Dec 23, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Jamie Harper (23) (left) rushes with the football as Green Bay Packers defensive end Mike Daniels (76) defends during the second quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The most reported Packer stories of recent vintage have been Jeff Saturday’s benching, Donald Driver and Greg Jennings’ post-2012 prospects, and, of course, Mason Crosby’s kicking. Yet none of these will have the greatest impact on the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.

Though little to no attention is being paid, the Green Bay defense is playing as well as – perhaps even better than – its 2010 incarnation.

That defense, as you might recall, won a Super Bowl. While the 2012 defense will not match the full season production of its 2010 counterpart, 2012 is finishing off the regular season in a very similar fashion. Since the massacre in the Meadowlands, Green Bay has given up more than two touchdowns only once, and for the stretch have averaged 13.5 points allowed. Over the final four games of 2010, the Packers allowed only a slightly superior 12.5 points.

Oct 14, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Green Bay Packers cornerback Casey Hayward (29) returns an interception against the Houston Texans in the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium. The Packers defeated the Texans 42-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Yet, this year’s defense is perhaps finishing stronger. During this stretch, all but the Titans game were largely decided by the defense. Specifically, Morgan Burnett’s redzone interception of Christian Ponder and Casey Hayward’s interception return setting up a short field and lead changing score were the turning points in their respective games. More frightening still, Clay Matthews has only just returned from injury and Charles Woodson is still awaiting return. Accordingly, this defense still has some room to grow.

But what about the offense?

Dec 9, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers running back DuJuan Harris (26) scores a touchdown past Detroit Lions safety Ricardo Silva (39) the 4th quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

There’s good news here as well with Aaron Rodgers playing as well as he has all year (107.7 passer rating over the past four games) and the running game finally showing life (130.5 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry). The aerial assault isn’t what it was last year, but with Randall Cobb’s development into a number one receiver in the Wes Welker mold, the offense is capable of keeping up with anyone in the playoff field.

With the offense now consistently producing and the defense peaking, there is considerable reason for optimism that this year’s playoffs will play out a little differently than last year.

Oct 28, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) sneaks in for a first down during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

I wasn’t able to make a timely commentary on the Packers-Jaguars game due to Hurricane Sandy … I’m sure you’ve heard about it.

Suffice to say it was an ugly win and I think the Packers will have pored over the film and will be better prepared this week against the Cardinals. I’ll add that if the Packers play as poorly on offense as they did last week, they will have their hands full with the Arizona defense and will likely lose the game.

How are the Packers doing at the midpoint?

The answer for me is: “Pretty Good!”

The offense is brilliant at times, methodically driving down the field. At other times, the plan seems incoherent as they attempt to establish a run game with little hope of success. I thought that MAYBE they threw on 1st down more often last year than this year, but after looking at the stats I was surprised. Last season the Packers had an almost 50-50 split of run/pass of 1st down, nearly identical to this season. Rodgers has been almost up to his 2011 standards, probably because the sports media has said he couldn’t do it again.

What is the difference then?

While yards per rush are nearly identical on 1st down (3.8 in 2011/3.7 in 2012), yards per pass attempt (YPA) is WAY down from 9.6 in 2011 to 6.7 (on 1st down) so far this season. The same goes for 2nd and 3rd down. Overall YPA is off from 9.4 in 2011 to 7.3 this season. Every other statistic is in line with 2011 numbers except one: Yards after the catch (YAC) has gone from 6.2 to just 4.5 this season.

The question is: WHY?

Sep 9, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings (85) during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field. The 49ers defeated the Packers 30-22. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

My answer is Greg Jennings. Jennings didn’t lead the team in YAC last year, Jordy Nelson did, but that was when Jordy was the #2. Nothing against Jordy, he is a legit #1, but when teams are focused on stopping him as opposed to stopping Jennings, his YAC was bound to drop. Jennings faced the same in past seasons and while it cut his YAC, Jordy could run free over the middle and deep. James Jones and Randall Cobb have made some impact this season and Cobb looks particularly promising (5.5 YAC), but the absence of Jennings is the biggest deficit in comparison to last season.

The defense has also been hit and miss. At times they have been brilliant, as they were against Houston and Chicago, and at other times they were unable to stop the worst offense in the NFL (Jacksonville). Even with their weaknesses, the Packers defense is 12th in points allowed per game, 10th best in 3rd down conversions against and 13th in yards per game. The turnover differential isn’t impressive at +3, but it is tied for 8th best in the league.

What matters most is that they are certainly improved over last year’s defense, but injuries have begun to take their toll. With any luck, the injuries will have come at an opportune time, as the Packers have what I consider offensively ‘challenged’ teams until they face the Giants on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

What comes through is that the Packers are a better overall team than they were at the midpoint last season. The offensive explosiveness is hindered by Greg Jennings’ injury, but if he can return by December, the offense will be the better for it. If the rest of the receiving corps can catch like they are able, Rodgers will be the MVP again.

But the defense also needs to absorb the injuries and get off the field on third downs.

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One of the biggest additions to the Packers defensive backfield has been cornerback Casey Hayward. Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

By Jason Hirschhorn

We’re approaching the point where we can properly assess the Green Bay Packers‘ strengths and weaknesses even though half the season (and postseason) has yet to be played.

The eye test shows that this is a team with a strong offense and a defense that generally isn’t a revolving door. The rudimentary numbers back this up: the Packers are the 9th best in points per game and give up the 13th least points per game.

As is obvious to anyone who watched the 2011 edition of the Packers, the biggest development thus far is the defense. But how much has the defense really improved from last year?To answer that question we need to establish just how good (or bad) last year’s defense was.

The old method of measuring defense by yards allowed yields hollow results. Yards, especially passing yards, are as cheap as ever in NFL history.

Points allowed is a better metric, but even that provide false positives. A better way of judging defenses, especially giving its strong correlation with winning percentage, is defensive passer rating.

To illustrate the correlation between defensive passer rating and winning, the top 10 teams in defensive passer rating have a combined record of 43-23, and include defenses like San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, and at number one, Chicago.

October 14, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers (left) talks with Houston Texans owner Bob McNair before a game at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-US PRESSWIRE

Let’s first look at last year’s numbers:

379/621 for 4,976 yards with 32 touchdowns against 31 interceptions: good for a defensive passer rating of 82.71.

That 82.71 defensive passer rating says a lot about the 2011 defense. Mostly, that the ceaseless talk all offseason over Green Bay having the worst defense in NFL history was to some degree exaggeration.

A team does not go 15-1 with a turnstile defense, and while I wouldn’t go so far as to say last year’s unit was even average, it definitely did contribute to the 15 regular season wins. Primarily, they did it through turnovers. The 2011 defense forced a turnover in every game that season with just one exception.

That exception, as you may have already guessed, was the regular season’s only loss in week 14 to Kansas City.So how does this year’s unit compare?

Through seven games, the 2012 Green Bay defense has a defensive passer rating of 79.94, which is tenth best in the NFL right now. This may seem high, and to some degree it possibly is given the sample size, but early signs indicate that the defense has improved from last year.

The next step is to figure out why with an improved defense the Packers have lost more games than they did all of last year. Two obvious factors are luck (some random, some replacement ref) and a less effective offense. The other, as hinted at earlier, is forced turnovers.

Prior to the Houston game, Green Bay had only forced 5 turnovers and 4 of them came against Chicago. From Houston and on, Green Bay has forced 4 turnovers.

Given the 2011 defense’s propensity for forcing turnovers, it seems very likely that the defense of the last two games is more or less what we can expect for the remainder of the season. That’s assuming Woodson’s injury doesn’t completely throw a wrench into the works, but we won’t know how well Dom Capers will adjust until Sunday.

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Great cartoon ... more about this guy in a later post.

Take a spin with me around the Internet as we look at some of the early postings about the Green Bay Packers.

Defense, or lack thereof, injuries, the playoff race, and even a cartoon from a new ‘toonist are here for you to peruse.

Enjoy!

And while you’re at it, Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Clipped from: www.jsonline.com (share this clip)

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Tramon Williams, Charles Woodson and company have made the plays when needed. For video of the season's first half, continue reading.

It’s been a loss-less season for the Green Bay Packers as we all take a deep breath, relax and sink into this Sunday without Packers football.

While Green Bay has won them all to-date, this team is far from perfect – a factor that makes this not only one of the best teams in franchise history, but probably its most likable.

How can we not look back on the past seven weeks without a smile?

How can we forget how the offense sliced through defenses with the precision that is Rodgers and company?

How can we forget the defense that has been gashed time and again for big plays, yet has always seemed to find that special play that turns the game?

Something special is happening in Green Bay … right before our eyes. Another chase at the prize is under way, but when the Packers resume play next week they will hit a headwind of competition that will test them – on the road at Chargers, Lions, Chiefs and don’t forget having to play the Bears and Vikings once more.

See video highlights after the jump …

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