Football Friday from On Her Game - The Bears Brought their Cheese Graters to Lambeau Field

http://flic.kr/p/6b93eK

I had a lot of fun with this edition of  Football Friday for On Her Game especially since the Bears beat the Packers for the first time in a LONG time.   

In anticipation of the Monday Night showdown between the Bears and Packers my prediction for the Bears, being led on offense by back-up quarterback,  Josh McCown, is they would either get obliterated or shock “the experts” with an upset of the favored Pack. I did not see an in-between. At the end of the Packers first drive, however, a possible in-between seemed to manifest itself when Aaron Rodgers went out after landing on his left shoulder when he was sacked by defensive end, Shea McClellin.

With that sack, I suddenly found my perception of this game shifting to a the possibility of having another scenario similar to last season’s “Battle of the Back-Ups,” also known as the Bears/49ers game of November, 2012 when neither Jay Cutler nor then 49ers starter, Alex Smith were cleared to play after both suffered concussions the previous week. That was a TERRIBLE game when what was predicted to be a low-scoring, defensive battle, became a coming-out party for Colin Kaepernick. It was also yet another display of the ineptitude of the Bears offensive line of last season as back-up Jason Campbell was sacked six times, threw two interceptions, and faced constant pressure as the 49ers formidable defense ran all over (seemingly untouched at times) the Bears’ line.

Fortunately the 2013 iteration of “Battle of the Back-Ups” was a much stronger showing from the Bears, especially on the offensive side of the ball. I am choosing to ignore the blocked punt by the Packers instead focusing on Hester’s one decent run-back to celebrate his 31^st birthday, even if it was not for a touchdown. In that moment you know it is only a matter of time before he eclipses Deion Sanders’s NFL record for touchdown returns instead of merely sharing it.

While the Bears defense of this season is not the dominating force we Bears’ fans are accustomed to, they still found a way, for the most part, to stop the Packers’ offense. After coming in for an injured Aaron Rodgers, Seneca Wallace completed 11-of-19 passes for 114 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception at the hands of Julius Peppers. Peppers seemed to come out of some sort of witness protection program last night with a sack, a circus-catch of an interception, and two additional batted down balls. The Bears’ run defense was disgraceful as Eddie Lacy who averaged 6.8 yards per carry and gained 150 yards for Green Bay. The secondary is also emerging as a major concern, especially in the horrid display of safety Major Wright. He sure did not live up to his name, instead playing like “Minor” Wright with a number of missed tackles, and a general air of befuddlement as if he did not appear to where he was, or what he was supposed to be doing in the moment.

Besides the 27-20 victory, my personal highlight of the game was the play of this rebuilt offensive line. I especially appreciated the graphic that gave a visual depiction of the fact that the four players from last year’s line that flanked center Roberto Garza have all been replaced. According to the “Further Review of the Bears Week 9,” from Michael C. Wright, of ESPN.com, “Not only did the Bears limit Green Bay’s defense to one sack, the line provided enough push in the ground game to allow the Bears to chew up eight minutes, 58 seconds on an 18-play drive in the fourth quarter with the club clinging to a four-point advantage.”

Green Bay’s defensive line is not one to be pushed around as Johnny Jolly and B.J. Raji combined have to weight close to 700 pounds. In fairness to both of them, Raji appears to have lost some weight, as well as incredible agility, especially for a large man; and well, Johnny Jolly is just fun to say every now and again, unless it is something along the lines of Jolly put a sack on the Bears quarterback…

Following the outcome that shocked all the experts on the ESPN panel except Coach Ditka, the NFC North is now in a three way tie between the Bears, Lions, and Packers. While each division game is important, next week’s match-up between the Bears and Lions takes on a whole new level of significance. The Bears are saying that Cutler will be ready to start on Sunday, but I hope there is some consideration to giving his groin (still, OUCH!) more time to fully recover as back-up Josh McCown has handled himself quite well generating passer ratings of 90.7 and 119.6 with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Rather than dwelling on a possible quarterback controversy, I am going to put my trust in Coach Marc Trestman to make the right decision for the team, not just one that would work for Cutler who has a contract expiring at the end of the season.

For now, I am also going to bask in the glory of Chicago’s victory over Green Bay, and say that the Bears brought their cheese graters into Lambeau Field, and I sure did enjoy watching it!