+ and -'s from Week 1 Game

[boiga]

+ Dom Capers - The D looked great out there, with consistent pressure, steady Run D, and stunning ints. The new scheme looks like a massive improvement at this point.

+ Special Teams - Sure Mason missed a long FG early, and Kapinos shanked the punt he had to redo after a holding penalty, but never the less, the Packers neutralized one of the most dangerous ST units in the league. Most of the punts were decent, Jordy made a positive impact as a return man, and Mason redeemed himself.

+ Johnny Jolly - He was a beast today. That Int was ridiculously athletic. He was constantly in the backfield, and he might push Raji for the permanent backup NT position.

Special Mention: Kampman, Chillar, Mathews, Harris, Cullen Jenkins, Grant, and Spitz.


- The receiving corps - I've never seen Driver drop two clutch passes in one game like this. Maybe Waldo's right and he's lost a step, but this was not his game. Same goes for Jordy, WTF?

- Rodgers - He had a bad game. He made up for it a the end, but it was still a bad 58 minutes.

- Woodson - He seemed to be trying too hard this game. He underestimated a speedy rookie for big loss and missed a few drive ending tackles.

- Barbre - He blew today. nuff said.

Unspecial mentions - Pickett, Poppinga, Wynn

[Lurker64]

Why did you have Pickett as an unspecial mention? I thought he played well enough. The NT isn't exactly a position that makes a lot of plays or has a gaudy stat line, but Pickett seemed to do his job adequately.

Also, I think Jenkins is a little more deserving than an honorable mention. In a lot of ways, his ability to beat Pace one on one was the force that drove the defense for most of the first half.

[boiga]

Feel free to add your own list. Pickett just seemed extremely quiet at NT. He didn't record a single tackle and there was no loss of ability when Jolly spelled him.

I'm not expert enough at line play to tell if he was a major contributor or not, but he was certainly outshined by his mates on the Dline.

And Jenkins probably deserves better, but you can't beat that Jolly INT. It was like King Kong grabbing a plane out of the air.

[oregonpackfan]

I would not say Rodgers had a bad day. Barbre, in particular, did a poor job of pass protection which led to at least 3 sacks.

Their were a number of dropped passes which were hardly Rodgers' fault. Driver dropped two passes, Wynn dropped another, and Nelson should have caught a deep pass which bounced off his fingertips.

If the O-line gives Rodgers enough time, he will pick apart most secondaries, IMO.

[mission]

For such limited time in preseason, I really liked Matthews tonight... he seemed to be much more assignment sure and around the ball tonight. Jenkins I thought was awesome tonight.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I would not say Rodgers had a bad day. Barbre, in particular, did a poor job of pass protection which led to at least 3 sacks.

Their were a number of dropped passes which were hardly Rodgers' fault. Driver dropped two passes, Wynn dropped another, and Nelson should have caught a deep pass which bounced off his fingertips.

If the O-line gives Rodgers enough time, he will pick apart most secondaries, IMO.

Agreed, and I thought Jenkins was the defensive MVP. I thought our LBs played well. Pretty much all of them. Chillar had poor run defense on one play, but rushed the QB and was active. I don't know how many catches Olsen had, but when you can shut him down, you are doing a good job. I thought Hawk was effective--yet won't get any credit. Run defense was stout, and I don't remember him giving up a catch even though he played a lot in this game.

[mission]

Forte had 25 carries for 55 yards... wow... didnt know he had that many tries.

We put the clamp down shaawwwty. :lol:

[Partial]

Hawk made the sideline tackle to stop the big reception down the sideline. He had a solid game.

[mission]

Hawk made the sideline tackle to stop the big reception down the sideline. He had a solid game.

Didnt hear his name a whole lot but I seemed to see him around Forte at the LOS all night long.

[bobblehead]

I would not say Rodgers had a bad day. Barbre, in particular, did a poor job of pass protection which led to at least 3 sacks.

Their were a number of dropped passes which were hardly Rodgers' fault. Driver dropped two passes, Wynn dropped another, and Nelson should have caught a deep pass which bounced off his fingertips.

If the O-line gives Rodgers enough time, he will pick apart most secondaries, IMO.

Agreed, and I thought Jenkins was the defensive MVP. I thought our LBs played well. Pretty much all of them. Chillar had poor run defense on one play, but rushed the QB and was active. I don't know how many catches Olsen had, but when you can shut him down, you are doing a good job. I thought Hawk was effective--yet won't get any credit. Run defense was stout, and I don't remember him giving up a catch even though he played a lot in this game.

Agree with everything you say here. Jenkins was a beast. Jolley looked awesome. Hawk played a sound game. I thought chillar was very good. That leaping sack was just silly. I still had a feeling they were moving the ball a few times but we got the big turnover.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Silverstein on Jenkins:


He had six tackles, a sack, three tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. He was a primary reason the Packers were so successful on defense, playing both his traditional end position and tackle in the nickel defense. The Bears had to account for him a lot because he only came out of the game for a couple of snaps.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/59192592.html

[pbmax]

Hawk made the sideline tackle to stop the big reception down the sideline. He had a solid game.

Didnt hear his name a whole lot but I seemed to see him around Forte at the LOS all night long.
He and one other leveled Forte in the backfield in teh 2nd half. He looked good in coverage on Olsen as well, though they had him double-teamed.

[pbmax]

And that catch on Woodson came when he had no help from the middle of the field. Collins fell down.

[Scott Campbell]

Tramon Williams made my nice list.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Let's not forget Mr. Swain.

[channtheman]

Let's not forget Mr. Swain.

But team chemistry is now dropping at an alarming rate without Ruvell. Down to 3.9/10 now.


BTW, did anyone else think on the first bomb miss to Driver that Driver slowed down his route? It looked like if he had kept running he would have been right where the ball was thrown. The second bomb was just Rodgers being off I think. I may have to go back and look again but I definitely thought the first one was on Driver.

[]{ilr]3]

For such limited time in preseason, I really liked Matthews tonight... he seemed to be much more assignment sure and around the ball tonight. Jenkins I thought was awesome tonight.

I loved how Matthews got in Cutlers face, and is head. Not sure what he siad but did one of those 3 year old slappy, pushy away things on him :P

[red]

i can't really think of any mistakes made by our front 7

those guys had a hell of a game

[Badgerinmaine]

I would not say Rodgers had a bad day. Barbre, in particular, did a poor job of pass protection which led to at least 3 sacks.

Their were a number of dropped passes which were hardly Rodgers' fault. Driver dropped two passes, Wynn dropped another, and Nelson should have caught a deep pass which bounced off his fingertips.

If the O-line gives Rodgers enough time, he will pick apart most secondaries, IMO.
I completely agree. The main criticism I would have of Rodgers is that he lacked touch on his deep balls, but those are high degree of difficulty passes.

[Bossman641]

Let's not forget Mr. Swain.

But team chemistry is now dropping at an alarming rate without Ruvell. Down to 3.9/10 now.


BTW, did anyone else think on the first bomb miss to Driver that Driver slowed down his route? It looked like if he had kept running he would have been right where the ball was thrown. The second bomb was just Rodgers being off I think. I may have to go back and look again but I definitely thought the first one was on Driver.

I saw the same thing. It looked like right as Driver came out of his second cut he slowed up just a bit.

[Southoftheborder]

Jenkins was a beast. I thought Chillar did pretty well against the run.

It's going to be very quiet down here today. Priceless.

[b bulldog]

Nice to see Hawk play with some aggression

[]{ilr]3]

Even though one of the refs should be fired after the no-call on illegal formation on the Bears and instead gave Harris a illegal contact penalty. You gotta love it when they even they cannot believe someone did something soo Stupid

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ref-lol.gif

[Cheesehead Craig]

Jenkins had the best game of any defender out there last night.

Overall, I was very impressed with our LB corps. I thought Hawk and Matthews played quite well vs the run.

[gbgary]

pluses for me was the overall performance of the defense...they were great...thank god because the O sucked. looked just like last year. it was run or throw deep, couldn't put drives together, left the defense on the field too long.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Jenkins was a beast. I thought Chillar did pretty well against the run.

It's going to be very quiet down here today. Priceless.

who said that Chillar was no damn good? I want names. I want to see some humble pie eating.

[Harlan Huckleby]

face it, the big plus for this game was that Rodgers rallied the team to win. There would be nothing but bitchin and long faces in here if the Bears had stopped them. The Bears played tough defense the whole game.

On a personal note, the game I experienced sucked SEVERE ass. The Packer offense was disrupted most of the night, I found it frustrating to watch. I was watching late last night on DVR, and my fucking machine stopped recording just before the packers made their thrilling comeback. Had to come on here and read the last 10 pages of the game thread.

[Packgator]

Nelson did a good job returning kicks. He will have a couple big ones if he does it the entire season. He was a little shakey catching punts (a couple of slight bobbles) but Maynard didn't give him much of a chance.

[Bossman641]

Nelson did an alright job. He doesn't have nearly enough acceleration to be a punt returner. That's not quite as big a problem at KR cause he has room to get some steam going.

[denverYooper]

Nelson did an alright job. He doesn't have nearly enough acceleration to be a punt returner. That's not quite as big a problem at KR cause he has room to get some steam going.

He makes up for his lack of acceleration by running forward.

[Noodle]

Besides the obvious love of what the D did, I think the biggest plus was that Rogers showed he could have a mediocre game for 58 minutes, yet still have the stones and mental toughness to make a play at the end.

Seriously, that showed a lot. He had missed, and pretty badly, on his other down-field throws. But when they called a play for all the marbles, he threw a gorgeous ball right on the money.

That's greatness, or a least winnerness, for you.

[oregonpackfan]

On a personal note, the game I experienced sucked SEVERE ass. The Packer offense was disrupted most of the night, I found it frustrating to watch. I was watching late last night on DVR, and my fucking machine stopped recording just before the packers made their thrilling comeback. Had to come on here and read the last 10 pages of the game thread.

Dang, Harlan! The same thing happened to me and my DVR! I had to leave after the first half but felt confident I would see everything because I had recorded it.

Not only did I record the game but clicked on the "extra 30 minutes." The recording stopped with 2 and a half minutes to go in the game! I finally did see the 50 yard winning pass on the 11:00 news.

[mission]

Besides the obvious love of what the D did, I think the biggest plus was that Rogers showed he could have a mediocre game for 58 minutes, yet still have the stones and mental toughness to make a play at the end.

Seriously, that showed a lot. He had missed, and pretty badly, on his other down-field throws. But when they called a play for all the marbles, he threw a gorgeous ball right on the money.

That's greatness, or a least winnerness, for you.

Nice post, Noodle... I feel that!!

[pbmax]

Swain should get a mention. That dumb punt fake might have gone for a first if Swain didn't make the tackle. I haven't seen the replay from behind Swain and the Pack, but I think he saw the hand motion the center used to call out the direct snap to the up man. Good catch on his part.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Nelson did an alright job. He doesn't have nearly enough acceleration to be a punt returner. That's not quite as big a problem at KR cause he has room to get some steam going.

He makes up for his lack of acceleration by running forward.

A highly underrated skill for return men and a valid point.

[Freak Out]

Besides the obvious love of what the D did, I think the biggest plus was that Rogers showed he could have a mediocre game for 58 minutes, yet still have the stones and mental toughness to make a play at the end.

Seriously, that showed a lot. He had missed, and pretty badly, on his other down-field throws. But when they called a play for all the marbles, he threw a gorgeous ball right on the money.

That's greatness, or a least winnerness, for you.

Nice post, Noodle... I feel that!!

He got pounded all night but got it done when it really counted.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Nelson did an alright job. He doesn't have nearly enough acceleration to be a punt returner. That's not quite as big a problem at KR cause he has room to get some steam going.

He makes up for his lack of acceleration by running forward.

A highly underrated skill for return men and a valid point.

I didn't have a problem with Nelson as a return man. He gets up field and breaks some tackles. He's kind of shifty too. He'll be better as a KR than PR, but running the ball he's fine. I'm worried about his decision making (fair catch or not) and catching the ball. He seemed close to fumbling a couple of punts. Overall, I'll be happy to see Blackmon back returning punts, but I like the combination of Nelson and Blackmon returning kicks. Nelson might end up being a better kick return than Blackmon--who tends to dance and run backwards on kickoffs too much.

[Fritz]

face it, the big plus for this game was that Rodgers rallied the team to win. There would be nothing but bitchin and long faces in here if the Bears had stopped them. The Bears played tough defense the whole game.

On a personal note, the game I experienced sucked SEVERE ass. The Packer offense was disrupted most of the night, I found it frustrating to watch. I was watching late last night on DVR, and my fucking machine stopped recording just before the packers made their thrilling comeback. Had to come on here and read the last 10 pages of the game thread.

Sounds like it. As in smelly and unwiped.

[Tony Oday]

Finley. I loved his "chip" block on Ogunelejreihwiueh however you spell that ;) he LEVELED him...I think it is more of a scheme issue on Barbe, he is a rook basically and needs help with good DEs that just happens.

[boiga]

Swain should get a mention. That dumb punt fake might have gone for a first if Swain didn't make the tackle. I haven't seen the replay from behind Swain and the Pack, but I think he saw the hand motion the center used to call out the direct snap to the up man. Good catch on his part.

Swain mentioned in his post game interview that keeping an eye out for a trick play was his primary responsibility during punts.

This one might validate the change in ST coach.

[red]

Swain should get a mention. That dumb punt fake might have gone for a first if Swain didn't make the tackle. I haven't seen the replay from behind Swain and the Pack, but I think he saw the hand motion the center used to call out the direct snap to the up man. Good catch on his part.

Swain mentioned in his post game interview that keeping an eye out for a trick play was his primary responsibility during punts.

This one might validate the change in ST coach.

the bears long snapper took a lot of heat for that play, but i don't think it was that bad of a call. swain was not there when the play started and it looked like wolfe would have a clear lane for the first, if not a TD. but swain sniffed it out and came flying into the hole to stuff it

it wasn't so much a horrible call by the bears but a great play from swain

[Freak Out]

Swain should get a mention. That dumb punt fake might have gone for a first if Swain didn't make the tackle. I haven't seen the replay from behind Swain and the Pack, but I think he saw the hand motion the center used to call out the direct snap to the up man. Good catch on his part.

Swain mentioned in his post game interview that keeping an eye out for a trick play was his primary responsibility during punts.

This one might validate the change in ST coach.

the bears long snapper took a lot of heat for that play, but i don't think it was that bad of a call. swain was not there when the play started and it looked like wolfe would have a clear lane for the first, if not a TD. but swain sniffed it out and came flying into the hole to stuff it

it wasn't so much a horrible call by the bears but a great play from swain

I thought he made the call to do a direct snap because he thought Clay would not get off the field in time and could get the 12 men on the field penalty?

[boiga]

Yup, but the LS didn't look up to check that Mathews was still on the field and thus screwed up royally.

Shawn Slocum's the coach that kept Swain focused on the potential for this kind of trick play. I'm not sure that a Stock coached unit would have been so heads up.

[Bossman641]

Swain should get a mention. That dumb punt fake might have gone for a first if Swain didn't make the tackle. I haven't seen the replay from behind Swain and the Pack, but I think he saw the hand motion the center used to call out the direct snap to the up man. Good catch on his part.

Swain mentioned in his post game interview that keeping an eye out for a trick play was his primary responsibility during punts.

This one might validate the change in ST coach.

the bears long snapper took a lot of heat for that play, but i don't think it was that bad of a call. swain was not there when the play started and it looked like wolfe would have a clear lane for the first, if not a TD. but swain sniffed it out and came flying into the hole to stuff it

it wasn't so much a horrible call by the bears but a great play from swain

I thought he made the call to do a direct snap because he thought Clay would not get off the field in time and could get the 12 men on the field penalty?

Yep Mannelly thought he could catch the Packers with 12 on the field and made the call himself.

[red]

i don't know if he was trying to get the 12 men on the field penalty. he was never looking up to see where mathews was. and why would he take the time to look back and wolfe and point at him before he snaps.

if he sees that theres 12 with one guy trying to get off, wouldn't you just snap it as fast as you can to the punter?

plus, on the one replay where you could see him point, you could see a giant hole just to his left the opened up when he snapped it, only to have swain fly in and plug it

collinsworth was the one saying he was trying to catch matthews.

collinsworth doesn't know his ass from his dick

[Bossman641]

i don't know if he was trying to get the 12 men on the field penalty. he was never looking up to see where mathews was. and why would he take the time to look back and wolfe and point at him before he snaps.

if he sees that theres 12 with one guy trying to get off, wouldn't you just snap it as fast as you can to the punter?

plus, on the one replay where you could see him point, you could see a giant hole just to his left the opened up when he snapped it, only to have swain fly in and plug it

collinsworth was the one saying he was trying to catch matthews.

collinsworth doesn't know his ass from his dick

Normally I would agree with you, but I heard the interview with Mannelly. Mannelly said that they were trying to catch Matthews on the field and get a free play out of it.

[red]

i don't know if he was trying to get the 12 men on the field penalty. he was never looking up to see where mathews was. and why would he take the time to look back and wolfe and point at him before he snaps.

if he sees that theres 12 with one guy trying to get off, wouldn't you just snap it as fast as you can to the punter?

plus, on the one replay where you could see him point, you could see a giant hole just to his left the opened up when he snapped it, only to have swain fly in and plug it

collinsworth was the one saying he was trying to catch matthews.

collinsworth doesn't know his ass from his dick

Normally I would agree with you, but I heard the interview with Mannelly. Mannelly said that they were trying to catch Matthews on the field and get a free play out of it.

oh ok, i never heard that the guy gave an interview

i thought all this was based on collinsworths gushing

[Little Whiskey]

I was watching late last night on DVR, and my fucking machine stopped recording just before the packers made their thrilling comeback. Had to come on here and read the last 10 pages of the game thread.

Hard drive take a dump? might want to check with skin on a solution

[sharpe1027]

i don't know if he was trying to get the 12 men on the field penalty. he was never looking up to see where mathews was. and why would he take the time to look back and wolfe and point at him before he snaps.

if he sees that theres 12 with one guy trying to get off, wouldn't you just snap it as fast as you can to the punter?

plus, on the one replay where you could see him point, you could see a giant hole just to his left the opened up when he snapped it, only to have swain fly in and plug it

collinsworth was the one saying he was trying to catch matthews.

collinsworth doesn't know his ass from his dick

Normally I would agree with you, but I heard the interview with Mannelly. Mannelly said that they were trying to catch Matthews on the field and get a free play out of it.

If they were trying to catch Matthews offsides, then it makes sense to snap it to the back and see if you can get the first down. If you snap it to the punter, it is just 5 yards and they have to punt again anyway.

[Little Whiskey]

on the fake punt. the long snapper had his head up his ass. so what if you get a free play. the up man had no idea the ball was comming and even if the pack had 12 on the field the best they could hope for is to punt again. I don't take this gamble when i'm on the opponents 30 yardline. maybe if your are on your own 40, but not that far back. not worth the risk.

also, Its nice to see the defense put some pressure on the qb.

[Lurker64]

Well, I understand the logic on the fake punt, I just don't agree with it in this situation in the game.

There are basically three things that can happen, one is good, another is pretty good, and the other is very bad.

Good Thing
The Bears get a big play on the fake (they almost did) where Wolfe gets a very long run or at least a first down.

Okay Thing
Bears don't get the first down, but they catch the 12 man still on the field so they move the ball up 5 yards and punt from further upfield.

Very Bad Thing
What happened in the game.

Are there times when this is a reasonable call in punting situations? Yeah, but not deep in your own territory in a game where your lead is less than a FG. On the 50 yard line with a 6 point lead? Maybe, it's a gutsy call.

But as it stands, it was stupid. I'm sure they have it in the playbook for situations where the call actually makes sense, and the LS just made a significant mental error. At least in his defense, it didn't really affect the outcome of the game.

[The Shadow]

Swain's play on the fake punt was crucial.

[Patler]

on the fake punt. the long snapper had his head up his ass.

No, that's the standard longsnapper position when he looks at the punter. It only appears like a cranial-anal insertion! :lol: :lol:

[Little Whiskey]

on the fake punt. the long snapper had his head up his ass.

No, that's the standard longsnapper position when he looks at the punter. It only appears like an cranial-anal insertion! :lol: :lol:

patler that was a good one. just about blew some Miller lite out of my nose. :lol:

[Lurker64]

Swain's play on the fake punt was crucial.

Yeah, if Swain didn't make the heads-up play, Wolfe probably sprints to the endzone and our 0-1 record would have filled this message board with anger and recrimination while Lovie Smith is being regaled as a ballsy genius throughout the Chicago media today.

[Bossman641]

Swain's play on the fake punt was crucial.

Yeah, if Swain didn't make the heads-up play, Wolfe probably sprints to the endzone and our 0-1 record would have filled this message board with anger and recrimination while Lovie Smith is being regaled as a ballsy genius throughout the Chicago media today.

I think Ruvell would have made the same heads up-play and then taken everyone out for pizza and beer after the game, increasing their team chemistry by .3 points.

Swain is a failure.

[mission]

Swain's play on the fake punt was crucial.

Yeah, if Swain didn't make the heads-up play, Wolfe probably sprints to the endzone and our 0-1 record would have filled this message board with anger and recrimination while Lovie Smith is being regaled as a ballsy genius throughout the Chicago media today.

I think Ruvell would have made the same heads up-play and then taken everyone out for pizza and beer after the game, increasing their team chemistry by .3 points.

Swain is a failure.

:lol: :lol:

[The Leaper]

it wasn't so much a horrible call by the bears but a great play from swain

Sorry Red...that's a damn horrible call.

4th and 11...at your own 30 yard line???

If this happened on the Packers side of the field, or with 5 or less yards to go, I could agree that it wasn't horrible.

However, as it happened, it was a horrible decision. The game was a defensive struggle...and the Bears gave away momentum when the Packers were struggling to move the ball.

[The Leaper]

+ Defensive intensity

+ Jenkins

+ gang-tackling

+ Rodgers confidence

- Barbre

- Driver

- playcalling

- refs

[channtheman]

Swain's play on the fake punt was crucial.

Yeah, if Swain didn't make the heads-up play, Wolfe probably sprints to the endzone and our 0-1 record would have filled this message board with anger and recrimination while Lovie Smith is being regaled as a ballsy genius throughout the Chicago media today.

I think Ruvell would have made the same heads up-play and then taken everyone out for pizza and beer after the game, increasing their team chemistry by .3 points.

Swain is a failure.

Yeah ever since Ruvell got cut team chemistry has been dropping at an alarming rate. If my calculations are correct it was down to about 4.4/10 before the game. With Swain's play, it dropped to 3.5/10.

[Harlan Huckleby]

On a personal note, the game I experienced sucked SEVERE ass. The Packer offense was disrupted most of the night, I found it frustrating to watch. I was watching late last night on DVR, and my fucking machine stopped recording just before the packers made their thrilling comeback. Had to come on here and read the last 10 pages of the game thread.

Dang, Harlan! The same thing happened to me and my DVR! I had to leave after the first half but felt confident I would see everything because I had recorded it.

Not only did I record the game but clicked on the "extra 30 minutes." The recording stopped with 2 and a half minutes to go in the game! I finally did see the 50 yard winning pass on the 11:00 news.

This is exactly what happened to me. I think the electronic schedule must have had 2 hours, 45 minutes blocked-out for the game.

I'm glad you posted this, because I was mad at myself for screwing up, even though I remember setting that extra 30-minutes. "Remember", that because a shakey word for the aging.

Next time I will remember to set an extra hour. I think.

[MichiganPackerFan]

On a personal note, the game I experienced sucked SEVERE ass. The Packer offense was disrupted most of the night, I found it frustrating to watch. I was watching late last night on DVR, and my fucking machine stopped recording just before the packers made their thrilling comeback. Had to come on here and read the last 10 pages of the game thread.

Dang, Harlan! The same thing happened to me and my DVR! I had to leave after the first half but felt confident I would see everything because I had recorded it.

Not only did I record the game but clicked on the "extra 30 minutes." The recording stopped with 2 and a half minutes to go in the game! I finally did see the 50 yard winning pass on the 11:00 news.

This is exactly what happened to me. I think the electronic schedule must have had 2 hours, 45 minutes blocked-out for the game.

I'm glad you posted this, because I was mad at myself for screwing up, even though I remember setting that extra 30-minutes. "Remember", that because a shakey word for the aging.

Next time I will remember to set an extra hour. I think.

Give yourself two extra hours if you can, you'd hate to miss the end of a long overtime game or an unforeseen weather delay.