Well, no, but hey, lots of people think this could decide the seeding for the playoffs. As in who gets home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. I don’t think it is this dire this early, and a LOT of things can happen between now and January. As it is, though, the Niners aren’t getting any love from the national media regarding this game. No one expects then to win. Except for Chris Berman. He’s saying 24-23 Niners, but he is a big Bay Area sports fan. I had the pleasure of meeting Berman at the 1998 Pro Bowl in Hawaii (you know, the one where Steve Grogan and Derrick Thomas got thrown out for fighting). Me and a couple friends made the trip and stayed in the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We threw our shit in the room, and went down to the outdoor bar. 5 minutes after we sat down, Chris Berman and his wife sit down at the table next to us. Of course we start talking football, and within 5 minutes we are all sitting at his table talking baseball. Funny thing is, he says he’s a huge SF Giants fan and really isn’t into football all that much. But he did say one of his biggest thrills was being on the field for the Catch game, when ESPN was barely off the ground. The guy was incredibly nice, and we sat there for about an hour and a half drinking beer and  shooting the breeze about the pro bowl, football, and mainly the Giants and how he really wanted them to win the World Series.

Uh, anyhow, back to the game. This would not be a season-killer to lose in Lambeau. Winning in Lambeau is a tough not to crack in the worst of times. Nowadays, with Aaron Rodgers and his high-flying offense, the task is even that much more daunting. The question for me is how does OUR offense look? The preseasonw was a mix of running, vanilla passing, and little imagination in the red zone. You know, a lot like last year’s offense. This year, however, we have much better WRs (the M&Ms), a better short-yardage guy in Brandon Jacobs (boy, did the NY GIants miss him the other night?), and some speed burners in AJ Jenkins and LaMichael James. Problem is, Jacobs, and LMJ are dinged up and may not play, and AJ may not suit up. Although Ginn is nursing an ankle, So I’d think AJ is in the lineup.

So, my key to this game is to get on top of GB early by being aggressive. Green Bay’s corners last year were sieve-like in their coverage. Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson are returning as the starting CBs. The ones who gave up nearly 300 passing yards per game. Worst in the NFL. The flip side of that is Woodson’s 7 picks, and Williams 5. They took a lot of risks, and were VERY-hit-or-miss with their coverage. Still and all, for all the yards given up, their DBs picked off 25 passes. I would hope to see Randy Moss get some substantial playing time, because he’s big and tall, and we need to see if he still has something to offer besides mentoring and teaching. Manningham is another big target, and I want to see this offense move the ball and score TDs.

Defensively? Well. If the Niners can get on top of GB, they can bring the house against Rodgers. NY did it fairly easily last year in the playoffs IN Lambeau. Pressure him, flush him from the pocket, and keep hitting theitr WRs.

Like I said 28-20 Niners.