The Pack-Riots: Green Bay, New England Are Strikingly Similar

For me, Super Bowl XLVI is obvious. The Green Bay Packers will go 15-1 and dominate the NFC Championship whilst the New England Patriots will get revenge for last year’s loss to the Jets and come out of it with the AFC Championship.

And heading into Week 9, it's not looking like a bad prediction. Both teams have an explosive offense behind an incredible QB and both are putting up incredible numbers.

Both teams.

I don't know if you've noticed it, but the Packers and the Patriots are putting up incredibly similar numbers this season so far.

The Patriots have been the benchmark for NFL teams over the past few seasons, but suddenly, inspired by last year's win, the Pack are sitting right alongside them on that same old bench and are starting to look strikingly similar to the Patriots we've come to know and (mostly) hate.

And because they're so alike, the 2012 Super Bowl promises to be a close and exciting showdown.

Not sure what I mean? Here are five stats to show that the 'Packriots' is not something I just made up in the shower.

1. Both have superhuman quarterbacks.

It may seem like an obvious place to start, but both the Pack and the Patriots are led by inspired quarterbacks. Both are putting up 330+ yards a game, and 9+ yards a play.

Along with the throwing machine Brees, Brady and Rodgers sit in the top three for TD's, yards/game, yards/play, completions, 20+ yard completions and 40+ yard completions. Oh, and they're 1 and 2 in QB rating for the season.

2. Both have an incredible aerial game.

For Green Bay, it's a plethora of receiving options. Jennings, Nelson, Finley, Jones - the number of receivers Rodgers has is longer than my grandmother's MASH collection. The Pack have a league-high 4 receivers in the top 50, and Rodgers is currently going for 338.9 yards a game.

In the blue corner though, Brady is putting up 350+ yards/game and he can't help but going to his favorite little man Welker who's 2nd in the league with 130+ yards/game himself.

Not to be outdone, Brady has also shown his proficiency this year in hitting the TE Gronkowski (23rd in league) and 30th-ranked Branch. The fact of the matter is that both Green Bay and New England are putting up incredible passing numbers.

3. Both don't have a running game.

Call me a hater, but Green-Ellis and Starks are not quality runners of the football. I know the Patriots are in the top 10 in the league for rushing (124.0 yards/game) but look a little deeper and you'll see how superficial this statistic truly is.

Green-Ellis' longest run was... 18 yards. And I'm not typing wrong:18 yards. Nothing above 20 yards, let alone anything above 40 yards. Off a solid O-line, the Patriots have no running game. Lo and behold, neither do Green Bay, with Starks sitting in the bottom 10 of the league with just over 50 yards a game. Or maybe it's his sole TD that does it; I'm not sure.

4. Both have defensive coordinators who should take a pay cut.

Whilst the Packers and Patriots are roughly only going for a league-average 21 points a game, it's the yards that simply scare me. Passing yards conceded? Last and second last. Yup. Last and second last.

Teams are simply tearing it up when it comes to these two (or one?) teams. 20+ yard throws? Packers have given up 31, to the Patriots 37. League high numbers that demonstrate neither side is putting enough pressure on teams through their secondaries.

5. Both will play all day and if you can’t match it with them for 60 minutes, you’re finished.

Both Brady and Rodgers have this innate ability to win. If they’re behind, they’ll run you down. If they’re in front, you’ll never catch them. And it’s here that I think all the other factors are combined into this same ability to win.

For the Pack, they’ll get the ball back off you (+7 in takeaway/giveaway for the season) and for Brady, well, he’ll just do what he always does and make big plays (league-high 54 percent third-down conversion).

Of course they’re going to be represented in different ways and the two teams do play differently at times. I just wonder if the Packers are modelling themselves on the Patriots and are currently on the edge of being a very good team for a very long time.