Last year, I heard the sentiment that Dom Capers did not want to blitz Brett Favre, because Favre had seen every blitz, and you weren’t going to surprise him with anything.  He would not get rattled and he would read the hot route, and pick you apart.  We all remember those two bitter defeats that the Packers suffered to the Vikings last year.  Each game, Brett Favre picked apart the Packers.

This preseason, I read an article which included part of Sean Payton’s speech prior to the NFC Championship game against the Saints.  The brilliant basis of which turned out to be true:

“When you get older in life, you tend to get very careful, and a little more fearful,” Payton said, according to players and staffers who were there. “You start thinking about your own mortality. If it rains outside you might not go to the store, especially at night. You figure you’ll just wait it out. You might have somewhere to go and you tell yourself I don’t want to go there. You don’t want to get in a wreck. If you keep hitting him (Brett Favre) he’ll make a mistake. If we keep putting pressure on him (Favre) he’ll start being careful, he’ll start doing anything he can to avoid getting hit and he’ll make a mistake. I promise you, if we hit him for four quarters, he’ll turn into that old man who’s scared of the rain.”

To sum up, we need to hit Favre early and often.  He is old, he will get scared and he will make mistakes.

I hope that Dom Capers reads this article and watched the NFC Championship game.  It would be very disappointing to see the Packers rush three or even four against Favre.  I firmly believe, the key to stopping the Vikings is hitting Favre.  If he has all day in the pocket, he will pick apart our injury-plagued defense.  If he is put on his back frequently, he will produce turnovers and give the Packers the opportunities needed to win this game.