The 12th man in Seattle makes CenturyLink Field one of the most difficult venues to play in the NFL. According to reports, the Green Bay Packers have prepared for the noise level in practice and plan to administer a no-huddle offense for most of tonight's game.
On Thursday night, the Packers look to get revenge on the Seahawks from their last matchup in Seattle in 2012 when the replacement refs botched a touchdown call on the last pass of the game. Seahawks' receiver Golden Tate and Packers cornerback M.D. Jennings both came down with Russell Wilson's pass as time expired, and the referees ruled it a touchdown instead of an interception. The league later acknowledged it was the wrong call. Seattle won 14-12 and the replacement refs didn't officiate another game after that.
Aaron Rodgers failed to throw a touchdown that game on 26-of-39 passing for 223 yards. He was sacked eight times due to a number of communication issues at the line of scrimmage because of the deafening atmosphere in Seattle. But he plans to avoid such instances from 2012. According to ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky, the team practiced with loud crowd sounds and music to prepare for the noise on Thursday night. On top of that, Rodgers and the offense worked on developing hand signals to go along with their no-huddle offense to keep things fluid and to avoid yelling out audibles at the line.
"The more the Packers have run the no-huddle the better they've got at speeding up the signal process and maintaining the fast tempo they feel is critical to success," wrote Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The longer the offense stays together the more they're able to expand it. It would be a lot different if Rodgers were playing with three rookie receivers instead of Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Jarrett Boykin."
We know Seattle has the best defense in the league, but the Packers offense has proved to be one of the best for years. Seattle held Green Bay to just 12 points in their last meeting, but Week 1 is always tricky for teams in regards to new formations, schemes, and player roles. The Packers have a number of talented receivers as previously mentioned, along with rookie Davante Adams from Fresno State. Adams had six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown during the preseason and has impressed the coaching staff with his maturity as he learns the offense (on top of his obvious skill set). Seattle will be without backup cornerback Tharold Simon, who was expected to play the fourth cornerback role, because of minor knee surgery.
The second year player out of LSU has impressed during offseason workouts, but we'll see how nickel back Jeremy Lane and the new No. 4 corner, Marcus Burley, perform against the talent Green Bay receiving corps. on Thursday night.
