But can the Packers correct a few of their recent woes, especially against a team that has yet to allow more than 23 points in a game?
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“Tuesday, I had my normal routine”, he said in a subdued voice, “came in here, worked out, acupuncture, massage, film, relax, dinner, sleep, wake up, here I am”. It hasn’t happened since his first season as a starter in 2008.
The Packers are reeling right now, having lost three straight games. “James will take the first series and Eddie will go second and we’ll see how it balances out”, McCarthy said.
When the teams meet Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium, the Vikings hope to extend their rival’s losing streak. But they know it won’t be easy. “You would expect us at home to score 19”.
“The last couple games, we’ve been shooting ourselves in the foot”, Packers receiver James Jones said.
Green Bay (6-3) is in desperate need of a bounce back as it prepares for a crucial NFC North clash against a Vikings team that has won five straight games.
The Lions gained only 287 yards in the win in Green Bay, so the offense isn’t suddenly clicking. However, he certainly isn’t the only banged up Packer and many have contributed to Green Bay’s midseason woes.
Adrian Peterson, whose 961 yards leads the league in rushing, is a big part of the turnaround.
It would be hard to find anyone who would have predicted the situation one month later.
Green Bay’s rush defense has been very inconsistent this season.
Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers was limited in Wednesday’s Packers practice with a right shoulder injury.
QB Aaron Rodgers is healthy and Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he has no concern over Rodgers’ status against Minnesota. Definitely another challenge for us. In addition, they have dropped catchable balls to stymie drives.
“Our focus on offense is to perform better as a whole”.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer distributed the black T-shirts saying “Beat Green Bay!” on the back.
“We have to be really smart in our rush lanes”, defensive end Brian Robison said.
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What’s the Key: Green Bay has the advantage at quarterback (and it’s not that great an advantage compared to most others in the league), but Minnesota has better personnel at almost every other spot on the field. Rodgers was sacked three times by the Broncos, five by the Panthers and three by the Lions. The regular season finale is at home against the Vikings, and the Packers have a pair of games against 2-7 teams in Detroit and Dallas – despite that ugly loss to the Lions and the return of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Obviously we understand they’re an excellent football team and excellent organization, but it still comes down to how we play. Rodgers is as good as there is.
