The NFL season kicks into high gear this weekend with a full slate of games on Sunday, including a matchup of two of the NFC's top teams.
The Green Bay Packers will host the San Francisco 49ers in the premiere game of the weekend, pitting last year's top two regular season teams against each other.
The 49ers and Packers both will be looking to erase the sting of last season, when each team was beaten in successive weeks by the New York Giants on their way to the Super Bowl.
The Packers were 15-1 last season and had the most explosive offense in the league when they faced off against New York in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Giants used big plays and an amazing Hail Mary catch by Hakeem Nicks to defeat Green Bay 37-20.
"That's a very important game and you want to play your best in the most important games, and we did not accomplish that," coach Mike McCarthy told the Associated Press.
The following week the Giants traveled to San Francisco for the NFC Championship game and capitalized on two crucial turnovers by punt returner Kyle Williams to win 20-17 in overtime to advance to the Super Bowl.
Last season San Francisco had one of the NFL's top defenses and had a 13-3 record to win the NFC West. This year they return all 11 starters on defense and will try to improve an already stellar unit. The defense only allowed three rushing touchdowns all season and allowed only 14.3 points per game.
"We have great expectations. We have big hopes. We've got big dreams,'' said coach Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh won the NFL Coach of the Year award last season after improving the 49ers from an 8-8 record in 2010.
Quarterback Alex Smith had his best season as a pro last year, passing for 3,150 yards and 17 touchdowns last year and only five interceptions. But the offense was lacking, only scoring 23 points per game.
The team has added new weapons for the quarterback, including wide receivers Randy Moss and Mario Manningham, along with former Giants running back Brandon Jacobs.
"I think that feeling is still there,'' 49ers quarterback Smith said of failing to make the Super Bowl. "As much as we all talk about pressing delete on last year ... I don't think that anyone is pressing delete on the taste in our mouth."
Rodgers on the other hand returns to an already prolific offense. Last year receiver Jordy Nelson had 68 catches for over 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns, while receiver Greg Jennings added nine TD cathes. Rodgers passed for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns to go with a 122.5 passer rating, which is an NFL record.
The Packers focused this offseason on improving their defense, which allowed 4,924 passing yards, the most in the history of the league. They used a majority of their draft picks this offseason on defensive players and return veteran stars Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams and Clay Matthews.
"We know that wasn't us. You can look at the tape from the previous years and look at the one last year, and it just wasn't the same," cornerback Tramon Williams said. "We know that, and that's why we came into training camp refocused, ready to go."
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