Charles Woodson and Al Harris are the guys who make the biggest plays on the defense for the Packers.  Woodson is having another outstanding season with 20 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, he has defensed 3 passes and he has 3 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Al Harris is on the other side of the defense and he has 21 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  If the Packers got more pressure on the QB (only 5 sacks this season) then Woodson and Harris would even make more impact plays as it’s hard to cover WRs too long.

The Green Bay Packers (2-2)  are looking to continue their dominance at home over the Detroit Lions (1-4) on Sunday at Lambeau Field.  The Packers only real concern against the struggling Lions is their offensive line.  The Packers have given up a league high 20 sacks and it has caused a lot of problems for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense.  Rodgers has still been playing good football as he has six touchdowns and only one interception, while already throwing 1098 yards with a 61% pass completion.  Rodgers will probably have a big day, regardless of his pathetic line, since the Lions secondary is not very good.

The Lions will most likely be without their starting quarterback Mathew Stafford (knee) and their best offensive player in wide-receiver Calvin Johnson (knee).  Daunte Culpepper will start if Stafford can’t go and Culpepper did show signs of life last week against the Steelers, where he went 23 of 37 for 282 yards with one touchdown and one interception.  He did fumble the ball three times and was sacked seven, so the Packers should be able to get to him as he holds on to the ball way too long.  The Lions biggest offensive threat is probably the Lions’ running back Kevin Smith, since they are giving up 112 rushing yards per game.  The Lions run-defense is giving up nearly the same amount (113 yards per game), so Ryan Grant could have  big day for the Packers.  The Packers should not have a problem with the struggling, injured Detroit Lions team and should win their 18th straight at home against them.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Detroit Lions 21, Green Bay Packers 35

The Packers have lost KR/PR Will Blackmon for the season after he tore his ACL on Monday Night in Minnesota.  He returned 10 kickoffs for 233 yards (23.3 avg) and 3 punts for 11 yards (3.7 avg).  Blackmon is a good player but WR Jordy Nelson should be able to replace him.  Nelson has returned 6 kickoffs for 176 yards (29.3 avg) and 3 punts for 14 yards (4.7 avg).  The Packers might have to use Nelson a little less on offense so he doesn’t get worn down.  He has caught 7 passes for 104 yards (14.9 avg) with a TD this year.

The Green Bay Packers (2-2) had long been the beneficiary of Brett Favre’s ability to play well on the big stage, but on Monday night they fell victim to Favre and the Minnesota Vikings’ (4-0) defense.  Favre threw three touchdowns and passed for 271 yards on 24/31 attempts (77%).  Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense fought as hard as they could, but the Vikings front line was too much for the Packers offensive line to handle.  Rodgers did throw two touchdowns and a career high 384 yards on 26/37 attempts (70%), but often held on to the ball too long and threw an interception.  The Vikings ended up with eight sacks, with Jared Allen accounting for 4.5 sacks and a safety.

The Packers running game was effective, as they averaged 4.8 yards per carry, but they were playing catch-up most of the game and finished with only 82 rushing yards.  They had to pass most of the time, since they were down early, so they could not stick with the running game.  The Packers defense was able to shut down Adrian Peterson, as he only had 55 yards on 25 carries (2.2 avg), but they were not able to stop Brett Favre and the Vikings’ passing game.  Favre came out with a focus and determination to beat his former team and looked like a man on a mission.  He was able to build a big lead on the Packers and the Vikings’ defense was able to contain Aaron Rodgers from leading the Packers to a Favre-like comeback and held on for the victory.  The Packers have a bye next week.

The Green Bay Packers (2-1) are on the road this week against the Minnesota Vikings (3-0) and will be going up against their former leader and Packers legend, Brett Favre.  The Packers are coming off a blowout win over the Rams and Aaron Rodgers is looking to show the world why the Packers picked him over Favre last year.  Favre is looking to make a statement as well, as he said he wants to “stick it to” the Packers, especially their general manager Ted Thompson.

The Packers and Vikings are pretty close to each other when it comes to offense, as the Packers total yards per game is 313 and the Vikings average is 317.  Both Rodgers and Favre have strong arms and are a threat to go deep, and both have very capable running games.  The Vikings’ running game is more than very capable though, as they have the Adrian Peterson.  Although Peterson has failed to reach 100 yards in his last two games, he is still very dominant and has gone for at least one big play on the ground each game.  Peterson ran for 192 yards in their week 10 match-up last season, and I am not expecting AP to go three games without reaching the 100 yard mark

The biggest difference maker in this game wont be the offenses, it will be the defense.  The Packers defense is solid, but the Vikings have the better defense and I think that will be the difference maker in this match-up.  The Vikings defense will be able to pressure Rodgers and will get some sacks.  The Packers offensive line has given up 12 sacks already this year and they have not faced a defense as good as the Vikings yet this year.

This will be an exciting match-up with all the drama Favre brings to it, but Favre will not be the reason the Vikings win this game.  The Vikings defense is what will win this game for them, along with Adrian Peterson.  I am expecting Rodgers to have a good game, but the Vikings are going to be able to get to him too much and he will not have enough time to make plays.  If the Packers are able to protect Rodgers than they could very well win this one, but I think the Vikings have too much and will win a close one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Packers 21, Vikings 28

Veteran WR Donald Driver has been Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target so far this year.  He has caught 14 passes for 233 yards (16.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this season.  The last couple of years Greg Jennings has been the Packers’ WR of choice but there is room for both of them in the passing game which makes the Packers even more dangerous on offense.