An inside look at a matchup that might have been

If not for the 4th-and-26 debacle in the playoffs against the Eagles, the Packers would have faced the Panthers in the NFC championship game. We'll never know if Brett Favre and Co. would have made it past Carolina, but we'll get a taste of what might have been when they open the season on Monday Night Football.

Scouts analyze this and every NFL matchup in Pro Football War Room, the SPORTING NEWS' online football product that includes matchups of every NFL game, from Week 1 through the Super Bowl, along with year-round analysis of prospects for the 2005 draft. Some snippets from the Green Bay-Carolina matchup:

* After stretching the Packers' defense wide, the Panthers will run right at them. The Packers' run defense is mediocre and must deploy eight men in the box to stop Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster. The Panthers then can take some chances by throwing downfield against the Packers' unproven cornerbacks.

* One reason for the Panthers' red zone woes is wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who struggles to catch high passes. Look for the team to use more cluster formations on third-and-long to provide legal and illegal picks against man-to-man coverage or to find soft spots against zones.

* Packers rookie punter B.J. Sander struggled in the preseason. He is trying to quicken his release and shorten his block zone, and now he is dropping the ball poorly and shanking too many punts.

For detailed matchup analysis of every game, go to Pro Football War Room at warroom.sportingnews.com.

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