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Snippet from McGinn:

 

McGINN'S VIEW

Two weeks ago, before the Colts played the Patriots in Indianapolis, receiver Reggie Wayne paid a remarkable compliment to New England's rebuilt defensive backfield.

"In my 14 years of playing New England, this has probably been the best complete secondary," Wayne told reporters. "I think it allows them to do more things with the front seven guys they hadn't done probably during the past few years.

"They're very talented. They're ball-hungry. It's definitely going to be a challenge. Hopefully, we go out there mano a mano and see who wins at the end of the day."

New England's three new starters are left cornerback Darrelle Revis for Aqib Talib, right cornerback Brandon Browner for Alfonzo Dennard and Logan Ryan, and strong safety Patrick Chung for Steve Gregory.

Revis won a clear decision over Wayne just as nickel back Kyle Arrington kept T.Y. Hilton in check from the slot. With the front stifling the Colts' running backs to 4 yards in 13 carries, the Patriots rolled, 42-20.

On Sunday, coach Bill Belichick matched Revis on Detroit's Golden Tate and Browner, with ever-present safety help, on Calvin Johnson. Although Matthew Stafford threw 21 passes at his two favorite targets, he could complete just 39.1% of his 46 passes for a passer rating of 49.5.

New England won in convincing style, 34-9.

Bill Belichick could put Revis on Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb. If it's Revis vs. Cobb, then Browner would have the size to match up against Nelson provided there's safety help on almost every play.

"They are two of the most explosive and most competitive and extremely difficult to cover receivers in the league," Matt Patricia, the Patriots' defensive coordinator, said Tuesday. "It's a really large challenge for us this week."

Even though Revis entered the league in 2007, this will be only his second game against the Packers, and his first in Lambeau Field. In 2010, Jets coach Rex Ryan played mainly zone and didn't match Revis on Greg Jennings other than the opening sequences of the third quarter.

From here, it looks like Revis on Cobb, Browner (and a safety) on Nelson and Arrington on Davante Adams.

Which team wins more of the matchups on the perimeter probably will win the game.

Last edited by YATittle

Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy spoke to the media on Wednesday following practice, as his team prepared for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots at Lambeau Field. Here are some highlights:

 

Injury report

Did not practice: G T.J. Lang (ankle), OLB Nick Perry (shoulder), CB Jarrett Bush (groin). Limited in practice: G Josh Sitton (toe), TE Brandon Bostick (hip).

 

On Perry's progress:

Nick is getting better. Went through rehab phase today. We'll see how he is tomorrow.

 

On Lang's progress:

Lang is further ahead than in the past, but we'll see how he is tomorrow. Workload for the week will probably be similar to maybe less than last couple of weeks.

 

On the Patriots' rotating running backs:

New England, schematically and personnel, do well week to week and throughout the course of the game.

 

On Patriots quarterback Tom Brady:

Tom Brady, excellent quarterback. The ability to stress a defense comes in a couple different ways. His command at line, cadence, awareness. He has a ton of experience. Makes every throw from the pocket.

 

On overcoming slow starts:

You take it one game at a time. You look at games earlier in the season. I think our team has done a good job from learning from those moments. There's some things we weren't hitting on coming out of training camp. I think that was apparent early in the season.

 

On having a good performance against the Patriots:

We're focused on winning. We have a great respect for them. It's important to get to nine wins. There's importance of getting to 10 wins as quickly as you can every season. It's against an excellent football team that's playing well.

 

On linebacker Clay Matthews, who had been slowed by a strained groin:

Clay was a full participant today. He looks good.

 

On the offensive line:

Playing well. Doing a lot of good things. You look at the way they finished the game in Minnesota. Pass protection has been very good.

 

On the hype for this game:

I think it's our business. I look at hype and drama. You have real drama and made-up drama.

 

On quarterback Aaron Rodgers' stretch of good games:

I'm kind of spoiled. He's played at such a high level for a number of years. To compare and rank it, I could probably do a better job of that at the end of the season. He's in a groove right now.

 

On the Patriots' secondary:

You stay true to the video. They're focused on personnel matchups. The past few games will tell you that. We're going to run our concepts.

 

On the game being one of 16:

It has to be. You get to play one game a week and it counts as one win. That's the size of it. It's an excellent football team. You look at Mr. (Robert) Kraft (the Patriots owner) and what they've done the last 15 years. He's set the standard for an NFL coach the last two decades. At the end of the day, we're focused on getting win No. 9.

 

On his philosophy in dealing with Green Bay media:

I don't know how to put that in words. It's clearly the best part of my day. I have one thing I stay focused on and it's not to create questions for our locker room.

 

On Rodgers and Brady:

I think comparable questions are tough. Stay away from them. To add to it, I guess I'd say they're both from California.

In spite of the way both teams have played this year, the Pack and the Cheatriots are very well-matched for this game, both on defense and offense.

Cheatriots have a slight edge statistically on offense (pass, rush, and scoring). Defense is a little more skewed; the Packers defend the pass better, but give up much more rushing yards. The Pats are slightly better at scoring defense.

It could very well turn out to be quite the shootout.

Originally Posted by GBFanForLife:

If Mick Perry makes that much of a difference, they might as well forfeit and disolve the franchise.

We saw what happened in Minnesota when they were forced to move Matthews back to OLB and play Jones/Lattimore/Barrington at ILB next to Hawk. It did make a pretty big difference not having Perry available to rotate at OLB, so I guess it is time to dissolve the franchise. Man, that sucks.

Last edited by Pack-Man

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