When The Packers Have The Ball:

After a week of self-scouting, expect to see a few new wrinkles from head coach and playcaller Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. Not anything too drastic, mind you. Why mess with success?

The Packers, however, will probably try to get their running game going against the Chargers' 30 front. Both of their defensive ends, Vaughn Martin and rookie Corey Liuget, are having their issues against the run. Look for the Packers to run at Martin in particular behind right tackle Bryan Bulaga and right guard Josh Sitton, who both did excellent work late against the Vikings to help seal the victory for the Packers.

Mike McCarthy had a great description of the type of running we saw from James Starks at the end of that game - phonebooth football. Meaning, 22 guys all bunched in tight together and the running back operating "in the phonebooth" or tight quarters. I think you'll see a bit more phonebooth football this week, and not just when the Packers are running out the clock.

Of course, this doesn't mean Aaron Rodgers won't be throwing to his usual 10, 11 or 12 different receiving options. It's hard to know exactly how Chargers defensive coordinator Greg Manusky will approach the Packers as he tends to change up from heavy man to heavy zone depending on the matchup.

Against the Chiefs, the Chargers came out in man then switched up to a liberal use of zone after watching Antonie Cason play so badly that he got benched. The player to watch in the secondary is clearly safety Eric Weddle who, while maybe not the definition of a ball hawking safety, is definitely one of those players who is always around the football.

If and when the Chargers do play man, the Packers will probably try to work to get  6' 3" 217 lb Jordy Nelson matched up outside against rookie cornerback 5' 10" 193 lb Marcus Gilchrist. Look for them to run a deep comeback or two before going deep. Obviously, getting them singled up in the red zone would be attractive as well.

When The Chargers Have The Ball:

Much has been made of Philip Rivers' struggles so far this year. Lost in this discussion is the fact that Rivers actually played quite well last week - that is after he started with his now customary interceptions and ending with a soul-crushing fumbled exchange from center.

The biggest thing to take away from the Chargers loss to the Chiefs on Monday night as it relates to the Packers is the trouble the Chargers had beating man coverage. The Chargers wide receivers simply could not shake free when presented with man, so much so that the Chiefs went to it almost exclusively for a stretch in the first half.

This plays nicely into what the Packers want to do. After the Vikings game, Tramon Williams was quoted as saying the the Packers played more man in Minnesota than they had all season, and this was with Charles Woodson playing outside much more than usual and without Sam Shields and with Jarrett Bush playing in the nickel.

Against the Chargers, you can expect Woodson to slide back inside when Capers goes to his 2-4-5 nickel to both bring pressure on Rivers off the slot and to line him up with Chargers tight end Antonio Gates. The Chiefs had some relative success using bracket coverage on Gates and you can expect the Packers to give Woodson help in the same way, probably with a safety rather than a linebacker.

There has been a lot made of the fact that running back Ryan Matthews, who was injured late against the Chiefs, will most likely not play Sunday, but the Chargers get Mike Tolbert back from injury just in the nick of time. (Curtis Brinkley actually looked better than both of them in his brief stint in relief of Matthews on Monday, but he suffered a concussion against the Chiefs and his status for Sunday is up in the air)

Look for Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers to start moving linebacker Clay Matthews a bit more going forward, starting this Sunday by having him move from his usual left side over to the right. Chargers left tackle Marcus McNeill is not playing anywhere near the type of football that we're used to seeing from him - in fact he looks downright bad, especially in pass protection.  Matthews should be able to take advantage not only off the edge with his speed, but by using his MMA training to get McNeill's hands, which looked sloppy and tired on Monday night, off of him.

Enough Already, Who Wins?

Running back isn't the only place the Chargers are hurting. In fact, everywhere you look, the Chargers are dealing with some kind of injury, none bigger than the foot injury to outside linebacker Shaun Phillips. Arguably their best defensive player, the Chargers have really missed Phillips' solid influence all across the linebacking corps. They have been undisciplined both in pursuit and in reading their keys, leaving them open to being taken advantage of by teams with a good playaction game - much like the Packers have with Aaron Rodgers and company.

This will be a closer game than I think most Packers fans expect it will be - but in the end, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense will be too much for the Chargers too handle.

Packers: 31

Chargers: 24