Timing Impeccable for a Packers Victory Over Chargers
By CHRIS HAVEL
It isn’t whom you play. It’s when you play them.
This is a cliché for a reason, or if you ask the Green Bay Packers, for several reasons. The Packers opened at home against the Philadelphia Eagles in quarterback Donovan McNabb’s first game after major knee surgery. The Packers won 16-13 and McNabb didn’t look comfortable throughout the game.
The Packers traveled to The Meadowlands to play the New York Giants in Week 2. The bruised and beaten Giants were coming off an embarrassing loss at Dallas and quarterback Eli Manning’s bruised shoulder was one of several injuries to key players. The Packers won 35-13 and neither Manning nor the Giants put up much of a fight.
The San Diego Chargers are next and the timing is impeccable.
The Chargers (1-1) are coming off a humiliating loss at New England in front of a Sunday night national TV audience. They had to play on the East Coast, return to San Diego, and prepare for a noon game (10 a.m. PST) against the unbeaten Packers.
Philip Rivers, the Chargers’ quarterback, isn’t plagued by a surgically reconstructed knee or a sore shoulder, but rather a serious case of happy feet. Rivers looked as comfortable in the pocket as Tank Johnson in a church choir.
Meantime, San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson has been relegated to mere mortal status by the Chicago and New England defenses. Tomlinson, the most electrifying running back in the NFL, hasn’t rushed for 100 yards—not in a game—in the season.
The Packers have their share of injuries—15 players were listed on Thursday’s report—but none is considered serious. The Chargers may be without four starters, including right tackle Shane Olivea, safety Clinton Hart and linebackers Stephen Cooper and Matt Wilhelm. Also, defensive tackle Jamal Williams has an injured left elbow.
If ever the Chargers were ripe this may be the week.
That doesn’t mean it is going to be easy though. Expect the Chargers and coach Norv Turner to get the ball into Tomlinson’s hands early and often. At New England, Turner tried to use Tomlinson as a decoy while the other players got involved in the offense. All it did was give the Patriots a chance to open a huge lead while the Chargers’ best weapon was stuck in neutral.
Turner won’t make the same mistake again.
Nevertheless, the Chargers certainly aren’t as invincible as their 2006 counterpart that went 14-2 while dominating the NFL.
The Packers rate an edge in several areas:
- Donald Driver, one of three healthy receivers on the roster, should be able to get some favorable match-ups during the game. The Chargers’ cornerbacks are just OK, and Brett Favre-to-Driver remains a considerable challenge for any secondary.
- The Giants’ Jeremy Shockey worked his way open in the Packers’ secondary several times last week. That’s the bad news. The good news is the Packers can learn from it as they prepare for perhaps the NFL’s best tight end, Antonio Gates. Surely they know they can’t give Gates the opportunities they allowed Shockey to blow.
- The Packers’ defense has allowed just 26 points in two games and it still hasn’t played its best football. Cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson should be able to neutralize the Chargers’ wide receivers and at times lend a hand on Tomlinson.
- Packers coach Mike McCarthy has been tough on his team, especially on the offense’s lack of a running game. He has used the back-to-back wins as a platform to be especially critical without eroding the offense’s confidence. He also has been diligent in regards to special teams play, and along with assistant coach Mike Stock has the coverage and return units playing at a much higher level than a year ago.
- Lambeau Field should be rocking and rolling on Sunday in an effort to help the Packers re-establish their once vaunted home-field advantage. Back-to-back victories over NFC East rivals gives the fans hope for a successful season. A victory over the highly regarded Chargers would conjure thoughts of even bigger things to come.
Chris Havel is a freelance writer, best-selling author and host of northeast Wisconsin’s top-rated sports radio talk show, Sports Line, heard Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sports Radio 107.5 FM and 1400 AM THE FAN. He writes a weekly column exclusively for Packers Fan Tours’ Website throughout the 2007 season.
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