Minnesota Vikings (6-1) at Green Bay Packers (4-2) :WagerWeb Entertainment

Minnesota Vikings (6-1) at Green Bay Packers (4-2)

31 October 2009 137 views No Comment

How quickly fans can turn on you. Brett Favre never wanted to leave Green Bay, but GM Ted Thompson didn’t want him back in the 2008 offseason. Of course you know by now that Favre played last season for the Jets but really wanted to play for the Vikings because they ran a similar system that he knew in Green Bay and because he could stick it to the Packers.

The future Hall of Famer did stick it to the Pack in Week 4, a 30-23 Viking win. In that one, No. 4 had probably his best game of the year, completing 24 of 31 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns. But the circus surrounding that game in Minnesota was nothing with what has been going on in Green Bay this week (mock funerals, which is pictured, burning in effigy, renaming streets, that sort of thing). And the Pack are 3-point betting favorites on WagerWeb.com this time around.

Frankly, the difference in this game might not be Favre but the Green Bay offensive line. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has been very good this year when upright. And he was good in that earlier loss to Minnesota when Jared Allen wasn’t on top of him. All Allen did in that first meeting was rack up 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a safety.

Rodgers recorded a 155.3 rating last weekend (246 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT) against the Browns — his fourth straight game with a 100+ rating and the highest of any Green Bay quarterback in a single game since 1970. Rodgers now has a 110.8 passer rating in 2009 — best in the NFC and second-best in football behind Peyton Manning.

Green Bay’s defense has been excellent since that loss in Minnesota. The Packers have allowed just 288 total yards and three points in winning two games since. After defeating Detroit 26-0 on Oct. 18, Green Bay – which ranks third in total defense (284.8 yards per game) and fifth in scoring defense (16.0 points per game) – outgained Cleveland 460-139 in a 31-3 win last Sunday. But those two teams aren’t exactly NFL powerhouses.

Minnesota hasn’t won in Green Bay since 2005 and is 1-4 ATS in the past five meetings overall.

By the way, Fox will have a camera solely focused on Favre the entire game Sunday and will stream it live on NFL.com and FoxSports.com.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS at GREEN BAY PACKERS — VIKINGS: OUT: CB Antoine Winfield (foot). QUESTIONABLE: WR Bernard Berrian (hamstring), LB Jasper Brinkley (hamstring), WR Percy Harvin (illness), RB Naufahu Tahi (knee). PROBABLE: QB Brett Favre (hip), LB E.J. Henderson (knee), LB Ben Leber (calf), CB Karl Paymah (quadricep), WR Darius Reynaud (hamstring). PACKERS: OUT: RB Korey Hall (calf), WR Jordy Nelson (knee). DOUBTFUL: TE Jermichael Finley (knee), C Jason Spitz (back). QUESTIONABLE: T Chad Clifton (ankle), S Derrick Martin (hamstring), DE Jarius Wynn (hamstring). PROBABLE: LB Clay Matthews (jaw), QB Aaron Rodgers (foot), G Josh Sitton (hand), T Mark Tauscher (knee), CB Charles Woodson (hip).