Packers at Rams: One Extreme to the Other

To get you ready for Week 15, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Green Bay Packers/St. Louis Rams preview.

2007 Records:

Green Bay Packers: 11-2 (1st in NFC North)
St. Louis Rams: 3-10 (4th in NFC West)

Last Week:

Packers 38, Raiders 7
Bengals 19, Rams 10

Why We Care: The Packers are playing for a first round bye and potentially home field through the playoffs. The Rams are an afterthought, but this is where young teams falter. The Packers need to stay disciplined, but with two divisional contests to close out the season and thoughts of the playoffs ahead, the Rams might surprise them. Not necessarily that the Rams will win, or even that they'll make it a close game, logic would dictate that the possibility of that is slim, but ... this is the type of game where logic does not always apply. They call 'em "trap" games for a reason.

When the Packers have the ball: The Packers have passed 490 times this season, with 306 runs. But with Ryan Grant's emergence, that ratio is evening out. The Rams can be attacked with both methods, but they're surprisingly stout against big pass plays, which the Packers specialize in with those speedy young receivers. Luckily Grant has proven that he can run, and this Rams defense doesn't offer much of a challenge in that regard.

When the Rams have the ball: It looks like Marc Bulger's gonna be back for the Rams this weekend, which will be helpful against one of the most difficult defenses in the league. Bulger hasn't had a terrific season, but he's still the Rams' best chance at victory and one of those guys who can be efficient enough until Favre gets into risk-taking mode and makes a couple of mistakes.

It'll be helpful if Aaron Kampman, questionable, misses the game. Kampman's 11 sacks lead the team and are tied for eighth in the league, just two-and-a-half short of the leader. And the Rams haven't really done much in the way of quarterback protection this season, so Kampman's absence would allow the Rams to focus more than one guy on Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.

The Edge: If the Packers are going to lose another game this season, it's going to be this one. The Rams are just talented enough to surprise a young team not entirely focused, without being so talented that teams necessarily feel like they have to focus 100% on them. The Packers are young and inexperienced in situations like this, but maybe Brett Favre can keep their eyes on the prize.