Brats & Beer

The Autumn Wind Meets Frozen Tundra

The Autumn wind is a Raider
Pillaging just for fun
He’ll knock you ’round and upside down
And laugh when he’s conquered and won.

Alright, the maybe the Oakland Raiders today aren’t quite the Silver & Black wrecking crew that terrorized the league in the 1970s. They’ve been in rebuilding mode ever since Gruden’s Bucs beat them in the Super Bowl; the team is on its third different head coach in the past four years. The Raiders are, however, the next team on the schedule and present a different kind of challenge for the Packers.

Oakland might be a team in disarray, but they have shown some life by winning their last couple games, and what could be a bigger feather in their cap than knocking off the #2 team in the NFC? The Raiders also have the league’s fourth-best rushing attack with Justin Fargas pounding his way for nearly 300 yards the last couple weeks, as well as the fifth-best pass defense.

Ultimately, though, the game this week is all about the Packers and how they respond coming off the loss to Dallas. Just like last Thursday’s game was a huge test in terms of matching up with one of the best teams in the league, Sunday will test Green Bay’s ability to regroup and refocus for the tough games ahead.

The health of the team is obviously another big concern going into this game. Early indications were that Brett Favre will be able to play, but we probably won’t know for a couple days what kind of shape he’s in. Luckily, Aaron Rodgers showed in Dallas that he can run this offense with confidence. On defense it sounds like Aaron Rouse will be available but the status of Charles Woodson is still up in the air.

The final run to the playoffs begins this week and how Green Bay executes against Oakland will say a lot about their state of mind heading into the final month of regular season football. One would like to see a dominant performance — especially on defense — in a game that could clinch the NFC North division and put the Packers one step closer to a first round bye.

To borrow again from the immortal John Facenda, we’ve survived the chill of November, now is the time for glory.