Will Charles Woodson and the Green Bay Packers defense show up Sunday? Raymond T. Rivard photograph

What’s been talked about most this week and will be discussed right up until game time of the Packers and Giants showdown this weekend will be just how the Packers are going to deal with that vaunted defense blowing into Lambeau Field.

Well, we know it’s not the Packers’ defense everyone is talking about, don’t we? No, we’re talking about the Giants defense – that same outfit that held the Atlanta Falcons scoreless in the first round of the playoffs.

The Packers defense, on the other hand, has been an enigma, a unit that fills its roster with All-Pros, but throughout the season looked like … well frankly, I’m not sure how to describe them.

They’ve been gashed week -in and week-out on big play after big play as even marginal quarterbacks such as Kyle Orton (twice), Christian Ponder, Josh Freeman, and Josh McCown moved their teams up and down the field, throwing pretty much at will.

More after the jump and don’t forget to Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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So, will Aaron Rodgers and the Packers notch win #14 easily in Kansas City Sunday or will the Chiefs give the Packers their best shot?

OK, so it’s that time of the week when we hear from the opposing camp about this week’s Packers vs. Chiefs game.

With just three weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, we asked Patrick Allen, the bigwig over at Arrowhead Addict, what is thoughts are heading into Sunday’s Packers vs. Chiefs match-up. He was so kind to take some time to answer our questions.

Enjoy! He’s brutally honest.

And don’t forget to Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Predominantly Orange is the Denver Broncos site managed by editor Kim Constantinesco

Kim Constantinesco, the Denver Broncos blogger with Predominantly Orange, took time out of his busy schedule to answer questions about the Denver Broncos and provide a look at Sunday’s upcoming game.

Here’s what the word is coming from the Mile High City.

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Aaron Rodgers’ league best passer rating of 120.9 is impressive and the Packers’ 3-0 record highlights one of the franchise’s best starts, but it doesn’t feel that way, does it?
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Could Brett Favre be headed here?

Ok, so we have to join in … apparently the Favre watch is on in Miami.

After a week or so since the flag was raised in Philadelphia (before that team’s massive influx of new personnel), it seems that Miami Dolphins’ coach Tony Sparano could be seeking out the aged one, though the head coach is mum on the subject.

When asked about the possibility of Favre being considered as an option in Miami, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Sparano said,  “I can’t rule anything out, I’m giving you the only answer I can give you.”

This is after the Dolphins couldn’t pull together a trade for Kyle Orton. Like all teams in the NFL, Florio is pretty sure that Sparano is trying to win at all costs … thus the move to consider Favre.

Will Brett consider it? We hope not. But in this day and age, we are pretty sure he’s sitting in Mississippi thinking about it.

Maybe the Dolphins could talk Randy Moss out of retirement, too.

“They don’t have a receiver,” Driver said on the “Waddle & Silvy” show on ESPN 1000. “They don’t have any true receivers that step up and play and take their team to where they want to go.

“I love Devin [Hester], and Devin knows that, but Devin plays [defensive back]. I don’t think he’s just a solid receiver right now. He may become one as years go on, but it doesn’t happen overnight.”

I’m not sure there’s anyone that can deny this, even Bears fans.  Let’s look at the wide receivers on the Bears roster currently: Hester, Brandon Rideau, Eric Peterman, Johnny Knox, Derek Kinder, Juaquin Iglesias, Rashied Davis, John Broussard, Earl Bennett, and Devin Aromashodu.  Peterman, Knox, Kinder, and Iglesias are all rookies.  I’ve never heard of Rideau.  Bennett and Aromashodu have yet to show anything on the NFL level.  Davis has had flashes of brilliance, but his career season was 2008, when he had 35 receptions for 445 yards and two touchdowns.  Hester had 52 receptions for 665 yards and three touchdowns.

Granted, with Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman as your quarterbacks, it’s hard to produce.  With Jay Cutler in town, the wide receivers will see some improvement, but you have to have some toys for your quarterback to play with.  Cutler is a great quarterback, but I doubt he will be able to turn these guys into Pro Bowlers within one or two seasons.  The Bears weakest point on their offense is their receiving corps.  Hester has his moments, but it feels like most of the time he is used as a diversion or as a gimmick.

If Chicago wants to contend, they need a Brandon Marshall or an Anquan Boldin, a big target that can make any quarterback look good.  However, with the king’s ransom they payed for Cutler, it doesn’t look like they have anything to give up for them.  The Cutler acquisition of Cutler gives Chicago the franchise quarterback it needs, but he doesn’t have any receivers, meaning a tough time getting adjusted for Jay.

Donald Driver states the obvious folks.  Seriously, before you read this, could you name a Bears wide receiver besides Hester?

The other thing that I found interesting about this is that Driver is usually pretty silent when it comes to the media.  He doesn’t toot his own horn that much or make too much noise on the airwaves.  That being said, I like it.  It gives the Packers a bit of an edge for 2009.  Driver also answered questions about future Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre:

“A lot of guys just kind of put it out of their mind, and said that whatever Brett does he’s going to do it on his own, and we can’t worry about it in Green Bay,” Driver said. “If he signs with Minnesota, he does, and if he doesn’t he doesn’t.

“If he signs with them, then we prepare for him when that week comes around, but right now we’re not focused on that. We’re just focused on winning games trying to get to where we want to go, and that’s the world championship.”

Good words from Driver.  Less than two weeks until Favre’s decision.  My guess?  He’ll be back.

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After two tough losses, the latter very dissapointing and poorly played, the Packers asserted themselves as the powers they were last year. They didn’t just get by the Bears, who were a game ahead of them–they destroyed them 37-3. Out of all of the people that even picked Chicago to lose, barely any of them (if any) predicted a blowout like this. Kyle Orton was back under center, Matt Forte was running hard, and to top it all off the Bears beat Green Bay twice last year when they went 13-3! Now they were facing a 4-5 team that was struggling with the run, hitting a few bumps with the pass, and giving up tons of ground on the run defensively. This game proved that pre-game analysis and “on paper, this team should win” doesn’t decide every game. Many things that were supposed to happen didn’t happen, and vice versa.

Looking at the numbers going into the game, Forte was looking good for fantasy owners. He was going up against a run defense ranked 28th in the NFL. They Packers also lost linebacker Nick Barnett for the season with a ligament tear. Everyone was in for a surprise, though, when Forte only had 64 yards on 16 carries and never reached the endzone. Who could have expected the Packers defensive to step up that much on the ground? Orton had to go up against one of the best pass defenses in the league, so with Forte shut down the Bears’ offense didn’t really have any legs to run with. Orton only threw 50% with under 150 yards.

Flipping over to the Packers’ side of the story. They were the exact opposite of Chicago. Grant, inconsistent throughout the whole season except the week before (when he ran well against the Minnesota Vikings), was facing a team with a defensive ranked in the Top 5 at stopping the run. Rodgers, on the other hand, would be throwing into one of the NFL’s worst pass-stoppers. Unlike the Bears, though, the rush and pass did great on Sunday. Rodgers went 23-of-30, throwing for 227 yards and two scores. Grant looked like the Ryan Grant of 2007, not the one we’ve been seeing so far. He rushed for 145 yards and had a trip to the endzone on 25 carries.

This game just gave the Packers a huge boost of momentum. Not just the normal feeling a team gets after win; this game meant something. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the Vikings, Green Bay is in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC North with Chicago and Minnesota. That would seem like a toss-up to the casual fan, but Green Bay is the clear-cut, bet-it-all, if-I’m-wrong-let-me-be-struck-by-lighting pick to win this division. The way they played in Week 11 looked like the way they played all last season. If a young face wasn’t behind the facemask of the quarterback, it would be an exact copy. Minnesota, on the other hand, relies on Adrian Peterson to spark the offense, and teams (including the Packers) have shown he isn’t invincible. Chicago? This game should end all talks for their NFC North bid.

Yes, playing the way they are would make the Packers a hard team to stop, but they’re far from unbeatable and better not get overconfident. The upcoming schedule will throw some problems at them. On Monday Night Football they face the New Orleans Saints, who have the league’s most powerful passing game and a mediocre running game. The Saints’ offensive production will depend on the answer of two questions: 1) Who will play better: the Packers’ pass defense or the Saints passing game, and 2) Who will play worse: the Packers’ rush defense or the Saints running game? New Orleans’ defense is very weak and it should be a field day for Rodgers and Grant, but Green Bay’s defense has to realize they need to stop Drew Brees to finish with a big win.

After that they face the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers are like the Bears: a weak passing game with a good ground attack. Their record, at 8-2, makes them seem like one of the NFL’s biggest teams, but Carolina really hasn’t been getting a lot of spotlight. The reason the Panthers have a better record than New Orleans’ 5-5 mark is that their defense can actually stop teams when they have to. They’re fifth-best at stopping the pass and middle-of-the-pack when it comes to the run.

If Green Bay can pull off wins against both of these teams and achieve a 7-5 record, they could be sitting at the top of their division alone. Right now they just need to take it one game at a time and play every game like it is do-or-die. Why? Well it obviously worked last week.

Chicago has always been a thorn in the side of the Packers.  In the midst of the Packers 13-3 season, two of the games the Packers lost to were to the Bears.  Those games showcased a specific weakness in the Packers.  With their success last year, those games were overall expendable.  This year, however, the Packers need these two wins against Chicago.  If Green Bay loses, they will have to win out, no question.  They would drop to 4-6 with games remaining against the dangerous Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints.  The chances of them making the playoffs serverely decrease with those games remaining on the schedule.

Fact is, this game is the season.  Kyle Orton has done a masterful job with the offense.  If the Packers lose Sunday, all we’ll get is bunch of Brett Favre-humping, as to the assumed fact he is the reason the Packers have done poorly so far this year.  Favre would not be having more success than Aaron Rodgers this year; Favre was lucky.  The 2007 Packers barely had any injuries.  The media will be all over Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy who have both done a masterful turning this team around.  The Packers need to win to prove all the doubters wrong.

Time to make-it or break-it.

But what is going on with the Packers? Early season prognosticators would have had them at about 5-3 or 6-2 at this point in the year with a comfortable division lead, not at 4-4. They would not have expected the Packers to lose to the likes of the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tennessee Titans. Aaron Rodgers was thought to be the preseason bust; not Ryan Grant. Rookies would not be calling out their quarterback (cough, Jermichael Finley, cough), and the team would be more united after trading Brett Favre to the New York Jets. But the Packers are struggling with these issues. They are forced to take “moral victories” as they did after the Titans loss.

The main problem for the Packers this year has been injuries. Last season, the only major injury I can think of off the top of my head was losing cornerback Charles Woodson for the game against the Dallas Cowboys with a broken toe, a game in which the Packers sorely missed him. The defensive line also had numerous injuries last year, but none to the same magnitude of the Woodson injury. This year, however, the injury tide has turned against the Packers. Woodson hurt his toe again. Al Harris ruptured his spleen. Nick Collins, Aaron Rouse, and Atari Bigby have all been banged up in the secondary. Grant, after reporting to training camp late, hurt his hamstring, an injury he still hasn’t fully recovered from as he has yet to hit his stride. Rodgers suffered a severe shoulder injury in the 30-21 loss to the Buccaneers, but has Favred-up and played through it. The offensive line has been beset by small nagging injuries, such as the ones to Scott Wells and Chad Clifton, causing a lack of unity which could also be affecting Grant’s abilities. Last season, these injuries weren’t a huge problem for the Packers. This year, they have been.

Luckily for the Packers, though, the rest of the NFC North has stumbled. The Vikings, a sexy preseason pick for the Super Bowl (I’m looking at you, Dr. Z), have stumbled to the same 4-4 record as the Packers. Tarvaris Jackson was not the quarterback they (and I) thought he was at the beginning of the season and he has been benched for Gus Frerotte. Adrian Peterson has performed, but he hasn’t had the 295-yard game everyone has been looking for. On a good note for the Vikings, Bernard Berrian, acquired as a deep-threat in the offseason, has been coming on strong; look for a good matchup between Berrian and Harris on Sunday. The Vikings pass defense, thought to have been shored up with the acquisition of Madieu Williams in the offseason, has been an utter failure. Despite the great pass rush generated by the defensive line, they can’t defend the pass game.

The Bears have been a surprise this year.  Lovie Smith gave the job to Kyle Orton and Orton responded nicely, leading the Bears to a 5-3 record so far.  However, Orton suffered an ankle sprain, giving the keys to the offense to everyone’s favorite quarterback, Rex Grossman.  Orton is going to miss at least a week, possibly two, making everyone ask themselves, “Is Sexy Rexy going to rear his ugly head anytime soon?”  For the Packers, hopefully yes.  The Bears have been winning the close ones, hanging in tough and pulling it out at the end.  The Packers have had a little difficulty coming back late in close games, which they will need to do, as the meet the Bears twice in the last eight weeks of the season.  Remember, Chicago swept the Pack in 2007, costing the Packers homefield advantage in the playoffs (not that it mattered anyway).

The Lions.  Ah, the Detroit Lions.  Matt Millen is gone.  Rod Marinelli is still there (for now at least).  What isn’t there is a quarterback.  Jon Kitna‘s season ending injury gave the offense over to Dan Orlovsky.  Who was horrible.  Flat.  Out.  Horrible.  I don’t think I’d seen a worse quarterback in the NFL.  Besides him running out of the back of the end zone in the game against the Vikings, he just didn’t have it.  His throws were lame ducks.  And he couldn’t run a two-minute drill.  Orlovsky trying to drive the Lions downfield at the end of the team’s 25-17 loss to the Washington Redskins on October 26 was one of the most comical things I have ever seen.  It made me want to cry.  And now the Lions are supposedly going to start Daunte Culpepper on Sunday.  Daunte Culpepper.  Yes, that Daunte Culpepper.  It’s ridiculous.  The Detroit Lions have gone from lovable losers (to an extent) to an absolute joke.  It’s not even inept management anymore.  It’s just like God is screwing with the people of Detroit now.  It’s that bad.  They could actually go winless.  I wish they were playing the Cincinnati Bengals this year.  Now that would be a game to watch.

There is a lot of time for the NFC North to shake up, at least the top three spots.  The Packers have four divisional games left this year, and all will be critical to the postseason push.  The schedule doesn’t get any easier, either.  Besides two dates with the Bears, a date in Minneapolis, and the Lions in Lambeau to close out the year, the Packers have games at the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars, along with home dates versus the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans.  The Saints sit at 4-4 with a dangerous offense consisting of Drew Brees and Reggie Bush and whoever Brees will throw the ball to.  Harris and Woodson will both need to be at full strength for that match, as New Orleans will want to turn it into a track meet.  The Jaguars have disappointed this year at 3-5, but have a dangerous defense and are a superb two-minute drill run by Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers away from the .500 mark.  Jake Delhomme‘s Tommy John surgery has not had a negative impact on this season, as the Panthers sit atop the NFC South with a 6-2 record.  The Packers are 0-2 against the South so far this year, and will want to even that mark against New Orleans and Carolina.  Finally, the Texans, at 3-5, look like the easiest team remaining on the schedule, but with young playmakers Andre Johnson and Steve Slaton, anything can happen when Houston comes to town.  That being said, the Packers still hope to finish up strong.

Best case scenario for the Packers looks like them finishing 10-6.  The only way into the playoffs looks like through the division crown, as the NFC East teams are tearing up the league and making it difficult for any team to rip a wild-card berth away from that division.  Of course, a 12-4 or a 4-12 finish isn’t out of the question, but 10-6 looks like a happy medium.

Chicago Bears

- The Bears named Kyle Orton the starting quarterback over everyone’s favorite Rex Grossman.  This is not good for the Packers, as Bears-quarterbacks-not-named-Rex Grossman (aka Orton and Brian Griese) swept the Packers last year.  The Viking Age also puts forth some other scenarios that could come out of this.

- The age of some of the Bears offensive lineman is also appearing to become an issue.  Which just makes things easier for Aaron Kampman and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.  And whoever else starts at defensive end now.

- The Bears make the right choice for their franchise player on ESPN.com.

Detroit Lions

- Apparently, wide receiver Calvin Johnson is “scary good.”  Are you listening, Al Harris and Charles Woodson?

- The Lions fans and writers are pretty excited about a 2-0 preseason record!

- Another guy thinks Johnson is a beast.

Minnesota Vikings

- Overpaid free agent wide receiver Bernard Berrian is having toe problems.  Which is good for the Packers, bad for my fantasy team.  Damn autodraft.

- The Vikings defensive line depth is continually thinning.  Good thing for Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson.

- Is Chris Simms coming to Minny?

- Veteran quarterback Gus Frerotte will start the third preseason game for the Vikings due to Tarvaris Jackson‘s sprained MCL.

That’s all folks.