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Next game: Sunday, January 20
NFC Championship vs. NY Giants or at Dallas
Packers Gameday at 2:30 p.m. on Newsradio 620 WTMJ

Links:
• Game Blog
• Game Story
• Young Packers Poised
• Grant Shakes Off Fumbles
• Snow, Drops Kill Seattle
• Next: The Giants or Dallas

We knew here in Wisconsin that the Packers had something special entering the playoffs, with a reasonable shot to get to the Super Bowl and what boxing fans would call a puncher's chance of beating New England in Super Bowl.

Now, both look more confident (though I still wouldn't predict a Packers win over the Pats in Super Bowl XLII).

Two major reason stand out, the biggest being on offense.

Great teams, championship teams have many tendencies that set them apart.  Perhaps one of the biggest is the fact that offensively, they have vast versatility.

In other words, they can beat you their way, or they can beat you your way.

Most of the year, the Packers have proven they have the passing game that can explode upon anybody, anytime.  Favre nearly won the Denver and Kansas City games by himself with the vertical passing game. 

During the majority of  the rest of the season, his right arm delivered the more intelligent, more effective short passing game that turned long thanks to the receiving corps with the best YAC (yards after catch) n the league.

Now, the Packers have proven they can beat...correction, blow out...top-level opponents like Seattle by running the ball.

More specifically, beating you up by running the ball.

201 yards from Ryan Grant prove it.  201 yards in the snow, the schmutz, the slop that so often defines playoff football in January, especially in Green Bay.

The Packers physically dominated what could be the most talented and most effective front seven in the NFL in Seattle.  How those teams blasted Patrick Kerney to the point that you never heard his name come out of the mouths of Wayne and Larry.

Do that against an equally good front seven in the Giants, and you can write your ticket to Phoenix.

What's special, though, is that a versatile offense like this can give any defense - even the great Patriots or Giants - fits.  Let them pick the way they want to get beaten.

The great champions in all sports have that gift.  The Packers may have shown they have it, too, at least on the offensive end.

The other thing that makes championship teams similar is the fact that the majority of them have absolutely no weaknesses.  We though there was one at safety.

Atari BIgby, in the last few games, has proven that wrong.

He was Johnny on the Spot in December, earning the NFC Defensive Player of the Year award.  Today, he was Johnny slamming your face in the spot with his hard hits that not only intimidated Shaun Alexander and company, but also kept the Seahawks from key first downs in the portion of the game where the Packers came back from 14-0 down. 

That was the only major weakness on this team, and Bigby's domination against Seatte may have turned that and made it disappear. 

So far, though, the Packers' linebackers haven't won great battles with tight ends.  Jason Witten could still do something to make life hard for Green Bay if they face Dallas.

Solve that problem, take care of that weakness, and it makes everyone - even New England - very beatable.