By The Numbers Week 11

Nov 24
09:18

2008

J.R. Augustine

J.R. Augustine

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Packer fans are much happier about the statistics the team put up against their arch-nemesis the Chicago Bears. The Chicago Bears never did get anythi...

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Packer fans are much happier about the statistics the team put up against their arch-nemesis the Chicago Bears. The Chicago Bears never did get anything going and it can't be blamed on Orton's injury.

Forte was as healthy as ever and still could only muster 64 yards on 16 attempts against a Packer linebacker core that's playing filler positions to make up for the loss of middle linebacker Nick Barnett.

The Packers,By The Numbers Week 11 Articles on the other hand, put up some very impressive numbers starting with...

the 37-3 score which put another notch in the win column and drew the Packers even with both the Bears and the Vikings  for the lead in the division.

Ryan Grant finally found found his legs as he rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Jackson added a nice chunk of yardage. He averaged 5 yards a carry on 10 carries for a total of 50 yards.

The offensive line held much better allowing Aaron Rodgers to complete 23 of his 30 passes for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even more exciting was that Aaron had zero safeties.

After drawing even at 5-5 with the Chicago Bears who are now also 5-5, the Green Bay Packers look forward to a clash with the New Orleans Saints who are 5-5.

Fans should be watching two really good teams every time the Saints' offense takes on the Packer defense. The Saints are leading the league in total offense averaging 411.5 yards per game and they lead the league in passing averaging 319.7 yards per game.

The Saints, however, have yet to meet a pass defense as good as the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers are third in the NFL only allowing 176.3 yards of passing per game and they still lead the league with 16 interceptions and 6 touchdowns off interceptions.


There are several keys to the Packers securing a win against the Saints. The Packers have been absolutely terrible defending against the run this season. They aren't bottom of the barrel, but, despite a good showing last week against a good running back they still rank 27th in the league and allow 147.4 yards of running per game.

On the flip side of the coin, the New Orleans Saints have had as much difficulty getting their running game going as the Green Bay Packer have so far this year. They rank 28th in the league, only able to muster 91.8 yards a game. If the Packers run defense can tighten up against that lackluster running game, they'll force Drew Brees to throw against the Packers' superior pass defense. And Drew Brees has thrown for an incredibly miserable 11 interceptions this season. So, the Packer defensive backs could have themselves a little fun this game.

The other key will be Grant. Will he have another 100+ yard game like he did against the Chicago Bears or will he struggle to put up 86 yards like he did against the Titans.

The final key to a Green Bay Packer victory is the Green Bay Packer receiving core. Despite having really poor numbers against the Vikings due to Aaron Rogers inability to get them the ball, the  Packer receiving core is ranked 11th in the NFL.

They'll be coming up against a New Orleans Saints defense that is almost as bad at sacking the quarterback as the Bears are, so Aaron Rodgers should have plenty of time to find those high-caliber receivers of his. Plus, Aaron Rogers will be going up against a defensive team that's pretty bad in pass defense. They are ranked 26th in the NFL and give up 235.2 passing yards a game.

Packer fans will be hoping for some big numbers come Monday night.