It's fitting that the Packers face Minnesota to open the second half of the season.  The two teams met on a Monday night in Week One when nobody was really sure how Aaron Rodgers would handle the pressure of replacing Brett Favre against a team many thought had enough pieces in place to get to the Super Bowl.  Well, Rodgers handled the pressure of both the moment and the Vikings well.  Meanwhile, Minnesota has looked anything but super.

But clearly the biggest difference this time around isn't the quarterback change the Packers made but rather the quarterback change the Vikings made.  It seemed like everyone I talked to didn't see what the Vikings saw in Tarvaris Jackson.  He was just too raw and too inaccurate to be a good NFL quarterback.  After two starts, Jackson was replaced by Gus Frerotte, who certainly isn't part of the Manning family tree in terms of ability, but Minnesota is 4-2 since the change.  With Frerotte the Vikings have more balance and are a threat to throw downfield.  This has opened things up for Adrian Peterson.  While Peterson has piled up yardage over the last month, Frerotte has been steady.  He only threw for 182 yards in a win against Houston but he did put up three touchdowns.

The big key today will be forcing Frerotte to throw.  You can expect Peterson to get around 25 carries but in the two losses since Frerotte took over, he threw it 83 times and was picked off five times.  There's no doubt Frerotte is a better quarterback than Jackson but if the Vikings have to lean heavily on Frerotte it well set up the Packers well for a win today.  Frerotte can manage the game and will make a few big plays but he won't be able to win a game on his own.