Nov

3

Week 9 Preview, Green Bay at Kansas City

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs 

Green Bay PackersKansas City Chiefs
Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre has beaten every team in the National Football League except one – you guessed it – the Kansas City Chiefs. Favre will attempt to keep the Packers atop the NFC North when they face the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium this Sunday. I don’t want to assume that Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards is conceding anything but the following statement from him is interesting: “You are not going to stop Brett Favre. He’s going to complete his passes.”

The Packers’ fortunes rest on the arm of Brett Favre (181-of-274, 2,046 yards, 11 TD’s, 6 INT’s), naturally. After all, when your running game is only averaging 71 yards/game, you have no other choice. But there is a glimmer of hope; running back Ryan Grant, who will be the starter this weekend, ran for 104 yards against Denver so perhaps he can continue that effort vs. the Chiefs. What once was a weakness for the Packers has all of a sudden turned into a strength – wide receiver. Favre has some receivers to throw to – reliable Donald Driver (39-440-2 TD’s), James Jones (26-400-2 TD’s), pleasant surprise Greg Jennings (20-369-4 TD’s) and now they have Koren Robinson, which could spell trouble against the Chiefs’ secondary. The Packers’ linebackers may hold the key here in neutralizing the Chiefs’ offense – Nick Barnett (65 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 INT’s) and A.J. Hawk (47 tackles) especially.

The Chiefs, on the other hand, have had a resurgence in their running game, despite the loss of former reserve RB Michael Bennett. Larry Johnson (139-506-2 TD’s) is getting better, but he will need some help from Priest Holmes to spell him on occasion. QB Damon Huard (138-215-1,470-6 TD’s-7 INT’s) is having what one may consider a subpar season thus far. And his offensive weapons are limited – tight end Tony Gonzalez (42-506-3 TD’s) of course and budding star WR Dwayne Bowe (29-499-3 TD’s). That’s where the Chiefs’ defense will have to step up. While true that they’ve allowed only 16 points a game, their D as of late tends to be of the “bend-but-don’t-break” variety, which is risky, depending on who your opponent is. Leading the Chiefs’ defense is defensive end Jared Allen (27 tackles, 8 sacks) and LB Donnie Edwards (55 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT).

I look for Favre to throw early and probably often (35+ attempts sounds about right) and have success against the Chiefs’ secondary. The Packers’ running attack may blossom too this weekend; expect 75-80 yards from new starter Ryan Grant. The Chiefs will need a monster effort from Johnson and for the defensive line to blitz often in order for Favre to hopefully make some mistakes. But once again, I believe that Favre will make it possible for the Packers to rise to 7-1 in a victory over the Chiefs in a game that will not be as close as the final score will indicate.


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