In the first game of the 2014 season, NFL fans saw the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks dismantle and brutalize the Green Bay Packers. In that game, 2013 Offensive Rookie of the Year Eddie Lacy rushed and caught for just 45 yards. Additionally, the offensive line allowed Aaron Rodgers to be sacked three times, and Rodgers himself threw a costly interception.
On defense, the Packers simply couldn’t stop the Seahawks’ rushing game. Marshawn Lynch rushed 20 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Percy Harvin had four rushes for a total of 41 yards and both Robert Turbin and Russell Wilson also rushed for over four yards per attempt. The game was a merciless beating, but both teams are different now than they were at the start of 2014. There are several key elements of the Packers’ game that must click this Sunday if they want to beat the Seahawks for the NFC Championship.
1. The Rush Game Needs to Work
Now, before anyone shouts; “But wait, the Seahawks have one of the best defenses the NFL has ever seen”, yes, they are amazing, but, in establishing the run, fans saw exactly what Eddie Lacy and company can do to the BEST run defense in the league back in week 17. The Detroit Lions had the most dominant run stopping defenses but Lacy rushed for 100 yards and James Starks rushed for 26 on five attempts.
The Packers’ offensive line has shown great cohesiveness since a rough start to the season and they steamrolled the Lions; they can do the same to the Seahawks. Obviously they are concerned about Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, but what better way to instill fear into the Legion of Boom than to make them tackle Eddie Lacy a few times early. Lacy can hit like Marshawn Lynch; time to give the Seahawks a taste of their own power-back medicine. Speaking of Beast Mode Lynch, that leads into my next point.
2. Proper Tackling on Marshawn Lynch
Read that subtitle again. It says “tackling”. Not hitting, TACKLING. Sorry for the capitals, but in the first matchup between these two squads, the Packers failed to properly tackle Marshawn Lynch. They tried to hit him and they tried to dive at him, but all too often they didn’t tackle him. Tackling involves wrapping up a running back below the hips. If a back’s legs are wrapped, he cannot move. This isn’t new information for those who played football in their youth. Every running back is taught this before high school: the best rushers never stop moving their legs. Beast Mode is no different, and as such, he does not fall down from a hard hit, nor can arm tackles do the job, as the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers both realized in the past few weeks.
The Packers’ defense has made great advances since that first embarrassing week, but they face one of the best running backs in the league on Sunday. Julius Peppers caused a game changing fumble from DeMarco Murray last weekend, but they face a significantly different beast in Marshawn Lynch. If his productivity is limited, the Packers’ chances of coming away with a victory are improved significantly.
3. Offensive Line
Despite fears of having a rookie center and some serious injuries throughout the year, the Packers’ offensive line actually performed pretty well. Corey Linsley matured very quickly and has developed into a very respectable starter at center. Bryan Bulaga, Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang and David Bakhtiari have all made names for themselves as a good blocking unit. Unfortunately, the five of them need to have their wits about them going up against not only a mean defense but also that pesky 12th man. False start penalties will kill this team and hand Seattle a trip to the big game.
4. Defensive Backs
In their past two games, the Packers’ defensive backs have faced two of the NFL’s finest wide receivers. They allowed less than 50 yards in week 17 against the Lions and Calvin Johnson, but Megatron still caught two touchdowns. In the divisional game against Dez Bryant and the Cowboys, he was kept to less than 50 yards as well, depending on your opinion about his “catch” that was called back.
While the Seahawks did lose Percy Harvin, it’s hard to say whether that’s a problem or not. He was a toxic locker room presence, but was a threat that could catch and run. The biggest names they now have are Jermaine Kearse, Doug Baldwin and Luke Willson. These three can be covered, and while they shouldn’t be taken lightly, they amount to a threat that can be handled by the likes of Micah Hyde, Sam Shields, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Morgan Burnett and Tramon Williams. Hyde, Clinton-Dix and Burnett have all had productive seasons as young but capable safeties, and Shields has been up and down but ultimately the stronger of the two corners. Williams, can unfortunately be somewhat of a liability however.
On top of having to cover receivers and tackle Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson requires more attention than most other quarterbacks in the league. He is the NFL’s best rushing quarterback and earned nearly 900 yards on the ground in 2014.
5. Receivers
This is plain and simple, the Seahawks have possibly the best pass defense the game has ever seen. But, Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks the league has seen. If anyone can throw against Sherman and company, it’s him. On top of that he has two 1,200+ yard receivers, a young rookie who caught for 127 yards last week and more than one tight end who can come up with huge plays when needed. Above all however, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and the rest need to block, so that the run can succeed.
No matter which defensive back they may be matched up against, opportunities will rise throughout the game. Unfortunately, even if all of these things happen and the Packers play a great game overall, there are no guarantees against this Seahawks squad and their fans.
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