Packers vs. Bears Insanity

[mugrad2006]

Of course this was going to come up, but it's a case of shoddy journalism.  Jan Cavanaugh, the cancer survivor in the video, has defended the Packers and Aaron Rodgers and is quite upset over the way the story was reported.  

Cavanaugh is a rabid Packers fan who often seeks autographs from the team and in particular Rodgers.  Just the week before, Aaron signed a jersey for her.  He's signed other items as well over the past couple of years.  Now, I agree that as a pro athlete Rodgers should recognize who pays his salary and that he's fortunate to live the life he has, but this story has gotten blown way out of proportion.  

Packers Fan with Cancer Shocked by Criticism of Aaron Rodgers http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=13857012

[DegenerateDish]

I both love the meatball portion of this week and hate it at the same time.

Putting fandom's aside, and looking objectively, here's what I see.

-Chicos said if this game was in a dome and on turf, Pack by 3 touchdowns. No f'n way, as both teams strengths are for dome/turf conditions. The Bears D is predicated on speed, anyone who's watched the Bears this year realizes that. As is the Pack's offense, see last week.

-Anyone who thinks the Pack is putting up 48 this week, or the Bears are putting up 35, is insane.

-Field conditions are going to bother both teams, slight advantage to the Bears for at least knowing how bad the footing is going to be. Current weather calls for this Sunday to be like last Sunday, cloudy/chance of snow, upper teens.

-Last time at Soldier Field, the crowd and Julius Peppers were a huge factor in the game. Green Bay had 8 penalties called on the offense (that's not luck either).

-One of the reasons Green Bay's offense has struggled against the Bears, I think, is because the Bears don't blitz. Rodgers is the best QB in the NFC against the blitz, and the Pack receiving corp is excellent at reading blitz.

-On the flip side, if the Bears can't pick up the Pack blitz, it'll be a long day for the Bears offense.

-Punting/Kicking at Soldier Field is no easy task. Even if the Pack decide not to kick to Hester, big field position advantage for the Bears. Of note, Hester has 5 punt returns vs Green Bay this year, for 128 yds and a TD. That's a big average.

-Can either team run the ball against the other? Interesting that last time at Soldier, Pack ran the ball poorly, yet dominated time of possession. Rodgers threw 45 times, but if anyone remembers that game, the Pack essentially used their passing game as their running game.

-Who wins? I have no idea. People are going to think the Pack putting up 48 points last week means they win in a route. In Week 16, Pack put 40 plus up on the Giants, and then offensively struggled mightily against the Bears at home in Week 17, with their lives on the line. Can the Bears protect Cutler? Defensively they probably won't give up big plays, but can they get off the field on 3rd and long?

Should be an epic game. For all the preseason talk about how good the NFC East was supposed to be, 3 of the last 4 teams to make it to the NFC title game are from the NFC North.

Bears/Pack playing for the Halas trophy to go on to play for the Lombardi trophy, how fitting.

[MerrittsMustache]

Regarding the use of "we"...I think it sounds dumb if you dont have a legitimate connection to the team. Ex...Using "we" as a Marquette student/alum is fine. But when it comes to pro sports...it sounds weird if you use it and dont play or work for the team.

+1000

[Sir Lawrence]

I both love the meatball portion of this week and hate it at the same time.

Putting fandom's aside, and looking objectively, here's what I see.

-Chicos said if this game was in a dome and on turf, Pack by 3 touchdowns. No f'n way, as both teams strengths are for dome/turf conditions. The Bears D is predicated on speed, anyone who's watched the Bears this year realizes that. As is the Pack's offense, see last week.

-Anyone who thinks the Pack is putting up 48 this week, or the Bears are putting up 35, is insane.

-Field conditions are going to bother both teams, slight advantage to the Bears for at least knowing how bad the footing is going to be. Current weather calls for this Sunday to be like last Sunday, cloudy/chance of snow, upper teens.

-Last time at Soldier Field, the crowd and Julius Peppers were a huge factor in the game. Green Bay had 8 penalties called on the offense (that's not luck either).

-One of the reasons Green Bay's offense has struggled against the Bears, I think, is because the Bears don't blitz. Rodgers is the best QB in the NFC against the blitz, and the Pack receiving corp is excellent at reading blitz.

-On the flip side, if the Bears can't pick up the Pack blitz, it'll be a long day for the Bears offense.

-Punting/Kicking at Soldier Field is no easy task. Even if the Pack decide not to kick to Hester, big field position advantage for the Bears. Of note, Hester has 5 punt returns vs Green Bay this year, for 128 yds and a TD. That's a big average.

-Can either team run the ball against the other? Interesting that last time at Soldier, Pack ran the ball poorly, yet dominated time of possession. Rodgers threw 45 times, but if anyone remembers that game, the Pack essentially used their passing game as their running game.

-Who wins? I have no idea. People are going to think the Pack putting up 48 points last week means they win in a route. In Week 16, Pack put 40 plus up on the Giants, and then offensively struggled mightily against the Bears at home in Week 17, with their lives on the line. Can the Bears protect Cutler? Defensively they probably won't give up big plays, but can they get off the field on 3rd and long?

Should be an epic game. For all the preseason talk about how good the NFC East was supposed to be, 3 of the last 4 teams to make it to the NFC title game are from the NFC North.

Bears/Pack playing for the Halas trophy to go on to play for the Lombardi trophy, how fitting.

Great analysis.  As a Packers fan, I worry about wind, and agree wholeheartedly with your statements on punting/kicking.  Bears kickers know the "read" at Soldier Field, so I give them the advantage there.  I also worry about Hester and the Packers crapty special teams defense.  I cosign on the merging of these two storied teams going for gold.  Good times.

[DegenerateDish]

FWIW, I hope the Rodgers/cancer patient story goes away, that shouldn't cloud or hang over this game/this week ahead.

Not that it's on the same level, but the absurd Rick Reilly article on Cutler from last week hopefully goes away too. That piece was such a joke and had such an agenda behind it, it was ridiculous.

[ChicosBailBonds]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2010/news/story?id=6031703

[mugrad2006]

FWIW, I hope the Rodgers/cancer patient story goes away, that shouldn't cloud or hang over this game/this week ahead.

Not that it's on the same level, but the absurd Rick Reilly article on Cutler from last week hopefully goes away too. That piece was such a joke and had such an agenda behind it, it was ridiculous.

Ugh, I listen to too much sports talk radio here in Chicago, and aside from learning the words to 'Bear Down, Chicago Bears', they've talked about the Incredible Sulk and the Rick Reilly article way too much.  With so much history and tradition to speak to with the upcoming game, the BS stories just reek of lazy journalism and pandering to non sports fans.

[IAmMarquette]

I will be SHOCKED if either team even sniffs 40 points this weekend. By the same token, I'll be shocked if the Packers' offense struggles as much this weekend as it did in week 17, or in week 4 for that matter.

[spiral97]

learning the words to 'Bear Down, Chicago Bears'

In the week 17 game I, as a Packer fan, joined in with the Bear faithful shouting "Bear Down".  It actually felt surprisingly awesome.  Very liberating if I do say so myself.  I yelled it 6 times, one for each time Cutler found himself "down" on his back looking up at the green and gold jersey on top of him.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Fair enough Dish, but in my opinion I think the Packers would destroy the Bears on turf.  Just my opinion.

Good luck this weekend, should be a great game.

[NavinRJohnson]

No reason to over analyze, as will be done this week. By now everybody has a pretty good idea what they think these teams are. Forget everything that has been discussed/will be discussed this week where everyone is trying to talk themselves into something. The moment you knew the game was going to happen, who did you think was going to win? For me, that's the Packers because I believe they're just a better, more complete and tested team (and in know way do I think Mike Martz and Jay Cutler can be trusted in a game like this). As always turnovers are the great equalizer, but they are tough to predict, even considering the job the Bears do creating them. If the Packers take care of the ball and do not allow Devin Hester to beat them, they should win the game.

[TallTitan34]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2010/news/story?id=6031703

That's not what he told Peppers after the Bears/Vikes game.  Pretty funny what he says in public versus private.

[MU B2002]

Not that it's on the same level, but the absurd Rick Reilly article on Cutler from last week hopefully goes away too. That piece was such a joke and had such an agenda behind it, it was ridiculous.

I just now read this article.  So...  does Rick not like Jay or something.  I thought his interview question about the INT was perfect.  "QWhat was the problem?  A: I threw the ball."  Why waste time talking about reads etc.

F*** Rick Reilly.


Weather: Hi 17 Low 12, 10% chance of precip.  (as of today)

[NavinRJohnson]

F*** Rick Reilly.

Rick Reilly is a dope, and I find him incredibly boring and tiresome. I think Cutler is kind of a dope too, but who cares?

[hairy worthen]

That's not what he told Peppers after the Bears/Vikes game.  Pretty funny what he says in public versus private.

He is in major spin control to salvage his legacy. If he wasn't worried about his legacy he wouldn't have brought it up. Notice how he he is in the news right before the biggest championship game in a long time maybe ever. What a media whore, he can't stand not being the center of everyones attention. (Evidently it worked because he we are talking about it.)

[hairy worthen]

I both love the meatball portion of this week and hate it at the same time.

Putting fandom's aside, and looking objectively, here's what I see.


-Field conditions are going to bother both teams, slight advantage to the Bears for at least knowing how bad the footing is going to be. Current weather calls for this Sunday to be like last Sunday, cloudy/chance of snow, upper teens.

-Last time at Soldier Field, the crowd and Julius Peppers were a huge factor in the game. Green Bay had 8 penalties called on the offense (that's not luck either)

You are spot on except these two points. The weather won't be a factor, both teams have played and played well in worse weather than what they will see on Sunday. Field conditons will be the same for both teams if anything the defenses will have trouble giving the advantage to the packers because they have a better offense.


Yes the bears caused some of the penalties in September but some were just brain farts that cost the packers. IT wasn't just the penalties that hurt the packers but also the mistakes on special teams and the turnover at the end of the game. I am pretty sure there won't be 8 penalties on the packer offense this time around.

[NavinRJohnson]

Aaron Rodgers hates cancer patients.

Now you know the rest of the story...


http://www.wbay.com/Global/category.asp?C=169373&clipId=5476575&topVideoCatNo=14980&autoStart=true

I also can't find the entire story which was up on WBAY's site yesterday where they showed her husband indicating that he had gotten over 20 autographs the previous week, as well as a line of additional autograph seekers behind her when Rodgers walked by. This is obviously much ado about nothing, and is going to have zero impact on Arron Rodgers image, but I think the more interesting part about it is the exposure of the lazy, pathetic, incomplete work done by Mike Florio, who still refuses to back off anything he posted a few days ago.

Paul Harvey, Good day!

[MerrittsMustache]

First big blow of the week favors GB. Fox will be having some American Idol winner sing the national anthem instead of Jim Cornelison. Clearly the NFL wants GB in the Super Bowl.

Hope that kid is ready for what awaits him.

[GGGG]

He is in major spin control to salvage his legacy. If he wasn't worried about his legacy he wouldn't have brought it up. Notice how he he is in the news right before the biggest championship game in a long time maybe ever. What a media whore, he can't stand not being the center of everyones attention. (Evidently it worked because he we are talking about it.)

Not only that, but the way he said it..."Well, they should win it all...they are the best team left," means if they don't it is a failure by Thompson, McCarthy and/or Rodgers if they don't.

[TallTitan34]

First big blow of the week favors GB. Fox will be having some American Idol winner sing the national anthem instead of Jim Cornelison. Clearly the NFL wants GB in the Super Bowl.

Hope that kid is ready for what awaits him.

It was awesome seeing gentleman Jim sing the National Anthem versus the Seahawks with the crowd going crazy during it just like a Hawks game.

I think Jim has the largest ring of anyone there.

[DegenerateDish]

Of note, the NFL manages every aspect of the conference championship games. That's why Cornelison isn't singing this Sunday, and you'll get a dose of DeWyze (thank you Fox).

Also, the NFL (not the Chicago Park District) will manage the field all week. Might not seem like a big deal considering their obviously not installing new turf, but of note, it will be the NFL's call as to how to handle the field. Might not seem important, but Thursday night into Friday, if I'm not mistaken, there's supposed to be about six/seven inches of snow forecasted here in the Chicago area.

[TallTitan34]

Cornelison also has a Hawks game at 11:30 on Sunday.  Maybe it takes the golden pipes awhile to refresh.

The Bears and Park District met to discuss resurfacing the field.  The two decided not to considering the new sod wouldn't have time to take root.  (Plus green paint is a lot cheaper haha)

As for the turf, the Packers shouldn't complain about it.  If they don't like it they should have won the division so the game would be in Green Bay.

[DJO's Pump Fake]

They can still complain about the worst field in the NFL, seems like everyone else. Including bear players.

[TallTitan34]

Urlacher hates it more than anyone.

[DJO's Pump Fake]

interesting sportsnation poll

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/polls?pCat=46&sCat=1949