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Chicago Bears against Green Bay Packers is NFL’s oldest rivalry and might just be the best the NFL has to offer. The teams have met 181 times, an astounding number for sure, but only once in the postseason. That matchup happened seven days after the attacks on Pearl Harbor and in that game the Bears prevailed 33-14. This game is bigger and better than any other game in Bears and Packers history. Why? Because you can eliminate your mortal enemy one step away from the Super Bowl, because you can make this one hurt forever and even if they were to meet again at the same stage it wouldn’t be the same. It just wouldn’t. It’s all about 2 p.m. on Sunday and about beating the Packers.
The field will be frozen, the crowd, however, ought to be louder than ever before. There is no excuse if it isn’t. None. People have been to “cold” games before, so the conditions shouldn’t be a factor whatsoever in that regard. There is no reason why the crowd shouldn’t be in a frenzy before the game, during the singing of the national anthem and hopefully throughout the game as well. The team needs this kind of support as it embarks on the most important game in the history of the franchise. The team needs it to overcome a better than good Green Bay team and it’s “can’t miss a receiver right now” stud quarterback. 
Standing across the Bears will be a Green Bay team peaking at the right time and if the Bears are going to win this game it will take all four facets of the game: offense, defense, special teams and the Soldier Field crowd. Jay Cutler and Lovie Smith will hopefully take care of the first three but the good people of Illinois need to step up and deliver the fourth.
As for what will happen in the game, there are several keys that should determine the outcome. One of the keys should be stopping Green Bay’s new found ground game – James Starks. Starks had a great game against the Eagles but did not come up as big in Atlanta as Aaron Rodgers took over and picked apart the Falcons. Starks did, however, carry the ball 25 times even if only for 66 yards. What that does tell me is that they are committed to the running game even if it’s not working like they would want it to. The Bears must stop Starks to have a chance in this game. Making Aaron Rodgers and the Packers one dimensional will go a long way in stopping Green Bay’s well oiled machine, something the Bears have already done twice this year.
Aaron Rodgers will get his numbers. That’s a fact. He is too good of a quarterback and he is playing at too high of a level right now to be completely stopped. That being said though, it is possible to limit his big play ability. The Bears did that in the last game of the season for majority of the game, the only blunder being a huge completion to Greg Jennings down the right side of the field. Other than that play, the Bears did a fantastic job containing Rodgers and his explosive receivers. The Bears need to stay in their gaps and tackle well; they need to trust the defensive scheme. It’s gotten them this far and it will get them to the Super Bowl as long they execute the game plan.
On the Bears side of the football it isn’t all up to Jay Cutler to take the Bears to Dallas. Matt Forte needs to have a better game than James Starks and enable Cutler and Mike Martz to effectively use play-action. Forte has been really good in the 2nd half of the season as well as the playoff game against the Seahawks. Forte rushed for 80 yards and caught additional 54 yard proving yet again how versatile he has become to the Bears offense. In my opinion if Matt Forte runs the football effectively the Bears will win the game. Cutler needs to protect the ball, like he has in the past couple of games but he can’t play too cautious. He is at his best when he plays freely and exudes confidence, something everyone could see in the win against the Seahawks. Jay needs to take what the defense gives him and occasionally take 
his shots down the field. Whether Mike Martz designs the right game plan remains to be seen, he certainly has done so as of late.
The wild card remains Devin Hester. NFL’s most elusive return man ever took one back against Green Bay in the first matchup and almost had a couple more in the regular season finale at Green Bay. The Packers will most likely kick it to him, albeit directionally trying to pin him in the corners of the field. They succeeded in Week 17 but one little mistake will result in another Devin Hester gallop towards the Hall of Fame and Dallas, respectively. Hester could prove to be the reason why the Bears go to the Super Bowl and here is to hoping that the Packers decide to punt to him every single time.
I think the Packers have the edge offensively at the quarterback position. The Bears have the better special teams while the defenses should cancel each other out. The difference to me is the running game. The Bears have the edge in that department and that should, in my opinion, be the difference between the two teams. I know that Aaron Rodger is playing out of his mind. I know that the Packers defense is phenomenal. I know all that. I simply believe that the Bears will find a way to squeak this one out. It’s just a gut feeling. I just hope that I can review the game on Monday and talk about the Super Bowl instead of a long offseason. Hope – it’s the only thing that we can all rely on until the ball is kicked off on Sunday.
Bear down Chicago.
PREDICTION: Bears 24 – Packers 20
Even though the Bears have already clinched a playoff spot and the NFC North title, there is still a lot more at stake in the last two weeks of the season. The main goal is and will be getting the No.2 seed in the NFC behind Atlanta, who has all but clinched the top seed in the conference. The Falcons have a big game on Monday Night Football against the reigning champs Saints and with a win Atlanta can ensure that the road to Dallas will go through Georgia Dome this year.
The Bears face the New York Jets in a matchup of 10-4 teams but with slightly different playoff scenarios. The Bears are fighting for the playoff seed in their conference, while the Jets need a win to clinch a playoff berth for a second consecutive year. In a year where the Jets have been in the news for a whole lot of wrong reasons (just think Jenn Sterger, Ines Sainz and the tripping equipment guy) there was another issue this week.
Jets coach Rex Ryan was the reason for the distraction this time around, as there are reports claiming Ryan and his wife, Michelle, participated in some foot-fetish videos seen on the Internet. The videos show a woman displaying her feet to an off-screen cameraman who, in one particular video, sounds like Ryan. The two are having an intimate chat about her feet.
The Jets have dealt with distractions before; therefore one has to figure that this will not be a big deal this week. The bigger question is the health of their quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has been nursing a sore shoulder all week and has not thrown a touchdown pass in three games, all the while throwing four interceptions. Sanchez is expected to play on Sunday and from a Bears perspective that might not be the worst of deals. He has been Mr. Inconsistency over the last month and he gets to face one of the best defenses in the league on Sunday in Julius Peppers and the Bears. That is one of the reasons why I am optimistic about this game.
The biggest problem for the Bears will be containing the Jets defense, in particular the blitzing schemes that Rex Ryan like to use. The Jets defense comes early and often. Their motto is always to rather get beaten while applying pressure, rather than just sitting back and waiting things to develop. They are very aggressive and the Bears will have to find a way to use that aggressiveness against them. Quick, short passes should be used tomorrow to offset the Jets pass rush, as well as screens and draws. The Jets get their swagger from their defense and if that is taken away from them everything else becomes easier.
The Bears have an advantage at the quarterback position, since Cutler is simply playing better than Sanchez. At the same time I believe that the Jets running backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene are better than our combo of Forte and Taylor. The Jets receivers are certainly better than the Bears receiving core, however, with Sanchez struggling as much as he has over the last couple of games, that becomes a mute point. Both defenses are very stout against the run and both have a great front four. The Jets corners Revis and Cromartie are widely regarded as the best CB duo in the league so I wouldn’t expect much from the receivers in this game.
That leads me to my key to the game: Special Teams. Both teams are getting great special team play, Jets from Brad Smith and Bears from Devin Hester. Smith returned a kickoff last week for a score and is among the league leaders in average return yards per kickoff, something the Bears MUST stop if they want to win tomorrow.
Devin Hester set the all time NFL record last Monday night in Minnesota, as he took another punt return to the endzone to set the new all time record at 14. Which ever team stops the other electrifying return man better will have a huge outcome in who wins the game.
The Jets are a good team but they are not great. Both teams were manhandled by New England in the last 3 weeks, and they both have glaring weaknesses. The team which exposes the others’ weakness better will end up winning the game. For my money I will take the Bears at home, simply because I believe that Sanchez will make more mistakes than Cutler and Bears special teams will out duel New York’s. It’s hard to imagine that this will be anything other than a defensive game, something both teams are very accustomed to.
PREDICTION: Bears 20 – Jets 14
It’s Bears versus Packers tonight and the whole NFL is watching. Oldest rivalry in pro football and both teams are 2-0. Can it get any better? Maybe, If I were to have guts and pick the Bears. Coward. Not after this week, though if they win. Honestly.
I was wrong with my prediction on the Cowboys game. Plain and simple. I thought the Cowboys would have been angry after their disappointing loss against the Redskins. They were angry and they didn’t play bad at all, but I made a mistake in underestimating the Bears. I thought Jay Cutler would succumb to old turnover habits against a good Cowboys defense and he played a mistake-free game. Through two weeks he is the highest rated passer in the NFL. That’s right, Jay Cutler, the same guy who threw 26 interceptions last year leads the league thus far in passer rating. Things are looking good in the CHI after only two games.
Yes some people are getting overly excited about the 2-0 start but after the preseason our Bears treated us to I think we are allowed to get a little bit giddy. If the Bears manage to beat the Packers tonight, then the national media will start believing what some of us already are beginning to believe. From the awful preseason to the great display against the Cowboys, the Bears sure know how to keep this city and their followers interested. Everyone was so disappointed in the preseason and bracing for the worst that this display against the Cowboys came as a bit of surprise. At least to me it was.
Now comes a whole new animal to town in the form of Green Bay Packers, their superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the defensive standout Clay Matthews. The Packers are the early pick to represent the NFC in the Superbowl and especially so after New Orleans lost yesterday at home to Atlanta. The Saints have some key injuries, thus more and more “experts” are believing that the Pack is the team to beat in the NFC. What seemed like a relatively comfortable W on the schedule for Green Bay early on, has since turned into a massive game for both them and the Bears.
So what are the keys to the game? In order to win tonight, the Bears will have to play mistake-free football and make the Packers one dimensional by eliminating the running game, already hurting without the injured Ryan Grant. Green Bay has a decent backup in the former Nebraska standout Brandon Jackson but I wouldn’t expect him to carry the load for more than 10-15 times tonight. Jackson shares the load with the fullback John Kuhn and is used a lot in the passing game as dump-off kind of a running back. Everyone knows that the Packers want and like to throw the ball to a bevy of receivers, and it’s hard to argue that they don’t have the best receiving options in the league. With Gregg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jermichael Finley at his disposal it’s easy to see why Aaron Rodgers was the early pick to win the MVP by many. No other team in the league has that many weapons in the passing game and the Bears will find it extremely hard to stop all of them. They will have a shot, though if they can neutralize the run and make Rodgers throw on most downs.
On defense, the Packers come into the game with the NFL’s sack leader in Clay Matthews and the reigning defensive MVP in Charles Woodson. Matthews is an absolute beast in the A-gap and Woodson is an absolute master at reading the QB or forcing fumbles from the opposing receivers. If the Bears are able to stop one of these two than the chances of winning are that much higher. The Packers do have a rookie in the secondary and also on the weak side linebacker slot and therefore let’s hope that Bears can exploit those positions.
For the Bears it all starts and ends with Jay Cutler. When he is turnover free the Bears win. Even if he keeps it to minimum the Bears still have a chance in this game. If he, however, turns it over more than twice it is hard to imagine the Bears coming away victorious. Cutler will have to take some shots down-field and test this Packers secondary and I believe that the slot position for the Bears could provide to be crucial tonight. If they can involve either Devin (Hester or Aromashodu) in the slot game, this would present a major problem for the Packers. A good running game would be very nice to have but the Packers do have a stout run defense so we’ll see if Forte can break a couple of good runs.
The Bears defense needs to get to Rodgers and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. If he has too much time in the pocket it could be a long night for Urlacher and the rest of the defense. Julius Peppers could have a big game against the inexperienced Brian Bulaga, who will most likely start for Chad Clifton. If Clifton starts Peppers should still have a good game because of the injury concern for Clifton. Stopping the run and making the Packers one dimensional is priority Number 1. for the Bears and if they can do so, they will have a great chance to win.
I was wrong on my last pick against the Cowboys. I had the Bears losing by 11. They made me into an almost-believer with that win. If they can somehow win this game tonight, I will driving the band-wagon train and will probably pick them the rest of they way. I do, however, have to go with my brain tonight and I do believe that Green Bay will win by a narrow margin. I hope I’m wrong like last time.
PREDICTION: Packers 28 – Bears 24
Finally it is back to football for the Chicago Bears after a controversial week at Hallas Hall. From the turmoil that was the Calvin Johnson catch/dropped pass, to the off the field news regarding Jay Cutler’s new girlfriend and even the fresh news surrounding Matt Forte’s (pictured below) break up with his fiance on Tuesday, these Bears know how to keep our attention. 
This is all not good news during a week where the team should be focused on the upcoming game against an angry Cowboys team, looking to redeem themselves following a disappointing ending to the game against the Redskins.
The Bears offense looked good against the Lions minus the inability to score in the red zone. Jay Cutler threw the ball great aside from the interception, Matt Forte and the receivers had a good day and the Bears should have beaten the Lions by two touchdowns, at least. That of course did not happen as the same problems from last year resurfaced again, with the red zone looking more like the “no-land zone” for our beloved Bears.
The offense needs to correct this by Sunday because unlike Detroit, the Cowboys actually do play defense and red zone opportunities for the Bears will be few and far between. It is crucial to score on those chances come Sunday if the Bears are hoping to escape Dallas with a victory. Cutler has to stay away from those errand throws that get him in trouble and the receivers/tight ends have got to hang on to the football. The reason for the Bears low scoring output against the Lions last week was the inability to score in the red zone along with numerous fumbles. THE BEARS HAVE GOT TO HANG ON TO THE BALL!!!
The defense was impressive last week albeit against a team that lost their starting quarterback, however it was an impressive showing nevertheless. 
Julius Peppers (on the left) looked good in his first game as a Bear and the return of Brian Urlacher was a huge success. Urlacher was flying all over the field and looked good next to Lance Briggs as the two contained the Lions running game to a minimum, despite two rushing touchdowns by Jahvid Best. The secondary played okay except for the final drive of the game and they were aided by the fact that Matthew Stafford missed majority of the game with a separated shoulder. They will face a much sterner test on Sunday when they come across the likes of Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. Cowboys were the No.2 ranked offense last year and even though they didn’t perform like it last week, the potential is still there.
The key for the Bears will be containing the Cowboys rushing attack and the three-headed monster that is Marion Barber III, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Barber is a physical back that loves punishing the defense with his bruising runs, while Felix Jones provides pure speed as a backup to Barber. That combination is very difficult to defend and then there is Tashard Choice, who can run and catch the ball, as the third option and he will want to perform well following his costly mistake against the Redskins that resulted in a touchdown.
From a Cowboys perspective, they will want to blitz Jay Cutler (below) any chance they get and hope that he has some “Jay-like” throws where he gifts balls to the opposing defenses. 
If the Cowboys are able to control the Bears run they will pressure Chicago into throwing more and with that comes the possibility of Cutler making mistakes. Cutler only had one interception against the Lions and lost one fumble, albeit the interception was pretty bad as he threw the ball into quadruple coverage – shades of ‘09 Cutler. He did, however, throw for over 370 yards and the Cowboys defense will have their hands full against a Bears offense still learning the new offensive system implemented by Mike Martz.
As for the Bears on defense, lots will depend on how much pressure they can put on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Romo didn’t have a great game against the Redskins and will be looking to improve at the Cowboys home opener – in front of more than 100,000 fans. He is known as one of the more elusive quarterbacks in the league and has a knack for getting out of the pocket and making something happen out of nothing. This, I believe will be a huge deciding factor on Sunday.
The Bears will get to Romo and probably so on numerous occasions. The reason for that is the improved play of the defense along with the fact that the Cowboys have major issues on the offensive line. That proved to be one of the major weaknesses in their loss at Washington and could hurt them again versus the Bears. They are getting a couple of people back from injuries and that should solidify the line, at least to a respectable level.
This should be an interesting game to watch as it is going to present our Bears with the first major test of the 2010 season. I think the Bears will keep it close for a while but in the end Tony Romo’s elusiveness, the trio of running backs, impressive Cowboys defensive line and the rowdy home crowd will ensure that the Cowboys come away with a victory.
I would like to hope that I’m wrong with my prediction here but unfortunately I do not see Bears coming away from Texas with a victory.
PREDICTION: Bears 17 – Cowboys 28
If Sunday was an indication of how this Bears season will go this year, then all of us are going to have ulcers by the time season ends. The Bears left it late to overcome a Lions team playing majority of the game without their star quarterback. Oh, and there was also that play where a Lions receiver caught a touchdown with less than 30 seconds left in the game, only for it to be disallowed due to a weird rule in the NFL official rulebook. Basically, just another regular season opener for the Bears, as the game left fans debating of what it was and what could have been for both teams.
Aside from the controversial call in the last 30 seconds of the game, there was the other 59:30 to discuss here. Some feel as though Bears dominated the game (yardage wise) and deserved to win the game, especially after knocking out the Lions QB Matthew Stafford. Others, on the other hand, saw major similarities between this year and last year, in particular in the red zone – the inability to score on four attempts.
Let’s go with the good things first. Jay Cutler looked good and the first official game with the partnership of he and Mike Martz produced good results. Cutler threw for over 350 yards and had only one “Cutler like” interception. He did lose a fumble because he held on the ball for too long but overall his performance was above average.
Matt Forte had a career game with over 200 yards from scrimmage, of which 150 came through receptions including a 89-yard screen TD pass. Chester Taylor provided good backup for Forte and solidified the position even more than everyone originally thought.
The receivers/tight ends looked to be better than what most would think with Aromashodu, Knox and Olsen all contributing in their own ways. Devin Hester only had one reception and had a disappointing game in general while Matt Forte picked up the slack with over 150 yards receiving.
The offensive line was the weak link yet again as they allowed four sacks and were unable to gain six inches in the fourth quarter. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Lance Briggs sacked Shaun Hill, caused a fumble and recovered it himself to give the Bears four opportunities to score inside the one yard line. On the next four plays the Lions defensive front stuffed the Bears O-line and brought even more controversy to Lovie Smith and the offensive line in general. Everyone knew that this was the weak link on the team and it was proven yet again. The real test for the O-line comes this Sunday at the new Cowboys Stadium.
The defense played great at times, I thought, and it was good to see Brian Urlacher piloting the defense once again. Aside from the final drive of the game the defense shut down the talented Lions offense, albeit with the backup QB. Holding them to a little over 100 yards net was a major accomplishment for this defense, which was a major problem in the last couple of years. Yes, it was after all only the Detroit Lions minus their starting QB but if the Bears defense can shut down the Cowboys offense in Dallas, then we might have something to rave about. The only issue with the defense was the Lions’ last drive where they marched right down the field with a backup QB.
The biggest play of the game was the Calvin Johnson TD that wasn’t allowed. Look, everyone has seen the replays a hundred times by now. If you have seen the play then you know that the Lions got robbed. Not by the officials, but by the NFL rulebook. Calvin Johnson made the catch and landed in the end zone safely and as he was about to get up and celebrate the ball made contact with the ground and fell out of his hand.
Yes, the refs did the right thing.
Yes, he did have complete possession of the football, he was just to excited that he made such a great catch he forgot to secure the ball with both hands. It’s happened before and it will happen again. It’s a flaw within the NFL rulebook and it should be corrected but a similar play happened last year in Week 1 in a game between the Chargers and Raiders. Did that change anything? No. It should have been changed but it wasn’t and it will most likely not be changed after this controversial call.
It’s a rough way to lose for Detroit, who lose the game and their franchise quarterback for about 4-8 weeks. For our Bears it’s a sneaky win but a win nevertheless. It wasn’t pretty at times and there is a lot room for improvement especially with the trip to Dallas looming in five days time.
Instead of talking about the controversial call in the end zone, we in Chicago should be talking about the defensive mistake not to double team Calvin Johnson on the last play. In my opinion you double team the best player on the opposing team, yet the Bears didn’t do that. It didn’t cost us the game this time but it might next time around.
Agree or disagree?
Let me know if you guys would have gone for it on the fourth down or if you would have double teamed the 6′5″ Calvin Johnson.
