Right Off Russell

This week we have Adam Somers from the Green Bay Packers Blog- Ol’ Bag of Donuts. I am not going to lie to you, I wanted to talk to these guys based entirely on the name of their blog. Anyway, enjoy and hopefully you can get some perspective on this game.

Here are the answers we gave to them.

1. The barrage of sacks taken by Aaron Rodgers seems to have slowed lately. Is that due to a) better line play, b) play calling that gets the ball out of Rodgers hands more quickly, c) a recent schedule that featured teams that have not been able to dial up the pressure, or d) all of the above?
As much as I want to say D, I am going to say B - the play calling. Yes, playing Detroit last week can skew can defensive statistics, only one sack last week, they did allow five sacks to the Motor City Kitties in Week 5 at home. The line certainly has gotten better the past month since the Tampa debacle (six sacks allowed), but it has almost been out necessity because injuries haven’t left them with much depth. What has been the biggest difference is calling more quick-strike plays and having guys like Driver and Jennings beat their man with the ball instead of in-route. Rodgers has also done a great job of checking down of late to their backs and tight ends instead of waiting for the big play and hanging onto the ball, but it doesn’t go deep anymore as witnessed on Thanksgiving with Driver. The play calling is helping Rodgers mature as a quarterback.

2. How much has Al Harris been missed and will his absence be something the Ravens can take advantage of on Monday night?
Well, last week was the first full game without Harris and it was against Detroit, so his loss wasn’t felt. Defensive POY dark horse candidate Charles Woodson shut down Calvin Johnson and there isn’t much after him. Harris’ replacement Tramon Williams has been more than capable in that role as he started a good chunk of last year. Where the Ravens can take advantage is spreading out the Packers’ defense with multiple receiver sets forcing Green Bay into nickel and dime formations. Jarret Bush and rookie Brandon Underwood are very vulnerable.

3. If you are the Packers coaching staff, in what ways would you attack the Ravens defense?
Even though he had a big game on Sunday I would attack Paul Kruger and the edges of the defense. Even though he is picking up his annual second-half steam, Ryan Grant is a lot more effective outside the tackles. While the o-line has improved it will still be awfully tough to go inside against the Ravens with those horses up front and Lewis. With Suggs out I would go right after Kruger and Jarret Johnson with sweeps, screens, and incorporate tight end Jermichael Finley, who is an athletic freak when healthy and has his head on straight, and force Baltimore to draw in Landry or Reed for help. Green Bay loves to run slats with Driver and Jennings, but that will be difficult unless they can spread out the Ravens’ defense early to honor the edges.

4. Conversely, what about the Ravens offense are you most concerned with stopping?
Is it too obvious if I say Ray Rice? (Side note: I drafted Rice late in fantasy and now the front-runner to win my league, love the guy!) In all honesty that is where the defensive game plan has to start and end. I am too worried about Mason or Clayton and if the Packers can get pressure on Flacco I think that will help the secondary even more. The Packers have been pretty successful against the run (4th in the NFL) and haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since Steven Jackson in Week 3 and that includes two games against Adrian Peterson. What scares me the most about Rice is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. While Green Bay’s linebacker core has been improving all season, they can be beat. Clay Matthews is a stud as a rookie and Nick Barnett is near the top of his game after tearing his ACL last season, but A.J. Hawk is still struggling in coverage and they started a seventh-round rookie Brad Jones last week with Kampman and Brady Poppinga leaves a lot left to be desired. That being said I would not forget about Todd Heap.

5. As a Packers fan, describe your emotions regarding the Farve circus. Does his success this year bother you, or does having a player like Rodgers running the show allow you to suppress any feelings of bitterness about Farve being a Viking?
Can I plead the fifth? In all honesty it has been rough, especially for me as I reside Minneapolis (grew up in Wisconsin for 20 years). So I hear about it every day, read about him every day and every sports newscast leads with Favre. We have even nicknamed him ‘Judas’ on our blog and rarely ever refer to him by his real name. His success only bothers me because he is on the Vikings, as I was fine with him playing for the Jets last year. I was at the game in Green Bay when he returned and it was a surreal experience because I booed him like everyone else, which I never thought I would do in all of his years with the Packers. The Vikings are a Super Bowl contender and I pray they never get there because I don’t think I will ever live it down, especially with many friends living here in Minnesota. It would just make me sick to stomach. But I always remind myself is that he still has some bad games in him and hasn’t faced much pressure yet. He has killed our hearts so many times that I am just waiting for him to do it to Vikings fans. Having Rodgers does help a lot because quarterback is the most important position in football and it is nice knowing you have that locked up for the future. So, I constantly ask my Vikings friends who is going to be their quarterback of the future after Favre is gone and Peterson is still in his prime and how does it feel that they have to sell their soul to cheer for Favre to even get a sniff at a championship. So yeah it hurts because he is playing for the Vikings and having a career year for them. But one win against him in the playoffs would erase all the suffering. He’s due for a choke-job of a game.