Carolina at Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers are a seductive team. Aaron Rodgers has had a Brett Favre type season, the WR core is talented, Ryan Grant is running the ball better now that he is healthy, but somehow this team keeps losing. They are now 5-6 on the season, and their playoff hopes are on life support. This is a team that won their opening two games of the season, but has gone 3-6 since. Tha Panthers come in as the least talked about 8-3 team in the league. They don't have the glamorous running back, or the high profile QB, but they keep getting it done week after week. Coming off a loss is the perfect spot for them now. This team is good because they have found a top flite running back in DeAngelo Williams who is pounding out over 5 ypc. He should find plenty of room running on the Packer front seven as they are allowing 4.8 ypc and 143 yards per game. Steve Smith should find a lot of room to roam in the Packer secondary that was torched time after time last week in New Orleans. The Packers have been able to move the ball well enough and score, but other than the Bears game where they played well, they have allowed 25 or more points in over half their games on defense this season. Good offense, with an exploitable defense equals losses in the NFL, and that is why the Packers find themselves at 5-6. The Packers should get their points here, but not enough to overcome their defensive deficiencies. I like the Panthers here to seal the Packers playoff fate, and for this one to go OVER the total as well.