***SWAMPY DIVISIONAL ROUND 2 - GB @ ZONA***

***GREEN BAY PACKERS @ ARIZONA CARDINALS***

Round 2 of Divisional weekend we will watch as a rejuvinated Green Bay Packers team heads into Arizona where the Cards put a BEATDOWN on the cheese in week 17. The Pack will be looking to avenge their embarassing loss with hopes of pulling out an upset here after getting their swagger back during the second half of last week's wildcard game in Washington. While Aaron Rodgers was looking more like his old self and the Packer run game was in full effect against a stout Washigton defense, Arizona is a COMPLETELY different animal. I feel as though the Cardinals already have the mental edge in this one because of that very beatdown they put on the Pack not long ago, and that Green Bay knows deep down, they are outmatched here. The Packer defense really stepped up last week as top veterans like Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers do in the playoffs by elevating their game and making plays that change the game and spark the momentum for their offense. However there is just too much firepower in the Arizona arsenal for the Pack to handle. Zona QB Carson Palmer has a plethora of weapons at WR and is playing the best football of his career this season. I expect future HOF WR Larry Fitzgerald to show up in a big way today, serving as Caron's top target and also for his bookend, beast WR Michael Floyd to take over and do as he pleases. That being said, the Cheese will be focused primarily on the Cardinals high octane passing game, as they should be....but that leaves the door open for who I think will be the X Factor in this game, and that is Arizona rookie RB David Johnson. I think Johnson will have a big night and force the Pack to start paying attention to the run which will in turn open up the passing game more for Palmer and again, be entirely too much for the Green Bay defense to handle. On the other side of things, the Cards defense has been lights out this year, especially at home. Losing DB Tyrann Mathieu for the season is a HUGE hit to this secondary. This kid was really doing some major things in this secondary this season and really made them into the "No Fly Zone" as they like to be called. However, Arizona still has enough talent to help make up for the loss of Mathieu, and they're also are one of the top blitzing defenses in the league which always helps make a secondary look good. As we saw the last time around, Rodgers really struggled against their blitz and had trouble getting anything going. The loss of Jordy Nelson has really thrown Rodgers off this year and he has seemed to really have been a lack of chemistry between Rodgers and his guys. I feel like he doesn't trust them to get open when scrambling and gets extremely frustrated with this. He clearly doesn't like to get hit as most QBs don't, and once he does, like most QBs I think he gets thrown off his game and the pressure on the WRs to perform increases at a rapid rate. James Jones has been Rodgers' most reliable target this year but has seemed to of slowed down late this season probably due to his age. DeVante Adams finally made some plays last weekend but is now ruled out for tonight's game, leaving Rodgers back with limited options. Randall Cobb will have to have a HUGE game and with CB Patrick Peterson most likely following him wherever he goes, I doubt it happens. I know one should never look at previous games when trying to cap the current one, but I think this one stays close during the first half, and then Arizona will pull away late in the second and step on the throat by controlling the game with a nice mixup of the run and passing game. Bottom line is I love Arizona HC Bruce Arians and believe that next to Belichik, is the best in the game. The dude is destined to do great things and may be this is his year! CARDINALS-7