Here are five things we know at the quarter pole of the NFL season:

1. The Packers have two glaring needs. Green Bay needs a healthy offensive line to start protecting Aaron Rodgers and Atari Bigby back at safety. After looking sound in the preseason, a nicked up o-line has been awful. Bigby’s latest injury replacement, Derrick Martin, was slow to deliver over-the-top help twice that resulted in touchdowns.

2. Brett Favre has some left in the tank. Adrian Peterson was held to 55 yards rushing, his lowest output in a full calendar year, but Favre dissected the Packers’ strategy by being decisive and accurate in the Vikings’ 30-23 victory on Monday. He doesn’t have to be that good all the time for Minnesota to win its share of games, but it doesn’t hurt.

3. The Bears’ defense has adjusted. With Lovie Smith calling the plays and Brian Urlacher out, the Bears aren’t just sitting back in Cover-2. They’re coming at people from all different angles. Now, will the rest of the league re-adjust?

4. The Saints and Ravens are for real. New Orleans’ problem has always been defense. Baltimore’s problem has always been consistent offense. Both problems seem to have gone away. Saints are ninth in total defense. Ravens are third in total offense.

5. The Niners and Jets are going to be pretty good. Both teams have a good shot at the playoffs after missing out in 2008. The reason ... defense. The Jets are fourth and the 49ers are sixth in the NFL in yards per game allowed.

Fantasy Flash

* Must start: Any Indianapolis Colts offensive player. Top-to-bottom the most inviting fantasy match-up this week. The Tennessee Titans are horrible against the pass. Peyton Manning is the best passer in the league. That means big days for targets Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie. Make sure to start Joseph Addai and even Donald Brown (in deeper leagues) given the Colts’ penchant for the screen pass against a desperate, blitzing defense.

* Bust: Buffalo wide receivers. Terrell Owens and Lee Evans will see their struggles continue against an underrated Cleveland secondary.

*Sleeper: Mohamed Massaquoi. With the trade of Braylon Edwards to the Jets, Massaquoi immediately becomes the top target in the Browns’ arsenal. He had eight catches for 148 yards last week. He faces a depleted Bills secondary on Sunday.

Book it

The Badgers made good on my prediction in spoiling Minnesota’s Big Ten opener in new TCF Bank Stadium, 31-28, pushing this year’s record to 25-21.

This week, let’s take a whack at the MLB playoffs. In a parlay give me the Red Sox, Cardinals, Phillies and Twins to advance.

Mike Larsen can be reached at