Packers Outplay Bears, Move to 3-0

It's always nerve racking for me leading up to the Packers-Bears matchup. Especially the one at Soldier Field. There aren't many things that can slow down the Packers' potent offense, but the bears defense and the crappy field in Chicago seem to do a decent job every year.

But it seemed like McCarthy and the Packers had a great gameplan ready this time to kill the bears...Here are my thoughts:

WHAT I LIKED:

JerMichael Finley - This is the most obvious of anything that we saw in the game. Finley finally showed the dominance we have been expecting of him all season. I expect this to be a trend that will continue and the Packers' offense will only get better the more that Finley is involved in it.

Ryan Grant - Grant put up 89 yards on 15 carries. We had thought up until yesterday that Starks was starting to move into the featured back role for the Packers, but seeing Grant play well is a good sign for us.

Matt Forte - We have agreed all week that the Packers' focus needed to be to stop RB Matt Forte and that if the defense could do that, it would be a W for the green and gold. Forte had 2 yards on 9 carries and only a couple of catches for minimal yardage...impressive.

Morgan Burnett - With the loss of Nick Collins, someone in the secondary needed to step up. Burnett looked great yesterday with 2 INTs. Let's hope this continues.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

Charlie Peprah - I understand that Peprah is a significant downgrade from 3-time Pro Bowl Safety Nick Collins, but Charlie was out of position, missed tackles, and was the reason for several big plays for the Bears. I expect him to improve, but we are lucky that it didn't result in a closer game or a loss.

Penalties - Thankfully none of these killed us like they did in the Packers-Bears game last October, but there were too many false starts and delay of games. Simple mental errors that can easily be avoided.

Bryan Bulaga - Bulaga's injury raises concerns with our already shake offensive line. Marshall Newhouse is the backup, and while he didn't make any glaring errors that I saw, I have a feeling that if Bulaga's injury is lingering we may be in for some trouble.

Pass Rush - The Pack's D amassed 3 sacks and a few more hits on Cutler, but I was not impressed. With the Bears depleted offensive line, I was expecting Jay to be on his back all afternoon. This needs to improve for the Packers to get to Super Bowl XLVI.

Special Teams - The crazy play the end of the game concerned me, we got lucky with the holding call. But I just don't understand why we would kick the ball to Hester at all. Crosby needs to kick touchbacks every time and Masthay should just kick the ball out of bounds.

All in all, I am very happy with the win and it's great to be on top of the division (in a tie with the LIONS?! Crazy!). I feel a lot better after the win yesterday than I did before. Bring on the Broncos! GO PACK!

An Early Look at the 2009 NFL North: Chicago Bears

Offense:
The Bears livelihood does not revolve around their offense and it never has. However, over the last couple of seasons, the notorious Bears D has gotten a little older, and a lot less dominant than they were when they made it to the Super Bowl. And recently, their offense has been coming together slowly and has shown that they can produce.

The Bears have a three pronged offense with Devin Hester, Greg Olson, and Matt Forte. Devin Hester is a dangerous player whenever he gets his hand on the ball, Olson really emerged as the top target for Kyle Orton this season, Matt Forte is a great young talent who makes the Bear's offense more dangerous. However, the one bright spot for the rest of the defenses in the NFC North is the hole at the quarterback position. Yes, Kyle Orton did have a decent season in 2008, but he is not a good quarterback. There is a lot of speculation this offseason as to whether or not the Bears will go after a QB in free agency or the draft, and with Rex Grossman potentially leaving as a free agent, the Bears have a big bench space to fill. Sorry, I can't even type that with a straight face.

Defense:
The Bear's defense is definately not what it used to be. Urlacher is on his way out, their secondary has holes that have become more and more evident, and they dont strike the fear into their opponents like they used to. Just like all of the other teams in the league, the Bears are going to address their concerns in free agency and the draft.

2009 Prediction:
I expect the Bears to struggle this season on offense if their offensive success rests on the arm of Kyle Orton. I think that the Bears will pick up some quality players on defense this offseason, but when it comes down to it, I believe their offense will not be strong enough to carry them to the top of the North. The Bears finish somewhere in the middle of the conference this season. I'm not going to say where I think the Packers will finish, but I will say that I expect the Bears to finish behind the Vikings in the conference in 2009