Matty Baiungo

Packers (+3½) over @Vikings

This game will be discussed ad nauseum all week because it's Brent Favre facing the Packers for the first time since he was traded. So let's just get this little Favre snippet out of the way first. When Packers general manager Ted Thompson wouldn't grant Favre his release and instead traded Favre, he was adamant about not trading Favre within the division. So when Thompson made the deal with the Jets, he included a "poison pill" provision that would have forced the Jets to give up three firstround draft choices if they traded Favre to any other NFC North team. After his release from the Jets, Favre was free
and signed with the Vikings two weeks into camp. Now the Packers have to deal with the "poison pill" coming back to haunt them. And we're sure Favre will use this to fuel his fire even more. But we like what Packers head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters when asked about Favre and the "poison pill": "Keep it about the football game." Green Bay's defense was dreadful a season ago, and as a result, five coaches were fired. Dom Capers is now the new defensive coordinator and his 3-4 scheme has made a difference so far. After three games, the Packers are allowing less than 4 yards per rush compared to last year's 4.67 yards per rush average. They will get the acid test this week facing Adrian Peterson who gashed them for 192 and 103 yards in the two meetings a season ago. We'll learn if Capers' improvement is for real, or if it's just a result of the opponents they've faced. Coming into the season, Green Bay's offense was the least of their worries. But after three games, the offense hasn't been good at all. A lot of that has to do with their shuffled offensive line, but Chad Clifton is expected back this week which will get things going. And with this game being played a day later on Monday night, it makes Clifton's return more likely according to fellow lineman Daryn Colledge: "This is an important game to him and an important game to our season. I think he knows that and I would expect Chad to be back." Minnesota's offense looks like the real deal thus far. They finally have complimentary pieces to go with Adrian Peterson, and rookie Percy Harvin has proven to be a game changer with a touchdown in all three games. But there's something to be aware of. In all three of their games, the Vikings were trailing at the half. They've needed to make comebacks, and they've exploded in the second half out-scoring their opponents by a 58-20 margin. They can't expect to do that every week, especially here against a Packers defense that is tied for the league lead with 9 takeaways. Plus Green Bay's offense has way too many weapons to keep down, and we expect to see significant improvement from them here. Under Mike McCarthy, the Packers are a solid 12-6 against the spread as a road underdog. His Packers are also perfect at Minnesota going 3-0 to the number with 2 wins and a 1- point loss. This divisional game is close throughout with the dog winning it late.

Packers by 3