Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears:
My unfitered game day running blog post of comments, observations and first impressions.
Inactive for Packers today:
21 DB Charles Woodson
44 RB James Starks
56 LB Terrell Manning
80 WR Donald Driver
84 TE D.J. Williams
87 WR Jordy Nelson
98 DE C.J. Wilson
Inactive for Bears today:
12 QB Josh McCown
26 CB Tim Jennings
54 LB Brian Urlacher
58 LB Geno Hayes
69 DT Henry Melton
80 WR Earl Bennett
99 DE Shea McClellin
Game Notes:
Clay Matthews returns to the field today, a huge boost for the Packers’ pass rush. Matthews had 3.5 sacks in the first game against the Bears.
Tim Jennings being out for the Bears is as big, if not a bigger loss than Urlacher being out.
With a win today, Green Bay would clinch their second straight NFC North Title.
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Mike McCarthy Pregame Show on 620 WTMJ:
Due to some “technical difficulties” WTMJ didn’t have tape of McCarthy’s interview with Wayne Larrivee. But here are some things MM supposedly said.
Matthews will play and they will monitor his progress. Expect him to be a major contributor.
TJ Lang is back at left guard with Don Barclay at right tackle. Josh Sitton will start at RT.
Running game is important but we need to get the perimeter of our offense going today.
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Packers vs. Bears – First Impressions – First Half:
Packers win the toss and defer.
I think more than starting the game on defense, MM love having the ball to start the second half.
If the Bears are planning to run like this, I’d much rather see McMillian at S than MD Jennings.
Packers first drive starts on their 2 yard line.
Again, not one short route for Rodgers to find. Has to hold the ball and take a sack.
Nice work by Brad Jones on the outside staying with Forte down the field one-on-one.
Packers have done a poor job defending screens recently. Seems they’re so excited to get a pass rush, they fall for it every time.
End of First Quarter: Packers 0 Bears 0
To understand Rodgers “holding the ball & taking sacks”, you need to look at the All-22 film and see how often all the routes are downfield.
Mason Crosby… Need I say anything else?
“The patience and allegiance Mike Mccarthy has shown to Mason Crosby is almost impossible to believe” – Joe Buck
So in a one-on-one drill, Brandon Marshall would beat AJ Hawk?
Speaking of Marshall, what a vicious straight arm to Casey Hayward’s head. Earns himself a TD.
3rd and six, Rodgers throws deep into triple coverage & Cobb saves him. Bad decision. 3rd and four, single coverage – TD Jones. Good decision.
Casey Hayward with his 6th INT. Leads to another James Jones TD before the half.
Best part of that TD was we didn’t have to see Mason Crosby try a field goal.
So after @AaronRodgers12 says the slant is not a good play against cover 2, anyone notice how many more we’ve seen today? Pretty slick…
End of second quarter: Packers 14 Bears 7
Packers vs. Bears – First Impressions – Second Half:
DuJuan Harris knows how to hit a hole…!
More slants. Rodgers was BS-ing us all when he said it’s not a good play vs. cover two. I didn’t understand why – didn’t make sense… Now I know – it was in their game plan.
Anyone else wondering why Greg Jennings has been so quiet since his return?
I really don’t know what I would do if Jay Cutler were the #Packers quarterback. Could I still be a die-hard fan? I don’t know… Could you?
Does Rodgers have a new move? Rght arm dragged across the chest after a big 3rd down completion to Cobb…
As usual, on the verge of closing the game out, the Packers have to find a way to keep their opponent in the game. It’s the theme for 2012.
Olindo Mare comes off his couch to nail a field goal in the NFL like an, you know, NFL kicker…
End of third Quarter: Packers 21 Bears 10
Finley with a big 31-yard gain. He has come to play today. Maybe he read McGinn’s article?
Mason Crosby… Again… I actually laughed. There’s little else I can do…
A trick play when receiving a punt in your own end up 11 points? Could that be any more wrong? MM FAIL.
Is there any way you can send Crosby back out there today?
Once again, Packers going deep on 3rd down at the absolutely wrong time. KEEP THE BALL…
Face mask by Alshon Jeffrey offsets the Shields shirt grab on 4th and nine play. Shut up Buck and Aikman.
NFC NORTH CHAMPS!!!
Final Score: Packers 21 Bears 13
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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.
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In the words of Farmer Hogett:
“That’ll do pig, that’ll do”.
Anyone else catch that idiot Finley taunting his own sideline after that (admittedly big) catch?
What a clown.
Quarless would never do that… 🙂
I get that you don’t like Finley. I believe you are reading your own feelings into it. I seriously doubt it was taunting. When Hawk flipped off his own teammates, he was not upset with them. He was having fun with them.
You could be right. But Finley had an angered look on his face and made a point of looking at the sideline. This on the same day there were rumors about his impending release.
Can’t help if I read into it, he puts himself in this position.
Nice win on the road. Consider they don’t have a field goal kicker, they tried a ridiculous reverse punt lateral that gave a defeated Bears team hope, yet still won by 8 on the road.
After a shaky start the D played well. I want a bye to rest up all our injured guys. Plus you can never lose the first round game if you have a bye. Go Pats, at least tonight.
The D played very good. No real complaints there.
The Oline poor play.
Play calling awful.
ST backward pass was the stupidest thing in that situation I’ve ever seen.
Crosby must go – anyone with a leg can’t do worse.
Exactly right Ron. Given the situation, meaning of the game and what was at stake, where the play took place, it was the absolute worst call I’ve ever seen a NFL coach make.
Way to go Packers! Now I hope they get a bye.
Goodbye Crosby
Dustin Hopkins?
Ryan Longwell, Nate Kaeding, ANYBODY but Crosby at this point.
I’d go with Kaeding. Depends if he’s recovered from that injury.
But we all know Ted’s signing whoever comes up first in the search results for “Christian NFL kicker free agent” on Google.
Longwell would work just fine. He’s automatic from 45 yards and in. Crosby is challenged to make a extra point. Plus he’s kicked in bad weather. Crosby has to go. If not you really have to wonder about M.M. and/or T.T. One or both would demand a new kicker be brought in I would think. It’s great M.M. is this loyal to Crosby, but Crosby has been so pathetic you can no longer wait. We’re now at a point where we can’t wait for him to work it out.
Olindo Mare made 2 fgs today. What was i hearing about there being no available kickers better than Crosby? That was proven false today.
Great win on the hated bears home turf to win the division. Doesn’t look like we had any major injuries! This is a good day and will get better if SF loses tonite.
Stupid play call on the kick return lateral, wtf was that? Let’s sign a kicker this week Mike, your boy is comatose.
The Bears still suck! And so do the refs!
I saw that Rodgers TD move. I liked the look of it. Like a one-handed version of Cam Newton’s rip-the shirt-open-like-I’m Superman thing.
Since there is no way I want to compare AR with Cam, the best alternative description I can come up with is that it reminds me of him opening a furnace door….he’s stoked !!
i thought it looked like he was showing his “heart”.
New standards for Mason Crosby:
On FG’s 40 yards or less- hope he hits the net
On FG’s over 40 yards: hope he reaches the end zone.
Also, AJ Hawk gets dragged 3 yards when he attempts to tackle his children and put them to bed
1) I had thought Crosby would snap out of it, but that first field goal miss had Aikman and Buck saying,”Hello, time to audition a new kicker”.
The Bears have no offense, but once the playoffs start NO team can afford a missed field goal. Can you imagine if we are in the Super Bowl and and Crosby misses wide right by 40 yards from 30 yards out?
The Packers should not care what is wrong with Mason Crosby’s head and/or leg but we must replace him if it is not too late in the season to do that.
AS THE ANNOUNCERS SAID: “Do you trust Crosby’s leg more than Rodgers’ arm”? I don’t think anoine here does.
2) Green and Harris were solid. Grant goes into the game and announcer says, “Aaron Rodgers trusts Grant not to put the ball on the ground”. Next play – fumble by Grant. Grant should be used ONLY if Green, Harris and Starks can’t play. He’s rusty and it showed. Again, against the Bears so what but against the Falcons, 49’ers or the Patriots?
3) We are so lucky to have Clay Matthews back. He was everywhere playing his usual incredible game
4) Agree with everyone here. STOP the special teams gimmicks. In the play-offs against great teams that play would have been tragic.
5) Remember when the Pack wanted to get rid of James Jones and Rodgers said, please don’t do that”. Wow, was he right especially with injuries to Nelson and Jennings. Coob and Jones are carrying this team.
6) Happy note – great to beat the Bears in Chicago!!!!!!!!
Hopefully the Badgers don’t hire Smith when he becomes a FA coach.
Grant’s fumble was punched out by Tillman. He’s so good at it he’s nearly impossible to defend against.
Absolutely, Mike. Tillman is up where Woodson was the last couple of years in seperating a ball carrier from the ball.
This is a little bit like the ‘terrible play calling’ comments that are mostly due to one dumb call. It happens.
People tend to forget the great plays over the middle and the slant passes that(among other things) made the Bears slip out of cover two now and again, only to get badly burned as soon as they did.
The “terrible play calling” comments take into account the whole year of terrible playcalling, and judge the instances where MM got it right as no more than doing his job. It actually vindicates what those commenters were saying weeks ago, because those are the corrections McCarthy should’ve made a long time ago.
MM is a stubborn, cocky guy who lets himself get carried away and is slow to correct. He has shown over and over again that he has the mental skills to properly analyse a situation and find the correct answer, but somehow he often goes “alternative” ways, such as forcing long developing routes when his QB is the most sacked in the league. So I can’t find any explanation for that other than personality. And it frustrates me to no end.
McCarthy is the Packers’ coach and will be so for a long time. But calling him out when he fails to correct a problem that every fan looking at his TV screen could see is more than fair.
I’m in the oppinion that, if the Packers don’t win the SB, there’ll be changes in the offensive coaching staff this season. Either Clements will get more input into the offensive playcalling and preparation, or somebody else will get the role of OC.
17th in yards, 13th in points and 13th in passing yards after leading the league last year is not enough. The personel is basically the same, and the injuries do hinder but we’re talking about 56 yards per game difference (405 in 2011, 349 in 2012) and 10.4 points per game difference (35 in 2011, 24.6 in 2012) is too steep.
Unless you put two arms around the ball when being grabbed, instead of only 1…
I kind of understand running with only 1 hand at the ball when there’s open field, kind of. But when you’re being tackled? Cover that shit, son.
Look at the film. Grant was going to the ground and had the ball wrapped up tight, Tillman still punched it out. Wrong place, wrong time.