Welcome to the first playoff edition of Opposition Research, where I’ll be taking stock of the Packers instant-replay wild card opponent, the Arizona Cardinals. Considering that the two teams just played, there isn’t much to add or change from last week’s more standard take on the Cardinals. With the national media descending on the match, there’s no shortage of articles, angles, and predictions. Let me walk you through just a few as we get set for the Packers return to the postseason.
Welcome to another edition of Opposition Research, where I’ll be taking a look at the final Packers opponent for the regular season, the Arizona Cardinals. This W17 match-up is unique, since each team has clinched a playoff berth and 6 of 8 scenarios have the two teams battling it out again a week from now. Who’s going to play and for how long are the great unknowns, and with the coaches keeping mum, I’m going to wing it and assume that we’ll get a real game for at least a quarter. With that in mind, let’s do this.
Welcome to another edition of Opposition Research, where I’ll be taking a look at the penultimate Packers opponent for the regular season, the Seattle Seahawks. In light of the holiday season (and the fact that the Seahawks have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs), news on this match-up has been sparse. But just because the Seahawks may phone it in this week doesn’t mean that we will, so let’s get started.
Welcome to Opposition Research, where I’ll be taking a look at the next Packers opponent, the San Francisco 49ers (4-5). Coming off the high of the victory over Dallas, many now see this as a winnable game. Not so fast, Packer fans. There are a lot of things to be wary about in this Week 11 match-up between NFC teams on the playoff periphery.
So here we are. It’s deep into football season, and I’m so disappointed by how my team is playing that I find myself loath to read any articles on JSOnline. Lucky for me, I have 31 other teams to write about, right?
Three weeks ago, I took a borderline-premature look at the state of the NFC. Around that time, the prognosticators were beginning to set postseason plans, Giants fans were booking hotel rooms in Miami, and it seemed like a race to the bottom between Tampa Bay and St. Louis. So, what’s changed?
After 6 weeks, patterns are beginning to form in the NFC about which teams can expect to compete into next year, and which teams will be out of the race before December. Of the two undefeated teams, the Saints have a 99-point advantage over their opponents, and, if they can make it past the Dolphins and Falcons, they’ll have a nice three-game cushion (Carolina, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay) before hosting Tom Brady and his 5-TDs-in-the-2nd-quarter. Sean Payton took $250,000 off his own salary to bring Gregg Williams to New Orleans, and now the Saints defense is scary good (thanks in large part to ex-Packer and – thank goodness – ex-Viking Darren Sharper). I know he’s not his brother, but if you can hold Eli to a 61.0 passer rating and hold the Giants tandem of Jacobs and Bradshaw to 81 yards total, you’re doing something right.
It’s been a weird couple days in the NFL. Here are a few stories that are making the rounds, each of them a head-scratcher:
Rookie WR Michael Crabtree, after spending significant time away from San Francisco, finally signed a six-year contract with the 49ers. If he has two outstanding years in his first four, the contract evolves into a five-year deal. The weird part of all this? M.C. Hammer was apparently present during negotiations. Yes, really, that M.C. Hammer.
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Opposition Research, where I'll go over the Packers next opponent. Aaron and Corey can give you the detailed matchups, but here's where you'll find out what they're saying about us, about themselves, and about the big game on Sunday.
Coming into this game, the Rams are... very tired of losing. In Week 2, the Rams lost their 12th consecutive game (5-29 since 2007 season), this time to the Washington Redskins, 9-7. The loss included a costly fumble by Donnie Avery on the Washington 5-yard line and 245 yards of total offense. After the season opener where they were blanked by the Seattle Seahawks 28-0, however, scoring any points at all was a step up. They remain in a dead heat with the Detroit Lions for the bottom rank in most polls.
On today's show, Andy skips ahead to 2025 and reviews just how bright the future is in Green Bay, even without adding a single player to the Packers' roster.
