OK, this one is personal. Say what you like, Favre is out to embarrass the Packers. Period. Sure, it must be nice to get $25 million to get revenge, but that is what this game is about. Revenge. Favre wants it, and its up to the Packers to deny him this desire. I believe they can, if they can accomplish some basics.

1. Protect Rodgers. Easier said than done. Jared Allen is going to be primed to go against Colledge or Barbre. If I were the Vikings, I'd move Allen around to see who he can victimize. Why not? Both showed weaknesses in the first two games. If you see a weakness, you exploit it. However, Rodgers ability to scramble and run might counterbalance this possibility.

2. Contain AP. Easier said than done. Peterson is quite simply the best player in the NFL. Period. Yes, he runs behind a very good OL, but he makes cuts, is explosive, etc. The guy is amazingly good. I'm green with envy (groan).

3. Watch out for Favre. He didn't get all those records by accident. The DB's have to maintain their coverage (should be no problem), but the TE's and RB's could be a problem if they are able to drift into the flats, covered by a LBer of DLer. Favre will pick that up and exploit it if given the chance. I think we all remember how much Favre likes slants, and that could be his bread and butter this game.

4. Try to get the Packers running game going. Good grief- there are other running downs other than first! Do play action on first, let Rodgers throw it (hopefully taking advantage of a mediocre Vikings defensive backfield), and let Grant run it on second down instead. When the Vikings expect that, go back to runs on first down. Mix it up, keep them guessing!

5. This is not going to be an easy game for the Packers. They are playing in the Metrodump, with that extremely annoying horn, and a very loud crowd. How to take the crowd out of it? Get an early lead, and stuff the offense (much easier said than done, of course).

This is easily the Packers toughest game of this season. However, they did beat the Bears. Why not the Vikings? Wouldn't it be great if it were Rodgers leading another last second drive for victory against Favre and the Vikings? I'd be elated beyond belief.

So, carefully, I consider, and decide that no prediction will be offered on a final score. I just believe the Packers will win, and it will be Rodgers leading the Packers to that victory.

I agree this game is about revenge. I'm not just talking about Favre. The media has only focused on Favre playing against the Packers. Let's not forget that Aaron Rodgers probably would like to outduel Favre and get his own revenge against Favre. The guy just couldn't get out of Favre's shadow. He thought he finally got his chance last year only to have Favre decide to play again and ultimately be traded to the Jets. He thought once and for all he could get past Favre's shadow when Favre retired from the Jets, but Favre decided to ultimately play for the Vikings. I think Rodgers is sick and tired of the Favre drama and would gladly like to beat Favre once and for all. One of these guys is going to get revenge on Monday Night with another chance on Oct. 5 at Lambeau. For some reason McCarthy has absolutely owned the Vikings during his tenure. I hope that continues. I hope we sweep the Vikings. For as much praise as Favre and the Vikings have received, let's not forget that they were losing to both the Lions and Browns at halftime and came dangerously close to losing their home opener to a Gore-less 49ers team. I don't think its impossible for the Packers to pull out a win in Minny.

Every game McCarthy has coached against the Vikings his counterpart was Brad Childress. Just sayin'...

I think the Packers stand a very good chance to win in the dome, I think the slick turf plays into the quickness of our WR's. The O-line MUST play their A-game and hopefully Cliffy is good enough to go. The Packers need to rattle Favre early to take his head out of the game. If the Pack can get up by a couple of scores, we all know that Brett likes to start taking chances at that point.

Turf you can't mow. I agree that The Pack might surprise the Vikes and be up by 14 very quickly via the recieving corps. Take the crowd out of it a bit.

Short of the NFC Championship week (still seems surreal we were in that) I can't remember a more highly anticipated week of football.

I heard, altough it could be self promotion by ESPN, that this will be the most viewed game in NFL history.

That is a good point about the crowd, the Vikings' fans aren't very faithful. If you get on them early they start shuffling out by halftime. I wonder how many of those fair weather fans missed the ending of the 49er game? Worst fans in the NFL, hands down.

I bet most viewed regular season game for sure. When Brett and the queens come to Lambeau it will be even more ratings.

I'll bet the powers that be at the NFL are kicking themselves for not scheduling Favre's return to Lambeau for the Monday Night game between these two. It would have been fascinating drama to see how Favre is treated upon his return to Mecca. I know, I know, Favre had retired...uh, yeah....right.

Oh that game will be moved to prime time, big time.

I'm not even sure about that. It will be the most viewed match-up in cable history, I'm sure. But can it beat out all the highest rated games for MNF when it was an ABC production?

There will be several key matchups in the game to watch.
1. Min RT Loadholt. He's a rookie and not known as a solid pass protector. This is a match up that GB can expose in the passing game.
2. Our Kicking game vs their special teams. Touchbacks by Crosby will be huge. As inconsistent as the offense has been, the punting game will be vital to win the field position battle. When on the road , you win the ST battle if the home team gets no returns, even if you don't.
3. Neutralizing Greenway. He can be the one game changer on defense for them. Overshadowed by Allen's pass rushing and Winfield in the backfield, if we keep him blocked on blitzes and find a way to get Finley involved in the passing attack we can go a long way to beating any scheme they throw at us. He is the most talented LB on either team and must be accounted for.
4. If the Pack wins it will be because Crosby has a good game. We won't pound it into the endzone on every red zone chance but we must come away with points each time, and as usual, it is likely to come down to a game winning FG.

Make no mistake, this will be a tough game to win, especially at Minny with that crowd.

The Vikes are a good team with almost no weaknesses now that Cedric Griffin is playing OK, and Loadholt looks like he's a keeper at RT. All those people who questioned the pick of Percy Harvin, like Bedard, are going to eat crow. He looks like a good player.

Personally, I don't think the Pack can run on Minny. At least not very well. I think they have to go to the air. The problem is that Minny can rush the passer pretty well with just four players. So MM is going to have to roll AR out or call quick slants. Which have not worked real well so far.

On offense, I think the Pack has to blitz Favre. The problem then becomes covering Harvin in short zones, and also screens to Peterson.

Hard game to plan for on GB's side.

I would be happy for a split with Minny home and home.

I would turn this into an all out aerial assault if I was MM. It clear we have better WRs and its clear our D-backs are better.

Its also clear that Favre will be forcing footballs. Lets take advantage of that. Make him throw the ball.

Not to include the fact that it is a 1PM EST game, so not everyone will even get the game. Ratings won't be as high just due to the fact that people will have to go to a bar to watch the game, if they are out of the viewing area (or have ST).

Was gonna say the same thing!

Isn't a Monday Night game?

Yes it is.

Other people have said it already, but I count Favre "wanting to humiliate" the Packers (or at least TT) as a major positive -- I had the dubious honor of being at that first MNF Packers/Seahawks game vs. Holmgren and saw what happens when he doesn't approach a game in the right mindset.

I tell you though, man, I didn't think I'd ever enjoy seeing the Vikings beat a team when it didn't help the Packers, but I'll admit it was cool to see the old gunslinger come through again Sunday night. Of course, if that happens against the Pack I'll be crying into my beer, but it was a nice reminder of the good games he had before he lost his mind and started associating with those degenerates in Minnesota.

...and all the Packers need to do is take Adrian Peterson completely out of the game.

No, it's not. They were referring to the second game at Lambeau. It's a 1:00 kickoff. And unless it's moved to prime time, I'll be heading to a local bar here in Michigan because the pussy cats will be on over here.

Funny Thing!

I'm looking at the schedule at NFL.COM. Every Sunday there is a prime time game listed except for week 8 (Vikings @ GREEN BAY) and the last week of the schedule.

Maybe i'm not seeing it correctly, could some one else check?

I look at this game as being much more about the lines and little about Favre. The nod has to go to the Vikings on both lines and with the Packers O-line being so inexperienced it is not a good match up. Factor in home field advantage and this looks to be the Vikings game to lose on paper. I do see the #4 being a factor in the crowd being ultra jacked up and could see Rodgers feeling a little extra pressure.

Not saying the Packers can't win but I think they would need to win the TO battle by +3. Should be a great game to watch.

I have not watched any Vikes games this year and have a question for those of you that have.

Are the Williams' still as dominant? It seems to me that they are aging and very few 300+lb behemouths maintain their quickness, which I believe was one of the major strengths. I know they are still huge and it is like having two Grady Jackson's as your starting DT's but I have to believe they are begining to decline. Wishful thinking, sure.

Has anyone watched them? Jarod Allen is a beast, and beat Clifton pretty bad last year so I am searching for a ray of hope.

And we have had some good running days against Minny in the past couple years so I do believe we can run the ball enough to make the play action effective.

I was interested in your assessment of Greenway so I checked the stats. He has 14 tackles total compared to EJ Henderson's 28 tackles. He has 12 solo's to 22 solo's for Henderson. He has no sacks, Henderson has 1. He has zero fumble recoveries and no INT's.

These are just numbers and I know he impressed me last year as a guy that always seemed to be around the ball but I just don't see the Game Changer numbers.

Henderson appears to be a guy we need to account for.

They're still the Williams'. Some here make them out to be some sort of impenetrable wall of run stopping misery, but stats show them to be 12th in the league in run defense (after playing Cleveland, Detroit and SF) giving up an average of 3.5 YPC (as compared to GB's 3.9). That's good but not dominant.

Allen is OK at setting the edge but you can run at him. Line the TE up on his side and chip him and I bet you can do some damage to the left. Pat Williams is still tough to move and Kevin is just a great all around player. Pat plays with great leverage and with a low center of gravity so it's hard to cut him but that's really what they need to do. Be merciless.

Any running damage done is likely going to be outside the tackles. They're a good team to sweep against, again, because Allen can be blocked in the running game and Pat is too slow and fat. Kevin is great in pursuit but a discliplined team should be able to outflank them and turn it up the field into the secondary.

That Sunday, I believe is MLB World Series night. I did not check, but seems every year that one Sunday night game there is no NFL due to the World Series opener...

Its been done before.

Lambeau...Interesting you brought this up... I saw last week Laurinaitis was leading the League in Tackles prior to the Game.. at 22... We held him to only 3...I hope we can do the same against Henderson...

Sure, I'm just saying it's quite the feat.

The last time that Favre played in a huge nationally televised regular season game was in 2007 when the 10-1 Packers matched up against the 10-1 Dallas Cowboys.

I think that you all remember the performances of Brent and Aaron that night. Let's hope that we see them repeated on Monday.

Pat Williams is 37 and it still remaints to be seen if he is aging or not. The Vikes run defense hasn't been as dominant this year. They are about middle of the pack. Kevin Williams is definitely not aging. He is 29 and is one of the premier DTs in the NFL. He's actually not really all that big but a great all around DT. He is stout against the run and is a pass rushing phenom from the inside. Guys like this are rare. He has 42.5 sacks in 6 full seasons as a DT. I am concerned about Wells and Spitz matching up with them. Our OL dominated them last year in week one with Spitz at C and Colledge at LG. No sacks and a very productive running game. Grant's longest run of the year came against the Vikings in Week one last year. That wasn't the case in the 2nd matchup with them last year. Overall this team has had good success on the ground running outside the tackles. You can't run at the Williams Wall. You have to run around it. Grant has actually averaged 5.4 YPC against Minnesota for his career. I don't understand why some think the Packers can't run against the Vikings just because their run defense is so stout. Grant, for some reason runs very well against them. Their run defense hasn't looked so good this year.

I dont know, I think it could. Almost everyone has ESPN somehow now days. For example, my in-laws couldn't care less about the sport of football, and I'm sure they know nothing about how the game is played, but they even plan on watching it because of all the media attention in the local news and newspaper. People that don't follow football know who Favre is.

I believe you are right. No Sunday night football usually that week.

I think most non-Packer fans will be watching and waiting for a BF train wreck. Kind of like NASCAR, you don't really wish people to get in an accident, but if they do you don't want to miss it.

I gotta believe that Capers has something special up his sleeve for this game.

I checked the MLB post season schedule, opening game is Oct 28. There is Game 4 on Nov 1, and that is the only Sunday game of the World Series.

I wonder if the NFL would move the game to prime time if events and conditions made it a BIG GAME. Maybe put it on NFL Network???

The Minnesota Vikings have two weaknesses:

1) The offensive line. The Vikings have given up 9 sacks, with a QB that has one of the fastest deliveries. Loadholt is big, but slow and made Jason Hunter look like an all pro when the vikings played the Lions. It will make Aaron Kampman an interesting story line-- Can he abuse Loadholt more than Favre abuses him in coverage.

2) The coaching staff. Is Childress the biggest weakness on the team? Really hasn't used Favre well. Looks like he has Peterson on a pitch count limiting him to 20 carries a game. Last week aginst the niners, Favre was put in a position to have to throw a lot and completes only about 50% of his throws, with Chester Taylor being his number one receiver. It may be that Childress is holding back, but it may be that he hasn't figured out how to get the wide outs involved. His inability to make use of all his tools may be a key factor in the Vikings season. We need to stop Peterson and put Favre in a position to throw a lot, then good things can happen.

Our defense will really need to step up, or this could be a long night.

Agreed. If the Packers try to run it with Grant, they got no chance. This game is all about Rodgers and his WR's. I hope MM just lets it loose and throws about 45 times.

Agreed.

Made me feel a little nostalgic, that's for sure.

A few points:

The Packers will be attacked on the edge. The OLB's will play a huge role in how this game goes. Most of AP's long runs come in this area.

Key game factor: Cover Chester Taylor coming out of the backfield on third down.

Rodgers needs to be sharp with quick decisions (3 step drops). He wont have a lot of time back there.

Jermicheal Finley should be a huge part of this game. Is he ready?

Get pressure on Favre, make him wonder who is coming next.

Do not give the Vikings a opportunity to get momentum with special teams play. Crosby needs touchbacks in the endzone, and we need to punt out of bounds.

No dropped balls from our WR's.

*****keep penalties down********

I will never root for any team who can have a negative effect on the outcome of THE PACKERS season. A win for the Vikes is equal to A PACKER LOSS.

Please be carefull with responses as the following is dangerous subject matter and comments can cause the thread to be closed.

While that was a great play, I can't understand how Favre gets all the credit. I read 5 or 6 articles describing the play (and several posts) and only one person mentioned what a great job by the receiver to catch the ball and stay in bounds. I guess it fits into the Favre Interception Catargory. You know, if is was an INT it was the receiver fault, but if it was caught, Favre made a great play.

ps, Favre even stated (paraphrasing) he didn't know who he was throwing to, he just threw is hard to the back of the endzone.

I hope then send Matthews at Favre as much as they can. Even just plowing into him and knocking him down a few times. The more they knock Favre around the worse he will play.

I'm not sure I remember that being the case.

I do. Not all the time. It's not a fool proof method to make Favre play poorly, but he's like any QB. Knock him around enough, he'll get antsy in the pocket.

Maybe eventually get to the 'aerial assault' but do NOT start that way. If we get the ball first and the fans are in full throat and their DL is completely fresh, I wouldn't take a 7 step drop. No matter how many guys we keep in for protection. Start in a spread formation and run a couple draws is what I would do. Don't wait until 3rd and long to do it, just do it on 1st and 2nd. Don't let them sack you a couple of times and then miss a screen and be punting from your own 5. Just don't friggin' do it. Recognize that our first couple drives won't be successful and just try not to let it get us in a big hole. And if you win the toss, defer. Please MM, listen to me.

Agree
In the past that has fired him up

Not sure what stats you are looking at.
He has 2 INTs, 49 return yards on those INTs, one Fumble recovery, and leads the NFC in PDs with 5.
I'm would like to think Woodson is a game changer for GB and Greenway's stats are comparable across the board, and he's playing LB.
He is a playmaker and ball hawk.

I think you both have some errors.

http://www.nfl.com/players/chadgreenway/profile?id=GRE573953

Greenway is a productive linebacker. He's not someone who dominates all by himself. Remember, he's got quite a good line in front of him, which allows him to go make plays.

The Packers have to start fast and get a big lead early. They won't do this with running the ball.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/62395117.html
This link will take you to a JS online interview with Leroy Butler. It's full of his ideas on how to take advantage of Favre. It doesn't matter much as none of us will be playing in the game, but his opinions could make better armchair quarterbacks of all of us. GO PACK!