Last night the GreenBay Packers lost to the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 37-27.

It was a disappointing loss. I didn't expect the Packers to win, I don't think they needed to win, but I really thought they would play better than this. Dallas is a very good team, but I thought the Packers were a better team, or can be a better team, than they showed on Thursday.

The biggest problem was falling behind early. It was 27-10 Dallas at one point. That is very difficult to recover from, especially against a team as talented and with as many weapons as Dallas has, and really the Packers defense could not stop Dallas all night.

I respect and think Coach McCarthy is a great coach, the best the Packers have had since Holmgren, but I think he got out coached last night. I'm not sure what the game plan was, and it seemed to constantly change. When the Packers came out and on the first play completed a slant to Martin, I thought that was a great sign. I figured the Packers could do that all night. But they didn't. For much of the first quarter and some of the second, they threw deep. I'm not sure if it was Favre's call or McCarthy, but McCarthy is the play caller, so ultimately it is his responsibility.

The same holds for the defense. The defense didn't seem like they knew what they wanted to do. They came out in press-man, then switched to zone, and back to man. The Packers front 4 could not get much pressure on Romo alone, so maybe that justifies the switch to man, but it seemed like the switch came when the score was 6-3 Dallas and there was no need to panic. I understand the defense is really hurt with injuries, but I think they could have played better.

The Packers are still a great team. I hope no one starts with the "well, this exposes the Packers for the mediocre team they are" because that is not true. They are still the second best team in the NFC, and they are still 10-2.

Further, as happy as I am that the Packers future is safe with Rogers, I really don't need to hear how Rogers should replace Favre. Anyone who lobbies for Rogers this week should be banned from watching Favre in the Super Bowl this year.

With the big game one day away, I thought I would post my 5 keys to a Packer victory. I'm not saying they are going to win, I'm just saying if they hit this list, they will have a great shot.

1. Slow down TO. Al Harris is a great, shutdown corner, but Terrell Owens is having a crazy year. The Packers don't have to shut him out like they did Roy Williams last week, just keep him out of the end zone and under 100 yards.

2. Avoid stupid mistakes. The Packers have played solid mental football the past 3 weeks, starting with the Vikings. The games before they had a lot of penalties such as false starts on the 1. They need to keep it up this week.

3. Avoid costly drops. This is related to the previous, but it is just as important. Favre's first pass was a short crossing route that Jennings dropped. That may not seem like a big deal, but it killed a drive and stalled momentum.

4. Injuries. A lot will depend on how many of the Packers defenders can play, and can play at 100%.

5. The Packers offensive line. They have really stepped it up the last 4 weeks, and they need to continue playing at a high level. The Cowboys have a strong defensive line, and a weak secondary. If the Packers O line can give Favre time to throw the slant, they Packers should be in good shape.

6. (Bonus) I almost forgot about him, hopefully the Packers don't: Jason Witten They need to slow him down as well. The Packers have been burned by tight ends before this season, they need to be careful.

Regardless of the outcome, this is gonna be one hell of a game on Thursday.

Everyone knows TO, and Romo, and everyone knows that this Thursday the number two offense in the NFL (Dallas) is hosting the number three offense in the NFL (Green Bay)

But how good is the Dallas offense really? The Cowboys are second in the NFL not just in yards, but in points as well. Lets look at who they played, and how their defense stacks up.

Cowboys 2007 Opponents
Week	Opponent	Defensive Rank (PPG)
1	Giants	16th
2	Miami	27th
3	Bears	20th
4	Rams	29th
5	Buffalo	23rd
6	New England	5th
7	Minnesota	13th
8	Bye	N/A
9	Philadelphia	9th
10	Giants	16th
11	Washington	15th
12	Jets	28th

Packers 2007 Opponents
Week	Opponent	Defensive Rank (PPG)
1	Philadelphia	9th
2	Giants	16th
3	San Diego	12th
4	Minnesota	13th
5	Chicago	20th
6	Washington	15th
7	Bye	N/A
8	Denver	31st
9	Kansas City	8th
10	Minnesota	13th
11	Carolina	18th
12	Detroit	26th

All of the Cowboys opponents average out to 18th in the league, 3 below average.

Green Bays opponents average out to 16th in the league, just 1 spot below average.

This looks to be a tight game, and while the defenses these two teams have faced are not that much different, the nod in this case goes to the Pack.

Colin Cole will miss the rest of the year after being placed on IR today. With the extra roster spot the Packers signed Marviel Underwood, a fourth round safety who was with the Packers for two years. Cole broke his forearm against the Lions.

Besides Cole, injuries continue to be an issue. From the early reports it does not look like KGB will be able to go on Thursday, and it does not look like Rouse will be able to go either. Nick Collins will probably start against the Cowboys, but it is not clear if he is starting a little early because of the knee for Rouse.

Bubba Franks should be back for Dallas, and Woodson will almost certainly play, although he will probably not be 100%.

With Jolly and Cole out for Thursdays game, look for Justin Harrell to get more playing time. He has been back from injury for 14 days, and Coach McCarthy said at his press conference that he still expects Harrell to contribute.

The official NFL injury reports are due out on Tuesday, we should know more then.

Brief

The NFL decided not to peruse the Packers in what was hyped as the 'Bounty' story. I didn't really think there was much too it, I am glad they did not fine the players.

NFL Video has some good video up. There is Coach McCarthy's press conference and a highlight reel from Thursday.

The early line is Dallas by 6 1/2. I'm tempted...

UPDATE!
According to ESPN, Dallas' #2 receiver Patrick Crayton should be good to go on Thursday

I'm sure everyone knows the Packers got the win against the Lions on Thursday with a score of 37-26. Some thoughts:

1. The defense played brilliantly to start the game. Holding the Lions to 9 points in the first half was a tremendous job, especially since 6 of the points were unearned. The second field goal came after the offense turned the ball over on the 25 and the third field goal came after after a 74 yard kickoff return to the 24.

2. Last week no one really knew who Tramon Williams was, now you can't ignore him. A week after scoring a touchdown on special teams he saved a touchdown on special teams by running down the Lions kick returner. He also broke up 2 passes and played very well in the secondary.

3. Aaron Rouse is doing a great job filling in for Nick Collins. He has 2 picks in two games.

4. Does Roy Williams still play for the Lions? I don't really remember hearing his name on Thursday.

5. Injuries are mounting. KGB, Mark Tauscher, Aaron Rouse, Colin Cole and Charles Woodson all started the game, but did not finish. Colin is probably out for the regular season with a broken forearm, the rest are questionable.

6. With all the injured players, the backups really stepped up in the second half.

7. The Lions players spent a lot of time on their backs. Aaron Kampman repeatedly shoved the right tackle to the ground, and Al Harris pinned one of the Lions receivers with a chuck off the line.

8. Repeating a theme, the Packers kept punching throughout the game. They did not start fast, the offense was not clicking, and even turning the ball over, but the Packers never stopped punching, and wore the Lions out.

Again, this team is for real. The Packers might not beat the Cowboys next week, but they will meet again. I don't see anyone else in the NFC beating the Pack.

The transcript is up for McCarthy's Monday, 11/19th press conference.

The biggest item from his wrap up is, unfortunately, injury's. Jolly is out 2-3 weeks with a separated shoulder that he suffered on the first play or two of the game. That is a huge blow to the Packers, as Jolly has been an absolute rock this season. The Packers are deep in the defensive line, but his loss will still hurt.

Ryan Grant is day to day with an ankle sprain, although according to the Wisconsin State Journal he says he will be able to go. The short week is really going to make those injuries felt.

Injuries have been quietly piling up this season. For the game against the Panthers 3 starters, Will Blackmon, Nick Collins, and Bubba Franks were all out. Blackmon doesn't start every down, but he is a starter in the nickel, Franks is a Pro-Bowler, and Collins is the starting safety. Collins is only in his third year, but as the starting safety he is a pretty big part of the defense. Tracy White didn't play either, and he is a stand out on special teams. These injuries are not insignificant, which is something that Sundays victory even sweeter.

Speaking of Sundays win, the folks at WSSP were getting on the Packers a little bit this afternoon for not playing a complete game, saying the defense turned it down a bit in the second half. I didn't see it that way at all. I saw Bob Sanders, the defensive coordinator, playing a lot of pass defense. The Panthers saw that and ran the ball 12 of 14 plays for their first touchdown in the game. That was fine though, it took 7:41 seconds off the clock when they were down 28-3. At that rate there was no way they were going to catch up, Sanders just wanted to prevent a big play, or a quick score.

Finally, according to ESPN, the NFL is looking into Packers defensive players for offering bountys for good performance. Basically it is Woodson and Harris offering incentives to the D line for holding teams under a certain rushing yardage every game. It might be technically against the rules, but it is not like the old days of offering bounties to take players out of the game.

A reader asked why the Packers always seem to play in Dallas. I don't know, but if anyone does, please leave it in the comments.

The Packers have a short week, and so do I, so I am getting my prediction up early this week.

It's a hard call, but I am going with the Packers.

For the last two weeks I really thought the Lions would win. There are so many reasons to take the Lions on Thursday, and the biggest one is it is Thursday, Thanksgiving. The Lions always play up on Thanksgiving, and this year will be no different. They know they are on a national stage, and this is their game. The Lions also play at home, on Thanksgiving, adding to the frenzy. A dome team always has an advantage over a non-dome team, and Ford Field is no different. (I would vote for getting rid of all domes, but that is another post.) The Lions have been stellar at home this year, wining all of their home games up until today, when they lost to the Giants.

Ultimately, that is what swung my mind over to the Packers. Seeing Detroit only put up 10 points and finally loose at home gave me confidence in this Thursdays game. The Lions are on the skids, and they will not be able to pick themselves up. They have been punched in the mouth too often, and the Packers are going to do it a few more times to them on turkey day. The Lions might be tied, or even up a little at half, but the do not win this game.


All year I have said the Packers will go 1-1 for their two Thursday games, and that does not change. The Packers will not beat the Cowboys on the 29th. That will just be too many games in a row, and I think the Cowboys will come out with something to prove at their house. I still say the Packers beat the Cowboys when they meet in the NFC Championship and that the Pack will go to the Super Bowl.

Prediction: Packers 21 Lions 10.

The Green Bay Packers got the win today over the Carolina Panthers with a score of 31-17. The win in Lambeau brings the Packers record to 9-1, their best start since the Lombardi led Packers went 10-0 in 1962.

Let that sink in a second. This is the best Packers start since 1962. This is a great season, and a great team.

The Panthers team they beat today was not so great, but they are a good team. The Packers showed a lot of guts today to come in and shut the Panthers down. People would have understood if the Pack were thinking forward to Thursday and the Lions, but they didn't. They manned up to the Panthers and shoved them backward.

In fact, that might be the defining trait of this Packers team. McCarthy blows off a lot pass interference penalties by saying, "we are a physical team, and we play physical defense." I think the Packers are a very physical, relentless team, and the Panthers saw that first hand today. The Panthers came out and played with the Packers for the first quarter, and played them tight, but the Packers never stopped punching, and it wore the Panthers down.

That is a big part of what enables the Packers to win so many close games in the 4th quarter. If it's not Favre, it Grant. If it's not Driver it's Jennings. Or Jones. If it's not Jones it's Woodson. If its not Kampan it's KGB. Or Tramon Williams running a punt back 94 yards for a touchdown.

Who is Tramon Williams anyway? The point is, when people like Tramon start scoring touchdowns, the other team is in trouble. At the same time, the reason players like Tramon score touchdowns is because opposing teams spend so much energy looking out for the other threats the Packers have.

The Panthers are not a great team, but they are not a bad team either. The Packers manhandling of them, and the Packers seeming ability to score at will from the second quarter on has me thinking the Packers are coming together at the right time, and maybe Dr. Z was right, unlike what I wrote in my How Good are the Packers post.

With the Colts losing today, I would tend to agree with the doctor. The Packers probably are the third best team in the NFL.

Dr. Z came out with his new nfl Power Rankings yesterday, and the Packers peaked at #3 on the list. According to the doctor, the NFL pecking order is New England, Dallas, then Green Bay.

I probably would not put them that high, but it does raise a good question, just how good are the Packers?

A lot of this season has been spent wondering if the Packers were as good as their record, or if they were, frankly, playing out of their asses. Last week showed a lot of people that, yea, they were as good as their record. I would agree with Sharper that they are not 34-0 better than the Vikings, but they are good.

So how good? They are probably tied with Dallas for best in the NFC right now. Both Dallas and Green Bay have really widened the gap between the rest of the NFC field.

Even though Green Bay and Dallas are a clear cut above the competition in the NFC and they are both Super Bowl contenders, I would not say Green Bay is 3rd in the NFL. As much as I like Dr. Z, he has a hard time ranking teams with worse records higher than teams with better records in his Power Rankings.

Right now I would say both Pittsburgh and Indy are better teams than the Packers, and probably better teams than Dallas.

Indy has two losses, but one of those came against New England, and the Colts played closer to the Patriots than any other team this year.

The Steelers record is a bit worse than the Packers, but I think their team is better. It is hard to compare AFC vs NFC teams, but the Steelers defense is probably on par with the Packers, and it is probably their running game that is the difference. The Steelers play ball control offense, and if they went head to head, that would keep Favre and his 6 guns off the field.

I think the Packers are a Super Bowl team. We will probably have to play Dallas to get there, and as I said a few weeks ago in my Packers vs Cowboys preview, that will be tough. But if we get through them Green Bay will face one of those AFC powerhouses in Arizona.

Here is the preview of the Green Bay Packers (8-1) against the Carolina Panthers (4-5) Noon game on Sunday, November 18th at Lambeau Field. This does not appear to be a game that is going to slow down the steamrolling Packers.

The Panthers are not a good team. Carolina just lost to the Falcons, an even worse team. The Panthers, like the Vikings who we just rolled, are down to their 3rd quarterback. Unfortunately for the Panthers, that quarterback is Vinny Testaverde who they just picked off the street, and who is questionable game to game. The Panthers are ravaged by injuries and are ranked 20th in the league against the run and 26th in the league in points.

Some people might think this is a trap game for the Packers, that they might overlook the Panthers while they are thinking of Detroit and Dallas. Not at all. The Panthers will be coming to Lambeau , and McCarthy wants to re-establish Lambeau as an intimidating place to play. While the Packers may be thinking of Detroit and Dallas, they will want to show those two teams the run against this 20th ranked run defense. The more different offenses the Packers can show Detroit and Dallas, the better.

Look for the Packers to come out throwing like they have all year, but look for a heavy dose of the run as the game goes on. Green Bay will want to pound Ryan Grant against the Panthers to set up their playoff run. They have the running back, now they want opposing defenses to study one more thing in film besides the number 1 passing offense in the NFL.

Prediction: Packers 24 Panther 10

Added bonus: The combined record of the Packers schedule after Carolina? 21-24, a nice finish to the season.

I re-designed this site over the weekend, in a large part because I saw the clean look of reinspire.

If a Canadian Packer fan has that good looking of a site, I at least had to try and come close^^

Yesterday Ryan Grant rushed 25 times for 119 yards and a touchdown, averaging almost 5 yards a carry. Two weeks ago he rushed for over 100 yards against Denver, but everyone knew Denver's rush defense was suspect. Going into the Vikings game many people thought he was a good stop gap for the Packers, but not a starting back.  After the game against the Vikings, it looks like Ryan Grant is an NFL starter, not just a fill in for a passing team.

Now, not all of the 119 rushing yards can be put on Grants shoulders, not at all. There were 5 things that contributed to his success:

1. Game plan. McCarthy saw that Minnesota was open to the run, and took his shot.
2. The offensive line. The line opened some great holes.
3. The fullback Korey Hall. Korey Hall was a great lead blocker on Sunday, taking out the linebacker in a lot of situations.
4. The passing game. Brett Favre going 3/4 to start the game really helped out the run.
5. The Vikings defense. They sold out against the pass so hard it opened up the run quite a bit.

That said, Ryan Grant did a lot of things right in Sundays game, and he did them against the number three rushing defense in the league. Grant did a great job of what McCarthy calls "one cut and up", meaning he made his cut and then hit the hole. He didn't dance around in the backfield looking for his spot, he made a cut and got upfield. Once he hit the hole, a lot of times he made the first defender miss, and after that often broke the second tackle. That is exactly what happened on his touchdown run, he blew by the first defender, broke the tackle of the second, and spun into the end zone. Grant also finishes hard. More often then not he keeps his legs pumping and falls forward onto the defender, and a few times on the sideline he turned into a Viking to deliver a blow rather than go out of bounds.

No one is saying he is Larry Johnson or even Clinton Portis, but Ryan Grant proved on Sunday that he deserves to and could start for just about any team in the NFL.

The Packers defense pitched their first shutout of the season as the Green Bay Packers get the win over the Minnesota Vikings with a score of 34-0 to improve to 8-1. Mike McCarthy said in his post game interview that this game was probably the most complete game of the season, and the team as a whole probably played the best they have all season, and it is hard to argue with that. In fact, you could add that this was McCarthy's best game of his career with the Packers.

The defense got off to a hot start, forcing the Vikings to go 3 and out after Brady Popinga made a great play, stopping Peterson for no gain on a third and one. The Vikings punted and then the Packers took over and never looked back, going 82 yards in 12 plays and taking 5:32 to do it. The first drive was a killer, and was due in large part Mike McCarthy's play calling which kept the Vikings defense guessing.

The Vikings D was really keying off the pass. It was no secret the Packers were going to pass, and the Vikings came with heat, blitzing or send 5 guys to start the game. McCarthy countered with a lot of delays and swing passes, even shovel passes in the middle. McCarthy let the pressure come, and then dropped the ball just over the defenses head. The Vikings brought more pressure, and when McCarthy saw the Vikings were totally selling out against the pass, he decided to run.

And run they did. Ryan Grant had 119 yards and a touchdown in 25 carries including a 30 yard run for a touchdown to cap the first Packers drive. After that Grant continued to run the ball well deep into the second quarter when the Vikings decided to switch back to a run defense they had played so well all year.

McCarthy saw the change, and countered with a guy named Brett Favre and his friends Driver, Jennings, Jones, Robinson, Lee, and Martin. For the game Favre had was 33/46 for 351 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. With the Vikings unable to stop the run to start the game, Favre was able to open up and the Packers went into the half up 13-0 and pretty much owning the game.

MVP of the game goes to Ryan Grant. McCarthy did a great job of play calling to get Grant the ball, but Grant's running in the first half was sweet. He had good holes, but he was making the first defender miss and then delivering the blows to the defense. I don't know if there was a single time he went backwards, he always seemed to be going forward.

It was not quite the 37 I had predicted earlier this week, but it was a damn good game. In fact, 37 was way to aggressive, as good as the Packers are I don't look for them to score even 34 again this season.

Some quick hits for Sunday morning:

There are a lot of players on the Packers injury report, but only four players are listed as out: Justin Harrell, Will Blackmon, Nick Collins, and Bubba Franks. Collins and Franks are the only two players of note, Harrell and Blackmon have not played much if any this year. Not having Franks stinks, but Donald Lee is hot the last two games, and Collins being out really hurts, but Aaron Rouse filled in for him in the 4th quarter last week pretty decently. He did not make any playes, but he did not get picked on either, so he must have held his own.

The jsonline crew make thier picks, and they all like the Packers in this one.

Peter King of cnnsi picks the Packers, but at a new site that kinda hurts my eyes.

The NFL continues to try and let refs control the game, decreeing that refs should eject players for helmet to helmet.

I missed it Wednesday, but Dr. Z's power rankings are up, and the Packers are still 4th, right behind the Cowboys. Who else is looking forward to 11/29?

The Packers Vikings game starts at noon, have fun.

The last time Brooks Bollinger played in Wisconsin it was for the home team, in a Wisconsin Badgers uniform as they beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers 49-31 to propel the Badgers to the Alamo Bowl. This week he will switch sides, uniforms and leagues, coming into Lambeau playing for the Minnesota Vikings.

Bollinger had a great career in Wisconsin, and he is a fan favorite, for good reason. He led the Badgers to victories in 3 bowl games, the 99-00 Rose Bowl, the 00-01 Sun Bowl, and the 02-03 Alamo Bowl  and holds the current Badgers rushing record for a quarterback. Overall he finished 30-12 for the Badgers and gave quarterbacking duties over to Jim Sorgie when he graduated.

This is Brooks 5th year in the NFL, and as good as he was for the Badgers, he has not quite cut it in the NFL yet. He played backup to Chad Pennington for the New York Jets before being traded to the Vikings last year. He was never the named starter for the Vikings and started this year third on Minnesota's depth chart, behind Tarvaris Jackson and Kelly Holcomb, only getting the starting spot when they both went down with injuries.

As much as Wisconsin fans like Brooks, it is not going to be pretty for him on Sunday. The Packers defense is pretty much going to eat him alive if Brad Childress ever lets him pass.

I just heard on WSSP that Ryan Grant is recovering from his concussion very nicly, and might start on Sunday.

I'm not sure who it is against the Vikings D, we are going to pass anyway, but it would be nice.

With the Packers sitting at 7-1, that means they have played 8 games and are midway through the season. When I was in school we used to get report cards at the mid point, so why not the Packers?

Report Card

Offense - A
On offense the Green Bay Packers get an A. They are currently ranked 5th in the NFL in offense (yards/game). That is only 84%, not usually high enough for an A, but the offense has been clutch, coming from behind to win in the last two weeks. The offense is also overachieving. No one expected the Packers to be this good, but certainly no one expected the offense to rank 5th in the NFL. Sure, there is no running game, but this report card is for the start of the season, not the end.

Defense - B
The defenses late collapses in the last two games almost dropped them to a C, but they are 8th in the NFL in pts/game and 8th in rush yards/game, two of the most important statistics. They rank 20th in pass yards per game, but they rank 7th in sacks. After a fast start, this defense seems to lack the big play. Last week Woodson returned a interception for a touchdown, but that really was garbage time, they had that game wrapped up.

Special Teams - A
Another big surprise. Mason Crosby is having a great rookie year, he hit the game winner in Philly and has kept the Packers in some close games. His field goal percentage is only 80 on the year, but he has missed some long ones. Punt and kick coverage has been excellent, a huge improvement over last year. I don't have the numbers on starting field position, but Crosby has had 20% of his kickoffs go for touch backs.

Overall - A
How could you give them anything else? This team is playing out of its head. Not only are the Packers 7-1, they are in and win some crazy, close, and exciting games. Those are teams you know are good, the teams that win the close ones.

The teams lack of a running game is well documented, and we will see how it affects them in the second half, that A might start to falter. But for now, enjoy the season.

It's the Green Bay Packers against the Minnesota Vikings at noon on Sunday November 11th.

Both teams are coming off impressive victories, but the Packers should be the hands down favorite on this one.

The Vikings are a good team, they fought Green Bay to the wire in Minneapolis, and they upset the Chargers last week in the dome, but they are not as good a team as the Packers, and they match up poorly as well.

The Packers passing defense is ranked 20th in the league in pass yards given up, but they are better than that rank because of their "bend don't break" approach. The Vikings offense, unfortunately for them, is ranked 30th in the league in pass yards, and their "starting" quarterback is out with a concussion. It doesn't look like they will be getting many yards in the air.

They do have Adrian Peterson and the #1 rushing game in the NFL. That's ok, the Packers have the eighth ranked rushing defense in the league and with the Vikings passing game non-existent, the Packers will be able to tee off on the run all day and stop Peterson.

The Vikings do have the 2nd ranked rushing defense in the NFL. That's fine too, because the Packers don't run the ball anyway. They should be able to pass all day long with the #2 passing offense in the NFL, especially since the Vikings have the worst passing defense in the league.

See what I mean about the match ups?

Prediction: Packers cruse 31-17

I am putting this out early because the Green Bay Packers against the Dallas Cowboys on November 29th 2007 is going to be a huge game. By the time the game rolls around both teams have a chance to be 10-2. The Cowboys schedule is a little tougher with the Giants and Washington before the big game, but all their opponents are beatable.

This is going to be a game ripped right out of the 90's. In the 90's the Cowboys had everyones number, but especially the Packers. In 1993 the Packers lost the divisional playoff game to the Cowboys, in 1994 they lost the divisional playoff game again to the Cowboys, and in 1995 they lost to the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game. In 1996 they lost to the Cowboys in Dallas during the regular season and luckily did not have to face them on the road to the Super Bowl XXXI, which they eventually won over the New England Patriots. 2007 is starting to sound like 1996 all over again except replace Drew Bledsoe with Tom Brady, Troy Aikman with Tony Romo, and Brett Favre with, well, Brett Favre.

I called it in my week 4 predictions and I don't change my mind now, I see the Packers losing this one. The Packers schedule is not too hard, but they will play the Lions the week before, and they play the Lions on a short week, in Detroit. By the time the Packers get to Dallas, I think they are tired, hurt, and drained. If this game were in Green Bay I would probably go the other way, but not in Dallas.

The Cowboys offense is just too good. So far this season the Packers have relied on their defense to keep them in games, and their offense to win them late after riding down the opposing team. As of right now the Cowboys have the second best offense in all of the NFL. I think they score early and fairly often, cause the Packers to try and play catchup for most of the game. Any team, but especially this years Packers, are good when they are ahead or the game is close. Put them down by two touchdowns and I think Favre just tries to do too much.

Prediction: Cowboys 34 Packers 13

However, both teams will make the playoffs and the Cowboys finish with 3 of their last 4 games on the road. Look for them to tire out at the end of the season and Green Bay to exact revenge.

UPDATE: My views have not changed much since this posting, but I have a new post about the 5 keys for a Packer victory.

Donald Lee has been having a great year for the Packers, and he just got paid.

According to WSSP he signed to a 4 year deal worth up to 5 million his first year, and is worth about 12 million over four years.

Congrats to Lee on his payday, and to the Packers organization for rewarding good talent.

Coach McCarthy's press conference is ongoing, but he lead with injury's and Nick Collins is out 2-3 weeks with a knee sprain while Picket should be ok on Sunday with a knee sprain.

Grant had a concussion, but McCarthy did not speak to duration.

More when the transcript is up.

Update the transcript is up. When asked about penalties, Coach said:

"It's a concern, especially the number of them. It's frustrating too. Because there's some of them, you don't know what to tell your defensive players. Everybody knows we play man-to-man, we're at the point in the season, really in the second year of our defense, and you are attacked each week with certain types of pass plays, a lot of them we refer to them as cross country, crossing routes, and pick plays, blatant pick plays, and things like that. We're running into some situations where we feel the defender has established his territory and there are collisions there. Some of them have gone against us of late, and I'm hopeful that they'll balance out. But we're not going to change the way we play. That's the way we play, that's who we are. We're always going to err on the side of being physical. We're a bump-and-run team. We teach the technique, get your hands inside, every single day, and we'll continue to do that. But I can't deny the penalties and the number of yards that we've given up is a concern."

McCarthy also talked about Bubba Franks, saying he is still a couple of weeks away.

The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday 33-22 to improve to 7-1.

It took a 60 yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings with 3:05 to go to take the lead, but Brett Favre has now beaten every team in the NFL, and the Packers improve to 7-1 for the first time since 1996 when they went 9-1 to start the season.

The Packers defense did not keep the Chiefs out of the end zone like I thought, but they played very tough. The Chiefs punted on their first 5 possessions and the Packers would have gone into the half with a 6-0 lead, but a Brett Favre interception gave the Chiefs the ball on the Packers 30 with 25 seconds left in the half. A 29 yard pass interference penalty on Bigby gave the Chiefs the ball first and goal on the 1, and Larry Johnson punched it in. It would have been nice if the defense could have held, but you can't blame them too much.

The Packers scored again and took the lead with 11 seconds left in the third quarter off an A.J Hawk interception. Hawk returned it to the Chiefs 30 and 4 plays later Jennings caught a 13 yard touchdown pass from Favre to put the Packers up again 13-7.

That is when the Packers defense fell apart and the game got crazy.. I'm not sure why they are getting tired late in the game, but they did it again today. After basically shutting out the Chiefs all day, they let the Chiefs drive 74 yards in 4 minutes for a touchdown and the lead 14-13, a lead that would change hands 3 more times before the Packers took control for good.

On the next Packers possession, they took it 46 yards for a field goal and the lead, 16-13, but the Chiefs answered right back. The Chiefs drove 82 yards in 3:34 and the Packers looked like they were in trouble. They could not stop the Chiefs as they marched down the field and then converted the 2-point try to go ahead 22-16. They probably should not have converted as there was one of many phantom pass interference calls against the Packers, but they did and the Packers needed a touchdown if they wanted to win.

Luckily for the Packer faithful it took the Packers 4 plays in 2:13, a drive that was capped by Jennings 60 yard touchdown and they went ahead for good.

When the Chiefs got the ball back with 3:05 left in the game things looked shaky. On the Chiefs first play from scrimmage looked like Webb caught a pass on the Packers 42, putting the Chiefs almost in field goal range, but Coach McCarthy threw the challenge flag and it was overturned.

The Chiefs never recovered, punted and while the Packers scored in garbage time, the game was essentially over.

Another "underdog" win, another great, gutsy game against a good AFC team, and the Packers improve to 7-1.

According to the official Packers site Ryan Pickett says he is ready to play today. Asked if he has any doubts if he can play he said:

"'Not in my mind,' Pickett said. 'I don't know what the coaches will do, but in my mind, I can go. If I had to play today, I could play.'"

His being in the lineup will be a huge boost for the run defense. You can read the full story here.

Packers.com also has a good story on rookie receiver James Jones talking about his mental comeback from his two fumble game against the Bears. That story is here.

It's game day! The game is at noon, but remember it is daylight savings time today, so set your clock back, other wise you will have to endure another hour of pre-game.

Here are the keys to todays game for the Packers:


1. Defense. The defense has played solid for most of the season, but they seem to fall down on one or two key drives in the game. I would like to see a solid performance all game from the defense and have them hold the Chiefs to 3 points.

2. Slow down Tony Gonzalas. Tight ends have given the Packers problems all year, I would like to see Tony Gonzalas have less than 50 yards.

3. Win or tie the turnover battle. This may be a little to basic, but it really applies to the Packers this year. They are good enough to beat the Chiefs, but as they showed in the Bears game, they are not good enough to win when they lose more turnovers than they gain.

4. Ryan Grant. The spotlight is really on him today. He almost certainly will not gain 100 yards again this week, but it would be great if he could gain 50 hard yards. Hard yards are those yards in between the tackles that will wear out the Chiefs' D.

5. Kicking game. Mason Crosby and John Ryan need to have a good game. This could be a close game, field position will count.


Grab your chips and dip and get ready for some football.

The Packers are 6-1 and play the 4-3 Chiefs this Sunday, and the Chiefs are 2 point favorites to win.

As I wrote earlier, the Chiefs do not look that impressive. If you look closer at their schedule, you will see 3 of their wins came against garbage teams. Like the Broncos, the only quality team they have beat is the Chargers.

I like the fact the Packers are overlooked very week, hopefully their opposing team overlooks them as well.

With a victory on Sunday the Packers will be 3-0 against the AFC West.