MY CALL Oregon Ducks 30 Arizona Wildcats 24

I include third down stops and big special teams plays in that formula as well as interceptions and lost fumbles. All four have the effect of changing field position, momentum, and time of possession.If the Ducks are able to keep the momentum and put some distance between themselves and Mike Stoops Arizona team they should be able to hang on for the win. But if the game is close in the fourth quarter, the home field and efficient offense might let the Wildcats pull the upset.Im not going to tempt fate and even contemplate what might happen if a injury occurs again.MY CALL : Oregon Ducks 30, Arizona Wildcats 24. I will now grade the defense and special teams. I would like to remind everyone of my first prediction before the start of the season: “The defense will finish the season in the top quarter of the league.” Let me read some of the comments I got from doubters on both Sports Scribes and Bleacher Report when I made points about expecting great things from the Packers defense: "Packer's D won't get to the top eight this year.AFC has the better defenses. In the NFC the Giants, Cowboys, Eagles, andCarolina will keep the Packers D out of the elite." "I like the Packerspersonel (sic) with theirnew defense, but the Vikings and Bears are ready RIGHT NOWdefensively….(The Bears) defense, regardless of a successful transition ornot, is still better than Green Bay's, and I can easily say the same forMinnesota's, too. (For the record, neither are anywhere near asgood Minnesota ranks 15thand the Bears 10th.)" "It seems to me that the Packers are"forcing" a 3/4 defense on a 4/3 roster.

It'll be interesting tosee how it all plays out, but I'm still pretty convinced the Packers in2009 would be best served to stick with a 4/3…" "Delusional packer fans (MJ and DT): It's allabout running the ball and stopping the run Minnesota can do both and GBcan do neither. Case closed….If you were to base your pick on soundjudgement (sic), you would have GB finishing third in the North(standings)." "On other articles I wrote, there were allsorts of comments eluding to the defense being a dumb move because ourbest lineman, Aaron Kampman, would be forced to play another position.Even though his coach, Kevin Greene, was successful in that transition adecade ago, that was us “trying to fit a square peg in a round hole” andwas going to make the entire defense unsuccessful."Instead, the Packers are better than the top quarter we are in the top eight. More than that, we have balance Green Bay is in the top 10 in nearly every category: points allowed (10th) third down percentage (third), time of possession (fifth), turnovers forced (second), total yards allowed (fourth), passing yards (sixth), yards per pass attempt (tied-ninth), rushing yards (fourth), and average per carry (third). The one shortcoming is we are ranked 20th in sacks.Let’s analyze how each unit graded in each game and what the resulting mid-term grade is:Defensive Line: B… A, C-, C, A-, C, A-, B, B-, and B average a high B The line is much better than it was last season. The Packers have faced top-six backs in Cedric Benson, Stephen Jackson, and Adrian Peterson twice, and still are dominating the running game primarily because of the play of the line.Statistics are not the measure of a defensive line in a 3-4 since their role is to occupy blockers. Johnny Jolly has both fumble recoveries, five defended passes, and one interception.

They also account for 33 of the tackles and 15 of the assisted tackles. Linebackers: C …B, D, C, C-, B, B, F, F, and A- average a high C. Here the play has been inconsistent much as predicted by myself and the Packers doubters with two F’s and a D but also an A and two B scores. There have been times the backs and tight ends gashed the Pack and times when they were held in check. Other than the Cowboys game, the lack of sacks can be attributed as much to a lack of blitzing (supposedly the cornerstone of a 3-4 defense) as poor linebacker play.Kampman has clearly not made the adjustment (going from being a Pro Bowl player to an only above average linebacker), but there is still no doubt the new defense is a success for his new unit as well as his old one. This unit has 184 tackles and 60 assists to go with 11.5 sacks, three fumbles forced, four recoveries, and one touchdown.Clay Matthews leads the team in sacks (four) and fumble recoveries (three), also getting the only touchdown and a forced fumble. Nick Barnett has three sacks and leads the team with 49 tackles; he is tied for second with Brandon Chillar and A.J Hawk with 10 assists, behind only Kampman’s 12.