NFC North Know-It-All: Week 11

Green Bay Packers

Scott Tolzien and the Packers couldn’t produce on offense to lead to a 27-13 loss to New York Giants on Sunday.

The Packers offensive showing during Week 11’s game was almost pitiful. They just couldn’t produce. Running back Eddie Lacy got 24 carries for 73 rushing yards in Week 10. He only got 14 carries for 27 yards this week. I understand that the Packers were down for the majority of the game, but Lacy has been an incredibly solid option all season. Not giving Lacy the ball is a big mistake because you’re not going to get a balanced offense. A non-existent running game led to reliance on Tolzien’s right arm …and three interceptions. Head coach Mike McCarthy announced Monday that Scott Tolzien will start for the Packers in Week 12, and needs to use his brilliant offensive mind to find balance or risk another multi-interception game from Tolzien.

Tight end Jermichael Finley is already on the road to recovery. He underwent surgery last Thursday and is looking at a 3-4 month recovery process. Remember, Finley is a free agent after the season. This surgery likely means the end to his career with in Green Bay. Even though the spinal fusion surgery is pretty serious, I believe that Finley will be playing football again.

Green Bay will look to stay in the hunt of the NFC North and Wild Card race in Week 12 as they will host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at noon.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings saw a familiar face this weekend as they went up against a healthy Percy Harvin and the Seattle Seahawks. Ponder, Peterson, and the entire Minnesota defense didn’t show up to play, resulting in a 41-20 loss.

Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings Achilles definitely was bothering him as he was inactive before their game against the Seahawks. With Jennings out, rookie Cordarrelle Patterson and Jarius Wright started for the Vikings. Jarius Wright had a real eye-opening performance with his biggest game of the season — three catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Ponder may have found his redzone favorite.

If you watched the game, it was clear that Adrian Peterson was hitting the holes but not exploding out of them. There were many times where he had open field or one man to beat, and he couldn’t. After the game, Peterson came out and revealed that his groin was really bothering him and the reason for his in-explosiveness. It’s unclear at the moment whether he will sit in Week 12, but a groin can be a lingering issue.

Leslie Frazier wasn’t totally pleased with Christian Ponder’s performance in The Emerald City.

“He did some good things there early in that ballgame, but you’re always looking for consistent play throughout a ballgame. You can’t win in this league playing one or two quarters.”

Frazier said he would announce who will be the starting quarterback on Wednesday. My guess is that it will be between Freeman or Ponder. Whoever it is, it will really reflect who the Vikings and Frazier think can really win them games, since their week 12 matchup is pretty favorable.

The Vikings will be without their cornerback Josh Robinson for 4-6 weeks because of a fractured sternum that he suffered on Sunday. Frazier didn’t say whether he will be placed on injured reserve yet.

In addition, Vikings center Josh Sullivan suffered a concussion against the Seahawks. He will go through the NFL protocol for concussion-related issues.

Week 12 will feature another NFC North match up as the Minnesota Vikings will head to Lambeau Field to play the Green Bay Packers.

Quick hits for Bears fans

Lions – Not that the Bears can do anything about it, but Reggie Bush is pretty ineffective in terrible weather. It’s likely the Lions will have to ride on Bush and their third string running back for awhile.

Packers – Aaron Rodgers is getting antsy. With his team teetering on a playoff berth and I believe that Rodgers may come back before the doctors say so. The Bears should be on Packers injury watch at the moment.

Vikings – Jarius Wright and John Carlson should be the main study points for the Bears Week 13 game in Minnesota. They’re the Vikings main threats outside of Adrian Peterson. Speaking of which, it’s important to keep an eye on his injury because if it lingers or gets worse…he may not even play against the Bears.