 Packers-Seahawks Preview When Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren travels to Green Bay this Saturday, he will be revisiting his greatest glory as a NFL head coach. Holmgren, with Brett Favre at the helm of the offense and Reggie White leading the defense, took the Packers to two straight Super Bowls in 1996 and 1997, winning a ring in '96. And in seven seasons, Holmgren never had a losing record with the Packers. For his quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, the trip back to Lambeau Field will not bring back fond memories. In 2003, the Packers and Seahawks went into overtime in their wildcard playoff matchup. When the Seahawks won the coin toss, Hasselbeck emphatically told the official, "We want the ball, and we're going to score." Hasselbeck got one of his wishes. He did get the ball, but his team didn't score. On the Seahawk's second possession of sudden death, Hasselbeck hit Green Bay cornerback Al Harris in the numbers with a pass and 52 yards later; the Seahawks were done for the season. Now Hasselbeck will have to overcome an even stiffer Green Bay defense if he and his teammates plan to keep their season alive. For the ageless Brett Favre and his young teammates, it is a chance to do what many felt was impossible. The Packers were not even supposed to be contenders for their division let alone the conference title. But yet here the Packers are the No. 2 seed in the NFC Conference, and a force to be dealt with. When the Seahawks have be ball--Unlike years past, the Seattle offense has become a passing offense. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw for over 3.900 yards with 28 touchdowns during the regular season. But in the playoff win over the Redskins last weekend, Hasselbeck was picked off twice by Washington safety LaRon Landry. His main target is the elder statesman of the receiving corps, Bobby Engram. Engram amassed over 1,100 receiving yards with six touchdowns this season. Engram is the go-to-guy for Hasselbeck and the Packers will undoubtedly try and take him away. Seattle also has Nate Burleson (694 yards, nine touchdowns) and D.J. Hackett (384 yards, three touchdowns) in the passing attack. Hackett is the deep threat, but he will have his work cut out for him against the Green Bay secondary. Maurice Morris may see more reps than Shaun Alexander for a number of reasons. Morris is a better option as a receiver for one. He is also a better blocker and that may be key for Seattle. The Packers have two of the better pass rushers in the conference in Aaron Kampman (12 sacks) and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (9.5 sacks). If Seattle wants to move the ball through the air, they must protect Hasselbeck and controlling Kampman and KGB is where that begins. But that is not the only concern for the Seahawks. The Packers have two of the best cornerbacks in the NFL in Charles Woodson and Al Harris. Harris has only two picks in 2007, but mainly because teams stayed away from him. Woodson had four picks, but not many clubs wanted to pick on him either. When Seattle looks to run the ball, they will have their work cut out for them. Linebacker Nick Barnett and A J Hawk are two of the more active backers in the NFL and they both rolled up over 100 total tackles. So even if Seattle can get a push on the Packers front wall, it still may be tough sledding. The Seattle offensive line will have to control the Packers up front to have any success on offense. Breakdowns up the middle or on the edges could be critical. When the Packers have the ball--Brett Favre is doing just fine after throwing for 4,155 yards with 28 touchdowns during the regular season. A year ago, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Favre would hang them up. A year later, he would be the MVP if it weren't for some guy named Brady playing out of his mind. The Packers have a pair of receivers that are primetime targets for Favre. Veteran Donald Driver had 1,048 receiving yards and two touchdowns this season while Greg Jennings chipped in 920 receiving yards with 12 touchdowns. James Jones (676 yards, two touchdowns) and former Seahawk Koren Robinson (241 yards, one touchdown) give the Packers an ample arsenal for Favre. But just like Seattle must keep the Packers off their quarterback, the Packers will need to do the same against sack artists Patrick Kerney (14.5 sacks), Darryl Tapp (7 sacks) and Julian Peterson (9.5 sacks). Tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher will be key for the Packers in protecting Favre. The Seahawks will bring a lot of different looks and do whatever they have to do to force Favre into making mistakes. Seattle also has some talent in the secondary in cornerback Marcus Trufant, who had seven picks this season. If the Packers are planning to pick on anyone, it will be Kelly Jennings and not Trufant. Favre will also have to be aware of Brian Russell, Jordan Babineaux and Deon Grant in the deep secondary. But Favre does have tight end Donald Lee as an outlet if need be. Lee had 575 yards receiving with six touchdowns in 2007 and the Seahawks cannot afford to lose track of the tight end. In addition, Seattle must not allow the Green Bay receivers any room to work. The Packer receivers lead the NFL in yards after catch and the Seahawks When the season began, the Packers had no running game whatsoever. In fact, there was virtually no running game until two months into the season. Then Ryan Grant, who was brought over from the Giants in a trade, came alive. Grant rushed for 956 yards with eight touchdowns, most of which came in only 10 games. Grant has had some good games against respectable defenses this season, but the Seattle defense may be his toughest test to date. Grant will have to avoid not only speedsters like Peterson, Kerney and Tapp but also one of the better linebackers in the league in Lofa Tatupu, who also had over 100 total tackles on the season. Guards Jason Spitz and Junius Coston will have to get movement up front on the rotation of Rocky Bernard, Craig Terrell and Brandon Mebane. Final Analysis--The edge on offense goes to Favre and the Packers. Ryan Grant has made Green Bay even more dangerous by reviving the ground game. And Favre is playing like the Brett Favre of old, which makes him nearly impossible to beat at Lambeau Field. Both defenses are impressive with an edge in speed going to the Seahawks. The difference as we see it is finishing and the Packers are better at it. And obviously much of the credit for that goes to Brett Favre, who finds ways to make plays and score points. The same cannot be said for Seattle. In their wildcard game, the Seahawks were at home against an opponent that was clearly not as talented and while their defense did the job, their offense could not put the ball in the end zone. Because of that, the Redskins were able to hang around and eventually take the lead in the final quarter before imploding. The Seahawks don't run the ball as well as they used to and that also hurts them. Seattle will not have any 12th man this week and they will be playing a team with Brett Favre that doesn't lose many playoff games at home. Not the best combination and it's hard to pick against Brett and Company at Lambeau.
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