The Packers are banged up right now and they will be heading to New Jersey to deal with the Jets who were on a bye last week.  The rested Jets are going to try to be bullies this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the football:  The Jets have been cutting down on the blitzing which means they will likely have a nickel back on the field most of this game.  The Packers will still come out throwing the ball though as the Jets are allowing 229.0 yards passing per game this year.  Donald Driver is still a tad gimpy so look for Aaron Rodgers to keep Jordy Nelson & James Jones heavily involved in the offense.  But when Aaron Rodgers wants to go deep he’s going to be looking Greg Jennings’ way.  Anything that Brandon Jackson or John Kuhn give the Packers on the ground will be a bonus.

When the Jets have the football:  The Packers are allowing 124.3 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry so I anticipate that the Jets are going to come out running the ball with LaDainian Tomlinson & Shonn Greene.  Also look for Brad Smith to be under center quite a bit in this game as the Wildcat QB.  The Packers have 22 sacks this year so I look for the Jets to keep the passing game short.  This is the kind of game that Mark Sanchez will want to check down and go with Dustin Keller in the passing game so he can stay away from the ballhawking corners of the Packers.

PREDICTION:  JETS 24, PACKERS 20

26-year old inside linebacker A.J. Hawk is the Packers’ leading tackler this year.  He has stayed healthy and productive for the Packers which hasn’t been the case with most of the LBs on the team.  Hawk has played in 7 games for the Packers so far this year and he has 60 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The Packers need Hawk to keep up the good work.  Hawk has now played in 71 games in his five years with the Packers and he has 460 tackles, 19 passes defensed, 8.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 7 interceptions. 

The Packers have claimed 31-year old NT Howard Green off waivers from the Jets.  Green played in 2 games for the Jets this year and he had 1 tackle and 1 forced fumble.  Green has now played in 50 games in his NFL career and he has 79 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 sack and 3 forced fumbles.  Green is a huge man at 6’2″, 365 pounds so the Packers will just likely want him to force teams to double team him, keeping the linebackers clean when he’s in the game.

With the Packers losing linebackers left and right they decided to ink veteran linebackers Matt Wilhelm & Erik Walden.  The 29-year old Wilhelm played in 11 games for the 49ers last season and he had 18 tackles.  Wilhelm has now played in 82 games for the Niners and he has 238 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 6 interceptions.  Wilhelm has a higher upside than Walden at this point of their careers.  The 25-year old Walden played in 11 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 8 tackles.  Walden has now played in 26 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 23 tackles. 

The Packers have lost 24-year old OLB Brad Jones for the rest of the year with a neck injury.  Jones played in 6 games for the Packers this year and he had 27 tackles including 2 tackles for a loss.  Jones has now played in 20 games in his first two years in the NFL and he had 60 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 4 sacks.  This is another big blow to the Packers who have lost a lot of defensive players for the season due to injury.

The Packers have lost 31-year old linebacker Brady Poppinga for the rest of the year due to knee surgery.  Poppinga played in 6 games for the Packers this year and he has 14 tackles and 1 sack.  Poppinga has now played in 81 games in his six years with the Packers and he has 244 tackles, 7 passes defensed, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions.  The linebacking corps of the Packers is starting to get really, really thin.

The Packers have lost 23-year old rookie DE/DT Mike Neal for the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery.  Neal played in 2 games for the Packers this year and he had 3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble.  The Packers have had a huge rash of injuries on D so Neal would have likely gotten his big chance soon if he could have just stayed healthy.  He was a second round pick of the Packers last April out of Purdue so they like him……they’ll just have to wait until next season to see what they have in him.

The Packers finally beat Brett Favre but it wasn’t easy.  Aaron Rodgers outplayed Favre by completing 21 of 34 passes for 295 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 14 yards (4.7 ypc) in this game.  Brandon Jackson was busy for the Packers last night as he carried the ball 13 times for 58 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 46 yards (15.3 avg).  John Kuhn had a hard time with 7 carries for only 12 yards (1.7 ypc) rushing in this game.  James Jones (4 rec, 107 yards), Greg Jennings (6 rec, 74 yards, TD) and TE Andrew Quarless (2 rec, 16 yards, TD) led the way for the Pack in the passing game.  The Packers finished up with 84 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 35 passes for 295 yards.

The Packers’ D gave up a lot of yards last night but they also made some huge plays.  LB A.J. Hawk led the way for the Pack tonight with 11 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  LB Desmond Bishop was the star for the Packers tonight as he had 8 tackles, 1 pass defensed and he intercepted a Brett Favre pass that he returned 32 yards for a TD.  Safety Nick Collins pitched in with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  The Vikings finished up with 196 yards rushing on 36 carries (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 29 passes for 206 yards.  The Packers are now 4-3 on the year after getting a huge win at Lambeau Field last night.

The Packers will be looking to reverse what happened against the Vikings last year when they were swept by a combined score of 68-49.  Brett Favre returned to stick it to his old team last year as he completed 41 of 59 passes (69.5%) for 515 yards with 7 TD passes  and 0 INTs against the Packers.  Aaron Rodgers played well against the Vikings but not good enough to win a game against them last season.  Rodgers completed 52 of 78 passes (66.7%) for 671 yards with 5 TD passes and 1 INT against the Vikings last year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Packers have the ball:  The Vikings only have six sacks so far this year so look for Aaron Rodgers to have a lot of time to throw the football.  The Packers will likely spread the field with 4 WRs a lot in this game with Rodgers spreading the ball around to Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jordy Nelson.  Anything the Packers get on the ground from Brandon Jackson & John Kuhn will be a bonus.

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings are likely going to come out running the ball against the Packers with Adrian Peterson.  The Packers are giving up 112.5 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per carry so Peterson is likely going to get his yards tomorrow night.  The Packers will likely be blitzing (they have 21 sacks already) a lot in this game to try to force Brett Favre into making some mistakes.  If Favre is on it will be a long night for the Packers’ D as Percy Harvin & Randy Moss are true gamebreakers.

PREDICTION:  VIKINGS 30, PACKERS 27

27-year old cornerback Tramon Williams has been outstanding for the Packers so far this year.  He has played in all six games for the Packers so far this year and he has 24 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 8 passes defensed, 1 fumble recovery and 2 interceptions (64 return yards).  Harris has stepped in for veteran Al Harris who hasn’t played this year due to injury and the Packers’ secondary hasn’t missed a beat because of it.  Williams also helps out on special teams as he has returned 14 punts for 135 yards (9.6 avg) so far this year.  Williams is taking full advantage of his big shot and the Packers couldn’t be happier with him.