Packers vs Raiders: Previews & Predictions

DGB454

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I think it will be closer than most expect if Fargas is running well. Oaklands Pass defense is good also.
 

KGB94SACKEM

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I Can't believe I'm saying this but the Raiders with Fargas and McNown kind of scare me. It will be interesting to see how they respond whatever the case
 
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TOPHAT

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http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=262681

Packers Keys For Success

1. Stop running back Justin Fargas. Look for the Packers to play eight defenders near the line on first and second downs as the coaches try to take away the Raiders' best weapon in recent weeks, Fargas. The Raiders' back has averaged 142.5 yards rushing the past two games, including a 146-yard game against the Broncos that helped the offense dominate the time of possession in a 34-20 win. Just as the Raiders will look to do against Grant, the Packers want to stifle the running game and force Oakland's quarterback to throw. That's a solid plan, because the Raiders have one of the AFC's worst passing attacks.

2. Protect the quarterback. Favre is expected to start, but he will likely be playing in pain after suffering elbow and shoulder injuries that forced him out of last week's loss to Dallas. His backup Rodgers has yet to make a start, and with the playoffs on the horizon, now is not the time for the Packers to allow the linchpin of their offense to get mangled. Therefore, look for Green Bay to enact a game plan that will keep the QB untouched. Three- and five-step drops will allow Favre to get the ball out of his hands in a hurry. If Favre has enough time to throw, he can make Oakland's secondary pay by connecting with one of his solid receiving options.

3. Avoid pass interference. The Packers' defensive backs must play with more discipline to avoid penalties that would help the Raiders' so-so offense. The Packers must defend properly and not give up dead-clock yards or extra plays. Green Bay has the better defense in this game, but the Raiders' receivers as a group are better than the Packers' defensive backs -- especially if cornerback Charles Woodson is out again. Two big pass interference calls last week helped the Cowboys get the win. The Raiders have good receivers, especially Jerry Porter and Ronald Curry, but they aren't as dangerous as the Cowboys' group.

4. Free...running back Ryan Grant. Oakland's linebackers will play the run on first down and when the Packers have a fullback in the game. In the past six games, the Packers have gone 5-1, with Grant averaging 19 carries for 94 yards. Grant, who's in his first NFL season, anchors the running game and brings balance to the offense. The Raiders want to make the Packers' offense one-dimensional and force an aching Brett Favre to throw. That plays to the Raiders' strength: They are fifth overall in pass defense, allowing 186 yards per game. The trouble is, the Packers are second overall in passing offense, averaging 293 yards.

5. Win the turnover battle. Whether it's McCown, JaMarcus Russell or Daunte Culpepper lining up under center, forcing passes into coverage is a yes yes. These teams are not evenly matched and giveaways would leave Oakland with no chance to win. The Packers are playing at home and favored to win, but they lost the turnover battle in both their losses.

6. Consistent pass rush. Facing an average offensive line, KGB and Kampman can get to QB McCown. Look for a tight end or running back to help right tackle Paul McQuistan who will be making his third start of the season. Kampman has 11 sacks, tied for second-most in the NFL. If he is not double-teamed, Kampman should get a few more this week, along with well rested KGB. Jenkins bette start showing up too.


NOTE: ALL PLAYERS EXCEPT BUBBA & WHITE BACK WITH WOODSON Q. IT'S GONNA BE GREAT GAME ON CBS WITH THE TEMP IN 20S AND MAYBE SNOW. LET'S GET READY TO RRRRRUMBLE AND CLINCH NFL NORTH DIVISION!
 

pack_in_black

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right tackle Paul McQuistan who will be making his third start of the season. Kampman has 11 sacks, tied for second-most in the NFL. If he is not double-teamed, Kampman should get a few more this week along with KGB.


That's what I'm talkin bout! Kampy better have six or more tomorrow. He frickin better.



or else........
 

tromadz

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pack_in_black said:
right tackle Paul McQuistan who will be making his third start of the season. Kampman has 11 sacks, tied for second-most in the NFL. If he is not double-teamed, Kampman should get a few more this week along with KGB.
That's what I'm talkin bout! Kampy better have six or more tomorrow. He frickin better.



or else........

I think that means the kid will have help on kampman, opening things up for the men on the inside. They won't double every time, and when they don't, Kampman will eat his soul.
 

tromadz

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Sounds like their coach is resting him. He had 55 carries in the last 2 games. They want him rested and fresh for Kampman and Company maybe.
 

Greg C.

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I'm just glad the Packers are finally playing on a Sunday. Two Thursday games in a row was a real drag. Now the season can get back to normal.

It's encouraging to hear that Kampman will be up against another inexperienced right tackle. He's been great at exploiting those mismatches this season. He should get a couple sacks. I'm also looking for Ryan Grant to have a big day.

As long as we don't enter Nall-ville, we should be fine. Packers 24, Raiders 13.
 
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TOPHAT

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http://www.mytvisonfire.com/packersnation/?p=2449

Positions Breakdown:

Quarterback-HUGE ADVANTAGE PACKERS. This matchup is not even close. Brett Favre is having one of the best seasons of his career. The Raiders can’t even decide on a QB. One week it’s Culpepper, the next week it is Josh McCown. Will the Raiders ever realize that their season is over and that they should give Jarmarcus Russel some practice in gametime situations. If the talent of the QBs weren’t enough, Brett also has an advantage since he is used to throwing in the cold and snow unlike the Raider QBs.

Running Back-Draw. Justin Fargas is one of the only players on the Raiders team that have played well. Ryan Grant has played great lately though. He used to be the leader in rushing for the last couple of weeks (I don’t know if he still is). At this point I believe both team’s running games are equal since the Packers running game struggled at first but has really turned it on the last couple of weeks. This matchup could be huge because with the expected weather the running game will be very important.

Full Back-Draw. At FB the Raiders have Justin Griffith who a lot of Packer fans wanted to get this offseason. Griffith might have more experience but I also like John Kuhn and Korey Hall. Both have played really well recently and have blocked really well in the running game. I believe Griffith is probably better than either of our FBs alone but combined I believe they are equal.

Wide Receiver-HUGE ADVANTAGE PACKERS. Here is another matchup where the Packers have a huge advantage. The Packers have one of the best receiving corps in the entire league. By how poorly the Raiders have thrown the ball this year, there receivers aren’t very good. The Packers have 5 great to quality recievers while the Raiders pretty much have one above average receiver on their entire team. If the game would turn into a passing game the packers easily have the advantage.

Tight End-Advantage Packers. This season Donald Lee has played a lot better than Zach Miller has. Donald Lee is playing good enough to make the Pro Bowl (in my opinion) while Zach Miller is having an average season at best. Donald Lee hasn’t done much in the last couple of weeks but he should be involved more this week in regards to blocking and short passes over the middle.

Offensive Line-Draw. I believe it is a draw. The Packers pass blocking is better while the Raiders run blocking is better. For those of you who haven’t heard, Daryn Colledge has been benched and Jason Spitz and Junius Coston are going to start at the two guard spots. Daryn needed to be benched since he has played bad the last couple of games. The Packers offensive line has on and off games. Hopefully this is an on game.

Defensive Line-Advantage Packers. I give the Packers the advantage since the Raiders’ D-Line doesn’t impress me. The Packers D-Line has played well this season (except for last week). Look for Aaron Kampman to have a big game. The Packers D-Line has had quite a few injuries lately especially at DT. KGB is supposedly going to play. At DT the Packers will have to activate at least Justin Harrell for the #3 DT position and will probably activate Daniel Muir for the #4 DT position. Hopefully these two youngsters can get some good experience in the game and hopefully can make an impact.

Linebacker-Advantage Packers. Looking at the Raiders LBs I don’t see any player that scares me at all. The Packers LBs are much better since the Raiders are starting Robert Thomas who started one year for the Packers and was let go because of Brady Poppinga who is the worst of the three Packers starting LBs. Aj Hawk has really stepped up his play the last couple of weeks and Nick Barnett continues to play really well this season. I believe the Packers easily have the advantage in this matchup.

Cornerback-Advantage Packers. The Packers secondary was scorched last week against the Cowboys but don’t expect a similar performance this week. Al Harris will rebound and Charles Woodson has a good chance at playing (at this time he is questionable). What I don’t get is why Jarrett Bush is still the third CB. With his performance the last couple of weeks he should be our fifth our sixth CB. Tramon Williams and Will Blackmon should be higher up on the depth chart that Bush. As far as the Raiders they have one good CB and that is about it. Nnamdi Asomugha is a very good young corner and should have a good game. After him I don’t see any corners that scare me.

Safety-Draw. I consider this a draw because the Packers safeties have not played well the last couple of games. Nick Collins recently returned from injury and played decent last week. Atari Bigby played downright terrible last week. He couldn’t cover and he got way to many face masking penalties. When will Bigby realize that you can’t tackle players by the face mask. What I don’t understand is how Aaron Rouse is not starting. He has shown a lot more than both Bigby and Collins. One of them (preferably Bigby) should have been benched and Rouse should start.

Special Teams-Draw. While the Packers have a young kicker and punter in Mason Crosby and Jon Ryan the Raiders have an older kicker and punter in Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler. While the Raider’s kicker and punter are bigger names I believe the Packers kicker and punter are just as good. As far as returning I don’t know anything about the Raiders special teams. The Packers return teams are average. The Packers do need to work on their coverage units since they have struggled the last couple of weeks.

Keys to Winning the Game:

Run the Ball. In cold and snowy games, running the ball is very important. Ryan Grant has played great ever since he got the start and the Packers are finally starting to get a running game going. It also helps that the Raiders have one of the worst run defenses in the entire league. Ryan Grant will probably see the ball a lot and how well he carries the ball will play a crucial factor in the Packers winning or losing the game.

Stop the Raider’s running game. Just as I said before the run game becomes very important in cold weather. Also the Raider’s running game is pretty much all they have on offense. The Raiders passing game has struggled the entire year and their QBs have kept changing every week. I believe if the Packers stop the Raiders running game they will win the game.

Return to our old gameplan. This entire season the Packers have succeeded with short passes and yards after the catch. For some stupid reason the Packers decided to deviate from that last week against the Raiders. I still don’t get the logic behind that. The Packers are going to need to get back to their short passes if the Packers want to keep winning and possibly go to the Super Bowl.

Don’t let this be a trap game. The Packers are easily the better team in this matchup. The Packers can’t get to confident that they fall into a trap game. The Raiders can easily win the game if the Packers don’t take the game seriously. I doubt the Packers will underestimate the Raiders after losing last week.

Prediction: The Packers come out of the loss to the Cowboys angry and ready to play. The cold weather and possiblity of snow also help. Packers 38 Raiders 10.
 

Zombieslayer

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Nice position breakdown, Tophat. Interesting they put Grant vs Fargas as a draw. That really says something for Grant, because Fargas is impressive.
 
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TOPHAT

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Nice position breakdown, Tophat.

Thanks. Now, a few words about the Frozen Tundra & Glory Days..

http://www.bratsandbeer.com/posts/2007/12/634

The Autumn Wind Meets Frozen Tundra....

Alright, the maybe the Oakland Raiders today aren’t quite the Silver & Black wrecking crew that terrorized the league in the 1970s. They’ve been in rebuilding mode ever since Gruden’s Bucs beat them in the Super Bowl; the team is on its third different head coach in the past four years. The Raiders are, however, the next team on the schedule and present a different kind of challenge for the Packers. Oakland might be a team in disarray, but they have shown some life by winning their last couple games, and what could be a bigger feather in their cap than knocking off the #2 team in the NFC?

Ultimately, though, the game this week is all about the Packers and how they respond coming off the loss to Dallas. Just like last Thursday’s game was a huge test in terms of matching up with one of the best teams in the league, Sunday will test Green Bay’s ability to regroup and refocus for the tough games ahead. The final run to the playoffs begins this week and how Green Bay executes against Oakland will say a lot about their state of mind heading into the final month of regular season football. One would like to see a dominant performance — especially on defense — in a game that could clinch the NFC North division and put the Packers one step closer to a first round bye. To borrow again from the immortal John Facenda, we’ve survived the chill of November, now is the time for glory.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/raiders/ci_7676619?nclick_check=1

Thanks to Pack, glory days back

Tragic news for the semi-occasional visitor to Green Bay: The Glory Years is gone. You read that right. The delightfully casual, raucous downtown sports bar, which occupied the one-time location of the Green Bay Packers corporate headquarters, has been reincarnated as an Italian restaurant. That may be a culinary upgrade, but it is a huge cultural loss. How can you beat the Packers memorabilia, the walls reeking of history, the opportunity to enjoy a burger and a beer in what used to be Vince Lombardi's office? We'll save you the trouble: You can't. On the bright side, the Glory Days rave on. The Packers are 10-2 heading into today's game against the Raiders, guaranteed their first winning record in three seasons. Brett Favre, seemingly destined for a maudlin, embarrassing endgame to his brilliant career, has risen from the ashes.

Every glory day this snowy hamlet of 100,000 enjoys is one more than conventional wisdom would have bestowed upon it in the first place. For decades the Packers have been the only NFL team to exist in a small town instead of a big city. This incongruous arrangement is an offspring of the embryonic NFL of the 1920s, which featured teams sprinkled in rural outposts throughout the upper Midwest, and an almost accidental byproduct of the league's Socialist practice of sharing profits among member franchises. The Duluth Kelleys, Canton Bulldogs and Dayton Triangles are long gone, but the Green Bay Packers endure. The only publicly owned team in the NFL, the Packers gain distinction from their small-town hometown. They return it tenfold when they distinguish themselves from the NFL rank and file. High tide in this reciprocal arrangement came, of course, during Lombardi's reign. He came to town, packing an iron fist in each hand, and turned a sad sack outfit into the class of the league. From 1959-67, the Packers went 98-30-4.

They lost their first playoff game under Lombardi -- fullback Jim Taylor was tackled 8 yards short of the winning touchdown as time ran out -- then won their final nine. They won five NFL titles, and the first two Super Bowls. If you're of a certain age, you remember it well, which is why football memories have been Green Bay's biggest export in the nearly 40 years since Lombardi stepped down as head coach. To this day there are more than a dozen local businesses with Titletown in their name, and nearly as many playing off the name of the team. It was an unparalleled time. But not unrivaled. Favre has won just one Super Bowl in Green Bay, but he has participated in 71 more victories than did Lombardi. If he plays next season -- what, you think he'll quit now? -- he'll have been with the team twice as long as Lombardi was.

This season he has become the all-time NFL leader in touchdown passes and victories by a quarterback. He needs 450 yards to eclipse the record for career passing yardage. If Lombardi was God-like to the folks in Green Bay, Favre has become the epitome of the common man. His passion for the game and impulsively risky gambits endeared him to Packers fans. His mortal afflictions created an empathetic connection -- from his dependency on pain-killers, to his father's death just before a Monday night game in Oakland, to his wife's breast cancer, to his ritual soul-searching over whether to retire or come back for another season.

It is safe to say no one expected what has happened this season. These are bonus days of surplus glory. Once again the Pack is distinguishing itself, and Green Bay is everything visitors and residents alike want it to be: It's snow on the ground, with more on the way. It's a big game at Lambeau Field today, with a chance to clinch a division title. It's the sign outside the Bay Family Restaurant reading, "Let's Raid the Raiders." It's the oldies radio station bringing you the forecast with the sing-songy intro, "Packers weather!" It's Coaches Corner, the next best thing to The Glory Years, where the waitresses wear black-and-white striped referee jerseys and ask you questions that end in, "at all?" As in: "You want cheese on that at all?" It's where you ask for a slice of Swiss and get two slices of American. It's where you can find an array of NFL helmets above the bar, a mural of Wrigley Field taking up two full walls, and, almost obscured by bric-a-brac, a photo of Lombardi, with the great man holding his hand out in front of him as if he's about to cross himself or drive home a point. The Glory Days may be gone, but the memory-making continues. It's what they do here. It's who they are.

POSTSCRIPT: "...Brett Favre will be throwing, in a way, for us all. Throwing hope forward, in a single clean step or with a motion as rushed and awkward as man falling out of the tub, as hurried and off-balance as the rest of us. Banking on the past while trying to read a second or two into his future, drilling clean arcs on our behalf into the weakening light and the rising odds, every stand he makes in the pocket another little long shot fired against the infinite and inevitable. Every throw a moment for hope, a defiant line, bright in the air, against chaos and diminishment and the final goodbye."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/pr...%2F11%2F28%2Fnfl.brett.favre1204%2Findex.html

:USA: :towel: :agree: :yeah: :USA:
 
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TOPHAT

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Predictions

http://gnb.scout.com/2/709692.html?refid=400&CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=5

Packers-Raiders: Game snapshot

SERIES: 10th meeting. Packers lead series 5-4 and have won the last four. The last Raiders win was Sept. 13, 1987, as the Los Angeles Raiders. In the previous meeting, Brett Favre passed for 399 yards and four TDs in a 41-7 win over Oakland on Monday night. In the last game at Lambeau Field, Favre drove the Packers 82 yards in the final two minutes and hit Jeff Thomason with the game-winning touchdown pass with 11 seconds to play to beat the Raiders 28-24 in the debut of Rich Gannon as quarterback in the 1999 season opener.

KEYS TO THE GAME: Playing in inclement weather in Green Bay could be a culture shock for many of the young Raiders. The good news for Oakland is the emergence of RB Justin Fargas, who has three 100-yard games the past five weeks. They'll use the run to set up play-action, and look for rookie QB JaMarcus Russell to get in for a few series again. ... Favre has every intention of playing, but don't be surprised if this is a game plan featuring an increased dose of RB Ryan Grant. The offensive line is starting to improve its run-blocking and in tough weather, this could be a good game to start preparing for playoff conditions. The Raiders give up an average of 148.0 yards per game on the ground at 4.8 yards per carry, although they did limit Denver to 86 yards last week.

PREDICTION: Packers 30-17


:USA: :thumbsup: :yeah: :agree:
 

Zombieslayer

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wpr said:
The Raiders come out shivering and complaining about how bitterly cold it is while the Packers only shake their heads and laugh because it is 34 degrees out and hardly even worth mentioning.

GB 32
Oak 7

Heh. As someone now in the Bay Area, I laugh when Californians complain about the "cold." Like they know what cold is. :lol:
:rotflmao:

:twisted: :lol:

Favre throws 3 TDs
Grant runs for 150+ yards and gets at least 1 TD on the ground.
Packers 37-13.

Ok. Slightly off. I said 37-13 and Favre only threw 2 TDs. I was right about Grant though. :)
 
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