NFL Predictions 2011: 5 Things Green Bay Must Do to Beat New Orleans

The Green Bay Packers enter the 2011 season as defending Super Bowl Champions and look to continue their success in their pursuit of another championship.

The Packers finished 3-1 in the preseason and are now set to take on New Orleans on Thursday night.

There are some areas of concern that this team still needs to address, and in time they will, but any weaknesses exposed in summer camp are sure to exploited by the Saints.

Here are five key points that the Packers must ensure happen in order to beat the New Orleans Saints.

1. Protect Aaron Rodgers

If the Packers are going to play at the pace they want to play and avoid having the game dictated by the Saints' defense, then the Packers offensive line must provide adequate protection for Aaron Rodgers.

This preseason, the Packers had allowed Rodgers to be sacked 16 times.  Despite Rodger's ability to make quick throws and his mobility to move in the pocket, the Packers must ensure he has enough time to throw and allow receivers to finish routes.

If the Packers are being forced to rush, then look for some shotgun formations and perhaps a hurry up offense to be used to throw the timing of the Saints off.

Chad Clifton is listed as probable with a knee issue, and players such as T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton must play solid.

2.  Ryan Grant and James Starks Must Make an Impression

Another responsibility of the offensive line is to create adequate lanes for the backs to run through. 

With the Packers only averaging 82 yards a game in the preseason, both running backs must be able to penetrate and average at least four to six yards per carry.  If the Saints defense wins this battle there will be too much reliance on Rodgers to make something happen.

If the backs can't find a way on the ground, the Packers must make due by screening or rushing to the corners, namely against Saints' Left End Turk McBride.

This area of the field is also where the weaker linebacker Will Herring will be posted and should be an area where the Saints are most vulnerable.

3.  Jermichael Finley Needs to Be the "X-factor"

Coming off of an impressive camp and coming back from his season ending injury, Finley will be the most vital asset to Rodgers as he will provide an over the middle receiver.

He is a good matchup against the middle linebacker, Jonathan Vilma, and strong safety Roman Harper should be cheating toward helping the corners against the Packer's receivers.

If the Packers utilize play action passing with Finley, he is in for a huge game.  That is only possible if the Packers can sell the run, which is another reason why Grant and Starks must make a statement early.

4.  Third Down Conversions

The Packers must find a way to keep themselves in a third and short situation as they have seen issues in the preseason with longer downs.

The blitz will be fast and furious against the Packers which is another reason for the need to avoid long down situations.

If the Packers can keep the third downs under six yards, they have several options to use to convert.  Slant patterns, screen passes, and out routes are all possible out of these situations.

The Packers were only 12/47 in these situations in the preseason and they cannot afford to mismanage these scenarios.

5.  Linebackers Must Bail out the Defensive Line.

With only B.J. Raji as the Packers' main pass rushing and run stopping threat, the Saints will look to mix up running plays often.  Look for them to run to the corners and attempt a lot of misdirections to the Packers line.  The Saints should be leaning toward Mike Neal and Eric Walden's side, to avoid Hawk and Matthews.

Clay Matthews and A.J. Hawk will be busy all game long as they are the primary defensive force in this 3-4 look.  The concern here is the ability of the Saints play action that will create pockets against the drawn in linebackers.

The defensive line must get penetration and avoid letting Drew Brees have too much time to throw.  The Saints will then be able to pick on the strong safety, Morgan Burnett who will have to play mistake free.

If the Linebackers do not come up big in this game, it can be a long day for the defense.

If the Packers defense stutters here, the Saints will win this game.

This game offers a great test right out of the gate for the Packers, as it will show them exactly what this team is made of. 

If the Packers can hit these key five points and have success, they should win this game.  If Green Bay cannot control the flow look for a Saints win, but not by much.