The San Francisco 49ers made their statement when they beat the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field on opening day. The Packers can make a statement Monday night with a victory over the Seahawks in Seattle.
I don’t consider a victory over a team the Packers could beat in their sleep a statement, referring to last Thursday’s beat down of the Bears. But I do think going to Seattle and winning on national TV will indeed send the message that reports of the Packers’ demise are greatly exaggerated.
It will not be an easy task. The Seahawks have a ferocious defense that even if the Packers win the questions will probably remain about the Packers’ offense. I do think this year’s Packers can win low scoring games if the defense plays somewhere between the way it played against the 49ers and Bears. With Cedric Benson the Packers have the ability to control the clock on offense a little more.
The Seahawks are a up and coming team but I thought they looked bad in losing to the now underrated Arizona Cardinals. But after the Cardinals beat the Patriots in New England last Sunday it makes you wonder. The Seahawks might be pretty good.
On the other hand they have not had a winning season under head coach Pete Carroll and have a rookie quarterback at the helm. I guess they can make a huge statement by beating a team that won the Super Bowl two years ago and went 15-1 last year. So who has the most pressure on them?
I say the Seahawks. The bigger question is what team handles the pressure the best. Look how the supposedly up and coming Carolina Panthers handled their coming out party last night. Not good. I think this is a similar situation for the Seahawks.
I do think Russell Wilson has a way better noggin than Cam Newton, so I think the Packers are in for a huge battle. And Wilson won’t be throwing up ducks like Jay Cutler does. The Packers are going to win or lose this game because of the defensive line. If the Packers’ d-line controls the line of scrimmage the Packers win easily. If Marshawn Lynch runs wild the Packers are in trouble.
My gut feeling is the Packers are sick and tired of questions about their offense. For the first time this year Jordy Nelson and Jermichael Finley actually catch the balls thrown their way and the Packers win 31-17.