Blockers up front have set tone with protection, few penalties 
Green Bay Sift through Aaron Rodgers' numbers.

Break down Greg Jennings' contribution into itty bitty parts.

Ponder how important Brandon Jackson has been lately.

Do all of that until the turkey is on the table, but if you really want to know why the Green Bay Packers are playing offense like a playoff contender, take a peek at the offensive line.

More maligned around here than the California Dairy Farmers Association, the Packers' line is nearing redemption for its sins of 2009 and is well on its way to being a productive member of football society.

"Considering where we were a year ago and a couple months, it's nice to be rolling right now," right guard Josh Sitton said. "But we have to keep going."

During the Packers' four-game winning streak, a couple of things have stood out beyond averaging 351 yards and 28.2 points per game.

First, two of those four games have come on the road, the last inside arguably the nosiest venue in the NFL, and yet the line has committed just three false-start penalties in that time. It did not commit a single one in the 31-3 victory over the Minnesota Vikings Sunday at the Metrodome.

Next, the Packers have allowed 20 sacks, fewer than half of the 43 it allowed over the first 10 games last season. Not all 20 of those sacks were the fault of the offensive line. What's more, linemen have committed just four holding penalties this season, none during the four-game winning streak.

Given how often the Packers throw the ball, improvement in those two areas has meant the world to the offense. The fact the same five guys have been in the starting lineup for six straight weeks - four have started every game this year - has given coach Mike McCarthy greater flexibility in constructing game plans.

"I don't know if it's obvious to you, but we're carrying more volume up front as far as the run concepts and the protection concepts than you probably normally would," McCarthy said Wednesday. "A lot of that in the past was due to, we had so much change in our offensive line.

"It's so important to have continuity up front because the game really starts up there, and for us to play the way we want to play and create some type of balance and continue to stay out of a two-shell game where the defense is playing you one way the whole time, it's important for us to continue to grow and be productive up front. And I think we're doing that."

Consider where the Packers were a year ago.

After 10 games, they had played with five different combinations of players upfront, never going more than two weeks with the same five in the lineup. Not until veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher was re-signed and inserted in the lineup did things settle down.

In the final seven games with the line static, the Packers gave up 10 sacks.

This year, the only change has been the insertion of first-round pick Bryan Bulaga into the injured Tauscher's spot. Bulaga has been competitive and while he makes mistakes, he seems to get better each week.

In his first visit to the Metrodome for a Packers-Vikings meeting, Bulaga held his own, allowing one sack to end Ray Edwards, but otherwise playing solidly. The most important thing was that he didn't melt down amid the chaos.

"I was just trying to not let anything rattle (me)," Bulaga said. "It's just a matter of staying focused. We practice 'silent count' a lot, especially when we're in weeks when we're in domes. When you're in a good rhythm with your center, (it helps)."

If the performance in the Metrodome was a sign of how the line will play in domes this season, it's very good news for McCarthy. Two of the Packers' next three games are in domes, starting with Atlanta on Sunday.

Under McCarthy, the Packers use the "silent count" mostly on third downs when Rodgers is in the shotgun formation. There is no snap count because it's assumed no one on the line can hear it, so the linemen rely on the rhythm of the unspoken count and keep the ball in the periphery of their vision.

Center Scott Wells has to keep an eye on Rodgers, who usually taps his foot to start the count and the rest of the linemen have to help Wells make the alignment adjustments he would make if he were able to focus entirely on what is in front of him.

"It's something you have to be very good at," Rodgers said. "The most important part of the silent count is the three interior guys. Scotty has to have his eyes and his ears - his right guard and left guard. So Josh and Daryn (Colledge) have to be his eyes and his ears and talk to him about his calls and who's coming and not coming."

Against the Vikings, there was only one bad miscommunication and it came early in the game when an adjustment wasn't made at the last second to accommodate for a blitzing linebacker. Offensive line coach James Campen was not happy that it resulted in a sack because the group works so hard on making sure everything is communicated correctly.

"It was a declaration situation and we weren't on the same page," Campen said. "Those are the sacks you can't stand to get because it had zero to do with anybody from a physical standpoint."

The fact those kind of errors have been few and far between is a testament to the play of the line and the importance of continuity. The reduction in sacks and holding penalties mostly has to do with performance.

There's no question that left tackle Chad Clifton's fountain-of-youth discovery has meant wonders for the line, but it doesn't completely account for the turnaround. Last year, the Packers had 10 holding calls after 10 games and Clifton had just one of them.

Clearly, the entire line has contributed to the improvement.

"It's a matter of fundamentals," Colledge said. "It's something we focused on a lot this off-season. We focused on it in camp. We said as an offensive line that we were going to knock the penalties down. We're going to get rid of sacks, but along with that we had to get less penalties."