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!

Injuries and Penalties Plague Packers

It's been a couple of weeks since our last post, sorry to keep all of our loyal fans waiting. Anyway, it's been a disappointing sequence of events.

First the Pack loses a game that should have been a win due to careless mistakes (18 penalties and dropped interceptions).

Then they scrape by in a 28-26 win over the lowly Lions.

Ted Thompson misses out on the opportunity to trade for Marshawn Lynch.

Randy Moss rejoins the queens and gives He Who Must Not Be Named a big-time receiving target.

In the process, Nick Barnett (wrist) and Morgan Burnett (knee) are lost for the season. Brandon Chillar will also miss significant time with a shoulder injury.

That leaves us with a big hole at safety, and an even bigger hole at linebacker. Hopefully Atari Bigby can return from his stint on the PUP list in 2 weeks and provide some stability at Strong Safety, and AJ Hawk will need to prove that he is worth his 1st round draft status and big bucks he's earning this year. Desmond Bishop will fill in for Barnett. He is a solid replacement, but doesn't have the talent or leadership that Nick brings to the field.

The one bright spot in all of this is that the Bears lost to the Giants, Cutler was sacked 9 times (in the first half) and concussed. He will miss at least this weekend's game against the Panthers.

Hopefully backups can fill voids where they are needed (RB, ILB, Safety) and the offense can find a rhythm. Thankfully...we still have the bikini girls. GO PACK!

The Claymaker Strikes!

It was ugly…but it counts! The Pack looked like the better team during the first half on Sunday vs the Eagles, but the 2nd half was a different story. Michael Vick looked like the Pro Bowl QB for the Atlanta Falcons that seems like such a distant memory, and almost pulled the comeback victory that would have certainly won him the starting job in Philly (if it hasn’t already). But a win is a win, and we’re in 1-0.

Here is what I noticed in the game:

CLAY MATTHEWS IS AWESOME! He looked like a pro bowler. If he continues play like that, he will certainly be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year for 2010.

Ryan Grant out for the season. This is a HUGE blow to the offense. With Brandon Jackson and newly acquired Dimitri Somethingorother (who cares what his real name is), the running game will be suspect to say the least. Let’s hope that either Jackson will emerge as a great RB, or that Thompson will be willing to trade for a decent one (i.e. Marshawn Lynch, etc).

Tramon Williams looked solid. He looked like he deserved the be the starter. He didn’t give up any big plays or commit any pass interferences. Let’s hope that good play continues.

Morgan Burnett solid as well. Didn’t see anything that led me to believe that he wont be a good starter for years to come in the Green & Gold.

Sam Shields. This is definitely the weak spot on the defense. Sheilds is fast as lightning, but made a bunch of rookie mistakes, and the better QBs in the league will pick on him all year.

AJ Hawk did not play. With the nickel and dime defenses on the field the whole game, Hawk did not have a chance to get into the game at all. This will change against more run-heavy teams and I’m not concerned. It does say something about his value…especially for how much he’s being paid.

That’s a quick recap. Bring on the Bills! GO PACK!

Packers-Colts: Preseason Game 3 Recap

Peyton Manning and the Colts came out firing on all cylinders and scored an easy touchdown within the first 30 seconds of the game. It may have been nerves, but it may still be due to injuries, but whatever it is...the Pack can't let that happen in the regular season.

Although the offense looked great, as expected, and the defense did calm down and start to play more soundly, there are just too many question marks to take too much away from the Packers' 59-24 trouncing of the Colts.

Jester's Biggest Concerns:

1. Special Teams - Even though they came up with what would be a huge play in a meaningful game by scoring a TD on a muffed punt, the rest of the game was not impressive by any means in any of the aspects of the Packers' Special Teams. They may be "short bus" special this year. Something needs to change here.

2. Pressure - Although I did see Peyton have to move around in the pocket some to avoid pressure, on most of those instances he still found a wide open receiver. Granted it is preseason and it was Peyton Manning and the Colts, but if we can't stop the good QBs from lighting us up, then the season is a bust.

3. Greg Jennings - I'm not sure why he didn't play, and I'm hoping it was just for precautionary reasons. But if this turns out to be a serious injury, it could be a huge blow to the receiving corps.

Now on to the things I liked...

1. Aaron Rodgers - He and the entire offense looked sharp in the first half. I have no issues with the way they're playing.

2. JerMichael Finley - The guy is a beast. Wouldnt surprise me at all to see him become the #1 fantasy Tight End this year.

3. Morgan Burnett - He looked solid. Came up with an INT and I didnt see him blow any major coverages. I think he will be a solid player going forward, although i do anticipate some rookie mistakes.

All in all it was a good showing. The Pack shut down the Colts' second and third team offenses, but that's of little value. What I took from the first half is that we can be competitive with the best teams in the league. It will just come down to answering the question, "Can the defense come up with the necessary stops in the big games?"

GO PACK!