ATLANTA -- The past two weeks, the Packers had to deal with Devin Hester and DeSean Jackson, perhaps the two most dangerous return men in the league. They limited both of them but tonight cannot sleep on Eric Weems of the Falcons.
Weems was the difference back on Nov. 28, when the Packers and Falcons appeared to be headed for overtime after Aaron Rodgers hit Jordy Nelson on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 56 seconds remaining to tie the game at 17. It never got to overtime, as Weems returned the ensuing kickoff 40 yards before he was hauled down by the facemask by Green Bay's Matt Wilhelm for a 15-yard penalty. The Falcons took over on the Packers 49-yard line, Rodgers completed four short passes and Matt Bryant kicked the game-winning 47-yard field goal with nine seconds left for a 20-17 Falcons victory.
It was no accident. The diminutive Weems led the NFC (he was third in the NFL) with a kickoff return average of 27.5 yards, including a 102-yard touchdown return against the Buccaneers in Week 13. Weems this season has also had a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Panthers in the final regular-season game.
This is not a one-sided deal for the Falcons. They also cover on kickoffs, as they lead the NFL in starting position for opponents, who on average make it only to the 22.2-yard line.
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Since the NFL went to a 12-team playoff format in 1990, the No. 1 seed in the NFC is 18-2 in the divisional round. The top seed in the NFC has lost in this round two of the last three years, though. ... Rodgers has seven touchdown passes in his first two career playoff games, the most in NFL history. If he gets three TD passes tonight, Rodgers surpasses Dan Marino, Jeff George and Daryle Lamonica, who all threw nine TD passes in their first three post-season games.
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The Falcons are 2-0 in playoff games at the Georgia Dome, beating the Rams 47-14 in 2004 and the 49ers 20-18 in 1998. . . . Tim Lewis, Giants coach Tom Coughlin's hand-picked first defensive coordinator with the Giants in 2004, is the Falcons defensive backs coach. . . . Packers DE Cullen Jenkins missed four straight games with a calf injury before returning for the playoffs last week but his 31 plays against the Eagles were not up to his usual standards. The Packers expect him to be much closer to form in this game. Jenkins was second on the team with seven sacks.
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Youngsters cast off by the Giants can find work elsewhere. Charlie Peprah, a 2006 fifth-round draft pick of the Giants out of Alabama, never made it past training camp but he will start tonight at strong safety for the Packers. Peprah, a backup in Green Bay from 2006-08, actually spent nine weeks last season with the Falcons before returning to the Packers this season.
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