Green Bay at Seattle (Nov. 27, 2006)
Seattle's Qwest Field is known as one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL, but the Packers won't be caught off-guard by that on Sunday.
Green Bay traveled to Seattle for a Monday night contest in 2006, and most of the current team got a taste then of how noisy Qwest can be.
Receiver Greg Jennings, then a rookie, recalled talking with quarterback Brett Favre during pre-game warm-ups about the decibel level the Packers were about to encounter, and it was noticeable before the opening kickoff.
"I was like, 'If it's this loud in pre-game, I can only imagine what the actual game will be like,'" Jennings said. "They definitely give their team a boost. For them it's very exciting. For us we have to mentally be sound and be prepared for that noise.
"We have the speakers outside (during practice), but you can't really imitate that. It's something you just have to be alert for, everybody has to be prepared and be poised."
The Packers handled the noise OK back in 2006, but they certainly can do better. The offense was called for four pre-snap penalties - two false starts, one false start on a point-after attempt, and one illegal shift - in the 34-24 loss.
The Seahawks' fans likely will seize on any shift in momentum to keep their squad fired up. Last week, Seattle was blown out by the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, 44-6, and at 1-3 the Seahawks will be as desperate for a win as the Packers are at 2-3.
"You can't look too much at last week," quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. "They struggled, went on the road, played a team that's very hot right now, and they gave up a lot of explosive plays.
"I think they're really a different team at home, with the 12th man, their crowd."
Eye-opener
As much as the Packers can't look at last week's blowout in the Meadowlands as a gauge of the current Seattle team, they also can't put too much stock in last year's NFC Divisional playoff, won 42-20 in arguably Green Bay's most dominant performance of the season.
But the team has learned something from watching the film of that meeting last January at Lambeau Field. Namely, that there was a level of intensity the team had in that game that the players feel they have yet to reach this season, and they need to strive for it this week.
Defensive tackle Ryan Pickett said that's definitely the goal for the defense, which hasn't been happy with the way the last three opponents have posted gaudy rushing numbers against them.
"Studying film from Seattle from last year, a lot of players caught it, ... the energy was just on a whole 'nother level. There were guys running to the ball more, and our energy overcame our mistakes, stuff like that, and we don't have that now.
"It was like night and day watching our defense last year and watching it this year. It all comes from the energy and the passion that we played with."
That energy in the playoffs helped produce six straight possessions for touchdowns by the Green Bay offense, while the defense held Seattle to just two field goals over eight drives. It admittedly is almost unrealistic to try to match the emotions of a playoff game during a contest in the regular season, but if the effort is made the effect should be real.
"It starts with attitude, and watching our attitude and emotions through the game, we don't have enough of it," Pickett said. "We have to get back to our roots, how we got to where we were at, get the hunger, whatever it is, back. There's something we have to do, because it's a long season, and the good thing about the NFL is you have 16 games to do it. We still have time to turn this thing around."
Getting healthier
The Packers' injury report remains lengthy, but a handful of players are getting healthier this week.
Cornerback Charles Woodson, who hasn't practiced since breaking a toe in Week 1, participated in the jog-through portion of practice on Thursday and was officially listed as limited on the injury report.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy said Woodson's toe has improved to the point where he doesn't have to wear a walking boot during the week anymore.
"It just wasn't in his best interest in prior weeks for him to be standing that long with the boot on his foot," McCarthy said.
In addition, safety Aaron Rouse (knee), running back Kregg Lumpkin (hamstring) and fullback Korey Hall (knee) all went from limited participation on Wednesday to full participation on Thursday.
{sportsad300}Hall, who hasn't played since injuring his knee at Detroit in Week 2, said he's been out so long he's had to focus on fundamentals as he gets back into practice. But he and McCarthy expect him to be active for the game on Sunday, even if it's primarily for special teams.
"It's tough to lose football games and it's even tougher to be on the sidelines watching and not being able to help your team out," Hall said. "Hopefully this week I'll be able to get back, it's a matter of just how I finish up the week if I'm able to feel well before the game."
Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila was also a full participant in practice after being limited due to an illness on Wednesday.
The rest of the injury report remained the same, with cornerback Al Harris (spleen) out, safety Atari Bigby (hamstring), defensive ends Jason Hunter (hamstring) and Michael Montgomery (ankle) and receiver James Jones (knee) not participating, and tackle Chad Clifton (knees), linebacker A.J. Hawk (groin), Rodgers (shoulder) and Pickett (knee) practicing on a limited basis.
McCarthy said Jones' knee keeps flaring up on him when it encounters contact, so he's being held out for now. Rodgers did not throw for the second straight practice and will be re-evaluated on Friday morning to see how much he might be able to throw during Friday's final practice of the week.
Protected time
Part of the NFL's flexible scheduling procedure during the latter part of the season is that the Sunday afternoon networks - FOX and CBS - get to protect certain games on their broadcast schedules and prevent them from being shifted to prime time.
FOX has exercised that protection right for the Packers-Bears game on Nov. 16 at Lambeau Field, so that game will kick off at noon CT.
