Direktlink zur Uni Site » This is a game that could send us in the right

(SportsNetwork.com) - Lets face it, the Atlanta Falcons are lucky to be playing meaningful football in December. But the schedule doesnt shape up as all that fortunate down the stretch. The 5-7 Falcons are now atop the dismal NFC South division in advance of their trip north to face the powerful Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football. And win or lose in Titletown, Atlanta will remain in control of its own destiny because of a perfect 4-0 record inside the division, along with a looming Week 16 matchup at the Saints, who fell back to 5-8 after Sundays setback to Carolina. If you look ahead, however, you can see things figure to get far stickier for the Falcons starting tonight. While Atlanta has to battle the Packers, who are 6-0 at home this season, New Orleans will face opponents who currently have a 12-26 mark the rest of the way. Conversely, the Falcons face three teams with playoff aspirations (The Pack, Pittsburgh and New Orleans) before finishing off with the now 4-8-1 Panthers. Both the Saints and Atlanta are attempting to avoid joining the 2010 Seattle Seahawks as being the only NFL teams to win a division with a sub-.500 record. The Falcons have won three of four overall, including a big 29-18 win over the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals in Week 13 action at the Georgia Dome. Matt Bryant connected on all five of his field-goal attempts in that one and Matt Ryan finished with a season-high 361 yards on 30-of-41 passing with scoring throws to Julio Jones and Levine Toilolo. Jones led all receivers thanks to 189 yards on 10 receptions, Harry Douglas added 116 yards on nine grabs, and Steven Jackson contributed 101 yards on 18 carries. Arizona signal caller Drew Stanton was picked off twice by the much-maligned Atlanta defense, once by Josh Wilson and another by Dwight Lowery. The Packers, meanwhile, took another step toward what would be a franchise- record fourth consecutive division title when they outlasted the New England Patriots, 26-21, in a game that could have foreshadowed Super Bowl XLIX. MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers threw for 368 yards and two touchdowns and kept two NFL-record streaks alive as he outdueled Tom Brady and the Pats. Rodgers was 24-of-38 and has now thrown 360 consecutive passes with 31 touchdowns since his last interception at home, which was over two calendar years ago. Eddie Lacy rushed 21 times for 98 yards and caught two passes for another 17, stretching his Green Bay running back record to four consecutive games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage. Davante Adams had six receptions for 121 yards and Randall Cobb made seven catches for 85 as the Packers ran their winning streak to four games since their bye week. Weve been great at home, said Rodgers. The fans have been excellent with the noise and weve got a good advantage with it. Weve just got to keep rolling. Green Bay leads its all-time series with Atlanta by a 14-12 margin, including a 22-21 win at Lambeau last season while Rodgers was out with a broken collarbone. On Monday nights the Falcons have been dismal historically, compiling a 10-26 mark. The Packers are also underwater but much better at 28-31-1. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Rodgers has thrown for 20 touchdowns without an interception at home this season. Overall, the All-Pro leads the NFL with a 118.6 passer rating and has thrown for 32 scores against just three INTs, captaining a team that scores 31.7 points per game, the best mark in the league. In his four previous career meetings against the Falcons Rodgers has always crossed the 300-yard barrier throwing the ball and has nine TDs against just one INT. Its a big challenge for us this week with Aaron Rodgers, Falcons coach Mike Smith admitted. No doubt, hes playing the best of any quarterback in the NFL right now. Hes got a number of weapons he can get it to. Hes played extremely well at home. I dont think hes thrown an interception at home this season, and I dont even want to talk about how many points theyve scored. The answer to that is 40.9 points while outscoring foes 245 to 106 at Lambeau. I dont know that theres been a quarterback thats had a stretch like hes had in the history of the NFL, Smith continued. Rodgers finished November with 1,233 yards passing with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions for an NFL-best 128.1 passer rating. And more importantly a 4-0 record. No disrespect to any quarterback in the NFL, but right now hes at a level that is much higher than anybody else, Smith said. When you look at his pure statistics, theyre phenomenal. The key to Green Bay at home has been blitzing people out of the starting blocks. The Packers have outscored their opponents by an amazing 79-0 margin in the first quarter of their last five home contests. That number expands to 151-23 at halftime and 14 of those 23 points were scored by the powerful Patriots last week. Foes have been looking up and finding the score 14-0, or in the case of the Pats 13-0, and that has enabled a flawed Packers defense to excel as teams become more one-dimensional. Despite some talent issues on the defensive side Green Bay has allowed just 17.3 ppg in its current four-game winning streak. When you watch the tape, its even more impressive, Smith said. (Rodgers has) got a great grasp of how to attack defenses. Hes extending plays. If he can extend the play and when the play gets off schedule, he can make the throws. Hes been very accurate. His quarterback rating is off the charts. You would think the only way Atlanta can beat the Packers is in a shootout and Ryan isnt too shabby himself, currently second in the NFL with 3,427 passing yards, slightly ahead of Rodgers 3,325. The veteran also has 21 TD passes versus 10 interceptions and a solid 93.7 passer rating. Jones, meanwhile, is one of the best receivers in the game as evidenced last week when he torched the highly-regarded Patrick Peterson time and time again. The Falcons could also get a boost from the potential return of Jones regular running mate, Roddy White, who sat out last week with an ankle problem. Roddy was close to playing (last week), Smith said. He worked with our athletic performance guys late in the week. We felt that it was in the best interest long term for him to not play in the game this past week. We anticipate, with the extra day, that hell be ready to go this week. OVERALL ANALYSIS Rarely is a division leader favored by double digits over another division leader but thats the story here and its hard to imagine a team with so many issues on defense like the Falcons solving Rodgers at Lambeau. We have some big goals, and were getting into December football now with a chance with everything right in front of us, A-Rod said. Expect the Packers to keep rolling here. Sports Network predicted outcome: Packers 34, Falcons 20 Wholesale Jerseys China .com) - Stanley Johnson had 18 points and No. Cheap NFL Jerseys China Authentic .com) - The Winnipeg Jets placed defenceman Paul Postma on injured reserve Tuesday. http://www.wholesalenfljerseysforcheapauthentic.com/. This weeks topics include his take on the Kevin Pillar incident, All-Star snubs, the firing of Padres general manager Josh Byrnes and more. Cheap Jerseys Authentic . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN Canadiens at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The game can also be heard on TSN Radio Montreal 690. The Calgary Flames will see if they can take their recent hot streak on the road when they shoot for a sixth consecutive win Monday night in Montreal. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale .m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE — Colts by 5RECORD VS. SPREAD — Cincinnati 8-8, Indianapolis 11-5SERIES RECORD — Colts lead 18-10LAST MEETING — Colts beat Bengals 27-0, Oct.MONTREAL - If its not a must-win game, the Montreal Impacts home opener is certainly one they would very much like to win. After opening the Major League Soccer season with two tight losses on the road, the Impact will play host to the Seattle Sounders before more than 25,000 at Olympic Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It will be a first home game for new coach Frank Klopas, the first time Brossard, Que., native Patrice Bernier will play at home as team captain, and the last that star striker Marco Di Vaio will sit out from the three-game suspension he got for wading into a skirmish in the playoffs last October. "Its the third game of the season, but we need to start getting some points," former Chicago Fire boss Klopas said this week. "Its good to be home. "We definitely felt that we should have picked up some points on the road, but thats the game." The Impact opened the season March 8 with a 3-2 loss in Dallas marked by a harsh penalty awarded to the home team. They followed a week later with a 1-0 defeat in Houston. There was a feeling the team played better in the second game — that the defence was sharper, that better chances were created and that Di Vaios replacement Andrew Wenger looked more comfortable up front. "We have some momentum even if were 0-2," said Bernier, who replaced the departed Davy Arnaud as captain. "Its not like we played bad and got cleaned out. "We felt we progressed last game from the first game and now were coming home. We have to defend our home and weve been very good at home the last two years. This is a game that could send us in the right direction and give us a positive boost." They are up against a Seattle side (1-1-0) with a formidable attack, but which is coming off a 2-1 loss at home to Toronto FC on former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoes pair of first-half goals. The Sounders, old foes of the Impact from their A-League and United Soccer League days, have not beaten Montreal in MLS play. The Impact won 4-1 in Montreal in 2012 and opened the 2013 campaign with a 1-0 win in Seattle. But Seattle has been among the better away sides in MLS, with a 29-28-24 road record since they entered the league in 2009.dddddddddddd Di Vaio and midfielder Andres Romero, both with three game suspensions, wont see action until a March 29 game in Philadelphia. In Di Vaios absence, winger Justin Mapp and attacking midfielder Felipe Martins have led the offence. The veteran Mapp was among their best players last season, but Felipe looks to have rebounded from a mediocre campaign and is looking more like the energetic playmaker he was as a rookie in 2012. He has yet to score, but leads the team with eight shots. "I had a few chances," he said. "But the hardest thing is to create chances and were doing that. "The only thing is we have to put it in the net, but that is going to come. Its not after one or two games you have to figure out whats going on. Its just soccer, no? One time a goal goes in and after that it comes natural." Klopas likes what hes seen of the Brazilian. "He missed the beginning of the season with injury last year and that was one reason his fitness level and sharpness werent the same," the coach said. "Hes a guy that sometimes doesnt get the points, but he helps the team in so many ways without the ball, with his work rate and stuff like that. "Ive been very pleased with him and I know he has a lot more room to grow." Bernier, coming off knee surgery, missed the season opener but got in 72 minutes in Houston. The team is still waiting for Bernier, Felipe and designated player Hernan Bernardello to all be at peak form to see what the centre of their midfield can do. Bernardello was injured shortly after signing last summer. The Impact are to play their first three home games at the Big O before moving outdoors to Saputo Stadium. Klopas coached Chicago against the Impact in Montreals first MLS game at Olympic Stadium in 2012, a 1-1 draw. "Its amazing that two years ago I was on the opposite side in the first game here, with a tremendous atmosphere," he said. "I hope its the same, only now theyre cheering for me and our team." ' ' '