Posts tagged Aaron Rodgers
Super Bowl XLV – It’s Prediction Time!
Feb 3rd
It’s a long time since training camps last year, when many (but by no means all!) of the teams though they could go all the way.
Back in August, we took a look at how we thought the divisions might play out. And… well, we were pretty much wrong across the board. In fact in some divisions we got the predictions exactly the opposite way to how it turned out. What can we say? It’s been that sort of season.
Super Bowl Rings
We’ve had some good turnaround stories this season, like the Rams and the Bucs who were both pushing for post-season places going into the final weeks. We’ve had the pre-season optimism of teams like the Redskins and Cowboys be beaten away by the realities of the season. We’ve had coaches fired, replaced, out of contract and just not as good as they should have been. We’ve had players go through bitterly disappointing seasons or moments and we’ve had the same number of triumphs. We had a good game between two not-so-good teams at Wembley.
All teams have overcome adversity and injuries during the long and gruelling season but two teams are left. The Green Bay Packers from the NFC and the Pittsburgh Steelers from the AFC.
The Packers are one of those teams who looked like they were struggling, but have hung in there throughout the season and with a great win in week 16 (against the rival Bears!) booked themselves into the play-offs at the last possible moment.
Rodgers Scrambles
They had big injuries, like losing Ryan Grant for the season in week 1, successive losses in overtime to the lightweight Redskins and Dolphins. Rodgers was concussed and at times they didn’t like championship worthy. But they’ve be playing great football for a while now and their last few games have certainly been championship ball.
The Steelers, as we all know, started the season without their starting quarterback. They traded away a Super Bowl MVP and it looked like the defence was losing a step. For most of the season they were neck and neck with the Ravens but were able to book a first-round bye with their strong showing as the season drew to an end.
Both coaches, Mike McCarthy and Mike Tomlin have both done incredibly jobs this year.
In the past few weeks we’ve looked at both teams in some depth, so we’re not going to do that again. Instead, let’s take a look at each element of the game and see how has the edge. No, it’s not a novel approach. But it works. More >
Super Bowl XLV: The Last Time These Teams Met…
Jan 26th
These are two teams that have not played each other much over the years. Even if we go back two games, we’re looking at Brett Favre and Charlie Batch as the starting QBs and to get 5 previous games we have to go back nearly 20 years. That includes a 7 year gap between 1998 and 2005 where these teams did not play each other. With the current scheduling all teams play at least once every four years and apart from this Super Bowl, the next scheduled match between them won’t be until the 2013 season.
Dallas Stadium, site of Super Bowl 45
So there is probably not much we can read into previous matchups, as 4 years is an eternity for an NFL team. But let’s take a look at the last time these two teams met, just over a year ago as the 2009 season was drawing to a close.
Week 15, 2009: Green Bay 36 – 37 Pittsburgh
This was a fantastic game and there will be no complaints from any quarter if Super Bowl 45 plays out as this game did. More >
NFL 2010 Divisional Weekend: Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta Falcons
Jan 11th
When Tramon Williams jogged casually out of the end zone, looking for someone to celebrate his game winning interception last week against the Eagles, he didn’t know the play was still going. When he finally went to the ground (and was covered immediately by team-mates) to end the play he’d put Michael Vick and the Eagles out of the play-offs. The Pack’s reward is another rematch, in the shape of a trip to take on the Atlanta Falcons for a place in the Conference Championship.
Matt Ryan Drops Back
Ranked #1 and having looked good right across the season, the Falcons were the class of the NFC. Going 7-1 at home and 6-2 on the road, they set the bar high for everyone else to follow. And yet when you look purely at the stat tables, you wonder how they did it. They rank 16th in both offence and defence. When you look at the wins, you see that at home they were in close games but away they frequently blew out their opponents. They did have a favourable schedule, but they made the most of these games.
More >
NFL 2010 Wildcard Weekend: Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles
Jan 5th
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Previous 5 Meetings:
2010 – Packers 27-20 Eagles
2007 – Eagles 13-16 Packers
2006 – Packers 9-31 Eagles
2005 – Packers 14-19 Eagles
2004 – Packers 17-47 Eagles
In the regular season Green Bay lead series 24-13 but in the post-season the Eagles are 2-0 against the Pack.
Now this is the sort of game that we think of when the hype gets going for post-season! This great-looking game will close out Wildcard Weekend.
The Green Bay Packers travel back to Philadelphia for a rematch of the week 1 game. All the way back in September the Packers got a costly win with both Ryan Grant and Justin Harrell being lost for the season. That was the start of a long season on injuries and setbacks, with 15 players being put on IR throughout the season and Aaron Rodgers suffering two concussions and missing game time.
But despite those setbacks their 10-6 record could easily be better; those six losses have been very close. 4 of them being by just 3 points (two in overtime) and the other two by 4 points. That’s a total of 20 points which is less – for those of you keeping track of the Seahawks’ bashing – than each of the 9 losses that Seattle suffered on their way to the play-offs. This is a team that could easily be 12-4 and in prime position. As it is, they’re a very dangerous wildcard. More >
Week 8, 2010: Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets
Oct 29th
This week sees me heading to Wembley along with Andrew and Graham for what should be a great game of football between the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers. That won’t stop me from taking a look at other games however, and this week I’ll be focusing on the Green Bay Packers at the New York Jets.
Mark Sanchez
Brandon Jackson has now had time to settle into the Packers offence and show us what he is made of. I do commend him and he has done a decent enough job. Sure he’s not the feature back that Ryan Grant is, but considering his lack of playing time previously he can be proud. I do think that the Packers are desperately missing the presence of Jermichael Finley, Aaron Rodgers more than anyone else. He was a focal point in their passing game and to be honest that has looked a little stale since he has been out. They really need to try and utilise Greg Jennings more than they have done, because when he has had the ball thrown at him he has made some good plays and showed everyone why he can be the number 1 receiver at Green Bay. He has already beaten his touchdown total from last year in half the time, but his yardage is suffering and at the moment he isn’t even close to breaking 100 yards. More >
NFL 2010 Week 6 Guest Predictions
Oct 13th
Hi, I’m Chris and I’m a Dallas Cowboys fan (don’t boo!). I first started watching American Football at about 6 years old when Channel Four here in the UK used to air an early morning highlight show at the weekends. At the time the Cowboys were just putting together the roster that would go on to pick up three Super Bowl rings in four seasons. I quickly got hooked watching Emmit Smith avoiding tacklers and moving through holes in defences created by Moose Johnston while being amazed at the almost telepathic connection Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin seemed to have. I still continue to follow the Cowboys despite numerous let-downs and a constant barrage of abuse I get from all my Dallas-hating friends!
I’m taking a look at all the NFL games this week and making my predictions on each one.
Game Predictions
Miami Dolphins @ Green Bay Packers
Usually, I’d pick the Packers straight away for this one but, with doubts surrounding Clay Matthews, Jermichael Finley and Aaron Rodgers, I’m not so sure. Losing Ryan Grant has made the Packers offense one-dimensional and having the two key men in the passing game banged up will further hurt their chances, while the defense looked lost against Washington after their sack-machine Matthews departed. Miami’s main concern will be the performance of their special teams after they were destroyed by the Patriots in Week Four, but a new special teams coach and a bye-week to work on their problems could have sorted them out. Clay Matthews playing will be the key to whether Green Bay win or lose this one.
Prediction: Green Bay
More >
Week 3, 2010: Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears
Sep 25th
This week I’ll be taking a look at the game between undefeated divisional rivals the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. Generally we get a great game between these two sides, and if you’re staying up late in the UK to watch the Monday Night NFL, then you should be in for a good one. It’s a cliché, but this game is all about the quarterbacks.
Soldier Field
Week 3, 2010: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sep 23rd
As with all of the NFL teams that have played at Wembley Stadium here in the UK, and certainly the ‘home’ teams, I feel a certain affinity for the Tampa Bay Buccanners. Though they were well and truly out-classed in the International Series last season, we still appreciated them coming and giving it a go.
This week they host the Pittsburgh Steelers, in a battle of two team that are currently undefeated in the 2010 season.
Raymond James Stadium
Ryan Grant – Out For The Season
Sep 15th
Ryan Grant, out for 2010
When you think of the Packers, you think firstly of Aaron Rodgers slinging the ball about before you think of their running game, but Grant has put up over 1,200 yards in each of the last two seasons and was expecting similar sorts of numbers this year.
Backup Brandon Jackson steps into the breach, and Dimitri Nance has been signed to address what was a very thing backfield before Grant went down. Brandon Jackson will get the majority of the carries. The Packers, though they won, looked shaky in their opener against the Eagles and losing such an important player could well shake them again. I still fancy them for the NFC North though.
Grant is in the 3rd year of a 4 year contract and we’ll hope that he recovers well to be back next season.
Image Credit: Rodney Buike
First Look 2010… NFC North
Jun 3rd
There are no easy divisions to predict but the NFC North is one of the toughest. Last year neither Graham or I saw the Vikings being as good as they turned out to be. Neither of us saw the North sending two teams into the post-season either but it turned out to be the case. Although we all called the Lions to prop up, the Bears were a disappointment and again caused us to get it wrong.
Let’s take an early look ahead to the 2010 NFL season…
