New Orleans Saints (0-0)
vs.
Green Bay Packers (0-0)
Lambeau Field, Green Bay
8:30 PM EST
The only near certainty about tonight's season-opening tilt between the Packers and Saints is that one of these title aspirants will very likely finish Week 1 of the 2011-2012 NFL season with at least a share of last place in their division. Unless, of course, either the NFC South or North are swept, leaving an entire tied tied for first and last. Or, even worse, if there is a tie. Sweet Lombardi's Ghost, wouldn't it be something if millions of fans of the National Football League, who have been craving this gridiron fix for months, were forced to mainline a soccer-style tie on opening night? But, I digress. With two of the NFL's most potent offenses involved, that scenario is too unlikely for even Rex Grossman to predict it.
Although each team features one of the most precise and prescient signal callers in the game, it's quite possible that this game will be decided by which side receives an affirmative answer from the question marks at the running back position. Green Bay's lead back, Ryan Grant, missed the key segments of last year due to injury while the Saints' rookie ball carrier, Mark Ingram, dropped in the draft due to concerns that a balky knee would leave him susceptible to injury on Sundays. Perhaps the fact that this game is taking place on a Thursday will safeguard him, and he'll flash the form that earned him the Heisman Trophy.
If either team could establish the run, it could seriously alter the pass-focused defensive schemes likely drawn up by coaches on both sidelines. Both staffs pride themselves on outwitting their opponents and, to borrow Sean Payton's phrase by way of Peter King, winning the "battle of confusion."
By disguising defensive intentions and spreading the ball to a wide swath of receivers, both teams do their best to keep the opposition guessing. Of course, football is so often decided by one jaw-dropping -- and occasionally jaw-breaking -- act of direct physical imposition. For a likely candidate to just truck an opposing defender en route to the end zone see: Finley, Jermichael.
To further discuss the persons and strategies likeliest to decide this game, while also providing some local flavor to the many football fans who will be watching this opening night tilt nowhere near Lambeau or Bourbon Street, we've enlisted representatives from each side of encounter. Sharing insight on all the goings on with the world champs is Aaron Nagler of CheeseheadTV. Providing the inside scoop on the Saints, is Dave Cariello, the Managing Editor atCanal Street Chronicles. Both were kind enough to answer a few questions for HuffPost Sports. We'll be checking in with local writers and bloggers in NFL cities throughout the season, but don't be shy about visiting them on their home turf for even more detailed coverage of these teams.
HuffPost Sports: More important unit in this game: offense or defense?
CheeseheadTV: While both teams are known for their high powered offenses, I really think Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers and Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will have the biggest say in the outcome. It's no secret that defenses almost always start out ahead of offenses early in the season, especially when you're talking about two offenses as complex as the ones run by the Packers and the Saints. It's just in the nature of what each side of the ball is asked to do -- the offense, especially the passing offense, depends on the offensive line, the backs, the receivers and the quarterback all reading the same thing, reacting accordingly and executing their assignments -- all within three or four seconds.
Meanwhile, the defense, while structured, is about reacting to what the offense is doing and flowing to the football. Read and react -- and having a bad attitude when you arrive at the ball carrier. That's the other reason I think one of the defenses will have the biggest say in Thursday nights outcome. It's kind of like Mike Tyson used to say "Everyone has a plan -- until they get punched in the face" That's kind of the dynamic at work here -- both offenses have grand plans, elaborate designs to move the ball through the air and put up a lot of points. One big hit on a receiver over the middle or, especially, one blindside take down of Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers, and you'll see the offense start to worry about protecting themselves.
Canal Street Chronicles: I think in this game it's definitely got to be defense. We know both the Saints and the Packers have top tier offenses that can put points on the board quickly and easily. So it will probably come down to whichever team's defense does a better job of holding off their opponents offense.
HuffPost Sports: What player-player matchup or schematic tendency (on either side of the ball) do you think is likeliest to go in favor of your team?
CheeseheadTV: The last time these two teams played each other it was a complete catastrophe for the Packers' secondary. The Saints just abused them. But the tables are turned this time around. Tramon Williams and Sam Shields will work outside when the Saints go to their multiple receiver sets, and Charles Woodson will slide inside to the slot where he will cause Brees and the offense all sorts of problems. Last time, Woodson was caught trying to do too much and he paid the price a couple of times. The Saints simply ran him, and the rest of the secondary, ragged with lots of rub and pick plays that took advantage of all the man coverage they used to run under former coordinator Bob Sanders. It's totally different under Capers and I think the corners and safety Nick Collins match up real well with the Saints' perimeter players.
Canal Street Chronicles: I think the Saints new and improved running game will prove very effective in this game and throughout the season. Running the ball effectively will not only wear down the Packers' defensive front seven, but it takes a lot of the pressure off Drew Brees and makes him more effective by keeping defenses honest. The Saints had the 4th best rushing offense the year they won the Super Bowl; they need to return to that balanced playcallling.
HuffPost Sports: And, against your team?
CheeseheadTV: The best way for Sean Payton and the Saints to beat the Packers -- and this would go against almost everything Payton's been about since he became the head coach in New Orleans -- would be for them to pound rookie Mark Ingram early, pound veteran Pierre Thomas late and sprinkle in some Darren Sproles along the way. Shorten the game, keep the ball on the ground and just run the ball, especially off tackle counter plays, Both Packers' outside linebackers, Clay Matthews and Erik Walden, have had their issues with contain when it comes to the run. Teams could run on this team last year and we didn't see much improvement in that area in the preseason. Power football is the best way to beat the Packers -- I'm just not sure Payton has the patience.
Canal Street Chronicles: The biggest matchup I'm worried about is definitely Packers tight end Jermichael Finley versus the Saints' defense. New Orleans did a poor job containing tight ends last season. If that's still the case, Finley could cause some trouble by finding those soft spots and exploiting that weakness.
HuffPost Sports: Knowing that a talented team will be losing tomorrow night, how high do you put the stakes in this one?
CheeseheadTV: It will be tense, but the stakes aren't exactly sky high. Yes, each team would like to have a Conference win -- early season losses always leave you kicking yourself when the end of the season approaches and you're going through a million different playoff scenarios -- but the loser of this game can still win a lot of ball games.
Canal Street Chronicles: Regardless of the outcome of this game, the loser will still go on to have a winning season and most likely make the playoffs. The stakes in this game are high only because both teams will probably be tops in the NFC and it may wind up being used as a tiebreaker in playoff seeding sixteen weeks from now.
HuffPost Sports: What is one underrated player or underreported (at least, nationally) storyline that has grabbed your attention during the preseason that the rest of us might have missed?
CheeseheadTV: The Packers may have found their pass rushing compliment to Clay Matthews in undrafted rookie Vic So'oto out of BYU. He was given virtually no chance to make the team by most people when camp started. Not only did he make the team, he displayed some unbelievably mature pass rushing moves. The kid plays with violence but has obviously taken the coaching of outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene to heart. The sad thing is, So'oto hurt his back lifting weights earlier in the week so we won't get to see him Thursday night. But NFL fans should look for him when he finally makes into a game. I think he's going to be a pleasant surprise.
Canal Street Chronicles: He may not even see any action during the game but fourth string running back Joique Bell had a hell of a preseason for the Saints this year. He was simply impressive, displaying strength and agility with his running style. Just like Chris Ivory last year, Bell is a player that NFL fans will surely come to know if injuries plague the Saints running back corps and he's asked to step up.
HuffPost Sports: What are your plans for the game?
CheeseheadTV: Watching at home with my wife and three girls, like I always do. It's a Nagler Family Tradition :)
Canal Street Chronicles: I'm really not doing anything special actually. I don't enjoy going to crowded bars where I can't hear the television. My wife and I will probably just watch it from the comfort of our living room. I also like being near my computer getting Twitter updates and chatting with other Saints fans live on Canal Street Chronicles.