Brett Farve and his Green Bay Packers are preparing for their final meet of this season with the torrid Minnesota Vikings. This rivalry dates back to September 29, 1961, when the Green Bay Packers and Bart Starr defeated the Minnesota Vikings 28-10 at Metropolitan Stadium. Since that date, these two teams have met 93 times, with Green Bay winning 47 of those games. The series record between Green Bay and Minnesota gives the Packers a 47-45-1 lead. However, these two teams have met once in the playoffs in 2003, and it was our Vikings winning 23-20.This season Green Bay and Minnesota played at the Metrodome in week four, as Brett Favre and his Packers defeated our Vikings 23-16, thanks to a last minute interception off Kelly Holcomb. In that game, Brett Favre broke an NFL record by throwing the 422nd touchdown of his illustrious career. In the game on September 30, Favre completed 32 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns, for a passer rating of 108%. Brett's record breaking touchdown was thrown to Greg Jennings for 16 yards, and a 33 yard pass to James Jones. Jennings is one of Favre's favorite receivers to throw to. Jennings has caught 23 passes for 454 yards and six touchdowns on the season.
Brett Favre's other top receiver is James Jones. Jones has 29 receptions for 432 yards on the season and two touchdowns. However, Brett Favre's favorite receiver Donald Driver had 7 receptions for 58 yards against Minnesota in September, and the Viking defense kept him out of the end zone. Driver has 44 receptions for 539 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. Driver has always been a deadly force on the field against anyone who has to defend him.
In the backfield for the Packers is DeShawn Wynn who averages 4.1 yards per carry, and Ryan Grant who averages 4.0 yards per carry. The Wynn/Grant duo has combined for 97 carries and 389 yards on the season. Against Minnesota's number two rushing defense in the NFL, both Wynn and Grant will have their work cut out for them. On September 30, DeShawn Wynn carried the ball 10 times for 20 yards, which is his lowest average of the season, while his counterpart Ryan Grant had 3 carries for 17 yards.
This game is a must win for our Minnesota Vikings. The key element to winning here will be for Minnesota to continue their performance on the run defense, and have their passing defense step it up again this week. The Vikings had their best game of the season last week against San Diego. Their passing defense stifled the Chargers as they gave up only 199 passing yards for the day. Minnesota's 32nd ranked pass defense usually allowed 288 yards per game. The Viking run defense was also at their best, as they allowed 42 total yards rushing for the game. Minnesota held San Diego's stud running back LaDainian Tomlinson to 45 total yards for the day, and quarterback Philip Rivers to 5 yards rushing, while Michael Turner was stopped for a loss of 3 yards on his only carry.
Offensively, Minnesota will need to get the ball to Adrian Peterson about 25 times and Chester Taylor 15-20 times. The Vikings will need to mix it up a bit, and keep Green Bay on their heels. If Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor can find their groove again, it is going to be a long day for Green Bay. This will be Peterson's first trip the the "Frozen Tundra" and the mystic of Lambeau Field. The Vikings have fared pretty well at Lambeau, as they have a history record of 15-15-1. For our passing offense, Minnesota will most likely rely on Brooks Bollinger at quarterback, and the likes of Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade for receiving. Troy Williamson who has been an utter flop in the NFL, should be used more often in short slant passes, then turn up field and utilize his speed to get by defenders. Minnesota's needs to keep Green bay on their heels defensively all day, and look for another stellar performance by their defense.
SKOL VIKINGS!!!!
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