adambr2

I think the Saints would have been more adversely affected by the elements than Tampa will, but oh well. Here's hoping we can have our revenge. Tampa dominated us the first time, and it wasn't particularly close. We have another chance. If we can't handle them at home, we don't deserve to play in the Super Bowl. Just don't turn it over this time.

I think Pina's larger point is that Giannis isn't a complete player. He's amazing at the things he does well -- but the things that we'd had hoped would develop as he progressed -- the jump shot, the free throw shooting, they really haven't come along at all. In some cases, they've regressed. Can he win a championship? Sure, if the supporting cast is good enough. He's just not at this point someone who looks like he can put a team on his shoulders to win a championship like Kawhi did in 19. The free throw shooting is really a concern to me. Giannis used to be a 77% FT shooter. We could live with that. For whatever reason, he's now regressed in 5 consecutive seasons. Part of the foundation of our offense is Giannis penetrstong and scoring in the paint. He's always going to shoot a lot of free throws. If he's going 12 for 20 against the best teams in the NBA, that's going to make it tough.

No matter who wins tonight, I would say the best 4 teams in the NFL are the ones that remain.

I think I would've picked our KR instead. This matchup overall is very interesting though. Strength on strength almost across the board. - Donaldson vs Lindsley (and Jenkins) - Adams vs. Ramsey - #1 Offense vs #1 Defense - Rams 3 CBs against our Pass defense. With a healthy Goff, this could be a toss-up game. But we would really need to lay an egg to lose (probably worse than Seattle did). Goff played, but only completed 9/19 (Wolford 3/6). 25 passes, 38 run plays (not including 5 QB scrambles). It is obvious they were planning on being run-heavy. Unless Goff makes a big recovery this week, I'd expect much of the same. [sarcasm]I'm not too worried about Josh Donaldson rushing the QB[/sarcasm], but if they line up that Donald guy over Turner or whoever is playing RG, THAT could be a problem! But you're right, this is strength on strength. And while the 49'ers may have been able to beat us without much from their QB, I don't think Geoff will be able to. Not hurt and not in the cold. The best he's likely going to be able to do is throw a lot of short passes to their three really talented WR'ers and hope they can do something after the catch. Very similar offenses so I'd expect a lot of those quick hitters....and I feel really good about Jaire, Sullivan, and King's ability to play those at this point in the season. All three are really playing physical, not to mention Amos and Savage. As long as this team comes out with the defensive mindset they did the last quarter of the season...everyone flying to the ball, the really solid tackling, the DL staying in their lanes and not trying to jump inside to get into the backfield, the OLB'ers really keeping the edge...if that happens, it'd take a bad game from Rodgers. I'm not gonna bet on a bad game from #12. I think this game will end up looking most like the Bears vs Packers game in the NFCCG where it was a close game, but we controlled the game and they were never really in danger of losing. Maybe we'll score a little more in this game, but I think it'll be a largely unremarkable game that we just kinda control. This prediction is pretty close to being spot on. It was very similar to the Bears game. It felt like we were in control the whole way, but never quite enough to feel like we had put the game away until near the end. I did feel like it could be slipping away in the 4th when our lead was whittled to 7 and we then had to punt on the next series, but no doubt I've been jaded by bad playoff experiences the last decade. I honestly thought the Rams for the most part played about as well as their fans could have expected. Goff played well. Akers played well. Their receivers played well. Aside from the dropped pick before halftime and a couple flags, the Rams didn't really do anything to cost themselves the game. They didn't turn the ball over. They played to their talent level and it just wasn't enough. I'm sure they would have liked to see more out of their defense but an offense as good as what we have in the modern NFL isn't going to be stopped for an entire game when it's in rhythm. I think the most encouraging thing to me is that where we really won this game was in the trenches. That's where we've lost big games the last few years and if we can continue to win the battles there we are going to be tough to beat.

His contract just carries over to next year and he has said he looks forward to playing with them next season. As long as he has stayed in shape and has a decent camp in August I see no reason he won't be back. We could still use the WR depth.

That's a fair point. I think if it was Aaron Jones or Corey Linsley having opted out you'd have to look at it a little differently.

I can't argue with either of you. I don't think I would even want one if I were Funchess. It would not feel genuine or carry sentimental value.

If the Packers win it all ... 1) Does Devin Funchess get a ring? 2) Do you think he should?

For some reason I was thinking Teague was deceased. But I was thinking of Wayne Simmons.

Man I feel old because I know exactly what play you are referring to.

I'm good with either. We probably match up better with the Saints, but they're 12-4 for a reason. Kamara is a real weapon. I'm confident that we aren't nearly as bad against the Bucs as we were at Raymond James. Hopefully the weather is a little...less mild next weekend. Both teams aren't exactly cold weather teams, even if it shouldn't bother Brady.

It's like our special teams is Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh that has to remind us of how much life sucks every time something goes right.

Yes!!!!

There's our stop ...offense needs to put this game away now

Sure love this soft 3 man rush. It's working great.

I have suffered through way too many Packer heartbreaks the last 10 years to not have the feeling that we are going to blow this.

You awake yet, Pettine?

This is what I feared could cause a close game today - Akers running wild on us.

Better wake up, fellas.

Bad time for a penalty.

A Rams TD here and this is a long ways from over. Need to keep them out of the endzone.

Scott sucks. Good thing we don't need him very much.

Great TD drive ...would have liked to see a little better play on the 2 pointer, but oh well ....offensive line held up well...just good coverage

I’d rather give Rodgers an extra pass. Definitely. There's never a good time for us to return it. The time burned off the clock and risk of a fumble far outweighs the likelihood of anything good happening.

The Rams did not agree.