Remember way back in August, when it was believed the Green Bay Packers offense would run through defenses like Zsa Zsa Gabor ran through husbands?

Seventeen games later, the Packers offense has run through exactly five teams while the star of film, TV and slapping police officers said “I do” nine times.

Score one for the 93-year-old woman.

Even today, when most people think about the Packers, they identify with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the offense.

I get that. But that is not the identity of this team.

As has been the case all season long, whether or not the Packers are successful tonight in Atlanta will have more to do with how the defense performs than the offense.

It has been the defense that has far and away been the Packers’ most consistent unit and has kept them in every game, as all six of their losses have come by four points or fewer.

It has been the defense that has had many more injuries than the offense, but has somehow found a way to formulate a patchwork lineup that is one of the best in the league.

It has been the defense that has taken guys who weren’t within 100 miles of Green Bay when training camp concluded — Charlie Peprah and Erik Walden — who now find themselves in the starting lineup.

It has been the defense that opened the year with an untested guy in a key role — see Tramon Williams — a guy who was supposed to have a significantly reduced role — see A.J. Hawk — and a guy who was expected to maintain his role as an underachiever — see Desmond Bishop — who are all now playing vitally important roles as starters.

I know defensive coordinator Dom Capers is not eligible for coach of the year, but he should be.

“Just the way we’re structured as a staff, you have to have a defensive coordinator that A, has total command of the assistant coaches, because that’s where it starts,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said of Capers.

“It doesn’t start when you get in the classroom. It starts up on the third floor, pulling assistants together, teach them the scheme, make sure everybody’s on the same page, and Dom does an excellent job of that.

“Then obviously take it to the next step, and that’s with the players. He’s been doing it so long, very detailed, knows exactly what he’s looking for, and I think that’s the true mark of an excellent coach. You have the vision and staying true to that vision and make sure you do not get off the path to accomplish what you want. I just think the success we’ve had in the two years is a big credit to Dom.”

There is much for Capers to be concerned with tonight. The talented Roddy White at receiver, the freak Tony Gonzalez at tight and the ice man, Matt Ryan at quarterback.

There are a ton of trends for Capers to analyze, but the one that carries the most weight is finding a way to keep the Falcons’ Raging Bull, Michael Turner, under wraps.

Atlanta is 17-2 over the past three years when Turner has rushed for more than 100 yards, including a 7-0 mark this season. In Atlanta’s three losses this season, Turner didn’t top the 50-yard rushing mark.

This is not difficult to figure out. Turner is a 5-foot-10, 244-pound guy who is hard to bring down. He gained 110 yards in the Falcons’ 20-17 victory in November over Green Bay because the Packers defense, mostly, did a poor job of tackling.

If the Packers do a much better job tackling him tonight, their chances for success go up.

Turner had only one 100-yard game over the final five weeks and it seemed his league-leading 334 attempts may be catching up to him.

A week’s rest has undoubtedly helped, and that will make the Packers’ job more difficult.

But if the Packers are to win, the defense will lead the way, somehow, someway. It has been that way all season.

Mike Woods: 920-993-1000, ext. 232, or mwoods@postcrescent.com; On Twitter @FloridaGators59

Packers cut back penalty problems

Thursday, January 13, 2011 12:16 PM CST
GREEN BAY (AP) – Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy would emphasize penalties in practice and talk about discipline, only to watch the yellow flags fly again the following Sunday.

More than three years’ worth of Packers penalty problems hit an all-time low in Week 3 this season, a miserable 18-penalty performance in a loss at Chicago. Even recently, McCarthy said watching film of that game still makes him sick.

Since then, one of the league’s most penalty-prone teams suddenly became one of its most disciplined.

Green Bay ended the regular season with 78 accepted penalties, tying for third-best in the NFL.

“It’s all coaching,” McCarthy joked Wednesday. “Players had nothing to do with it.”

Kidding aside, McCarthy said players knew something had to change.

“We’ve taken a different path this year,” McCarthy said. “They’ve had a lot of adversity, and they’ve done really a great job of buckling down on the discipline penalties.”

Every time the Packers lost a significant player to injury this season, their margin of error got smaller. If they continued piling up penalties as they had in the past, they might be sitting at home right now instead of preparing to play Saturday night’s playoff game at Atlanta.

Now the bad news for the Packers: The team they’re playing has even better discipline.

The Falcons committed only 58 penalties this season – tops in the NFL by a significant margin, as second-best Miami had 72.

“We’ve emphasized special teams penalties because they’re spot fouls, and even though they may only be a 5- or a 10-yard penalty, they’re spot fouls and they’re very penal,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “The other thing that we focus on is penalties in the fourth quarter of a game. Games in this league, 51 percent of them come down to eight points or less for the entire season (and) 25 percent come down to three points or less. I think it’s very important that you don’t have critical penalties in the fourth quarter.”

McCarthy is impressed with the Falcons’ team-wide discipline.

“It’s just not one phase or two phases,” McCarthy said. “They are a football team that really stays on schedule as far as what they try to do and how they do it. They are very fundamentally sound. I really appreciate the way they have been coached because it shows up on film.”

And finally, McCarthy is seeing some of the same things from his own team.

Going into the 2010 season, Green Bay was among the NFL’s five most frequently penalized teams for three straight seasons. The Packers were the league’s most-penalized team last season with 118.

“We always tell the guys on offense, this is not a complicated game,” offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. “If you’re going backwards, it’s tough to score.”

This year, the reductions came across the board:

- On defense, the Packers committed 15 fewer penalties in the 2010 regular season than they did in 2009. A major improvement came on face mask penalties; Green Bay had eight defensive face mask penalties in 2009 and only two this season.

- On offense, Green Bay had 13 fewer penalties than in 2009. The reduction came despite the Packers actually having one more false start on offense this season than they did last season.

- Their special teams had 12 fewer penalties than last season.

There was a huge reduction in special teams holding calls. Green Bay had a whopping 14 holding calls on special teams in 2009 but only three this season.

“When we began back in the spring, that was something that we identified that we needed to change,” special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said. “We put the process in motion, and I think we’ve seen the results of it.”

Green Bay’s disciplined play continued in Sunday’s playoff victory at Philadelphia, in which the Packers had only two penalties accepted against them.

Philbin said the improvement began in the offseason but really took hold after what he calls the “disaster night in Chicago,” the 18-penalty outing in a Sept. 27 loss to the Bears.

“I think we made a bigger emphasis,” Philbin said. “I know we did offensively. I know Coach did as a team. I think we probably made more of a point of it, and the guys responded.”

Defensive back Jarrett Bush, one of Green Bay’s key special teams players, said avoiding penalties is critical – but the Packers can’t get caught playing tentatively and worrying too much about the referees.

“We’ve just got to worry about playing football,” Bush said. “Some calls can be questionable, some calls are accurate. We just worry about playing football, let the refs do the reffing and make the calls that they make.”

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy would emphasize penalties in practice and talk about discipline, only to watch the yellow flags fly again the following Sunday.

More than three years’ worth of Packers penalty problems hit an all-time low in Week 3 this season, a miserable 18-penalty performance in a loss at Chicago. Even recently, McCarthy said watching film of that game still makes him sick.

Since then, one of the league’s most penalty-prone teams suddenly became one of its most disciplined.

Green Bay ended the regular season with 78 accepted penalties, tying for third-best in the NFL.

“It’s all coaching,” McCarthy joked Wednesday. “Players had nothing to do with it.”

Kidding aside, McCarthy said players knew something had to change.

“We’ve taken a different path this year,” McCarthy said. “They’ve had a lot of adversity, and they’ve done really a great job of buckling down on the discipline penalties.”

Every time the Packers lost a significant player to injury this season, their margin of error got smaller. If they continued piling up penalties as they had in the past, they might be sitting at home right now instead of preparing to play Saturday night’s playoff game at Atlanta.

Now the bad news for the Packers: The team they’re playing has even better discipline.

The Falcons committed only 58 penalties this season – tops in the NFL by a significant margin, as second-best Miami had 72.

“We’ve emphasized special teams penalties because they’re spot fouls, and even though they may only be a 5- or a 10-yard penalty, they’re spot fouls and they’re very penal,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “The other thing that we focus on is penalties in the fourth quarter of a game. Games in this league, 51 percent of them come down to eight points or less for the entire season (and) 25 percent come down to three points or less. I think it’s very important that you don’t have critical penalties in the fourth quarter.”

McCarthy is impressed with the Falcons’ team-wide discipline.

“It’s just not one phase or two phases,” McCarthy said. “They are a football team that really stays on schedule as far as what they try to do and how they do it. They are very fundamentally sound. I really appreciate the way they have been coached because it shows up on film.”

And finally, McCarthy is seeing some of the same things from his own team.

Going into the 2010 season, Green Bay was among the NFL’s five most frequently penalized teams for three straight seasons. The Packers were the league’s most-penalized team last season with 118.

“We always tell the guys on offense, this is not a complicated game,” offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. “If you’re going backwards, it’s tough to score.”

This year, the reductions came across the board:

- On defense, the Packers committed 15 fewer penalties in the 2010 regular season than they did in 2009. A major improvement came on face mask penalties; Green Bay had eight defensive face mask penalties in 2009 and only two this season.

- On offense, Green Bay had 13 fewer penalties than in 2009. The reduction came despite the Packers actually having one more false start on offense this season than they did last season.

- Their special teams had 12 fewer penalties than last season.

There was a huge reduction in special teams holding calls. Green Bay had a whopping 14 holding calls on special teams in 2009 but only three this season.

“When we began back in the spring, that was something that we identified that we needed to change,” special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said. “We put the process in motion, and I think we’ve seen the results of it.”

Green Bay’s disciplined play continued in Sunday’s playoff victory at Philadelphia, in which the Packers had only two penalties accepted against them.

Philbin said the improvement began in the offseason but really took hold after what he calls the “disaster night in Chicago,” the 18-penalty outing in a Sept. 27 loss to the Bears.

“I think we made a bigger emphasis,” Philbin said. “I know we did offensively. I know Coach did as a team. I think we probably made more of a point of it, and the guys responded.”

Defensive back Jarrett Bush, one of Green Bay’s key special teams players, said avoiding penalties is critical – but the Packers can’t get caught playing tentatively and worrying too much about the referees.

“We’ve just got to worry about playing football,” Bush said. “Some calls can be questionable, some calls are accurate. We just worry about playing football, let the refs do the reffing and make the calls that they make.”

AP PHOTO Tom Brady

FOXBORO — The Green Bay Packers were picked by many to be the class of the NFC heading into this season. But here we are less than a week before Christmas and the Packers are in danger of being left out in the cold when the playoffs start.

At 8-5 and trailing the Chicago Bears (9-4) by a game in the NFC North, the Packers simply can’t afford to lose any more ground in the standings if they hope to dip their toe in the NFL’s playoff pool come January.

Green Bay, which is coming off a disappointing 7-3 loss to the Detroit Lions, needs to make this a December stretch run to remember and it starts in Foxboro today at 8:20 p.m. against the Patriots, who have made a habit of winning at home in the final month of the year under head coach Bill Belichick. Dating back to the 2002 season, the Patriots are an NFL best 17-1 in December home games.

To complicate matters even further for Green Bay, the Patriots have won 16 straight games against NFC teams at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots (11-2) actually helped the Packers out by blasting the Bears, 36-7, Sunday in Chicago.

“(Losing to Detroit) was very disappointing from the standpoint that everybody here knows that we don’t really have any room for error,” said Green Bay defensive back Charles Woodson. “The Patriots beat Chicago, which helped us out, and all we had to do was win our game. Every game is an important game for us and this one here is going to be even bigger than the last one, so it was very disappointing

not helping ourselves out in our cause in trying to get to the playoffs.”

The Packers come into the game ranked No. 1 in the league in scoring defense, allowing just 14.5 points per game. Green Bay has given up only 18 touchdowns, the fewest in the league.

But the Packers will certainly be put to the test against a Tom Brady-led Patriots offense that ranks No. 1 in the league, scoring an average of 31.9 points per game. New England has won five straight and has scored at least 31 points in each of those victories.

“(They’re) a real good football team,” said Belichick. “(They’re) right at the top of the league defensively and in a lot of categories — most importantly, points. They do a good job of rushing the passer and covering with Charles Woodson and (Clay) Matthews — really outstanding players for them on the defensive side of the ball.”

Matthews has been a force rushing off the edge. He is second in the NFL with 12.5 sacks this season.

“Clay Matthews is a hell of a player,” said Brady. “He has (more than) 20 sacks over the last couple of years. They can rush the passer. And, obviously, I know a lot about Charles (Woodson). I played with Charles in college (at Michigan). He was the defensive player of the year last year (and he’s a) great interceptor.

“Nick Collins is a great interceptor back there. Tramon Williams is a great interceptor. They’ve got a lot of guys who can make plays on the ball. I’m looking forward to this week. It’s one of the best defenses that we’re going to face all year.”

Brady may actually be in the best stretch of football that he’s ever experienced during an 11-year career that has basically been a never-ending highlight reel. In the last eight games, Brady has thrown 19 TD passes with no interceptions.

“He’s playing at an incredible level,” said Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. “I can’t say enough about Tom’s performance. He’s No. 1. As we all know, he’s a proven champion. Their offense is so in sync.”

The Packers will be without starting QB Aaron Rodgers (23 TD passes), who was knocked out last week’s loss to Detroit with a concussion. Matt Flynn will start instead.

“It’s important for us to come to New England and be able to go against this defense,” said McCarthy. “I think their defense is playing extremely well. I know that they’ve gotten better as the year has gone on.”

Prediction: Patriots 31, Green Bay 17

8:20 p.m., NBC

OPENING LINE – No line

RECORD VS. SPREAD – Green Bay 7-6; New England 9-4

SERIES RECORD – Packers lead 5-4

LAST MEETING – Patriots beat Packers, 35-0, Nov. 19, 2006

LAST WEEK – Packers lost to Lions, 7-3; Patriots beat Bears, 36-7

PACKERS OFFENSE – OVERALL (11), RUSH (24), PASS (8)

PACKERS DEFENSE – OVERALL (9), RUSH (19), PASS (3)

PATRIOTS OFFENSE – OVERALL (8), RUSH (15), PASS (9)

PATRIOT DEFENSE – OVERALL (27), RUSH (14), PASS (31)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES – Patriots have scored NFL high 31.9 points per game, while Packers have allowed league-low of 14.5. … Last time they met, Patriots outgained Packers 357-120 and Tom Brady threw four TD passes to four different receivers at Lambeau Field. … Brady, last year’s NFL comeback player of the year, and Packers CB Charles Woodson, last year’s NFL defensive player of the year, were teammates at Michigan. … Green Bay Coach Mike McCarthy planned to decide yesterday whether QB Aaron Rodgers, who suffered second concussion of season last Sunday, will play. Matt Flynn, seventh-round draft pick in 2008 from LSU, is backup. … LB Clay Matthews leads NFC and is second in NFL with 12½ sacks. … WR Greg Jennings has averaged 111.3 yards receiving in last four games with five TDs during span. … With two losses in last three games, Packers playoff chances took hit going into tough season-ending stretch against New England, Giants and Chicago. … DE Cullen Jenkins set to miss second straight game with knee injury. OLB Frank Zombo, undrafted rookie free agent who became starter after season-ending injury to Brad Jones, expected to sit out with knee sprain. … Patriots became first team to clinch playoff berth with last Sunday’s win. New England reached postseason for 12th time in 17 years and would lock up first-round bye with win and Jets loss to the Steelers. … Brady, NFL’s top-rated QB, leads league with 29 TD passes and hasn’t thrown interception in last eight games. Streak of six games with at least two scoring passes and no INTs is tied with Don Meredith for longest in NFL history. … Rookie CB Devin McCourty tied for first in AFC and is second in NFL with six INTs. … Patriots have outscored last two opponents 81-10. … Since 2002, Patriots are 17-1 at home in December, best in league. … New England leads NFL with a plus 18-turnover differential and hasn’t committed a turnover in its last five games.

It was supposed to be one of the classic matchups of the season, perhaps even a Super Bowl preview: The New England Patriots vs. the Green Bay Packers, Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers.

But with the Packers’ Rodgers out with a concussion and the Patriots’ Brady likely gone after running up the score in the first half, this is what we’re likely to get: Matt Flynn vs. Brian Hoyer.

Who?

Flynn will get the start in place of Rodgers, who neglected to slide on an 18-yard scramble Sunday against the Lions and was hit hard twice before going down.

Flynn couldn’t do anything to get the offense moving following Rodgers’ departure, but the Packers don’t want to risk losing Rodgers indefinitely so Flynn is prepared to make his first NFL start.

Hoyer is Brady’s backup, rarely seen and rarely heard. The second-year pro from Michigan State has thrown just two passes this season. One of them was intercepted.

Brady usually always stays in games that happen to be Patriots’ routs, but with a playoff spot already clinched and a first-round bye all but secured, there’s no reason to flirt with disaster.

What should have been a ratings bonanza for NBC could turn into a lost television audience by halftime. That is, if the Patriots turn it into a laugher early, as one might expect.

Without Rodgers, the Packers just aren’t the Packers.

During a radio interview Friday, coach Mike McCarthy sounded as if Flynn will be his man.

“He’s had a good week of practice and this is always a big hurdle for a quarterback when he gets his first start,” he said.

“This is something he’ll really benefit from.”

It’s not exactly an ideal time for the Packers to have to turn to their backup.

At 8-5 and a game behind the Chicago Bears in the NFC North with three games to play, Green Bay is trying to stay in the playoff hunt.

Conceivably, they could actually win their three remaining games and still not get in. However, there is a scenario where they could lose to the Patriots, and still manage to win the division.

For that to happen, the Bears (9-6) would have to lose Monday night to the Vikings. Green Bay would then have to win at home against the Giants next week, and even if the Bears beat the Jets, Green Bay would win the division by beating Chicago at Soldier Field in the final week.

They’d be tied at 10-6, but Green Bay would get the nod based on the NFL’s fourth tiebreaker rule – a one-game edge in conference record.

It won’t be easy, though. Things could end up blowing up in their face, starting with having to play Flynn instead of Rodgers.

“You’re going to face some adverse situations during the year,” Packers receiver Greg Jennings told reporters. “This is one. This isn’t the first one we’ve faced this year, but you have to treat it like a speed bump.

“I remember Coach saying early on this year, ‘You’re either going to slow down your car and then creep over it, or you’re just going to run right over it.’ And that’s what we have to do, just run right over it.”

Usually, it’s the Patriots running over opponents and that isn’t likely to change in this game.

Brady has won an NFL-record, 26 consecutive games at home. He hasn’t thrown an interception in eight weeks. He’s the favorite to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

“Tom Brady is playing at an extremely high level,” McCarthy told reporters.

“Statistically, I think it’s the best he’s performed in his career. He’s a champion. He’s their team leader. He’s very impressive on film.”

Sunday’s game

Packers at Patriots

When: 6:20 p.m.

Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.

TV: Channel 12.

Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Andrea Kremer.

Things to watch: This is the first meeting between the team since 2006, when the Patriots rolled 35-0. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (concussion) will not play. Matt Flynn will start. The Packers defense needs to come up with one of its better efforts of the season if it hopes to slow down Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. Brady can set an NFL record by passing for two or more touchdowns and no interceptions for a seventh consecutive game. Wes Welker needs two more touchdowns to surpass his career high of eight in 2007. New England leads the NFL with a plus-18 turnover ratio.

Line: Patriots -14. n/a

Mac’s prediction: Patriots.