Watching Green Bay versus Chicago...neither team is looking all that sharp. Rodgers threw two picks and it was only the ineptitude of the Bears on offense that gave them the victory. I think the AFC champ will destroy the Packers and that sucks because I hate both the Jets and the Steelers.

The field in Chicago may have contributed to the sloppy play.

Translation:
Based on this one game I saw today, I pick the AFC to win the Super Bowl 2 weeks from today.

I dont understand it. Green Bay has like 13 guys on IR , needed to win its last 2 regular season games to even make the playoffs & here they are going to the Super Bowl. As a Dolphin fan I am trying to figure out how that is even possible.

I think the Pack will win it all.

How many core players are on IR?

The fact that the Packers are on their way to the Super Bowl speaks more to the weakness of the NFC as a whole than to the strength of the Packers. Rodgers had a QB rating of 55.4 today. He simply was bailed out by the pathetic play of the QB's (all 3 of them) of the Bears.

RB Ryan Grant (ankle, injured reserve) 15 games missed.
S Morgan Burnett (knee, IR) 13.
LB Nick Barnett (wrist, IR) 12.
T Mark Tauscher (shoulder, IR) 12.
TE Jermichael Finley (knee, IR) 11.
LB Brad Jones (shoulder, IR) 10.
DE Cullen Jenkins (calf) 5.
FB Korey Hall (hip/back/knee) 4.
DE Ryan Pickett (ankle) 2.
LB Clay Matthews (hamstring) 1.
QB Aaron Rodgers (concussion) 1.

Here is a list of other key Packers reserves that missed games this season:
DE Mike Neal (shoulder, IR) 14.
S Derrick Martin (shoulder, IR) 14.
LB Brady Poppinga (knee, IR) 10.
LB Brandon Chillar (shoulder, IR) 8.
S Anthony Smith (ankle, IR) 6.
LB Frank Zombo (knee) 3.
CB Sam Shields (calf) 2.

I would say enough.

The Packers sure do have a good record in drafting and acquiring talent....their depth saved them this year. The Dolphins could learn something from them.

Mitch, how can Rodgers and Matthews be on IR if they played today????

Yeah...like keeping Erik Walden.

He didn't say they were on IR.

Re-read the thread. He said 13 players were on IR. I asked whiched core players were on IR and he gave me that list.

That list just shows all the injuries they have occured this season. It brakes it down in parenthesis if they were put on IR or just how many games a player might have missed. For the record while not every key guy was put on IR , 15 players were including at least some key guys with other key guys missing time.
Point is they overcame , somehow , someway the brass there managed that team to have depth.
Players stepped up especially at the end of the season when basically those last 2 games were playoff games.
Sorry for any confusion.

Mitch, a long injury list can be misleading. See the Patriots. Also you can have 20 players on IR. If your pro bowlers and core players are still playing, like Woodson, Matthews and Rodgers, you can overcome.

Pretty simple answer: Aaron Rodgers.

Legit QB cures almost all ailments.

Can you imagine how good they would be if Grant and Finley didn't get hurt?? WOW.

Don't underestimate the Packers. They are explosive on offense and that defense is top notch. It's 24-0 now ... I don't think the Jets are going to da Bowl.

Rich , thats pretty much my point. Overcoming & not using the injury thing as an excuse .... just getting on with it & stepping up - what a concept.

That was a nice touchdown pass from Sanchez to Holmes. Holmes broke his route off and went for the end zone and Sanchez threw the deep pass and hit him on the run. We need this same thing in Miami.

Is Pittsburgh really going to screw this up?

I read the thread just fine. He didn't say those players were on IR...he just indirectly answered your question.

It looks like those on IR he added that next to their names. Rodgers and Matthews just missed a few games.

I would say that the Packers success is due to the great quarterback that Aaron Rodgers has turned out to be, and a great job by Ted Thompson in accumulating talent.

Because the Eagles and Falcons were both cupcake wins too right? Rodgers may have had a subpar game for how hot he has been lately, but he made completed the passes that needed to be completed, ran in for a TD, and shoestring tackled Urlacher. So he contributed despite his 55.4 rating.

What Green Bay has though is a complete team effort, one area of their game might struggle, today being passing, but the run game was OK and the defense did a good job for the most part. Winning the game doesn't have to be just one persons job. Although with how much Henne hate there is around these parts i guess it shouldn't surprise me the QB get zoned in on during games.

I honestly was surprised I didn't see a thread on here saying "Caleb H had an awesome game, we should trade some draft picks for him!"

LOL , I was gonna start that as a joke but I felt enough was enough.

I figured someone would do it.

You know, if the Steelers end up winning this game, you have to be concerned about Aaron Rodgers eating up this defense. Jets receivers are starting to get wide open on every play.

FINesse, you know out there, somewhere, is one of our loyal posters who watched the game going "HOLY S%&^! GO GET THIS KID!"

because they have a great quarterback and we don't.
We have as much talent as these teams today. just missing that top tier QB

The Packers are a damn good team, give them credit for overcoming all those injuries. At full strength they're the most talented team in the league IMHO

Bottom line, both the Packers and Steelers deserve to be where they are right now. They are tough football teams with great quarterbacks leading them. If we could get a quarterback that is on the same level as Aaron Rodgers or Ben Roethlisberger then I think we too could have a shot to get to that next level. But that is much easier said than done. Hopefully we luck out and draft the right guy this year because I just don't see our savior being found in free agency.

Im taking the Pack..

Not because I think either team is any better than the other, they are both worthy.

I just think the Pack will pull it out

Clearly the Steelers have established themselves as THE franchise in the NFL. There are other teams who may claim to be that but their success is unsurpassed & while every team has their off the field issues , they deal with theirs in a pretty much no nonsense way willing to sacrifice wins & they seem to never have to.
Its hard to go against them in this game so I will pick them. Also with a young QB / Head Coach combination they have a few more super bowls left in them.
They just seem to be able to grind it out on the ground as well as being able to air it out as well when called for. Their defense is always stellar. While its a QB driven league opening the season at 3-1 while not having their QB should have given us some insight on what kind of team this is.
They seem to very quietly draft well & never over pay for a free agent as well.

Go Pack! only teams i hate more than pitt is NYJ, NE & BUF! actually i like Buf more than PItt!

I stated earlier that teams aren't as far apart as most people think. The difference between 11-5 and 7-9 is 4 games decided by bad calls, bad bounces of the football and just plain dumb luck. NE was the only dominant team and look where that got them.

Isn't this the 2nd AFC Championship game in a row for the Yets? They backed in last year and still looked unimpressive most of the season in 2010.

Because our offensive line is so studly...

I hope the Packers win, although I won't be upset if Pittsburg wins. You have to respect the Steelers. They know how to draft players. But if I was Pittsburg, I would be worried about Green Bay's passing game. If they had a problem with the Jets passing attack in the second half, they might be in trouble against Rodgers and the Packers.

Look , if you are not a Steeler or Packer fan its certainly time to be optimistic especially like I said earlier that the whole afc east is 0-0 now but to think we are close I think is really just wishful thinking. I know we played these teams rather close but to me its how you are playing in week 13 rather than week 3.

and Chicago's is? had the worst line in the league entering the season. While we were considered top 10.
Amazing what some coaching can do.

A turnstile inside, while Chicago kept consistency....having an All Pro center doesn't hurt either.

The Steelers are going to torch the Packers. Rodgers will be on his butt most of the night.