Defence wins championships, or the best defence is good offense? What side are you taking? The Green Bay Packers abide by the latter. It is what the Packs, who finished the NFL regular season with the league’s best record, are doing very well.
Dominate the offensive side and win the game. Their team consists of talented youth, in-form playmakers and a strong desire to go back to back.
Green Bay completed a 15-1 season, going 8-0 at home. With their high-scoring 45-41 win over the Detroit Lions, the Packs became the 6th team in NFL history to finish a season with that 15-1 record.
What we have seen from Green Bay is that they are potent on the offensive end, yet finished last in defence, and can now say that they are the first team to ever finish last in defence and make the playoffs.
As mentioned, last weekend against Detroit at Lambeau Field, the Packers allowed the Lions to put 41 on the board. Normally that score would get a team the win. Detroit threw for 502 yards, and still lost.
Green Bay is rolling. Their opponents in the playoffs will need to devise a defensive strategy to combat the almost-impossible passing attack, something like what Kansas City did in using at least five defensive backs on 86 percent of the Packers’ plays on December 18.
In the playoff series commencing this weekend, the age-old saying that defence wins championships will be put to the test. Green Bay and New England, who are two of the best offensively, will be pitted against the top four defences: Pittsburgh, Houston, Baltimore, and San Francisco.
The Packers were set up for the type of run this year that can build legends, as they have the most important piece in fielding a consistent championship contender: a franchise quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, who at age 27 is hitting his peak.
It has been a long road for Rodgers from his first minicamp to holding aloft the Vince Lombardi Trophy almost six years later, three seasons of which were spent as an apprentice to Brett Favre, then being preseason favourite to win the 2011 NFL MVP award.
The star quarterback is not the only player with youth and form on his side. Eight of the Packers’ top playmakers are 27 years old or younger, so expect this team to be at or in the last dance for several years to come. Along with Rodgers, outside linebacker Clay Matthews (25) has been named as a starter in the 2012 Pro Bowl. Wide receiver Greg Jennings (27) and nose tackle B.J. Raji (25) are reserves in Hawaii. Of the older guys, full back John Kuhn (starter), centre Scott Wells (reserve) and the 35-year-old cornerback Charles Woodson (starter) will join their young compatriots in the Pro Bowl.
Wildcard weekend starts on Saturday, with Cincinnati away to Houston in the AFC, while over in the NFC Detroit take to the field against Drew Brees and New Orleans. On Sunday in the AFC, Pitt play Denver, while Atlanta will tackle the New York Giants in the NFC.
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