SEAHAWKS VS. PACKERS
SUNDAY, 4:25 P.M. ET, LAMBEAU FIELD, GREEN BAY, WIS. uTV: FOX, DIRECTV 715
Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews
About the Seahawks: Seattle has gone into its regular-season opener entertaining legitimate Super Bowl thoughts in each of the last four seasons, and this year is no different. Having endured an offseason that included the retirement thoughts of Pro Bowl S and trade rumors involving CB
the Seahawks come back with their defense almost entirely intact. They added all-pro DT late last week, so there shouldn’t be many question marks on that side of the ball. As usual, the big question on offense will be up front. The offensive line was pretty shaky, and then improving LT went down with a season-ending knee injury. At least QB
is healthy, which wasn’t the case for most of last season.
As long as QB is healthy, the Packers will be legitimate contenders. The only defense that has been able to keep him out of the Super Bowl is … well, Green Bay’s. Until the Packers can shore up that side of the ball, Rodgers might keep falling short of the ultimate goal, and Sunday should give a pretty good indication of how good this year’s Packers are — they’re facing one of the NFC’s best right out of the gate. Adding TE brother of Seahawks DE gives Rodgers another offensive weapon. Green Bay will be without WR who came on late last season but is suspended for the opener. The Packers made a few moves to address their defensive issues and could get a boost from former 49ers LB
Rodgers has found a way to avoid Seattle’s best cover man in each of the last two meetings, so the Seahawks are likely to try to find a way to match Sherman against Nelson.
The former Packer didn’t have to wait long for a shot at his former team. Injuries in the Seahawks’ backfield pushed Lacy into heavy pre-
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
season action, and he’ll be part of a three-man rotation with and
Margin of victory for the Packers the last time these teams met. Green Bay’s 38-10 win in December marked the Seahawks’ worst loss since first season in Seattle (2010). Wilson, who had never previously lost a game by more than 10 points, threw a career-high five interceptions in that game.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Another new left tackle: Oft-maligned Fant was making a lot of progress from his forgettable debut season, and now it’s up to to protect Wilson.
Rodgers has made it no secret that he avoids throwing in Sherman’s direction when he faces Seattle. That means rookie Griffin and veteran nickel back Lane should be bigger factors in this one.
3. The other receivers: With Rodgers acknowledging that he does his best to throw the ball away from Sherman, Seattle’s other cornerback position might be even more susceptible than in previous seasons, so whichever receivers aren’t lined up across from Sherman — particularly and
— will have to make the most of their opportunities.
4. Staying two-dimensional: Having turned the page on the Lacy era, Green Bay needs to mix in enough to keep Seattle’s Legion of Boom on its toes.
Scott Johnson