Packers – Bears NFC Championship game preview

Well, it’s almost here. The Packers will play the Bears at Soldier field on Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. In honor of how far the Pack have advanced this year, I am writing up a little game preview and comparison for all of you, my lovely readers. Thanks for checking out my blog this year! Here goes…

The Packers and Bears will be meeting for the 182nd time Sunday, the oldest (and Best!) rivalry in the NFL. So what can the Packers do to win this game and get to the Super Bowl? Here are what I believe are the three keys to victory:

1. Stop Devin Hester. DO NOT kick the ball to him. DO NOT punt the ball to him. Don’t let him get deep for a pass. He’s a scoring threat that the Packers should shut down.

2. Get pressure on Jay Cutler. Blitz the heck out of him. If he gets rushed and has guys up in his face all day, he WILL make a mistake. The Packers’s defense should be able to force him into some bad throws or bad plays.

3. Outrun the Bears.  If the Packers want  to win in frigid and hostile conditions they need to get more running yard than the Bears. This means stopping Matt Forte and turning James Starks into a snowplow. Once the Bears have to try to defend the run, Aaron Rodgers can carve them up. Easy, right?

If the Pack can do these three things, they will win the game. I believe they can.

Fearless prediction: Packers 24 – Bears 21.

Now, I’d like to break down position by position and player by player which team I believe will have the advantage in the game:

Quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers vs. Jay Cutler.

While it’s true that Jay Cutler has played well this season and limited his mistakes, there is no way that he has played better than Rodgers, who has had an MVP type season. Not to mention his dominant performance in the playoffs so far this year. Jay Cutler occasionally will try to force a few throws and the Packers need to try to capitalize on those mistakes to win. Also, if Jay Cutler is on Earth than Aaron Rodgers is on another planet. He could very well be wearing that championship belt come February. Advantage: PACK, by a mile.

Offensive lines: Bears O-line vs. Packers O-line

The Bears O-line has given them problems all year-long, especially with the timing routes that new Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz likes to run. Their line has been one of that teams’ only weaknesses this year. On the other side, the Packers O-line has been just okay. They seem to get little to no push in the running game against better defenses and have been only so-so in pass protection. Rodgers often has had to try to escape the rush himself when defenders got free. On a positive note, rookie Bryan Bulaga seems to have come into his own this year and Josh Sitton has also played well. In summary, neither one of these O-lines belongs in the pro bowl. (Hear that, Chad Clifton?) But these teams seem to make it work. Advantage: EVEN

Running Backs: Matt Forte & Chester Taylor vs. James Starks & Brandon Jackson

I’ll keep this short. Starks has emerged as the Packers clear ground threat after sitting out most of the season, but it is unknown how well he could hold up over a full 16 game schedule. Jackson is a capable third down back but nothing more. Matt Forte is one of the highest-scoring players on the team and is a legitimate threat to score every time he touches the ball. Chester Taylor is a great blocker, receiver and third-down back. With Ryan Grant, the Packers might have had an advantage here but without him, not this year. Still, I think Starks will be the difference in the game. Advantage: slight edge to BEARS

Receivers: Jennings, Driver, Jones & Nelson vs. Knox, Hester, Aromashudu & Bennett

The Bears have somehow managed to take a group of skill positions players and cast-offs from other teams and turn them into a respectable unit. I’m guessing that is mostly thanks to Mike Martz. On the other hand, the Packers top four receivers are all threats to score each time the catch the ball. Their receivers are great at running with the ball after the catch. Donald Driver still plays at an amazingly high level for his age. Jennings has emerged as the Packers star wide-out. In this comparison, it is no contest. Advantage: PACK

Tight Ends: Greg Olsen & K. Davis vs. Donald Lee, Andrew Quarless & Tom Crabtree

This one is pretty simple. Greg Olsen is probably the best receiver on the Bears team. He’s a pro-bow type player. The Packers have a vet in Donald Lee, and some young talent with Quarless and Crabtree, but they don’t stack up. The Pack lost their advantage when Jermichael Finley went out for the year with an injury. Advantage: BEARS

Now to the defensive side of the ball:

Defensive lines: Peppers, Idonije, Harris & Adams vs. Raji, Pickett & Jenkins.

Well the Bears have an obvious advantage on the D-line just by the fact that they play a base 4-3 defense while the Packers use a base 3-4. They also have the 6-time pro bowler Julius Peppers and an emerging star in Idonije. On the other hand, the Packers have had great performances by Raji, Pickett and Jenkins all year. Still, it seams that the Bears might have a slight advantage. Advantage: BEARS

Linebackers: Matthews, Hawk, Bishop & Walden vs. Urlacher, Briggs & Tinoisamoa.

Well, we ought to have the advantage here just having four versus their three. Matthews is now a star on the Pack’s defense. Hawk has come back from not playing a snap in the first game to being a leader on the defense. And Bishop and Walden have both stepped up and played incredibly after filling in for injured starters. Bishop may have replaced Nick Barnett next year as a starting ILB. The Bears have two pro bowlers in Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher. Tinoisamoa is the weak link and he can be exploited. Neither the Packers or the Bears have very good backups at linebacker at this point. But the Packers’ woes are mostly because of injuries. The Bears are praying that neither Briggs or Urlacher gets hurt. They are not the same team without them. Advantage: slight edge goes to the PACK

Defensive backs: Woodson, Williams, Shields, Collins & Peprah vs. Tillman, Jennings, Harris, Bowman & Manning.

This is an easy choice. The Packers have a former Defensive MVP in Woodson, a young star in Williams, a Pro Bowl player in Collins and an emerging star in Peprah. On the other side, the bears secondary is solid but it is nowhere near as good as the Packers. Their coaches probably dream about having the secondary that the Packers do when they go to sleep at night. Advantage: PACK

Kickers: Robbie Gould vs. Mason Crosby.

Simply put, Gould is money. He rarely misses even in poor conditions. Crosby is good and has a really strong leg but conditions do seem to affect his kicks. Advantage: BEARS

Special Teams: Devin Hester & Daniel Manning vs. Sam Shields & Tramon Williams

The Packers should not be using their second and third best cornerbacks on kickoff and punt returns and risking injury to them. But they don’t have anyone else.  Devin Hester is a freak of nature on punt returns and he absolutely SHOULD NOT be kicked to. The Packers will lose if they punt the ball to him once too often. Advantage: BEARS

So, did I give the Bears too much credit? Probably. After all, THE BEARS STILL SUCK! Time for their lucky streak to run out am I right? This will be one epic battle. Let’s cheer on our team like we never have before! Thanks for reading and GO PACK GO!!!

Packers shut out the J-E-T-S, Rex Ryan speechless. Packers 9 – Jets 0.

Rex Ryan - Don't write checks with your mouth...

Jets coach Rex Ryan has a big mouth. He likes to talk a lot. He likes to talk about how his team is the best in the NFL.

But it only took two words to shut him up this week:

De-Fense! De-Fense! Okay… so that’s one word said twice, but you get the point. Dear Rex, how would you like a nice tall glass of shut the hell up? You’re welcome America. Courtesy of our very own Green Bay Packers.

We know what helped the Packers to victory this week. Defense and Special Teams. Game ball goes to Tramon Williams for his incredible play this week. The defense played great the entire game, giving the Pack their first shut out of the year. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

I want to mention every player who contributed on defense, they earned the shutout this week. In the Secondary – Charles Woodson, Williams, Nick Collins and yes, even Charlie Peprah. 4 turnovers forced by the Pack’s D this week! You can’t ask for anything more than that. The linebackers absolutely shut down the Jets scary two-headed green running machine starring LaDanian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene. Credit goes to A.J. Hawk, Desmond Bishop, Clay Matthews III, Frank Zombo and Brandon Chillar for their great tackling. Can’t forget the big boys up front either – B.J. Raji, Cullen Jenkins, Ryan Pickett, Howard Green and Co. made it tough sledding for Gang Green.

I’d also like to thank Packers Punter Tim Masthay for consistently pinning the Jets deep into their own territory. Mason Crosby made 3 of 4 field goals as well – giving the Packers their only points for the day.

I don’t think anyone predicted a 9-0 victory for the Packers this week, and that makes the win all the sweeter for die-hard Packers faithful.

Now, we’ve given credit where credit was due but there are still things that the Packers need to work on. First and foremost – they still need to develop a running game. Right now it just isn’t good enough. The Jets have a great defense but your team needs help when you can’t even make 1 yard on a third down. They also could improve their pass protection. I would also like to see some more catches from the tight ends who are filling in for the injured Jermichael Finley.

The Packers did improve with a reduction in penalties this week and Mike McCarthy also had a nice play challenge on the Jets’ fake punt. What was up with that call too? That was so stupid. At least the Packers stopped them.

With a sweet victory like that, this weeks treat is a hot fudge sundae (Check out these recipes for hot fudge) – just in time for the cold November weather. Enjoy. After two straight wins Packers fans have a reason to celebrate –  this dessert should just be the icing on the cake.

Happy reading and happy eating!!

The Packers are now at the top of the NFC North with a 5-3 record, one game ahead of the Chicago Bears (4-3, did not play this week.)
Next week’s game is at home (Lambeau Field) on Sunday night vs. the Dallas Cowboys. Go Pack!

Tramon Williams - I believe he should get a game ball this week.