The Green Bay Packers (13-0) take on the Kansas City Chiefs (5-8) at Kansas City on December 18th, 2011. These two teams are headed in opposite directions. Green Bay has clinched not only the NFC North title, but also a first round bye in the playoffs. The Chiefs are in last place in the AFC West and have lost five of their last six.

Part of the reason the Chiefs are in last place is their inability to score. They have scored just 173 points in 13 games, last in the AFC and second worst in the NFL. Some of this can be attributed to key injuries. Running back Jamaal Charles rushed for nearly 1500 yards in 2010 but went out for the season with a torn ACL back in September. Starting quarterback Matt Cassel went on injured reserve in November. Green Bay is the highest scoring team in the NFL with 466 points, so Kansas City will have to keep quarterback Aaron Rodgers and company off the field to have any chance of winning.

The Chiefs do have a fairly good pass defense, allowing 209.3 yards per game, tenth best in the NFL. They’ll need to bring their A game, as Rodgers is the league’s top rated quarterback with a QB rating of 123.3. He has 39 touchdown passes and just six interceptions. Back on November 21st the league’s second rated quarterback, New England’s Tom Brady, threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns against the Chiefs in the Patriots’ 34-3 victory. Kansas City can’t allow a similar performance from Rodgers.

The Packers will be without the services of Greg Jennings (949 receiving yards, nine touchdowns) until the playoffs, but they have so many capable receivers it just means more chances for everybody else. Jordy Nelson has 10 touchdown receptions and 957 yards, James Jones has five TD’s, and the venerable Donald Driver has four, including two in the Packers’ victory over the New York Giants on December 4th. With Jennings out, I would expect to see more of KR/WR Randall Cobb on passing downs. Rodgers also has thrown eight TD passes to tight ends, including six to Jermichael Finley. Again, with Jennings out , I would expect Rodgers to utilize the tight ends even more.

There is more bad news for Kansas City’s defense. Green Bay rediscovered the running game in their 46-16 rout of the Oakland Raiders on December 11th. Ryan Grant rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns, and Green Bay had a total of 136 rushing yards for the game.

The Packers simply have too much offense for the Chiefs to overcome. Green Bay will improve to 14-0, and in doing so, secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Mark Hudziak is a Featured Contributor in Sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. He has been a fan of the Green Bay Packers since the Vince Lombardi Era.

Sources:

Yahoo! Sports Green Bay Packers team site

Yahoo! Sports Kansas City Chiefs team site

Statistics from Yahoo! Sports NFL

More from this contributor:

Milwaukee Brewers Agree to Terms with Aramis Ramirez, Trade Casey McGehee: Fan’s Reaction

Brewers Lose Hairston and Hawkins, Sign Gonzalez at 2011 Winter Meetings: Fan’s View

History of the New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers Playoff Games

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

That’s all the news for today.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Erik Walden was arrested Friday on suspicion of felony domestic violence/substantial battery and will remain in the Brown County Jail until at least Monday.

Walden allegedly assaulted his live-in girlfriend at the couple’s apartment in Lawrence, just outside of Green Bay. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Brown County Court is closed for the weekend, so while Walden’s teammates have the next three days off following the team’s 27-15 Thanksgiving Day victory at Detroit, Walden will remain in jail.

The Packers issued a statement Friday saying, “’’The Packers organization is aware of the situation involving Erik Walden. We are in the process of gathering more information and will refrain from making any further comment.”

Hobart-Lawrence police chief Randy Bani told the Green Bay Press-Gazette the incident took place about 2:30 a.m. and the woman involved called authorities about 6:10 a.m. The woman was treated at a local hospital, and Walden was arrested and booked around 8 a.m., Bani told the Press-Gazette.

The 26-year-old Walden joined the Packers midway through last season and played in 12 games (five starts) in the regular season and playoffs. He had started all 11 games this season and played in Thursday’s victory over the Lions. The team flew back from Detroit after the game and players were home by Thursday evening.

Bani said before the woman called police, she was treated for a cut and bump on her head, along with an injured right hand, at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay.

“The officer felt that were was enough information that was given by the victim that the male was arrested,” Bani said.

Walden is the first Packers player arrested since ex-Packers cornerback Brandon Underwood was arrested June 16 after an incident with his wife following the team’s Super Bowl ring ceremony. Underwood was also arrested in a June 2010 incident in Lake Delton, Wis., after two women alleged he sexually assaulted them.

Underwood was released by the team in September and was suspended for two games by the league, but has yet to sign with another club.

Last week, defensive end Johnny Jolly was sentenced to six years in prison after violating the terms of a plea bargain with his third arrest on drug charges in three years. Jolly remains suspended indefinitely by the league.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Gotta run!.

ALLEN PARK — A lot of NFL fans are wondering what has happened to Green Bay’s defense this season.

In 2010, the Packers were ranked second in the league in scoring offense, allowing an average of 15 points per game. This year, they’re giving up 21.2. Last year, they allowed the fifth-fewest total yards in the league with 309.1 per game. That figure has ballooned by more than 80 yards per game this season.

Clearly, Detroit’s opponent in Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day game won’t be able to contain the Lions’ high-powered offense, which just put up seven touchdowns in a 49-35 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, right?

Well, it’s a little more complicated than that, but Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford breaks it down simply.

“They’re up by three touchdowns sometimes and teams are having to throw it,” he explained. “They’re doing a great job of getting a lead early, and teams are having to throw the ball a bunch of times.

“If you’re going to throw the ball as many times as you have to to try to get back in the game against their offense, you’re going to (give up) some yards. But they also lead the NFL in interceptions. So it’s give and take. They’re aggressive – that works for them equally, I guess.”

While statistics for Green Bay’s run defense are relatively close between this season and last season, there’s a huge discrepancy in the pass defense.

Teams threw the ball 32.9 times per game for an average of 194.5 yards in 2010. Offenses are flying high with 39.1 passes per game for an average of 289.3 yards in 2011.

But as Stafford pointed out, the Packers are scoring far more this season than last – 11.3 points more every game, to be precise. Their average margin of victory has exploded from 9.2 points last year to 14.3 points this year.

That’s probably striking enough to bear repeating: 10 games into the season, the Packers are beating their opponents by more than two touchdowns per game. It may not be at the level of the 19.7 points per game by which the New England Patriots beat their opponents during their undefeated regular season of 2007, but it’s nothing to shake a stick at.

Cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams, as well as safeties Charlie Peprah and Morgan Burnett have combined for 16 of the Packers’ league-leading 19 interceptions – which will which will dust last year’s total of 24, by the way, should the defense maintain the pace.

Of the quartet’s 16 interceptions, three were pick-sixes.

So you’ll have to forgive Stafford if he’s not exactly looking past a third of the Packers that is overshadowed by their offense.

“They’re just very aggressive,” Stafford said of the defense. “In the secondary, they have a lot of confidence in themselves, as they should. It’s one of the best, if not the best, secondaries in the NFL. Those guys are looking to make picks and turn the ball over – get the ball over to their offense. They’re just extremely talented guys, and aggressive, as well.”

There is the quick update of the day.

There is the quick update of the day.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ record remains perfect. The fact that their play has been far from flawless remains a constant source of motivation for Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers threw three touchdowns, including a career-long 93-yarder to Jordy Nelson, and the Packers rolled to a 24-3 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. With Sunday’s loss by NFC North rival Detroit, the Packers (6-0) are the last unbeaten team left in the NFL.

But Green Bay’s offense hit a lull and didn’t score in the second half.

“It’s a feeling of minor disappointment, I think, in that locker room,” Rodgers said. “We just, in the second half, offensively just struggled. The second quarter was great, we put up a lot of points. I think it’s encouraging at the same time. It’s tough to win in this league, we’re 6-0, and have a lot of room for improvement.”

Rodgers threw for 310 yards, delivering touchdowns to Nelson, James Jones and Donald Driver.

Sam Bradford was 28 of 44 for 321 yards with an interception for the Rams (0-5), who were coming off their bye week.

“We do not accept losing and our actions will reflect that,” Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “It is about winning football games, not moral victories.”

Bradford’s ankle was sore after the game, but the Rams didn’t seem overly concerned about the injury.

Rams running back Steven Jackson had 18 carries for 96 yards.

“For whatever reason, we get into the red zone, we keep shooting ourselves in the foot,” Jackson said.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy had a mixed reaction to the victory. He bristled at questions about the offense being shut out in the second half, saying, “the last time I checked, when you win by three touchdowns, that’s a pretty significant win.”

But McCarthy also said the team isn’t anywhere near where it wants to be.

“You have to be running on all cylinders, and we’re not there yet,” McCarthy said. “So fortunately, we’re 6-0. We’ll continue to work to get there.”

The Packers were wearing blue-and-gold uniforms designed to replicate a 1929 design, but Rodgers’ ability to scramble out of trouble and make big plays was anything but a throwback to the days of leather helmets. With a 10-0 lead, and after a Rams punt pinned the Packers at their 7, Rodgers got the best of former teammate Al Harris on his big play to Nelson. Rodgers got the veteran cornerback to bite on a fake and then threw a rainbow to the wide-open Nelson for an easy score and a 17-0 lead.

Harris was impressed by his former team, calling them the best in the league.

“Personally, I think they are,” Harris said. “We would have loved to beat them, but they played well.”

Rodgers put together another drive toward the end of the second quarter. On second-and-goal at the 7, Rodgers appeared to make a run for the end zone – then pulled up and flipped the ball to Driver for a touchdown with 1:51 left before halftime.

There is the quick update of the day.

That’s all for today.

Clay Matthews registers his excitement after sacking Sam Bradford.
(Jeffrey Phelps, The AP
)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are steaming down the NFL tracks with such speed and power these days, a 21-point win is cause for hand-wringing.

But that’s life for the league’s only remaining undefeated team after Sunday’s 24-3, workmanlike disposal of the St. Louis Rams. The Packers (6-0) used a 21-point second quarter to remain undefeated.

“Well, we won by three touchdowns,” said Packers coach Mike McCarthy when asked afterward if he had any “concern” about his team’s play.

“We can slice this any way you want,” he added. “I am completely in tune with the things we could have done better, but the last time I checked, you win by three touchdowns, that’s a pretty significant win.”

Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes, all in the second quarter, including a career-long 93-yarder to Jordy Nelson. Rodgers finished with 310 yards passing as the Packers, with the Lions’ loss to the 49ers, are the only team in the league without a loss.

It was Rodgers’ fifth 300-yard passing game of the season.

The Packers did not score in the second half, and Rodgers threw just his third interception of the season — on a tipped ball in the fourth quarter that was snagged by Rams safety Craig Dahl — but the Rams could not sustain any offense.

“It is a feeling of minor disappointment, I think, in that locker room,” Rodgers said. “In the second half we just struggled offensively, and that’s frustrating. . . . It’s tough to win in this league; we’re 6-0, and we still have a lot of room for improvement.”

With former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels calling the plays, the Rams were able to move the ball at times — they outgained the Packers 424-399 yards — but could not overcome their mistakes whenever they created momentum. St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford finished with 321 yards passing but threw an interception in the Packers’ end zone and was limping after the game because of a sore right ankle.

The Rams are 0-5.

“We moved the ball, but we still have mistakes where we can’t get the ball in the end zone,” Bradford said.

Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

Aaron Rodgers(notes) has picked apart opposing defenses with ease in leading the
Green Bay Packers to their best start in nearly 50 years. Things don’t seem
likely to go any differently against a winless St. Louis Rams team that is
without both starting cornerbacks.

Rodgers looks to lead the undefeated Packers to an eighth straight win at
Lambeau Field on Sunday against the struggling Rams, who own the league’s worst
road record over the past four seasons.

Green Bay’s perfect record was in a little jeopardy Sunday night in Atlanta,
as the Packers fell behind 14-0 in the second quarter. But Rodgers kept his
composure and threw two second-half touchdowns to rally Green Bay to a 25-14
win.

“It was a choppy game but we persevered,” said Rodgers, who finished with
396 passing yards – his fourth 300-yard game of the season. “We expect to win
when we take the field.”

Green Bay fans might also be expecting another Super Bowl. The Packers
improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1965 and seventh time in franchise
history. Each of the previous six, Green Bay went on to win an NFL title.

“5-0 feels great,” cornerback Charles Woodson(notes) said, “but we’re looking at
greatness.”

The Packers have won 11 straight dating to last season, including their
march to the Super Bowl title. They’ve also won seven in a row and 13 of 14 at
Lambeau Field, while the Rams are an NFL-worst 4-21 on the road since 2008.

“We’re building something here,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said.

That starts with Rodgers.

He leads the NFL with a 122.9 quarterback rating and a 71.7 completion
percentage and is tied for the league lead with 14 touchdowns along with only
two interceptions. His Packers are the highest-scoring team in the NFL,
averaging 34.6 points.

“They’re scary good,” Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “But we’ve got
players out here, too. We’ve got to go play the game. We’ve got to find a way to
slow them down and see if we can’t have one more point than they do.”

That seems like a tall order for the Rams (0-4), who have been outscored
113-46 this season.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated,” linebacker James Laurinaitis(notes)
said after a 17-10 home loss to Washington on Oct. 2, before the team’s bye
week.

St. Louis had an extra week to prepare for this challenge, but in the
process it lost starting cornerback Bradley Fletcher(notes) to a season-ending knee
injury.

Fletcher got hurt in practice last Wednesday when he stepped on Mike
Sims-Walker’s(notes) foot during a drill. He’s the seventh cornerback injured since
training camp for the Rams, who had to place starter Ron Bartell(notes) on injured
reserve after he sustained two fractures in his neck in the opener.

The 36-year-old Al Harris(notes), who starred with the Packers from 2003-09, and
Rod Hood(notes), signed in late September and coming off reconstructive knee surgery in
June, are expected to see significant playing time.

“Rod and Al are going to have to play some football, otherwise we don’t have
enough,” Spagnuolo said.

The Packers are also a bit banged-up, with left tackle Chad Clifton(notes) and
right tackle Bryan Bulaga(notes) battling injuries, but that hasn’t seemed to make much
difference to Green Bay’s offense. Clifton (hamstring) is expected to miss a
couple of weeks, while Bulaga (left knee) has missed the last two games but
could return Sunday.

Facing a makeshift offensive line, the Rams will try to put pressure on
Rodgers, but their eight sacks are tied for fourth-fewest in the NFL and they
failed to get one in their last game.

Sam Bradford(notes) was sacked a career-high seven times by the Redskins, throwing
for 164 yards – the third time this season he’s failed to reach 200. He didn’t
get much help from Steven Jackson, who finished with 45 rushing yards on 17
carries.

Jackson has rushed for 260 yards in his last two games against the Packers,
but will be facing a Green Bay defense that ranks third against the run,
allowing an average of 75.8 yards.

This is the first meeting between these teams since Sept. 27, 2009, when
Rodgers passed for 269 yards with two touchdowns in a 36-17 road victory. The
Packers also beat the Rams 33-14 in 2007.

Leave your comments on the news below.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are 3-0
and still feel like they haven’t come anywhere near playing up to
their potential — especially on defense.

 That’s potentially bad news for the Denver Broncos (1-2), who
bring a sputtering offense into today’s game against the defending
Super Bowl champions at Lambeau Field.

 The Packers are stopping the run better than any team in the
league three games into the season, allowing only 55 yards rushing
per game. And they’ve been tough in the red zone, allowing only
four touchdowns in 13 opponent trips inside the 20-yard line.

 But the Packers have been remarkably vulnerable to the pass, and
will be without Pro Bowl safety Nick Collins for the rest of the
season after he injured his neck in Week 2.

 ‘‘That’s definitely motivation,’’ defensive lineman Ryan Pickett
said. ‘‘Because we watch film, we’re like, ‘Man, we left plays out
there.’ We have so much room to grow as a defensive unit, and
that’s the exciting part. I think we’re getting better. We’re
preparing harder, and we’re getting better. We’re looking to make
an even bigger step this week toward having a dominant
defense.’’

 The Packers pass defense might be an area to target for the
Broncos, a team quarterback Kyle Orton says can play much better on
offense. Having wide receiver Brandon Lloyd back healthy for the
second game in a row should help.

 ‘‘When we have everybody on the same page doing the right things,
we’re a pretty danged good football team,’’ Orton said. ‘‘On the
flip side, when you only get eight or nine guys doing the right
thing, we can’t overcome it. I think our focus heading forward is
getting on the right page and get more guys doing the right thing
on every play.’’

 Orton has struggled since winning his first six starts for Denver
in 2009. Some fans who want to see more of Tim Tebow, at least in
short-yardage and goal line situations, but Orton says he’s
ignoring it.

 ‘‘When you’re 1-2, your only thoughts are what can you do to get
to 2-2, and after that, what can we do to win the next game,’’
Orton said.

 And dating back to his time with Chicago, Orton is 3-1 as a
starter against the Packers.

 ‘‘I can’t wait to come back,’’ Orton said. ‘‘I’ve always had a
great amount of respect for the team and always had fun playing
against them in Chicago. I’ve always had a ton of respect — I came
out in the draft with Aaron (Rodgers) and really just watched him
from afar and really respect his game and what he brings to the
table. I’m excited to come out there. It’s a huge game for
us.’’

 The start to John Fox’s first season in Denver has been rocky,
especially with fans calling for more Tebow — at least in short
yardage and goal line situations.

 ‘‘I have not heard it,’’ Fox said. ‘‘It’s not been a distraction
to me. I can honestly say it has not been a distraction to our
locker room. ‘‘

 It hasn’t helped that Fox hasn’t yet had his best defensive
players on the field at the same time. Defensive end Elvis Dumervil
(shoulder), linebacker D.J. Williams (elbow) and cornerback Champ
Bailey (hamstring) could play today.

 Rodgers is at his best against the blitz, but certainly will have
his eye on Broncos rookie linebacker Von Miller. The No. 2 overall
pick in the draft had a sack in each of his last two games.

 ‘‘I think he’s going to be a really good player,’’ Rodgers said.
‘‘He’s got great athleticism, he’s an active player. They like to
bring him in their rush. He’s a tough guy to handle during the
game. So we’re going to make sure we pick out where he’s at, and
try to slow him down a little bit.’’

 The Packers’ high-powered offense might be without a couple of key
players, right tackle Bryan Bulaga (knee) and running back Ryan
Grant (kidney bruise).

 But Green Bay’s main concerns come on defense.

 ‘‘It’s a high standard around here,’’ B.J. Raji said. ‘‘Anything
short of greatness is not going to be accepted.’’

 Their strong run defense is particularly impressive because Dom
Capers’ defense spends so much time in nickel with only two down
linemen on the field — typically Pickett and Raji.

 And while teams have been slicing their secondary apart between
the 20s, the Packers are giving up an average of 3.54 points
allowed per opponent red-zone trip this season — second-best in the
league behind Carolina (3.29).

 New Orleans scored only one touchdown in five red zone trips in
the season opener, and the Packers set a tone for the season when
they stopped Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram short of the
goal line on the final play of the game to seal a victory.

 Packers coach Mike McCarthy says his defense plays great
‘‘adversity football,’’ playing its best when it’s backed into a
bad situation, but needs to be better overall.

 ‘‘We have a lot of work to do,’’ McCarthy said. ‘‘We’re 3-0. It’s
a good place to be in, to know you’ve won all your games, but you
know that you’re not really scratching the surface of how good you
can be as a team.’’

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Not much else going on in the NFL world today.

Gotta run!.

By Sean Keeley

– Editor

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Sep 28, 2011 – Former Green Bay Packers cornerback Brandon Underwood is currently a free agent. However if he does sign with a team, he’ll have to sit out two games now that he has been suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy.

Underwood has a long list of legal and off-the-field issues that he can add this to.

The former Packers sixth-round draft pick from the University of Cincinnat has had repeated run-ins with the law over domestic violence concerns with his wife, including  a dispute with his wife after the Packers’ Super Bowl ring ceremony on June 16.

Underwood was released by the Packers on September 3rd when the off-field incidents became too much for them to handle.

“I kind of felt it coming, but at the same time … ,” Underwood said. “With the off-the-field issues, that’s something that always factors into things…Just with everything I had happen in the last couple years, it’s not a bad idea for me to get a fresh start.”

That fresh start will just start a little later than he’d hoped.

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There’s no sugarcoating the loss of safety Nick Collins for the
Green Bay Packers’ season.

It’s akin to tight end Jermichael Finley’s season-ending knee
injury in 2010 in that the Packers are losing one of their
playmakers. And it might turn out worse.

With Finley last year, the Packers at least had another
game-changer in the passing game in Greg Jennings, plus a deep
enough corps of receivers behind him to make up some of the
difference.

Collins is a different story. He’s one of the best safeties in
the game, a three-time Pro Bowler who at age 28 still was playing
at that level. The Packers don’t have a Jennings-type player
alongside him and aren’t as good at backup safety as they were at
receiver last year.

This isn’t saying their Super Bowl hopes are dead. The one
player they can’t win the title without is quarterback Aaron
Rodgers. Outside linebacker Clay Matthews probably falls in that
category, too.

But it does mean there’s reason to wonder whether they’ll be
enough like the No. 2 scoring defense they had last year to win it
all again.

In considering the likelihood, it’s worth noting an observation
defensive coordinator Dom Capers made to reporters just before the
start of his 26th NFL training camp. He said that building a strong
NFL defense requires two or three difference-makers and a bunch of
starters who know and play their roles well. Coincidentally, he at
the time was praising backup safety Charlie Peprah, who’d been an
assignment-sure role player in helping the Packers win the Super
Bowl last season after Morgan Burnett blew out his knee in Week 4.
Peprah most likely will replace Collins.

With Capers’ observation in mind, it’s easy to rank the Packers’
most important defensive personnel. Matthews heads the list,
followed in order by Charles Woodson, then probably B.J. Raji, with
Collins and cornerback Tramon Williams neck and neck for the No. 4
spot.

By that measure, Capers still has his top three playmakers.

So assuming Peprah replaces Collins, Capers has a smart and
experienced quarterback for the secondary. But Peprah lacks
Collins’ abilities to run and play the ball, and he’ll be alongside
Burnett, a second-year pro who has played in only six NFL games,
instead of Collins, who could change games with interceptions (17
in the previous three seasons combined) and provide a blitz
security blanket for Capers as the last line of defense.

But keep in mind also that the Packers’ pass defense in the
first two games hasn’t been anything like what it was while winning
the Super Bowl last year. In 2010, the Packers ranked No. 1 in the
NFL in defensive passer rating (67.2 points); this year, they’re
No. 13 (92.9 points). They’ve also given up the most passing yards
(800) in the league after two games.

It’s also true this two-game performance has to be put in
context. In the opener, the Packers faced New Orleans, which has a
premier quarterback in Drew Brees and as talented an offense at the
skill positions as any in the NFL. Then last week they played the
NFL’s early-season phenom, Carolina rookie quarterback Cam Newton.
The Saints are going to put up big numbers almost every week, and
Newton topped the 400-yard mark passing in his first two games.
These were no chumps.

Still, this has to raise some red flags for the Packers. To win
a title, they’ll have to hold up against the league’s best
quarterbacks, and you can bet Capers and coach Mike McCarthy are
concerned. Brees, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, Detroit’s ascending Matthew
Stafford and Philadelphia’s dangerous Michael Vick are among the
quarterbacks of NFC contenders, and Tom Brady and Philip Rivers
loom among the passers in the AFC.

The issue is whether Capers can absorb the Collins loss without
significantly scaling back his play calling. In that sense, losing
Williams would be worse. Woodson’s role as a playmaker in Capers’
nickel defense is contingent on Williams, and to a slightly lesser
extent Sam Shields, holding up well in one-on-one coverage against
the outside receivers. Without Williams, as we saw last week when
he didn’t play against Carolina because of a bruised shoulder,
Capers doesn’t have the coverage talent to play Woodson in that
higher-risk role.

Losing Collins isn’t the same in that way, but Capers almost
surely will scale back his playbook now that he doesn’t have
Collins’ ball skills and range as his last line of defense. The
degree to which he scales back then depends on Burnett.

The second-year pro has excellent size (6-1 3/8, 209 pounds) for
a safety and good ball skills. His speed (4.51 seconds in the 40 at
his Pro Day workout) is good but not of Collins’ caliber (4.37
seconds coming out of college), and Burnett lacks Collins’
knowledge and experience.

Capers will need time to see to what degree he can trust his
safeties without Collins, who had played in all 39 games Capers has
coached with the Packers. Last year, Shields came out of nowhere to
upgrade the No. 3 cornerback job and allow Capers to open his
playbook for Woodson. If the Packers are to win big again, they’ll
need Burnett to do the same this year.

Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

Green Bay, Wis. — A big part of opening the season following a Super Bowl victory, as the Green Bay Packers will be doing Thursday night, is dealing with all the hoopla and pageantry that surrounds kicking off the NFL season. With the game comes a massive pregame celebration and concert that can easily steer a team’s focus. Packers Coach Mike McCarthy wants no part of such a scenario.

Just as the New Orleans Saints had to deal with a year ago when they hosted the Minnesota Vikings on opening night with a parade and a star-studded concert, the Packers are tasked with keeping their focus on the visiting Saints and not on the evening performers — Kid Rock, Maroon 5 and Lady Antebellum.

“I think this is the highest compliment to your football team and to your organization,” McCarthy said. “But after the smoke clears and the celebration stops, it’s a football game. It’s a football game against a very good football team, an established football team, and that’s really what it comes down to.

“But frankly this is just my opinion on it, I’m not speaking for the team or for the organization, this is a celebration for our fans. And that’s the way I look at it. I’m excited about playing the Saints. … I couldn’t really tell you what they are doing in the pregame. I know it is different than any one we have ever had here.”

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers said the pageantry definitely puts a big-game feel to the game, which pits the past two Super Bowl champions and two of the teams favored to make this season’s title game.

“It’s a similar feel to a big game, playoff game,” Rodgers said. “There is a big atmosphere outside of the stadium, but to us the only thing that matters is taking care of business on the field.”

BLITZ READY: Rodgers said he expects the Saints’ defense to attack the Packers’ offense with an assortment of blitzes, just as New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ unit has done in the past.

At least the Packers are preparing for such an onslaught.

“We do a number of things with our formations and changing up the tempo of different things,” Rodgers said. “We are hopeful that we can avoid some of those big shots.

“If you look at some of the film and think about some of the games Gregg Williams has coached, it brings to mind quarterbacks taking a beating. And that’s not something we enjoy doing here in Green Bay, so hopefully I will be able to deal with what I need to and we will be able to protect, and I’ll be able to throw the ball.”

INJURY UPDATE: The Packers appear relatively healthy heading into Thursday night’s game.

While McCarthy — like Saints Coach Sean Payton — refrained from giving any injury updates until he is mandated to by the NFL today, local Green Bay media that is allowed to view a portion of the Packers’ practice reported tight end Jermichael Finley, defensive end Mike Neal, receiver James Jones, receiver Randall Cobb and tight end Ryan Taylor returned to practice Sunday after missing the exhibition finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Missing practice were linebacker Frank Zombo (scapula) and cornerback Davon House (hamstring).

YOUTHFUL PACK: With 10 rookies, including three who were undrafted, on their 53-man roster, the Packers have the NFL’s second-youngest roster, according to ESPN.com blogger Mike Sando, who compiled a ranking of rosters by age for the website.

But McCarthy doesn’t seem too concerned about the lack of experience of some of his players.

“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “It’s just a fact of the way our training camp was laid out and also just the way our roster is designed today.

“We have 10 rookies on our team. They deserve to be on our team. We didn’t just go out and say, hey, we’re going to keep young players this year. I think if anything coming out of a lockout season and what’s going on around the league, it’s probably more of a natural reaction to keep more experienced players, but these 10 men truly deserve to be on this football team.”

BY THE NUMBERS: The Packers are 5-0 all-time in prime-time season openers. … The Packers and Saints are the only teams in the league to finish in the top 10 in total offense each of the past five seasons. … Since 2005, the Packers rank No. 2 in the NFC in winning percentage, including playoff games, at .609 (53-34), trailing only the Saints (.616, 53-33) over that span.

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Nakia Hogan can be reached at nhogan@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.

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