Sportsheadliners is betting its ownership in a Wisconsin dairy farm (wink, wink) on the Vikings defeating the Packers in Green Bay tonight. Although national odds makers favor the Pack by a few points, Sports Headliners believes the Vikings’ souped up defense will be too much for Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay quarterback making his first ever NFL start.
The pass rush, led by defensive end Jared Allen, will bring pressure on Rodgers when he tries to throw. That pressure from Allen, the defending NFL sack leader, and linemates Ray Edwards (he wants to break the NFL record for sacks in a season), Pat Williams and Kevin Williams is a physical force likely to hurry throws by Rodgers, or put him down on the sacred Lambeau Field turf.
There’s another kind of pressure Rodgers, the 24-year-old fourth year quarterback, will have to confront head-on, too. He’s spent the summer and will continue into the fall facing a whirlwind of emotions replacing Packer legend Brett Favre at quarterback. If there was a national vote to name the NFL player under the most pressure, Rodgers wins in a landslide.
For a season opening game, tonight in Lambeau couldn’t be any bigger unless Favre were playing quarterback for the Vikings. But fuh-get-it. This is the NFL, not Hollywood. You have to settle for this scene: opening game, Rodgers’ debut, traditional rivals (Packers lead 48-45-1 including playoffs), the two favored teams to win the NFC North, and Monday Night Football with its national TV audience.
Whew! Somebody pray for Rodgers. There likely are such prayers being said in Dairyland and not just for Rodgers. The Packers reportedly have more injured players than the Vikings and how that plays out remains to be seen.
That’s another reason to bet the dairy farm on the Purple who likely will produce just enough points behind a patched up offensive line (see Bryant McKinney four-game suspension) and Adrian Peterson’s extraordinary running to win the game.