Behind Enemy Lines: Green Bay Packers visit Arizona Cardinals in Glendale

The Arizona Cardinals are in the playoffs for the second straight season.

As NFC West champions, we know Bruce Arians’ team will play at least one home game at University of Phoenix Stadium this postseason. But there is still a lot to play for, especially Sunday when the Green Bay Packers visit Glendale.

The Packers (10-4) are still trying to catch the Cardinals (12-2) and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. An Arizona win Sunday would ensure the Packers would be playing in the Wild Card weekend in early January.

Green Bay comes to the desert on a roll, having won three straight and four of its last five games. Two of the wins on their current streak — against Detroit and Oakland — have come on the road, where the Packers are 5-2 this season.

Reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers isn’t having his best season, but has thrown for 3,379 yards and 29 touchdowns against only six interceptions.

All week, we’ll keep you updated on everything going in Green Bay as the Packers prepare for battle against the Cardinals.

It’s Behind Enemy Lines …

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Saturday, December 26

• Packers will be without Sam Shields, and likely David Bakhtiari vs. Cardinals (ESPN.com)

“The Green Bay Packers will be without their No. 1 cover cornerback — and most likely their starting left tackle, too — for Sunday’s showdown with the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium.”

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Friday, December 25

• Mike McCarthy’s rule: On Christmas, not a creature stirring at Lambeau Field (ESPN.com)

All Packers football personnel takes Christmas Day off under orders from head coach Mike McCarthy. That means trainers, equipment staff and more. McCarthy started the rule in 2009.

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Thursday, December 24

• Subs to snaps: Rick Lovato, from sandwich shop to Packers’ long-snapper (ESPN.com)

Rick Lovato used to work in a sandwich shop and now he’s the long snapper for the Green Bay Packers. A week ago Lovato was making sandwiches and now the Old Dominion product will make his NFL debut on Sunday.

• Packers LB Julius Peppers: ‘Of course I can play another year’ (ESPN.com)

“’I feel great now,’ Peppers said Thursday. ‘If I was making the decision today, yeah, of course I can play another year. But we’ll see. We’ll see when the time comes.'”

• Packers receiver Davante Adams insists lack of confidence not the issue (ESPN.com)

“Whatever has prevented Davante Adams from blossoming into the playmaking star the Green Bay Packers thought they had going into 2015, when coach Mike McCarthy called him the MVP of the offseason, the second-year receiver insists it’s not mental.”

• Arizona braces for influx of Packers fans (Green Bay Press-Gazette)

“Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians is worried there will be too much green and gold in the stands Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.”

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Wednesday, December 23

• Quarterback tale of the tape: Carson Palmer vs. Aaron Rodgers (ESPN.com)

The two quarterbacks who will take center stage in Sunday’s critical NFC game between the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers have combined for 61 touchdown passes and only 15 interceptions this season.

• Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, Josh Sitton earn Pro Bowl nods (ESPN.com)

Jason Wilde recaps the seasons of the three Green Bay Packers who were selected to the Pro Bowl Tuesday.

• Packers lose reliable long-snapper Brett Goode; replace him with a rookie (ESPN.com)

For the first time in eight years, the Green Bay Packers will have someone other than Brett Goode snapping on punts and placekicks.

The trusty veteran long snapper was placed on injured reserve on Monday.

• Tuesday 12: A dozen film observations from Raiders vs. Packers (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Here are a few things I noticed when watching tape of the game between the Oakland Raiders and the Green Bay Packers:

• StaTuesday: Charles Woodson’s Packers legacy (Fox Sports Wisconsin)

Charles Woodson announced he is going to retire after the season ends. While many around the country might best remember him with the Oakland Raiders — after all he played his first eight seasons there and the last three, including 2015 — Woodson certainly will be remembered fondly by fans of the Green Bay Packers.

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Tuesday, December 22

• Packers WR Ty Montgomery scheduled for ankle surgery next week (ESPN.com)

The Green Bay Packers rookie receiver will undergo the procedure next week, his agent told ESPN.com on Tuesday – one day after Montgomery was placed on IR. Agent Damarius Bilbo said his client visited noted foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, and Anderson recommended surgery to clean up cartilage damage.

• Packers rare underdog for Sunday’s game at Cardinals (ESPN.com)

The Green Bay Packers are underdogs for only the second time all season.

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook lists them as a 4.5-point underdog in Sunday’s game at the Arizona Cardinals.

• No time to waste: Mike McCarthy puts Packers’ focus on showdown at Arizona (ESPN.com)

Dom Capers said he could go “on and on and on” about what makes the Arizona Cardinals the No. 1-scoring offense in the NFL.

So he did.

The Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator rattled off just about everything that he and his players will have to deal on Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

• Casey Hayward knows he may be movin’ on (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Hayward, an extremely bright and articulate cornerback himself, will become a free agent in March. And after another strong year — his third in four seasons — Hayward knows a big payday awaits. But with the Packers stocked with gifted young corners, Hayward knows his next contract is unlikely to come from Green Bay.

• JC Tretter making the most of opportunity (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

For a man with 72 career snaps from scrimmage before last month, JC Tretter certainly didn’t lack confidence.

For a man who was available just 10 of a possible 35 games his first two NFL seasons, Tretter believed in himself perhaps more than anyone else in the Green Bay Packers organization.

Now, we’re seeing why.

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