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Name: BigE
Email: BigE@idatasports.com
Date: Tue Jan 8 21:13:56 2002

Headline: Green Bay Packers vs New York Giants

The Green Bay Packers did Sunday what they have done all season long; They got the job done! The Pack Secured a home playoff game against the San Francisco 49'ers, by winning 34-25 against the Giants in New York. This was, after all, a playoff game for the Packers. I say this because playing for a home playoff game is every bit as important as the playoff game itself. Winning on the road in the NFL is tough, but a playoff game on the road is even tougher. Now the niners will have the balmy Green Bay weather to contend with.... That's because the Pack started off quickly, scoring 14 points half way through the first quarter. Just imagine what the Pack could do in the playoffs with a few more quick starts. Sure the Rams have the fire power to strike quickly, but what about the rest of the NFC? Let's hope we get a chance to find out!

THE OFFENSE
The Packer offense was faced again by Ahman Green. Green finished with 101 yards on 23 carries, for a 4.4 yard average. Again, Green made tacklers look bad all day. Defenders look stupid when they try to take Green down with an arm tackle, and once he gets a head of steam it gets even harder to bring him down. Green's effort was helped by the Packers opening up their offense. Brett Favre was 15 of 30 for a whopping 315 yards. This was no dink and dunk passing game, this was a verticle treat. Big catches were being made all over the place. Bill Schroeder had 5 catches for 102 yards, for a 20.4 yard average. Corey Bradford also stepped up with 3 catches for 111 yards, for a 37 yard average. The biggest was a 54 yard strike from Favre, as Bradford just blazed past Dave Thomas and caught the ball in stride for the touchdown.

This was really a good day for the offense, as they showed how effective they can be with the balance they displayed on Sunday. Most important was the fact that the Packers were able to punch it in for touchdowns. This happened because the running game was clicking and receivers were getting open. Was the Giant Defense playing that poorly, or were the Packers receivers getting open. It was probably a little of both. Regardless, the offense looked good! Hopefully this is the offense that will show up in the playoffs next week.

THE DEFENSE
The Packers defense was a force through the first ten weeks of the season, but has faltered down the stretch. This was a defense that was keeping the Packers in games, as the offense was sputtering. With Nate Wayne back in the line up, I figured we could stop the run. I was dead wrong! The Packer 'D' gave up 81 yards to Ron Dayne, and 65 yards to Tiki Barber for 8.1 and 7.2 per carry respectively. Both Giant backs were able to gash the Packers for numerous big gains. What was more alarming was the defense giving up 378 yards through the air. That's right, the Packer defense gave up a whopping 524 total yards. That's scary.

Lets look on the bright side, the defense was able to create turnovers. Darren Sharper had a great pick, and Bahawoh Jue added a pick of his own. But the biggest play came from the most unlikely source, Billy Lyon. Lyon came off the corner against lifetime all-pro Lomas Brown, and sacked Kerry Collins causing him to fumble which was recovered by Vonnie Holliday, that was Huge! The Packers are going to need the defensive line to put pressure on the quarterback by any means necessary. Look for Ed Donatell to Blitz more in the playoffs to put pressure on the quarterback. With Gilbert Brown coming back, the defense will finally begin to stop the run.

Lets not forget what Dorsey Levens did for the kickoff return team. He was the MVP of the game Sunday. He constantly gave the Packers offense great field position all day long. Special teams are Soooo important. I remember a guy named Desmond Howard winning a Super Bowl MVP. No, the Packer return game has not come that far along, but it has gotten much better with Levens returning kicks. Now if Allen Rossum comes back next week, the Packers will have two game breakers returning kicks.

I just don't think the Niners can come into Lambeau Field and take this game from us. The Packers are a sound team, put together for facing the cold weather in Lambeau. The Packers should take care of the Niners by a score of 24-21... That's the way I saw it! BigE

P.S. - Please look for my First Round coverage including big match ups and summaries.

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