Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants Week 5 NFL Preview

WISCONSIN -- Hold on to your hats, Packer fans, the New York football Giants are coming to town and are ready to dish out their latest round of party-crashing.

Who could forget (or remember) that awful night in 2012 when the Giants came to Lambeau Field as eight-and-a-half point underdogs, only to come out on top in the NFC championship game. The Journal Sentinel authored a gameday preview this week, reminding us.

On Sunday night, Manning will make his return with the Giants residing in a similar underdog role (seven-and-a-half points).

Granted, this week, the stakes aren't nearly as high.

5 Things to Watch While Watching

1) Giants offense: Ben McAdoo, a Green Bay Packers assistant coach from 2006-13, is the coordinator in New York, and knows the Packers inside and out. Their play design looks a lot like the Packers, too.

2) Wide Receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. is unraveling. The outspoken player says he is not enjoying football any more, and quarterback Eli Manning - who usually doesn't call out players - says Beckham is bringing it upon himself. Ouch.

3) Tough Week. The Giants lost last week Monday to the Minnesota Vikings (sound familiar?) and now travel on the road again to Green Bay on a short week. The Giants are not happy about the scheduling quirk, but that's life in the NFL.

4) The Packer Injury Situation: Clay Matthews, Letroy Guion, Datone Jones and Morgan Burnett all returned to practice on Monday, which is a good sign. Top cornerback Sam Shields is not back yet. Tight End Jared Cook might not suit up this week.

5) The Giants defense: The Journal Sentinel pans the New York linebacker corps, saying "there isn't a keeper in the group." And when it comes to the secondary for the Giants, the JS says, "if not for a rash of injuries, it would be a competitive group."

Broadcast/TV and Radio

NBC will broadcast the game to a national audience. Play-by-play man Al Michaels joins analyst Cris Collinsworth in the booth with Michele Tafoya reporting from the sidelines.

• Milwaukee’s WTMJ (620 AM) broadcast duo Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) call the action.
• WTMJ 4 begins their broadcast Sunday night, October 9 at 6 p.m. with Football Night in America. The game broadcast begins at 7:15.

image: scott anderson/patch