Packers more optimistic about injured LT David Bakhtiari

The routine likely will be the same this Sunday at FedEx Field in the hours before the NFC wild-card playoff game against Washington.

Beginning with the knee injury Jordy Nelson suffered in preseason that cost the Packers’ top wide receiver his entire year, through a successful period of relative health early on and then attrition along the offensive and defensive lines late in the slipping campaign, the team constantly has been battling a multitude of bumps and bruises – or, as they’re known in Green Bay, hamstring strains and ankle sprains.

The Cardinals will face off with the highest seed remaining after the Wild Card round.

I for one did not think the Redskins would make the playoffs but here they are and they are certainly not without a chance of defeating Green Bay. Consider the strengths against strengths.

Washington has won four straight games. That’s a long stretch of division dominance and for it to come to an end now has to be a crushing blow for the Packers.

CB Sam Shields (concussion) remains in the league-mandated protocol and didn’t practice Wednesday.

The discussion about the offense with Dougherty stemmed from separate interviews with Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy about the perception that there is more tension between the coach and quarterback this season.

Rodgers needs to play with urgency for 60 minutes, keep a rapid tempo and hope the O-line holds up. That Packer team believes in Rodgers but does Rodgers believe enough to heap that team on his back and carry them by any means necessary? Williams has surrendered only one sack all year, and on Sunday, he’ll receive one of his toughest assignments of the season in Peppers, who leads Green Bay with 10.5 sacks.

Ever the believer, I had supreme confidence Green Bay would handily defeat the Minnesota Vikings Sunday night and claim its fifth straight NFC North title. That’s still a pretty impressive run given how very bad some National Football League teams are, but could the Packers get a little impatient?

Micah Hyde’s one-handed, backhanded interception could have changed last week’s game. Going into the game with low expectations can allow Washington to play loose, a unsafe intangible for the Packers.

Finally, experience might be the key. The numbers are the same for McCarthy and his counterpart, Jay Gruden. A team can not win a Super Bowl if their quarterback is running for his life. The Packers are already going to be concerned with Cousins’ pass attack – he should be able to move the ball over the field – but if Washington can mix things up in the run game, it makes them all the more deadly.

This was on display against Kansas City in week three, when he caught seven passes for 91 yards and scored three touchdowns.

The Packers were on the brink of a Super Bowl berth last season before a fourth quarter collapse to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship ended their season. “So, I think they understand how to play well off each other”.

Ultimately, I feel that the rough second half is mainly due to two things: the Packers’ receiving corps struggles to separate from opposing defensive backs, and the coaches have not figured out how to adjust to that.