NFL: Green Bay Packers-St. Louis Rams Preview

Aaron Rodgers has spent much of the regular season running for his life. In the two games so far, the left defensive end—the primary responsibility of right tackle Allen Barbre—has recorded seven sacks (three by other linemen).

Overall, the team has yielded ten—three fewer than the entire 2007 season when the Packers went to the NFC Championship Game.

Things could get worse before they get better: Chad Clifton, the offensive line's only solid starter, is out with an ankle injury. Fortunately for the Packers, they face one of the few teams that may not be able to take advantage of this weakness—St. Louis only have one sack in two games, tied for second-worst in the league.

This has been a source of anguish for the many people who picked the Packers to go deep into the playoffs, including a significant number of national pundits (Mike Ditka, Howie Long, and Michael Strahan to name a few) picking them to make the Super Bowl. It is making even those of us picking them to win the division look shaky, and has been a source of pride for Vikings fans.

Ted Thompson must get help for this offensive line (and soon) or he should be fired. This is too promising a season and the Packers have too much salary cap room because of this penny-pincher to let it go awry while risking the safety of the franchise quarterback.

But enough of my soapbox—let's look at this week's game according to the matchups:

Packers' passing attack vs. Rams' pass defense: big advantage, Packers

The one weakness the Packers have cannot be exploited by the Rams. Because of the ten allowed sacks, the Packers have gained just 376 yards in the air so far. However, the Rams have yielded 516 despite playing a poor passing team last week in Washington and being blown out against Seattle (i.e. a team looking to grind out clock).

We know that Green Bay have a good passing game from its top-ten finish last year. They have too good a quarterback and too deep receiving corps not to take advantage when Rodgers actually has time against this anemic pass rush.

Packers' rushing attack vs. Rams' rushing defense: slight advantage, Packers

Green Bay have gained just 164 yards on the ground, and that is not because they have had to scrap the running game early. However, the Rams have given up 292 yards, and while those numbers are inflated because of playing from behind, they gave up almost five yards per carry against a very mediocre Seattle running game when they knew what was coming.

Rams' passing attack vs. Packers' pass defense: advantage, Packers

The Rams have gained just 289 yards through the air despite playing from behind. However, it should be noted they faced an above average and very good defense, and we know they have a good quarterback.

Green Bay, meanwhile, have allowed a mediocre 434 yards through the air against a poor and pretty good attack. This has been disappointing considering they fielded three Pro Bowlers in the secondary, but they are still forcing turnovers—six interceptions through two games.

Rams' rushing attack vs. Packers' rush defense: too close to call

This sort of depends on which Packers defense shows up—the one that held second-year standout Matt Forte to 55 yards on 25 carries, or the one that allowed Bears castoff Cedric Benson to run through arm tackles. In all, they have allowed 237 rushing yards.

The Rams have not run the ball much because they have been playing from behind, and have not run it especially well when they did. In two games, they have just 203 yards on the ground, but they do have Stephen Jackson, who is still a formidable weapon in the backfield.

Special Teams: slight advantage, Rams

Neither kicker has been that impressive, with Mason Crosby missing two kicks (one in the 40-49 yard range, the other in the 50-plus) and Josh Brown missing his only kick (in the 20-29 yard range). However, that is too small a sample for Brown and both long misses for Crosby.

The Rams have a definite edge in punting, with a better punter and better coverage units, as well as a slightly better return game. The Packers have an edge in kicking, with better coverage and a significantly better return game.

Injuries/intangibles: advantage, Rams

St. Louis face no pressure as nothing is expected of them, although they do not need it as badly as the Packers, either. Green Bay's season is hanging by a thread despite the calendar saying September.

With the big matchup next week in Minnesota against their chief rival and traitor, the team needs this one badly. They also could get caught looking ahead, although the loss to the Bengals lessens the likelihood of that.

The Rams only have rookie tackle Jason Smith that is likely to miss the game. Meanwhile, the Packers will be without Atari Bigby and starting new safety Derrick Martin, plus Pro Bowl safety Nick Collins will be playing through a chest injury. The aforementioned Clifton injury is not the only one on offense, either—backup running back Brandon Jackson is out, as well.

The Packers are out-performing the Rams in third-down conversions on both sides of the ball, time of possession, and have a whopping plus-14.5 edge in points scored by/against. Both teams are virtually equal in penalties, with the Packers having 17 for 121 yards and the Rams 16 for 130.

Prediction: 31-20 Packers