Quick Game Comments: Packers at Bears 12/18/16

Defense

1. Two third downs on the first drive, two blown plays by Nick Kwiatkowski as first he missed a sack on Aaron Rogers and then he gave up a catch to tight end Jared Cook on 3rd and 11. The Packers eventually scored a touchdown on the drive.I know he’s just a rookie and he needs time.  But you’ll forgive me if I say that I have my share of doubts about this guy.
2. Aaron Rogers looked good moving in the pocket early in this game as he did a nice job of eluding the Bears pass rush. However, its worth noting that the Bears were getting pressure and it wasn’t always because they were blitzing.
3. Also speaking of the pressure, Rogers didn’t do the Packer offensive line any favors. He held the ball an awful long time on some of his drop backs hoping (apparently) that someone would get open.  How much of that was Rogers and how much of that was the Bears defensive backs is debatable but I’m guessing it’s a combination.  When Rogers is at his best, he’s dropping back and getting rid of the ball quickly to a receiver somewhere.
4. Aaron Rogers looked good moving in the pocket early in this game as he did a nice job of eluding the Bears pass rush. However, its worth noting that the Bears were getting pressure and it wasn’t always because they were blitzing.
5. Also worth noting was how well scouted the Bears had the Packers. For instance, in the first quarter on third and two but the Bears apparently knew from the formation that a pass was coming and kept only 6 in the box.  And a pass it was.  It was like that all game.
6. I’m impressed by Ty Montgomery as a running back. He’s really quite a patient runner for a wide receiver playing running back.  I like him and at the moment I’m thinking he’s the best running back on the roster including the injured players.
7. The Bears initially did a nice job against the run. The defensive line got good penetration and the linebackers attacked the line of scrimmage.  I’ll give Montgomery and Christine Michael some credit for breaking tackles but some awful tackling on the part of the Bears led to some big runs that totally ruined the effort here.  As a result, the Packers had a big day on the ground.  Very frustrating to watch as a Bears fan.
8. J. Wilson had a good game today with 3 tackles, 1 for loss, and a sack. You have to wonder if he’s on the Bears radar for the future.
9. Pernell McPhee finally pulled a sack out this game as he had two and he also had two tackles for loss. He needed to start producing. 

   The­­­re’s no more guaranteed money on McPhee’s deal and he’s due a $200,000 roster bonus June 1 with a base salary of $6.95 million for 2017.  That’s a lot to pay for a guy who has shown a lot of potential but who has really only had limited success for the team.”It’s going to be serious, especially me,” McPhee said. “I am coming back. I have a chip (on my shoulder) bigger than, I don’t know what. This offseason, I am going hard. That is going to be my focus. Just going to make sure I give it all I have the rest of this season and then go this offseason and get my whole body right. It’s going to be a transformation.”

   Outside linebacker Lamarr Houston is on injured reserve and he is due $6 million in 2017.  He will likely be released after the season.  That could help McPhee as they likely don’t want to be down two pass rushers going into the offseason acquisition period.  They don’t’ exactly grow on trees.

10. Many will point to the offense for coming back to make this a game. As far as I’m concerned, big kudos are to the defense are in order.  Their fortitude in the face of multiple turnovers from Barkley was admirable.

Offense

1. In contrast to Aaron Rogers, I thought Matt Barkely’s accuracy and ball placement was off in the cold weather and I’d say it was a big factor in the interceptions that he overthrew to receivers.Barkley is a California boy and if he sticks with the team next year I think he may need to adjust to the brutal Chicago weather.
2. It took a while but Matt Barkley finally connected with Alshon Jeffery with 6 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.Jeffery never really established that connection with Brian Hoyer at any point. A good part of that was Hoyer’s tendency to go where the coverage dictated and, given that Jeffery was the best receiver on the field and frequently double covered, he was rarely the first option.

   Barkley seems to be cut from the same cloth but Jeffery found himself in some soft coverage with the Packers protecting a big lead and Barkley took advantage.

3. Nice stiff arm from Josh Bellamy on Demarious Randall on the first Bears touchdown. I was impressed by the fact that he got in after taking a wide receiver screen behind the line of scrimmage more than 10 yards out.
4. Dowell Loggains was frequently criticized for not running Jordan Howard enough last week with only 13 carries. Several weeks ago, the Packers held Howard to 22 rushing yards on a mere seven carries. He also didn’t have a catch. It was Howard’s least productive game since he took over as the starter in Week 4.Before the Packers went up 17, the Bears had only run the ball 11 times compared to 23 passes.  However, in fairness to Loggains the Bears were going nowhere on the ground for most of the game up to that point. They had about 4 yards per carry at that point and Howard had some nice runs but the truth is that the Packers stopped him cold at the line of scrimmage most of the time.

   The Bears won’t go far in that kind of weather without running the ball better.

Miscellaneous

1. Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, and Pam Oliver were your announcers. Lynch isn’t the best color man in the league but he isn’t the worst.  At least he comments on the most relevant material given to him, missing very little.  But having said that, he didn’t teach me much and I found his relentlessly positive commentary when describing both teams to be irritating and he had a bad habit of describing missed penalties as “good plays” by the player who committed them.  Burkhardt was irritatingly overly enthusiastic as well and both.
2. Special teams on both sides were fine. Josh Bellamy downed a punt at the one yard line on a nice play and that was the highlight for the Bears.
3. The Bears had their share of drops but Aaron Rogers was absolutely victimized by his receiver’s inability to hold on to the ball. Jordy Nelson dropped a long gain in the first quarter and Devante Adams dropped not 1 but 2 touchdowns.  I actually laughed when Lynch called the Packer receivers “normally sure handed” when, in fact, they are normally anything but.  Having said that, this was ridiculous.For the Bears, Alshon Jeffery dropped a pass in the first quarter that may or may not have been a first down.  Cameron Meredith dropped a first down in the third quarter.  He was interfered with but he still should have had it. He also had a potentially big one in the fourth quarter with the Bears driving on their comeback. Bellamy dropped yet another pass, this time at the end of the third quarter.
4. Killer holding penalty on Tracy Porter in the first quarter gave the Packers a first down when they were backed up in their own territory.
5. Barkley threw an interception in the first half that I may have been a little underthrown. But he threw two more that were definitely overthrown in the cold.  Julius Peppers came around practically untouched past Charles Leno to cause a strip sack deep in Bears territory.  He also recovered the fumble.
6. I thought the Bears put forth a good effort today and I saw a lot of good things, especially after they came back from the dead to score 17 points in the fourth quarter to make a game of it.  But no one can be surprised by this result.  When you give the ball away 4 times and you get no turnovers yourself, what do you expect?