HANDCUFFING RODGERS

Respect, but no fear from Green Bay QB

GREEN BAY, Wis. — As far as Aaron Rodgers is concerned, tape from the last time he faced the Giants’ defense is less than three months old but already just about useless.

The Packers star made it clear Wednesday he is more interested in — and sobered by — what he sees from Big Blue on film over the past month than from Green Bay’s 23-16 victory over the Giants all the way back in Week 5.

“That was a long time ago, and obviously both teams are playing a little bit differently,” said Rodgers, whose club is on an equally impressive roll of its own heading into Sunday’s NFC wild-card matchup at Lambeau Field.

“They’re healthier than they were at that time,” Rodgers added. “Both [cornerbacks Eli] Apple and [Dominique] Rodgers-Cromartie were injured that game, and those guys are both healthy and playing well right now.

“[Giants safety] Landon Collins is having a great season and is making a lot of plays, when he wasn’t as much at the time. I mean, it’s a film you look at, but you look at the more recent stuff a little closer.”

The Giants’ defense has indeed done something close to a complete about-face from that Oct. 9 loss to Rodgers and the Packers, a defeat that dropped them to 2-3.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s crew gave up 406 total yards that night, including an unsightly 147 yards on the ground, and wideout Randall Cobb had a huge outing with nine catches for 108 yards.

But cringe-worthy numbers like that have become a distant memory for a Giants defense that has morphed into arguably the league’s most suffocating unit heading into the postseason.

Rodgers might be red-hot himself, throwing 15 touchdown passes and no interceptions during the six-game winning streak that turned Green Bay’s season completely around, but he realizes dealing with the Giants’ defense is going to be a chore this weekend.

“It starts up front, that they’ve got a good front and stop the run really well,” Rodgers said. “They’ve got two space-fillers up front [in Damon Harrison and Johnathan Hankins], and obviously Olivier [Vernon] is a premier pass rusher.

“But the back end is really impressive — they’ve got as good of a secondary as you’re going to see in the league with those corners,” Rodgers added, referring to Janoris Jenkins, Apple and Rodgers-Cromartie. “I mean, they’ve got three guys that can really cover, and they’ve got veteran guy in Leon Hall to play the dime who has good cover skills, too. They’re very opportunistic secondary.”

That defense completely stifled two of the NFL’s most explosive offenses — the Cowboys and Redskins — down the stretch, too, which got Rodgers’ attention even more.

It’s reminiscent of how a different but equally resurgent Giants defense looked going into Big Blue’s most recent playoff visit to Lambeau Field in 2011.

Rodgers doesn’t have to be reminded of what a miserable afternoon that turned out to be as the Giants sacked him four times, intercepted him once and limited him to just 264 yards in a 37-20 Big Blue victory over a Green Bay team that was 15-1 heading into the postseason.

“In 2011, I thought we were going to run through that thing and be in the Super Bowl, but it didn’t happen,” Rodgers said.

He quickly put a damper on anyone trying to draw a connection from that playoff game to Sunday’s matchup, though.

“I don’t think anybody thinks [about that,” Rodgers said. “We’re playing against the 2016 Giants, and they’re playing the 2016 Packers in 2017.”

And as much as the Giants’ recent defensive surge has impressed Rodgers, don’t think for a second it has intimidated him.

“We respect all of our opponents,” Rodgers said, “but we fear none of them.”