Keys to the Game: Packers at Seahawks

Packers Balancing Act With an entire offseason to game-plan for each other, the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks will no doubt have a few surprises for each other Thursday night. The Packers have the added obstacle of playing on the road. The team is more balanced this year than it has been in many years with a proven running back in Eddie Lacy. The Packers will need to assert that balance early and often against the No. 1 defense from a year ago. A balanced attack will keep the Seahawks’ defense honest and has the best chance of finding the end zone. Tale of Turnovers One of the secrets to the Seahawks’ Super Bowl run last season was its league-leading, plus-20 turnover differential. Part of that equation was that Seattle didn’t turn the ball over. The other part was that the Seahawks had 28 interceptions last year, the most in the league. If the Packers are going to get out of Seattle with a win, they’ll likely need to flip this script. Aaron Rodgers needs to be careful with the football, and the Packers’ defense must find a way to get Seattle to turn the ball over. The team that wins the turnover battle usually wins the game in the NFL. That goes double in a game between two Super Bowl contenders. Seahawks Special Edge Seattle coach Pete Carroll takes special teams seriously. Serious enough that he’ll risk playing starting players on special teams. Carroll announced this week that All-Pro safety Earl Thomas, who tried out on punt returns in the preseason, will be a punt returner this season. Receiver Percy Harvin might do kick returns. That may be a big edge for the Seahawks against a Packers team that has often been shaky on special teams. Big, close games, as Thursday’s game is likely to be, have often turned on muffed punts and big returns. And if the game is close at the end, special teams and kickers will decide it. No Flag Waving The Seahawks had 128 penalties last season. That led the league. Seattle’s physical defense was willing to harass receivers, even if it consistently drew flags from the guys in stripes. In the preseason, the NFL focused on defensive holding and pass interference. Many assumed that focus was to get Seattle to play a different kind of defense. The Seahawks can’t afford to take too many penalties against a dangerous Packers offense. In the preseason, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas all played without drawing any flags. That will have to continue Thursday if they want to win. Extra Points Must-see Matchup Aaron Rodgers vs. Richard Sherman Richard Sherman is the best cover corner in the league. Just ask him. Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in league. Rodgers will have to beat Sherman and the Seahawks’ secondary to have success Thursday. There’s no room for error or misfires. It’ll be a test for Sherman, too. If either of these players has any success beating the other, it could be decisive in the game. It is two of the league’s best going at it. Hot Seat Corey Linsley Packers rookie center Corey Linsley will make his first NFL start in the most hostile venue in the NFL, against the defending world champions with serious playoff implications on the line. Welcome to the NFL, kid. The rookie spent most of the preseason thinking he would back up JC Tretter, who locked up the starting job almost immediately. That changed when Tretter injured his knee in the third preseason game. Enter Linsley, who played center at Ohio State and has looked good throughout training camp. Passing Thursday’s test will be a testament to both Linsley’s talent and the Packers coaching staff’s ability to prepare players. Hot Streak Eddie Lacy It’s hard to have a hot streak in Week 1 of the NFL season, but that’s exactly what Eddie Lacy has created in limited work in the preseason. The 2013 NFL rookie of the year has looked unstoppable in the preseason. His 11 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown made the first team offense hum. He found open holes, busted through arm tackles and punished defensive backs. As good as he was last year, Lacy this preseason has looked like he could take it to another level. Everything suggests he’ll have a big day Thursday on the national stage.