BY DAN BEGNOCHE
The old adage that "stats don't lie" is hard to refute in this day in age, particularly in the NFL when nearly every single move a player makes is tallied and compared to his counterparts.
Take a look at the Green Bay Packers' offense through five games, however, and you can make a pretty strong case.
In total offense, the Pack ranks 25th; their third-worst when you take into account teams that haven't had a bye week yet. The squad is currently averaging 309 offensive yards per game (28th in the league), 90 of which is on the ground (25th overall).
Start to look at the scoreboard though, especially during their wins, and the picture changes a bit.
"I think on paper, you look at yards -- total offense and total defense -- today they're not a great football team," Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said Tuesday. "If you look at points -- scored and points given up -- I think they're fifth in football. I told the team this was a very efficient football team, they are a team that doesn't beat themselves -- they're No. 1 in the turnover margin -- so we're going to have to play a smart, sound football game against these guys."
Green Bay has averaged 40 points in their past two wins, and they've scored 50 this season off those 10 takeaways Philbin alluded to. And while the run game has been fairly stagnant to start, Eddie Lacy averaged eight yards a carry on his way to his first 100-yard game last Thursday in the team's 42-10 win.
There's certainly no denying that quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who's had seven touchdowns the past two games, is a key piece of that unit, as well.
When it comes to game planning their matchup for this weekend though, Philbin is more concerned with his defensive unit staying on task.
"You only control so much. We don't control the plays they're gonna call, the routes they're gonna call. We want our guys to understand our plan and how we plan to stop the Green Bay Packer offense, and he (Aaron Rodgers) is a big part of that offense.
"It's more about us and what we can do as a defensive football team ... It's certainly going to be a challenge."
