Packers -v- Bears game week talk

[RashanGary]

Marshmallow Newhouse is going to get a real test this week. Facing the 4-3 defense, he's going to be left alone on Peppers a lot more than he was alone on Smith.

We'll get a big glimpse of what kind of player he's going to be for us.



We have to see the secondary take steps forward. The further we go along, the more they stay the same, the more likely it is we don't stand much of a chance in the post season. More than any other part of this team, that's the area we could get big improvement over the course of the season. Or it might not happen. That's what makes it interesting.

Nick Perry is another guy. He carries more than enough strength and weight to play the position. As the season goes on, I don't worry about him losing strength or weight. He can afford it. But I'd like to see him get a little better each week, particularly in the pass rush. He has his go-to move, the bull rush. He can get the corner on slower tackles. Now Greene has to target an inside and outside counter move to work off of his bull rush. Each game, I'm hoping to see him develop a little more, and be peaking near the end of the season. Same goes for Worthy, he needs to evolve as a pass rusher each game.

If our secondary doesn't get better, our pass rush has a better chance. Still, defense wins championships, and we need both to improve if we're going to be a scary team. Right now we're a team that can win a lot of games, but will lose the big ones. Hopefully that changes.

[Bossman641]

If the Bears don't get at least 2 picks on Cutler I will be disappointed. Yes, he has better WR's but he still forces the ball, especially to Marshall - 15 attempts to Marshall yesterday and many when he was well covered. Clay should be able to absolutely beast against Webb. The Bear OL was getting eaten alive early against Indy. They only got settled in once Freeney left the game.

[Packers4Glory]

Marshall n forte. 300+ yards combined. Real possibility.

[The Shadow]

Bush at corner is an invitation to lose.
I would MUCH rather see Hayward or Shields in there.

[wist43]

Our defense is a complete mess... and has been for 18 games now. Our front seven is improved, but the backend is a muddled mess and Capers is clueless. He has to go.

Our offense is still very good, but teams now have a blueprint to stifle our passing attack - and of course we can't run the ball to save our lives.

Losing to the Bears at home is a real possibility. They're much more physical than we are, and they are pretty good at slowing down our passing game. It will be a close game.

[Gunakor]

While everyone is voicing thier concern about our secondary, I was much more concerned with the 189 yard rushing that the Niners put up on our defense. Even in this pass happy league we find ourselves in today, it's gonna be tough to beat anybody when they can run at us like that.

And I wouldn't panic about our run game after yesterday. Nobody can run against that defense. We're not special in that regard.

[denverYooper]

Bush at corner is an invitation to lose.
I would MUCH rather see Hayward or Shields in there.

I bet Shields will start. I think Bush started v. the 9ers bc of their run game.

[Fritz]

There does seem now to be a blueprint to beat the Packer offense. It's the same one teams employed against Favre. Holmgren's response was not to run the ball more - to me, a typical line was Edgar Bennett with about fifteen carries for sixty yards (just enough to move the ball a little) - but to try to use the short pass as the running game, and get the safeties to creep up.

Let's see what MM does.

[denverYooper]

Our defense is a complete mess... and has been for 18 games now. Our front seven is improved, but the backend is a muddled mess and Capers is clueless. He has to go.

Our offense is still very good, but teams now have a blueprint to stifle our passing attack - and of course we can't run the ball to save our lives.

Losing to the Bears at home is a real possibility. They're much more physical than we are, and they are pretty good at slowing down our passing game. It will be a close game.

You are right about the defense. They are still a mess. Fortunately the season is young and there is reason to think they might actually improve this year. Two things that stood out were that they were able to get pressure against a pretty good line and they actually made stops on 3rd downs: 2 things that were never present last year. Now, if teams figure out how to consistently produce without getting to 3rd down much, as the 9ers did, then they've just traded old problems for new ones, so we'll see.

They didn't stand pat there in the offseason or even in the 49ers game. In the offseason they piled up personnel on the DL and in the backend. In the game, they pulled Jennings for McMillan when the doc got abused. Unfortunately, they lost Bishop for the year (what is it with this D losing a marquee player every year!?), which was a blow. So there are a lot of new parts. We'll find out this year whether or not that helps and if it doesn't, my bet is that Capers will be gone.

As for the Bears being more physical: their offseason moves suggest them becoming more of a finesse team and I have my doubts that they are that much more physical than the Packers now. They're certainly much less physical than the Niners, which are more like the Bears we used to see when Urlacher and Briggs were in their primes. That's not to say losing isn't a real possibility, but I doubt it will be a difference in physicality.

[denverYooper]

There does seem now to be a blueprint to beat the Packer offense. It's the same one teams employed against Favre. Holmgren's response was not to run the ball more - to me, a typical line was Edgar Bennett with about fifteen carries for sixty yards (just enough to move the ball a little) - but to try to use the short pass as the running game, and get the safeties to creep up.

Let's see what MM does.

The blueprint has to do with slowing down the offense, and holding it to 20 ppg, not stopping it. And a big part of the reason it has worked is because the defense has been so bad and unable to get off of the field.

Cobb could be the offense's best weapon come year's end. The offense seemed to get unstuck once they started moving him around.

[Smidgeon]

You are right about the defense. They are still a mess. Fortunately the season is young and there is reason to think they might actually improve this year. Two things that stood out were that they were able to get pressure against a pretty good line and they actually made stops on 3rd downs: 2 things that were never present last year. Now, if teams figure out how to consistently produce without getting to 3rd down much, as the 9ers did, then they've just traded old problems for new ones, so we'll see.

They didn't stand pat there in the offseason or even in the 49ers game. In the offseason they piled up personnel on the DL and in the backend. In the game, they pulled Jennings for McMillan when the doc got abused. Unfortunately, they lost Bishop for the year (what is it with this D losing a marquee player every year!?), which was a blow. So there are a lot of new parts. We'll find out this year whether or not that helps and if it doesn't, my bet is that Capers will be gone.

As for the Bears being more physical: their offseason moves suggest them becoming more of a finesse team and I have my doubts that they are that much more physical than the Packers now. They're certainly much less physical than the Niners, which are more like the Bears we used to see when Urlacher and Briggs were in their primes. That's not to say losing isn't a real possibility, but I doubt it will be a difference in physicality.

I really don't see Capers being shown the door before M3 finishes his reign unless Capers retires. At that point, the Pack will stick with the 3-4 and only promote or hire someone who can work with the pressure defense.

They committed to this, and changing it after 4 years would be rather hasty for an organization like the Packers. This isn't the 9ers or Raiders.

[denverYooper]

I really don't see Capers being shown the door before M3 finishes his reign unless Capers retires. At that point, the Pack will stick with the 3-4 and only promote or hire someone who can work with the pressure defense.

They committed to this, and changing it after 4 years would be rather hasty for an organization like the Packers. This isn't the 9ers or Raiders.

I'll use that comment to segue into another topic on my mind recently: the Niners have only recently found coaching stability, but haven't they built up their defensive group over several years? Singletary might have been a nut but he seems to have sown the seeds of this defense that is now in its prime.

[pbmax]

I'll use that comment to segue into another topic on my mind recently: the Niners have only recently found coaching stability, but haven't they built up their defensive group over several years? Singletary might have been a nut but he seems to have sown the seeds of this defense that is now in its prime.

They have had competent player personnel for a while. Including a guy, Scott McLoughan? I think, who has Packers/Seahawks ties with Thompson and Schneider I think. He is no longer there after a strange sequence where he seemed squeezed out but the parties indicated there was something else happening.

[wist43]

No team is more finesse that the Packers. TT built the offense around passing no regard whatsoever for running the ball; and defensively, the Packers have little interest in playing any.

We've had the 3-4 in place for a few years now, but prior to this years draft TT hadn't done much to build the front seven. Losing Jenkins and Collins killed what defense we had. Still, there's no excuse for the miscommunication in the back end, and the soft play up front... I assign most of the blame to Capers.

I've never trusted him... he's as likely to have a bad game plan as a good one, and he never makes adjustments. He'd rather get cute with gimmicks than pare things down and play fundamentally sound football.

I've had enough of Capers... he has to go.

[Bossman641]

Cutler and Marshall already talking shit......


Cutler wished Green Bay's secondary "good luck" at utilizing physical tactics against Chicago's receivers, while Brandon Marshall deadpanned, "I do welcome that."

"We've got some dudes that, if you're gonna get up in their face, even our speed guys are gonna get around them, and our big guys are gonna throw and go," Cutler said. "So we invite press coverage. We invite man (coverage). If we get that type of game, our guys outside have to make some plays for us."

In the past, with Packers cornerbacks jamming Chicago's receivers at the line of scrimmage, the Bears often failed to make the plays Cutler referenced. In two losses to the Packers last season, running back Matt Forte finished as the team's leading receiver in one (7 catches, 80 yards) while recently retired receiver Roy Williams (6 catches, 81 yards) led the team in the other.

In the last eight meetings against Green Bay (counting the 2010 NFC Championship Game), Chicago has won only once with dominance by the Packers' defensive backs serving as one of the primary reasons.

The Bears' addressed their shortcomings at receiver in the offseason by signing Marshall and drafting Alshon Jeffery.

"It's all about matchups," Marshall said. "I'm 6-5 (listed at 6-foot-4), 230, and there aren't too many DBs walking around that big. "If they want to get physical, I do welcome that. But again, you look at (Tramon) Williams and (Sam) Shields over there, and even (Charles) Woodson when he's down there. They like to mix it up. They give you different looks, and that's what makes them big-play potential."

Unlike in past years, the Bears feature a receiving corps stocked with size and strength in Marshall and the 6-3, 216-pound rookie Jeffery. Marshall was targeted 15 times and caught nine passes for 115 yards and a touchdown Sunday in a 41-21 win over the Indianapolis Colts while Jeffery caught three passes for 80 yards and a TD.

The diversity of Cutler's offensive weaponry in addition to the change in scheme with new offensive coordinator Mike Tice equates to "a different energy" and "confidence" in the locker room than the quarterback has experienced throughout his four-year tenure.

"I think there's a big difference in what we're doing offensively. This is a totally different scheme and mentality and direction of where we're going offensively," Cutler said.