.

"Without getting into specifics or anything, just some things that we were trying to get done, supposed to get done, we did not," McCarthy said. "It's definitely something we'll learn from."

After expressing optimism that starting tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga could suit up against the Vikings, McCarthy sounded less sure Thursday. In both cases, the coach acknowledged that their playing status wouldn't become clear until the end of the week.


Still, the Green Bay coach called the unit "the most flexible group we've had in my time here," adding, "it's definitely the deepest offensive line group." The line has certainly been pushed to its limits, with Don Barclay starting at left tackle a week ago for an injured Bakhtiari and both Josh Walker and JC Tretter splitting time at right tackle in place of a hobbled Bulaga.

[BCOLOR=#FFC20E]Jason B. Hirschhorn covers the Green Bay Packers for Acme Packing Company. He also serves as an NFL writer for SB Nation and Sports on Earth and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
Follow @by_JBH[/BCOLOR]​

Continue reading @http://www.acmepackingcompany.com/ ...
 
I have no idea what to expect this game. The Vikes have been hot and the Packers have not. Nothing would surprise me.... GB 27 Vikes 24 but it won't be easy.
 
I think this is a game that MN will want more play just a little harder MN wins with a last second field goal 24-23
 
GBP4EVER said:
I think this is a game that MN will want more play just a little harder MN wins with a last second field goal 24-23
Click to expand...
That will break my heart and mean my nerves are shot. If they are gonna lose, make it by a lot.
 
Player 2 Player: Week 17 vs Minnesota, by David Bobke

Happy New Year to all! A new year means this is a new season, right? Fresh start?

Yes, that would be nice. But a similar result to the last meeting between these two teams would be great.

Packers D-Line vs Vikings Adrian Peterson

Plug the holes before the water gets through. Catching AP is only slightly easier than trying to catch water in its liquid form, but still possible (I learned that from the week-long Mythbusters marathon on the Science Channel.)

B.J. Raji, Datone Jones, and Mike Daniels are doing well this season, and they set the standard for the defense. The linebackers should get there if the line can hold their own, whether closing a gap or holding desperately onto Peterson as he tries to get upfield. Peterson is and should always be the number one person accounted for on every play. The second person? Also Adrian Peterson. The third is also Peterson.

Basically, don’t let Peterson get away.

Richard Rodgers vs Anthony Barr

Whether Barr is battling a pass or a run, he may end up dealing with Rodgers (the tight end, hopefully not the other one) a lot Sunday night.

Rodgers has wound up being a heavy-volume receiver this year, but with McCarthy leaning a bit more on the running game, Rodgers may be asked to stay on the line (or get pulled in favor of a tight end who can, you know, “block.”) Barr isn’t the greatest coverage-linebacker in the world, but he’s certainly not awful at it either. Barr should be a tough matchup for Rodgers when they go head-to-head.

Clay Matthews vs Teddy Bridgewater

I seem to remember picking on Teddy Bridge-over-troubled-water before. I always bring that nickname up because I don’t believe in him. He can be a quarterback who has a very good game now and then. I certainly grant that. He’s also the type of quarterback who will have a couple really crappy games. I don’t buy him as a franchise quarterback or as a great leader. I believe there was a very good reason he fell dang near out of the first round a couple years ago (picked 32nd overall simply because Minnesota had acquired Seattle’s pick.)

If the linebackers get pressure, Bridgewater will begin to crumble. It won’t happen right away, but consistent pressure will get to him. If you watched the Holiday Bowl, Jack Cichy had 3 sacks in a row on USC quarterback Cody Kessler. That type of performance will rattle Bridgewater for the rest of the night. That is what I’m talking about.

And if you didn’t watch the game, go back and watch him in the 3rd quarter. It’s awesome!

Randall Cobb vs Terence Newman

Nuts to Terence Newman. He’s an old man. Still plays well though. If Cobb is at 100%, he needs to light this guy up. If the Packers offense is going to get back on track, he needs to light this guy up on short routes and long routes and slant routes and corner routes and frontways and backways and everyways known to mankind.

Seriously, nuts to Newman. Looking for him to get shredded this weekend.

Jake Ryan vs Kyle Rudolph

Urban Dictionary defines “Jake Ryan” as…”a term used by women to describe the ‘perfect boyfriend.'”

Is that why we were all so crazy about him when he was drafted? Makes you wonder…

Oh gosh…heaven help us if Rudolph is feeling frisky on Sunday night. Ryan has been getting better with his increased playing time, but last week in coverage, he looked terrible. I think he’s been dumped on pretty unfairly for that one rough performance. Expect a better game from him this week, and…hope Rudolph isn’t his assignment very often.

Continue reading @http://titletownsoundoff.com/ ...
 
Have to think this stays close. It's MN first shot in a long time and a chance to stick it to GB. Going Packers 23 Vikes 17 but it won't be easy and Rodgers is going to get hit a lot in this game.
 
Sam Shields will miss tomorrow's game with his concussion.

Good news Raji and Neal upgraded to probable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top