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The Green Bay Packers head to Minnesota on a roll after soundly beating the Baltimore Ravens last weekend. However, waiting for Green Bay is a Minneosta Vikings squad that has beaten the Packers seven out of the past nine times they've played in Minnesota. ESPN analysts Ron Jaworski and Sean Salisbury break down the game plans of each team in ESPN.com's Game of the Week.
| JAWORSKI VS. SALISBURY |
 | | Jaworski on the Vikings |  |
The Minnesota Vikings are a struggling team. On offense, it's very difficult to lose quality players in the offseason, including Korey Stringer to a tragic death. All together, they lost Stringer, tackle Todd Steussie (now in Carolina) and Robert Smith, three quality players who are hard to replace. The losses have led to Minnesota's offensive inconsistency. Daunte Culpepper is playing terrific football, but the supporting cast is lacking for the Vikings to be a winning team.
Defensively, it's really simple: The Vikings are a poor tackling team. When they tackle poorly, they give up a lot of yards and points, which they did last week against the struggling Detroit Lions. The Lions aren't even close to the Packers, Minnesota's opponent Sunday. For the Vikings to have any chance, they have to improve in every facet of the game. If they play like they did last week, the Packers will blow them out at home.
Five keys for the Vikings:
1. Tackle the Pack. Against the Ravens, the Packers were able to spread the field. They made the Ravens play in space. They will use the same type of approach against Minnesota. They will get the ball on the edges to Ahman Green, Antonio Freeman and Bill Schroeder and force the Vikings to tackle. If they don't, the five-yard passes will become 30-yarders. That's what happened on Freeman's long gain to set up a touchdown against Baltimore.
2. Big plays. They need explosive plays from Randy Moss and Cris Carter. The Packer defense is playing very solid, not giving up any consistently long drives and playing good, fundamentally sound defense. That forces teams to work the ball down the field, which is difficult to do. The Vikings must have the attitude to attack and get big plays from Moss, who isn't 100 percent, and Carter to have any chance of winning the game.
3. Gang up on Green. Although Ahman Green wasn't the focus against the Ravens, I believe he is still the foundation of the Packers' offense. Despite Brett Favre's passing ability and Freeman coming up with a big game, the Packers have made an effort each week to establish the run. They will do the same against the Vikings, playing smash-mouth football. Minnesota must be prepared to get physical and stop the running game.
4. Force turnovers. Favre has a tendency to be a bit uneven in his performances. Although last week he was absolutely magnificent, he made some mistakes the week before against Tampa Bay with three interceptions. The Vikings have to force Favre to make some mistakes and capitalize on them.
5. Protect Culpepper. It all comes down to Culpepper. He needs time to throw. The struggling offensive line must perform against the Packers' excellent pass rush. The key to getting big explosive plays is giving Culpepper time to get the ball down the field. Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila is a tremendous pass rusher. The Vikings must be alert where he is. Culpepper always moves around and is a naturally instinctive quarterback with good pocket presence. A good thing would be for Minnesota to move him around by design.
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 | | Salisbury on the Packers |  |
The Green Bay Packers are feeling great about themselves. They must have an awesome feeling after beating the world champion Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field and seemingly doing what they wanted to do against the Ravens' powerful defense. I believe the Packers think they are the best team in the NFC.
On defense, Green Bay is about as improved as any team in the league. The Packers own the league's best pass rush with 21 sacks and are getting plays from the front seven and their secondary. Offensively, they have the NFL's best quarterback in Brett Favre and one of the league's best running backs in Ahman Green. Playing well on both sides of the ball, the Packers have big opportunity to create separation between themselves and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Central.
Five keys for the Packers:
1. One-dimensional Daunte. The Packers' defense must eliminate either Daunte Culpepper's scrambling yards or his passing effectiveness. Eliminating one or the other will make it easier for the Packers to defend the entire offense. If he throws for 300 yards and runs for nothing, I would take that. At the same time, I would take him running for 120 yards and throwing for only 130. If he does both well, the Packers' defense will be in trouble.
2. Force the run. Everyone knows what Randy Moss and Cris Carter can do, making big plays downfield. The Packers need to concentrate on removing their big-play ability from the equation and making the Vikings run the ball. Minnesota's running game is not a strength, ranking 20th in the league. Michael Bennett is questionable, meaning Doug Chapman might start. If the Vikings have to rely on either player, the Packers have a big advantage.
3. More from Freeman. Antonio Freeman needs a consistent performance like the one he had last week. He will once again be a Pro Bowl receiver if he performs like that every week. Along with Freeman, Corey Bradford and Donald Driver also made huge catches. But Freeman must be the go-to guy and the playmaker. He had nine catches for 138 yards against Baltimore when he entered the game with only nine catches all season.
4. Tough at tight end. Bubba Franks and David Martin are playing well, giving the Packers dominance at the tight end position with two players instead of one. They are a huge mismatch against Minnesota. If they have a big presence and are used in the Packers' vertical passing game, that will lead to a bigger performance from Freeman on the outside.
5. Lean on Favre. Favre is the best. Even if the Packers lack a running game, they can always look to Favre. I expect him to attack the weak Vikings secondary and have a big day. |
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