SEATTLE — Aaron Rodgers is sure, he says, that his ailing left calf can hold up "for another 120 minutes.'' If so, that accounts for two remaining games for the Packers quarterback — Sunday's NFC Championship showdown with the Seahawks, then, two weeks later, Super Bowl XLIX.
"I just hope we don't go to overtime,'' Rodgers said, joking but not necessarily kidding.
There is no doubt Rodgers is far from 100 percent, but he will need to be operating at his usual extremely high level to earn the chance to get to his second Super Bowl. There is no more perilous road to travel than the one that leads into CenturyLink Field, a road that usually becomes a dead-end street for the visiting team.
The Seahawks (13-4) were 3-3 in mid-October, not at all looking like a team that could make another successful title run the season after winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history. But their suffocating defense got healthier and they regained their dominating ways, winning 10 of their last 11 games to ascend to where they never have been: favored to repeat as champions.
With somewhat modest fanfare, Seattle QB Russell Wilson is 5-1 in the postseason. He has outplayed Drew Brees in a playoff game and, famously, Peyton Manning last year in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium. Next up for Wilson? Knocking off Rodgers and the Packers on what is going to be a wet afternoon — high of 50 degrees and 60 percent chance of showers.
"I think that when you're in those moments, you either live for them or you fall off,'' Wilson said. "And I think that, for me, I look forward to those moments. I visualize myself ever since I was a little kid to be in these moments.''
History is on the side of the Seahawks, who beat the Packers 36-16 in the Sept. 4 season opener. The same teams have met in Week 1 and again in the conference title game six times. Each time, the team that won the opener also won in the conference championship game.
But it has been 17 years since a team accomplished what the Seahawks are gunning for — winning back-to-back NFC title games. The Packers (1996-97) were the last to do it.
To get here, the Packers (13-4) last week had to erase a 21-13 deficit to get past the Cowboys 26-21 at Lambeau Field. The Seahawks never trailed in their 31-17 victory over the Panthers.
Marquee matchup
Marshawn Lynch powers past the Panthers.Photo: Getty Images
Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch vs. Packers linebackers
In the last eight games of the regular season, the Packers cleaned up their act as a run defense, allowing just 86 yards per game to rank sixth in the NFL. They struggled at times last week, as Dallas' DeMarco Murray ran for 123 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per attempt. Now here comes Lynch, the only player in the league to rush for more than 1,000 yards and score 10 rushing touchdowns every year since 2011.
Lynch, after a 1,306-yard season, did not do much (14 carries for 59 yards) in last week's playoff victory over the Panthers, but he can go into Beast Mode at any moment this time of year. The Packers have no dominant run-stopping linebacker. Clay Matthews is more of a pass-rusher, A.J. Hawk is too small and makes too many tackles well past the line of scrimmage and second-year Sam Barrington lacks experience. Julius Peppers can't move the way he used to, but he still has those outrageously long arms, and he forced two fumbles last week in his first postseason game for the Packers.
4 Downs
Top duo
Much can be done to manipulate statistics to stress the desired point, but these numbers are impossible to ignore. This is a matchup featuring the two most efficient postseason quarterbacks in NFL history. Seattle's Russell Wilson is 5-1 in the playoffs, and his passer rating of 109.6 is the highest ever. Right behind him is Aaron Rodgers, with a rating of 105.3. Rodgers is the only quarterback ever to put together six consecutive regular seasons with a passer rating of 100-plus.
Russell WilsonPhoto: AP
Rodgers is slightly more accurate than Wilson and certainly more prolific, given the emphasis placed more heavily on the passing game in Green Bay. Wilson, more than anything, wins games. His 36 victories and 22 home victories are the most by any quarterback in his first three years in the Super Bowl era.
Homers
We all know the deal here — this is the greatest home-field advantage in the NFL. It's the noise generated from the rabid and leather-lunged 12th Man fan base, it's the time change for the visiting team and often the long travel associated with getting to the Pacific Northwest. Mostly, it's the team wearing the home uniforms.
In the past three years (including the playoffs), the Seahawks are 25-2 at home, a winning percentage of .926. They have won their past eight post-season games at home. In their last seven home games this season, the Seahawks were 7-0 and outscored their opponents 165-56. They wear you down (40-13 point differential in the third quarter in those seven victories) then bludgeon you (62-7) in the fourth quarter.
Front and center
Max Unger is a Pro Bowl player at center for the Seahawks, a stabilizing presence on a so-so offensive line and a key cog in triggering Marshawn Lynch's power-running attack. Unger, though, has had to deal with foot and ankle injuries and, after missing six consecutive games, came back to start last week vs. the Panthers before again tweaking his ankle.
Unger's missed time forced the need for an unfortunate revolving door at the position. The Seahawks sorted through Steve Schilling, Patrick Lewis and Lemuel Jeanpierre at center, which could have become an issue for Wilson.
Max UngerPhoto: AP
"It's been a non-factor,'' Wilson said. Unger is back, which pleases his quarterback.
"That's a huge thing,'' Wilson said. "He's been playing great football for three years since I've been here and this year, when he's been in there, he's been unbelievable.''
Boom goes the dynamite
If any group can tame the passing beast that is Rodgers, it's this one. The Fab Four nickname already was taken, and the Legion of Boom sounds so much more intimidating, anyway.
The gang is all here, back again and trying to forge the way to consideration as one of the best defensive backfields in NFL history. Three of them — cornerback Richard Sherman and safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas — were selected to the Pro Bowl. The only one left out, cornerback Byron Maxwell, is a heck of a player. Chancellor shook off a midseason groin injury and was in menacing form (10 tackles) last week vs. the Panthers. He also had a 90-yard interception return for a touchdown.
"I don't know how you can play a better game than he played last week,'' coach Pete Carroll said. "You saw the impact that he can have.''
Rodgers will try to find nickel back Tharold Simon, but the 6-foot-2, 202-pounder from LSU, in his second season, is no slouch.
Paul's prediction
Aaron Rodgers will need all the mobility he's ever had to elude this defense, and unfortunately his left calf will adversely affect his movement. Figure Russell Wilson's legs will bother Green Bay as much as his arm, although this is not a dynamic passing attack. It doesn't need to be, though.
Seahawks 27, Packers 20
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
A gimpy leg, aching ears and rain: Aaron Rodgers vs. the world
Dengan url
http://bahayaprostat.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-gimpy-leg-aching-ears-and-rain-aaron.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
A gimpy leg, aching ears and rain: Aaron Rodgers vs. the world
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
A gimpy leg, aching ears and rain: Aaron Rodgers vs. the world
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar