Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Ryan, Rodgers set to dissect defenses
ATLANTA — Every surgeon needs a patient, and the same goes for surgically precise quarterbacks.
The operating room Sunday will be the Georgia Dome, and — with Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan scrubbed up and ready to go — two suspect secondaries will be under the knife.
Green Bay had the NFL’s second-worst pass defense this season, allowing an average of 269.2 yards per game, and Atlanta was ranked 28th at 266.7. What’s more, both secondaries are banged up entering Sunday’s NFC championship game (12:05 p.m., KVVU-5).
Meanwhile, the two quarterbacks are scorching. Rodgers has directed his team to eight consecutive victories, throwing for 2,384 yards during that streak, with 21 touchdowns and one interception. Ryan had a passer rating of 117.1 this season, not only leading the league but also registering the fifth-highest season rating in NFL history.
Ryan dissected Seattle’s vaunted “Legion of Boom” secondary last weekend, throwing for 338 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-20 victory. The Seahawks were at an extreme disadvantage without All-Pro safety Earl Thomas roaming the back end of their defense, thereby allowing the players in front of him to take more risks.
Green Bay safety Morgan Burnett isn’t the elite player Thomas is, but the Packers are more vulnerable without him. Burnett had to leave last Sunday’s game at Dallas because of a bruised thigh, and it’s unknown how effective he’ll be if he can play against the Falcons.
Late this week, Burnett couldn’t say whether he would be able to play.
“I’m just living in the now,” he said Friday. “If I could tell you that, then I probably should play the lottery tonight.”
The Packers had issues at cornerback, too, with Quinten Rollins recovering from a concussion. Burnett and Rollins are listed as questionable for the game. Burnett did not practice this week, and Rollins was limited.
If Packers defensive coaches get indigestion watching video from the Seahawks-Falcons game, Atlanta coaches have to feel the same way about Packers-Cowboys.
Dallas was reminded last Sunday of how dangerous Rodgers can be. In the waning seconds of that 3431 Green Bay victory, the Packers quarterback spun away from pressure, rolled to his left and fired a laser-beam pass to Jared Cook as he was falling out of bounds. That set up the winning field goal as the clock expired.
Falcons defenders know the mobility of Rodgers makes it perilous to breathe easy any time before the whistle.
“The extended plays could be a momentum shifter if you let something over your head,” Falcons cornerback Jalen Collins said. “If you cover the first look and they get behind you and score six points, it’s tough. Once you get out in the field, there’s a lot of space … (Rodgers) can go anywhere.”
Defensive backs from the Packers and Falcons can take solace in the fact that neither team is at full strength in terms of receivers.
Green Bay is hoping receivers Jordy Nelson (ribs), Davante Adams (ankle) and Geronimo Allison (hamstring) will be ready to go. All three are listed as questionable.
Atlanta’s Julio Jones, a 6-foot-4-inch force at receiver, has been slowed by a toe injury and was limited in practice this past week.