25-year old WR James Jones has been stepping up for the Packers as of late.  In his last 4 games, Jones has caught 15 passes for 177 yards (11.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  For the year, he has played in 11 games and he has caught 22 passes for 337 yards (15.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  With Jones finally healthy he gives Aaron Rodgers another weapon to use down the field when he has time to throw the ball.  Jones has played in 37 games in his 3 years with the Packers and he has caught 89 passes for 1,287 yards (14.5 avg) with 7 TD grabs. 

The Packers pretty much handed the Lions their first score of the game and then they took over.  Aaron Rodgers was razor sharp hitting 28 of 39 passes for 348 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Ryan Grant didn’t have his best game as he rushed for 61 yards on 20 carries (3.1 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 42 yards (14.0 avg).  Donald Driver was awesome yesterday with 7 catches for 142 yards (20.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Greg Jennings pitched in with 4 grabs for 53 yards (13.3 avg) yesterday.  WR James Jones (4 rec, 35 yards) and TE Donald Lee (4 rec, 22 yards) each caught 1 TD pass apiece in this game.  The Packers rolled up 422 yards of total offense (80 rushing, 342 passing) in this game. 

The defense was outstanding for the Packers yesterday in Motown.  LBs A.J. Hawk and Nick Barnett each had 10 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss apiece.  But, it was CB Charles Woodson who really dominated this football game.  He finished up with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for  a loss, he defensed 4 passes, had 1 QB hit, recovered a fumble and he intercepted 2 passes (one of which he returned 38 yards for a TD).  The Lions finished up with 272 total yards on offense (73 rushing, 199 passing) in this game.  The Packers are now 7-4 on the season after this nice road win over the pathetic Lions.

The Packers are finally playing an opponent that won’t beat the hell out of Aaron Rodgers who has been sacked 43 times already this season.  The Lions only have 18 sacks but they should at least attempt to blitz Rodgers because he has time to throw the ball he will torture the Lions’ secondary which is allowing 275.3 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 110.3 Rating against them.  Donald Driver and Greg Jennings could both have monster games for the Packers who will likely come out throwing the ball in a attempt to break the Lions’ will tomorrow.  If the Packers jump to a big lead then it will be Ryan Grant time against the Lions’ D which is allowing 116.2 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  Either way the Packers decide to attack the Lions they will probably excel.

The Lions are really banged up on offense with Matt Stafford likely out with a dislocated left shouler and Calvin Johnson gimpy with multiple injuries.  But the Packers also have had injuries hit them as Al Harris and Aaron Kampman are both out for the year.  The Lions will likely come out trying to fight fire with fire in the passing game.  Daunte Culpepper can still be effective if he has time to throw the ball but Lions’ QBs have been sacked 30 times already this year.  Look for Culpepper to go to Johnson a lot if he plays.  If he doesn’t play look for Dennis Northcutt, Bryant Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew to be the favorite targets of Culpepper.  Regardless, Culpepper must be careful when throwing to Charles Woodson’s side of the field.  Kevin Smith will also get his carries but the Packers have a stout run defense allowing only 90.7 yards rushing per game and 3.7 ypc.  Smith is a good receiver out of the backfield and that’s how the Lions might try to get the ball in his hands tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 42, LIONS 20

The Packers have signed 24-year old Josh Bell.  Bell played in 9 games as a rookie last season for the Broncos and he made 34 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and he defensed 4 passes.  Bell is a tad on the small side at 5’11″, 177 pounds but the Packers need help at cornerback and on special teams so this was a smart signing for them.

The Packers have lost starting CB Al Harris for the rest of the year due to a knee injury.  Harris has played in 10 games this season for the Packers and he has 34 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 5 passed defensed and he has 2 interceptions.  Harris is a true lockdown type of corner and the Packers will miss him.  26-year old Tramon Williams will replace Harris in the starting lineup.  Williams has played in all 10 games for the Packers this season and he has 23 tackles, 7 passes defensed and he also has 1 INT (67 yard return).  Unlike the injury to Kampman the Packers do have a decent replacement for Harris.

The Packers have lost starting OLB Aaron Kampman for the season due to a knee injury.  Kampman played in 9 games for the Packers this season and he made 42 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, forced 1 fumble and he has 3.5 sacks.  Kampman will be very hard to replace and rookie Brad Jones will get the first shot.  Jones was a 7th round pick last April out of Colorado.  He has played in 8 games for the Packers this season and he has 14 tackles.  This injury will likely hurt the Packers big time.

Aaron Rodgers had one of the best halves of his career to help the Green Bay Packers (6-4) build a big lead against the San Francisco 49ers (4-6) and hold them off to win Sunday.  Rodgers threw for 2 touchdowns and 274 yards in the first half and the Packers were up 24-3 at the break.  He slowed down in the second half and finished the game with the 2 touchdowns and 344 yards on 32/44 attempts.  Rodgers favorite target was Greg Jennings, who had 5 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.  The Packers also got a big game out of running back Ryan Grant.  Grant ran hard for 129 yard and a touchdown on 21 carries.  The Packers let up a little in the second half and 49ers’ quarterback Alex Smith, who the 49ers drafted over Rodgers in 2005, led the 49ers to a second half come-back but fell short.  Rodgers has definitely been the better player and I am sure the 49ers wish they would have taken him instead of Smith back in that ’05 draft.

The Packers defense played Smith very well in the first 2 1/2 quarters, sacking him three times and getting an interception by Nick Collins.  Smith went on to throw three touchdown passes after that though, including two in the 4th quarter.  The Packers had a hard time containing the 49ers’ TE Vernon Davis and rookie receiver Michael Crabtree.  Davis caught 6 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, while Crabtree caught 4 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown.  They held Frank Gore to 59 yards, but he only ran the ball 7 times so they did not do a good job on the few times the 49ers ran the ball.  The Packers are obviously happy with the win, but they should be concerned with the way their defense let the 49ers back in the game.

34-year old Donald Driver still has a lot of game left as he has been the Packers’ most dependable receiver this season.  He has played in 9 games for the Packers this season and he has caught 41 passes for 663 yards (16.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Driver has also carried the ball 1 time for 13 yards this year.  Driver might be able to sneak his way into the Hall of Fame with a couple of more good years.  He has now played in 154 games in his NFL career and he has caught 618 passes for 8,652 yards (14.0 avg) with 47 TD grabs.  Driver has also carried the ball 34 times for 217 yards (6.4 avg) with 1 TD run in his career.  The Packers and Aaron Rodgers have really benefitted from Driver’s outstanding play this season and they need him to keep up the good work.

32-year old Ahman Green is doing a good job for the Packers so far this season.  He has played in 3 games for the Packers since signing with them and he has carried the ball 11 times for 55 yards (5.0 ypc).  Green has also caught 3 passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg) this season.  The Packers have been looking for a dependable backup to Ryan Grant for a while now and they have appeared to have found one in old friend Ahman Green.  Green is also helping out on special teams for the Packers this season as he has returned 9 kickoffs for 196 yards (21.8 avg) so far this season.  It’s great to see Ahman Green back where he should be…..in Green Bay.

The Green Bay Packers (5-4) are coming off a great win over the Cowboys and need to build off that this week against the San Francisco 49ers (4-5).  The Packers need a win to stay in the Wild Card race for the NFC playoffs and if they get another performance like last weeks from their defense, they will be in great shape.  They nearly shut out the Cowboys, who are a much better offensive team than the 49ers.  Alex Smith has not been playing well at quarterback for the 49ers, so the Packers secondary needs to take advantage of any of his throwing mistakes.  Frank Gore is the engine that makes this team go though, so they need to key in on stopping his run.  Gore had a 104 yards and touchdown last week, so he is running the ball well lately.

The Packers need to be ready for an aggressive secondary who had five interceptions last week against the Bears.  Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler was making some terrible decisions though, and the 49ers defense gives up nearly 250 passing yards per game.  I expect Aaron Rodgers to find a lot more success than Cutler did last week, as Rodgers doesn’t throw the ball all over the place like Cutler.  Rodgers needs to be ready for pressure up front, but he is used to that by now as the Packers offensive line has been terrible at protecting him all season.  Rodgers has still found a lot of success despite his poor protection, and with Ryan Grant running the ball well lately (175 yards on 40 carries past 2 games) I think the Packers offense will do just fine against the 49ers defense.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Green Bay Packers 31, San Francisco 49ers 21