The Bears defense has been much maligned of late. But they came through yesterday with a pretty good performance. Lance Briggsexplains via the Chicago Tribune:
“The last couple weeks, teams have been scoring a lot of points on us, so defensively it was important for the Packers to only get 10 points. We were effective and we did the things we needed to do. We were very disciplined, that’s really what it comes down to against a high-powered offense, to be as effective as we were.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Admittedly there were some minor picks. Aaron Rogers was able to avoid the pass rush and got out of the pocket to extend the play a lot. And, as reviewed by Vaughn McClure at the Chicago Tribune, the defensive backs made some errors that could have cost the Bears some big plays and, indeed, that did cost them at least two long completions one of which set up a touchdown.
But for the most part the Bears really cleaned things up yesterday. They were rarely out of their gaps and played good solid defense. That, combined with the Packers wide receivers dropping balls all over the field, made the game competitive on a night where the offensive performance left a lot to be desired.
The Bears defense came out with all of the starters and they apparently came to play. For the most part they played fast and down hill.
The defense came out mixing it up and blitzing early. They did less blitzing as the game wore on.
The Bear defense had a bit of a problem when the Packer offense played their 22 personnel (2 backs, 2 wide receivers). They couldn’t stop the run out of this formation without an eighth guy in the box but they also didn’t like leaving their corners in single high man coverage. Rogers was trying to audible into a favorable play depending upon what the safety did. The Bears played a lot of it situationally depending upon whether the Packers were likely to need to pass but the intermediate downs and distances were a problem.
The Bears had a hard time getting to Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rogers in the first quarter, even when they were blitzing. They did better as the game progressed.
The Bears pass coverage was pretty good. Rogers was continually escaping pressure only to find that no one was open.
The Bears defense did well today but the team was also fortunate in that Rogers and the Packer offense had an off day. Rogers occasionally struggled with accuracy and the receivers were continually dropping balls.
I thought generally speaking the Bear defense played with a lot more discipline this game. To my eye they weren’t often caught out of their gaps.
He wasn’t getting great protection but I am surprised that the Packers didn’t take more shots down field.
Danieal Manning bit on an inside route on the long pass that set up the Packer touchdown in the fourth quarter. That was tough to swallow.
Offense
The Bears offense came out running and they were also mixing it up well.
The Packers played a defense with two down linemen much of the time. They did a lot of pre snap shifting trying to confuse the Bear defense and, like the Bear defense, they weren’t afraid to blitz. Their defense was effective.
The Bears offensive line did a poor job of protecting quarterback Jay Cutler. The Packers did a good job of confusing them.
Related to that, the Bears did a terrible job of handling the Packer blitz. The Packers aggressively covered the Bears wide receivers as they made their adjustments and the Bears simply had no answer. The Bears may have missed Earl Bennett a great deal more than most of us realized they would this game. In his absence, the Bears tried to use Greg Olsen more in these situations, especially late.
The Bears did have good success running against that two man line for big chunks of yards.
B.J. Raji had a great game. He was especially effective off of the Packer line stunts.
The Packers did a good job of shutting down Johnny Knox by being very physical with him. Indeed, the Packers seemed to be getting away with being a bit too physical at times.
Indeed, related to that, the Bears receivers had a very difficult time getting away from the aggressive, tight man coverage that the Packers specialize in.
Miscellaneous
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman did a good job today. In fact, Aikman mentioned most of the points I made above during the broadcast. The only pick I have is that they didn’t mention when Matt Forte went over 1000 yards.
Brad Biggs tweet of the game: “Jay Cutler yelling at Chester Taylor as he leaves field. Does he know Taylor fights teammates?”
Someone better talk to the Bears about getting some proper spikes. I’m tiered of seeing them slip to the ground on footing that the other team seems to be handling well.
Some of the Bear drops were tough to take – there were certainly too many. But if you are a Packer fan you are going crazy with the poor performance by your wide receivers in this respect.
There were too many penalties on both sides.
Nice job by D.J. Moore stripping the ball from Donald Driver in the first quarter.
Cutler threw a terrible interception in the third quarter in the end zone. He was off balance and threw it short. What’s worse, the Bears were in field goal position in a tight game. I know that to some extent you have to accept these things from Cutler but that just shouldn’t ever happen.
Brad Maynard and Packer punter Tim Masthay did an excellent job today.
The Devin Hester we saw today looked a lot like the one from last year. Masthay did a good job of pinning him against the sideline. The error of letting the Packers punt bounce at the twelve to be downed at the three in the fourth quarter came at a critical time.
I’m not too sure about the Lovie Smith decision to go for it on fourth down on the Packer 40 yard line up by only 3 points. I know that it worked out with Charles Tillman intercepting the ball on the following Packer possession. Never the less I think playing field position and continued offensive patience was called for in that situation.
The officiating in this game was generally poor. On the Bears side, the missed pass interference on Knox and the bogus roughing the passer call on Julius Peppers comes to mind. Certainly a good argument could be made that the ball hit the ground on Tillman’s interception.
This was a generally sloppy game but well worthwhile. Though many would question the wisdom of doing it, the Bears were well rewarded by playing this game all the way like it counted. The Packers exposed a number of offensive weaknesses, most notably the reappearance of the offensive line problems, the problems that the Bear receivers had getting away from the Packers coverage, the problems handling Greg Jennings on deep routes against cornerback Tim Jennings as the safeties were late getting over the top, and the problems handling the blitz. The Bears will now have two weeks to work on correcting those issues.
Matt Bowen, writing for the Chicago Tribune, provides his always insightful look into the Xs and Os for the average fan. He looks at how the Packers will use Greg Jennings to target Brian Urlacher in the cover-2. The graphic that comes with the article, shows how a typical red zone play develops. The X receiver in the graphs carries the free safety away from the middle of the field while the strong safety worries about possible vertical routes from the three receivers from on that side of the field. Urlacher has the slot receiver, Jennings, in the middle:
“This is a tough play for any Mike linebacker. Brian Urlacher is responsible for covering the Z vertically up the field. He will open his hips to the passing strength (closed side) and carry Jennings on the post to the middle of the end zone. Safeties Major Wright and Chris Harris will break to overlap Jennings on the throw from Aaron Rodgers, but the play initially has to be made by Urlacher. That’s a tough assignment versus the speed of Jennings.”
But it won’t be just Jennings who will be challenging Urlacher today. The play reminds me of an article I read an article last week from Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. McGinn points out that the slot was always the position that Donald Driver occupied but that now, with age catching up to Driver, its falling more to James Jones and Jennings:
“Sunday against the Giants, coach Mike McCarthy sent out three wides on 17 snaps. Nine times Driver was in the slot, but on the other eight he was either by himself outside or outside the slot receiver.
“Because the slot receiver has an easier two-way go against the defender and often is covered by the No. 3 cornerback, slot has been the money position.”
“Jennings, a classic X (split end) receiver in his first four years, has played the slot more than ever before. Jones, who generally lined up wide right in three-wide sets, also has worked extensively inside. [Jordy] Nelson can go anywhere now, too.”
I used to think that the safeties had the toughest assignment in the cover 2 defense. But gradually I’m starting to realize that if they’ve got it the worst, middle linebacker Brian Urlacher‘s job can’t be far behind. Many will remember that it was Wes Welker, lining up all over the field but most often in the slot where he got a free release and could go in any direction, who did the most to ruin the Bears when they played the Patriots. Its obviously going to be an important position to keep an eye on today as well no matter who lines up there.
While answering a fan’s question, Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times surprised me with this revelation:
“As for offensive line prospects, it’s too early in the process for me to give you an educated answer. I did think it was interesting that a veteran scout whose sole job is evaluating offensive linemen told me that he thinks Frank Omiyale, Chris Williams and J’Marcus Webb can be long-term answers.”
That’s not going to make some of the fans who think the line needs a major overhaul in the draft very happy.
“‘He has a lot more left,’ Toub said. ‘He probably didn’t have the kind of year he would love to have, that’s for sure, but you have to consider his value.'”
I’ve raved about how gutsy the Packers have been this year as they’ve fought through injuries. But there is still some doubt about whether they know how to win. Rob Reischel, writing for the Chicago Tribune, notes that the Packers are 2-6 in games decided by four points or less and 2-14 since 2008:
“‘When I look at the Packers in the fourth quarter, it is awful,’ ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer said earlier this season. ‘You can’t be a good team and choke in the biggest moments.'”
Elsewhere
Jack Betcha at the National Football Postgives an inside look at how misleading agents can be when trying to recruit rookie clients. I’m not sure there’s a dirtier legal business outside of politics.
We are led to believe that its best for Bears players to be held out of a “meaningless” game in order to stay healthy. But the Patriots’ Wes Welker, injured in a similar situation, tells Ian Rapaport at the Boston Globe that he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
For those outside of St. Louis and Seattle who are looking for a reason to watch Sunday night, Matt Bowen at The National Football Post suggests you take a good look at Rams quarterback Sam Bradford and how he handles the situation. I was on the record as saying that I thought Jimmy Clausen was the better pick. Certainly for this year it looks like the scouts were right and I was wrong.
Judd Zulgad at the Minneapolis Star Tribuneis reporting that the Vikings are in serious negotiations with Leslie Frazier which will result in the removal of the “interim” tag from his head coach title. Stay tuned.
R.J. Bell at pregame.com computes the chance that the Bears will obtain the number one seed in the NFC playoffs Sunday from the Vegas odds (via Joe Fortenbaugh at The National Football Post): “Scenario: Bears win (21%) AND both Falcons and Saints lose (2%)”. The bottom line? There is a 98% chance the Bears will have nothing to play for against the Packers and there is a 0.5% chance that they will actually have home field throughout the playoffs.
Don’t expect to see a lot of the Bears starters Sunday.
“The Green Bay Packers are roughly 48 hours away from their biggest game of the season when they host the Bears on Sunday. If the Packers had their druthers, though, they’d play the game this minute.
“‘Our football team is very excited to play,’ Packers coach Mike McCarthy said after Friday’s practice. ‘Everybody fully understands what’s at stake here, and it’s important for us to clearly stay focused on winning and playing the best that we possibly can for the whole game. It’s as simple as that. That’s the message. That’s the chatter in the locker room. That’s the vibe, and 3:15 can’t get here soon enough.'”
“The Chicago Bears maintain they plan to play their starters for the duration Sunday, when they face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, but multiple team sources revealed the staff has told some of the key backups to be ready.”
“Throughout the week of preparation leading into Sunday’s contest, the Bears ramped up the repetitions of some of the key backups, such as tight end Kellen Davis and third-team running back Kahlil Bell, while telling others to be ready to contribute when called upon.”
I’m not saying Smith is doing the wrong thing. The Bears want to come out of this game healthy. But the indications are that for the fans, this thing could be very painful.
Packers nickel back Sam Shields insists he’ll play Sunday but he currently can run on a knee which has a mystery injury (via Tom Silverstein and Gary D’Amato of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Safety Atari Bigby has been ruled out for the game.
The Bears can probably expect a steady dose of full back John Kuhn this week. Kuhn was the subject of this interesting feature from the AP. Kuhn has been coming on since Ryan Grant went down for the Packers and, as Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribunehas pointed out, the Bears typically struggle with bigger, more physical backs.
It appears that the Bears are going to have to deal with more than the pass rush of outside linebacker Clay Mathews. Mathews comments via Pete Dougherty at the Green Bay Press Gazette:
“[Packers nose tackle] B.J. [Raji] is really starting to come into his own now. Sacks are like a drug, you want more. B.J.’s starting to get a taste of it, so he’s turning into a pretty good pass rusher.”
Add the currently injured Cullen Jenkins to the mix when the playoffs start and the Packers are going to be even more of a hand full. Jenkins is unlikely to start the Beas game but he hasn’t been ruled out.
Matt Bowen at the National Football Postgives his opinion on how much the Bears starters should play from the point of view of an ex-player.
Despite cries of “no respect” from players and fans, the Bears improvement on offense is starting to get some national attention. Gregg Rosenthal at profootballtalk.comhad some good things to say.
Biggs points out this interesting fact:
“Veterans Chris Harris and Danieal Manning are expected to start Sunday at Lambeau Field and mark the first time the Bears have had safeties paired for an entire season since Tony Parrish and Mike Brown in 2001.”
Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan have a good Brain Urlacher quote about the speed of the game in the playoffs (I didn’t put it here because the article is short and I didn’t want to quote the whole thing).
Tim Twentyman at the Detroit Newspoints to some legitimate Pro Bowl snubs. The worst by far is Aaron Rogers. Michael Vick is not consistent and is over-hyped. As good as Drew Brees and Matt Ryan are, I’d take Rogers over any of the three this year. This was a crime.
Don’t look now but the Lions are trying for their fourth win in a row (via the Detroit Free Press). The Lions could be a force to recon with in the division next year.
I was surprised to read this from Lori Nickel at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Packers Fan Fest has been canceled this off-season due to lagging ticket sales. Perhaps the Packers players will agree to come to the Bears Expo. Or maybe not…
In fairness to the Packers fans, the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement adds uncertainty to pretty much all off-season activities this year.
Greg Bishop at the New York Timesemphasizes a dilemma that the Jets face which Bear fans will certainly recognize.
Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams gave his always unique take on the movement of the Eagles game from Sunday to Tuesday to Tom Powers at the Pioneer Press:
“‘This was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life,’ Pat Williams said. ‘It was b.s. Play the damn game. We should have played on Sunday.’
“Pat was getting agitated. He’s spent the past four days eating Philly cheesesteaks and hanging around the team hotel.
“‘Fan safety. Fan safety!’ he said. ‘The fans all left. They ain’t no good, anyway.'”
“It starts with the head coach, as Andy Reid likes to say. That is more than boilerplate this time around. The Eagles came out being too cute by half — a shovel pass to DeSean Jackson, really? — against a team they should have been able to dispatch without resorting to such chicanery.”
Easy to see who former Vikings head coach Brad Childress learned to formulate his offensive game plans from.
The National Enquireris “reporting” that O.J. Simpson‘s daughter forgives him for murdering his mother (via benmaller.com). Correct me if I’m wrong but in order to forgive someone, don’t they have to actually be sorry first?
Tampa Bay Buccaneer and former Oregon Duck LeGarrett Blounthas “no regrets” about totally losing his mind and being suspended after a loss to Boise State according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune (via benmaller.com). [head shake]
“We’ve said for weeks that it’s dangerous to just throw away Kubiak’s effective offense when it has so much continuity. Phillips may not be a great head coach, but he brings a lot to the table as a defensive play-caller.”
I couldn’t gee more. Some guys just aren’t cut out to be head coaches. In truth, Kubiac may be one of them, too. But he’ll be giving himself a better chance with Phillips being in charge of the defense.
“A lot of credit goes to Mike to be able to adjust on the go and call the game a little differently [since the bye week]. He’s done a great, great job. He’s really helped us get to where we are.”
“Packers coach Mike McCarthy called it ‘top secret.’ Several other Packers refused to show their hands.
“Packers special teams standout Jarrett Bush was far more forthcoming. According to Bush, the Packers will do everything they can Sunday to make sure Bears return ace Devin Hester doesn’t touch the football.
“‘I don’t think so,’ Bush said when asked if the Packers would kick to Hester. ‘If he does, it’s going to be an accident.'”
I don’t think so either.
The Packers will, of course, try to punt away from Devin Hester. But as Bush implies, that doesn’t mean Hester won’t see his chances. Rob Demovskywrites about the difficulties for the Green Bay Press Gazette:
“Punting isn’t that exact of a science and in the Packers’ locker room on Monday, [Green Bay punter Tim] Masthay explained why. Using a pen and paper, he gave a geometry lesson on angles and explained why a 40-yard punt out of bounds is more than just a 40-yard punt.
“’If you want to hit a 40-yard punt out of bounds, it’s longer than hitting it straight up the field,’ Masthay said. ‘You have to hit like a 47-yard punt, and it’s very hard to hit it exactly where you want to hit it. It’s very easy to hit it (a lot shorter and out of bounds). And that’s why you don’t see guys do it or game plan that way very often.’”
This is the difficulty that the player who McCarthy called, “the best player on thier football team” and its probably one reason why he did. Hester is an example of why directional punters have become the norm in the NFL. Getting the ball where you want it is a skill without much room for error and in Hester’s case it like dancing on a razor’s edge.
Mike Mulligan at the Chicago Sun-Timesmakes a sensible argument against rushing to extend Lovie Smith‘s contract:
“Word around the league is that the Bears aren’t in a hurry to spend more money on Smith. In fact, they may want to trim some salary off the coaching staff. That could be a lot easier to do after next season than this one.
“Phillips negotiated a bad contract with Smith the last time out because his timing was awful. No need to blow it again when you already have the guy for an extra year.”
Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune believes that leaving Corey Graham off of the Pro Bowl roster was a snub. I agree.
Biggs also reports that the Bears brought in four punts for a look. Current punter Brad Maynard will be an unrestricted free agent. He’s been consistent but he’s also 36 and he’s had health problems.
Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times has this quote about Devin Hester from Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy:
“He’s the best player on their football team. They have a lot of fine football players, too. No disrespect to [Julius] Peppers, [Lance] Briggs and the rest of those guys. He’s having probably his finest year there.”
I guess its not exactly the same thing but I tend to think in terms of who the Bears could least afford to lose when asked this question. Hester wouldn’t be at the top of the list. I think I’d at least put Peppers, Jay Cutler and probably Brian Urlacher ahead of him.
The Bears are talking big about taking this game seriously and I’m sure they’ll try to. But actions speak louder than words and the fact that Olin Kreutz got a veterans day off indicates that – to an extent – they aren’t treating the practices as seriously as they otherwise would (Via Vaughn McClure at the Tribune). This seems to be consistent with this statement from Smith is Dan Pompei’s column at the Tribune:
“Most of you reported that we pulled our guys (in the finale in 2005). Even for this game, if there’s someone that’s a little banged up, we’re not going to put him at risk then.”
Speaking of Pompei’s column, he gives a well-reasoned opinion of what the Bears will actually do against the Packers Sunday.
In his last eight games, Cutler has a 96.9 quarterback rating on third down. His 54.7 percent conversion rate is the highest in the NFL during that span.
The defense is ranked second in forcing three and outs, are third best at stopping the run and are second in opponent passer rating.
The Bears had a lot of trouble with third down last year and early this year.
The Bears have forced 33 turnovers this season while the Packers have turned it over just 18 times. “Zero giveaways will be an important statistic this week,” McCarthy said
Elsewhere
Sam Farmer at the LA Times (via the Chicago Tribune) highlights the fact that if Seattle beats the Rams Sunday night they will be the first ever team with a losing record to make the NFL playoffs.
Barak Obama‘s statement commending the Philadelphia Eagles for giving him a second chance is causing an over blown storm of controversy.
I’m not in the habit of making political or social commentary. But I’m going to make an exception here.
Obama’s statement doesn’t bother me. The fact that people don’t like it doesn’t bother me. What bothered me about this article is that of all the organizations to go to for comment the writer went to PETA.
PETA is not just an organization of animal lovers. They are fringe extremists who, though welcome to their opinion, should not be sought for comment in an informed publication of any kind. To do so only furthers their agenda and gives them an air of legitimacy that they in no way deserve.
Michael Salfino at the The Wall Street Journal points out via benmaller.com that Michael Vick is 36% worse in cold weather, something Bear fans already know from his visits here. This may be one of many reasons why head coach Andy Reid hesitated at first to make Vick the starter earlier in the season. The Eagles won’t do it but they should reconsider their starting options if their road to the Super Bowl goes through Green Bay of Chicago.
Dominic Raiola may find himself in some hot water for this graphic suggestion (mlive.comvia benmaller.com).
Green Bay offensive line coach James Campen on how to avoid a letdown similar to the one the Packers had against the Bears in their first game where they had 18 penalties. Via Gary D’Amato at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“You have to maintain good and the only way to do that is to strive to be great.”
Manish Mehta at the New York Daily Newsquoted this interesting statistic when talking about the difference between a Jet loss this Sunday, leaving the 10-6 and a Jet win:
When you look at recent Super Bowl history, 11 is the magic number. In the past 10 Super Bowls, 18 of the 20 teams had at least 11 regular-season wins.
According to the AP the Bears’ win over the Jets led the way to the highest preliminary television rating for the single-game window in the 13 seasons of the current AFC package with CBS. Its nice to see CBS get a return on the Bears after televising the miserable contest against the Patriots where they had to switch away to a more competitive game in most markets.
Leave it to the Daily News to generate this headline: “Rex Ryan is yet to put his foot down on issue of Mark Sanchez starting Sunday against the Bills”
Donovan McNabb continues to want to have his cake and eat it, too, according to the AP:
“Donovan McNabb sees ‘nothing wrong’ with an inflammatory statement in which his agent attacked Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
“Yet McNabb also tried to distance himself from that statement Tuesday in his weekly radio appearance on ESPN980. McNabb said he wasn’t aware that his agent was planning to release the statement before it came out last week.
“‘He put his thoughts into the whole deal, not Donovan’s thoughts,’ McNabb said.”
From Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com) we have Brandon Lloyd‘s answering the question of whether he wanted to say “told you so” to the three teams for which he previously played (i.e. the 49ers, Redskins, and Bears). It was done with typical Brandon Lloyd logic:
“No, I want to say, ‘F- you.’ And I mean that in the most professional way.”
If the Packers qualify for the playoffs they will be bucking a serious trend to make the Super Bowl. According to Mike Vandermause at the Green Bay Press Gazetteno NFC 6 seed has ever made it.
Via the AP we have Fox analyst Tucker Carlson who said Vick “should have been executed” for his role in a dogfighting ring. Execution? I mean really…
Can we do it on television?
One Final Thought
Thanks to George Vecsey at The New York Times for highlighting this spoof that could in actuality be of any of 95% of all NFL coaches.
“The New York Jets did Sunday what every other Bears opponent would not: They attacked the speedy receivers at the line of scrimmage, and they dared quarterback Jay Cutler to beat single coverage by arguably the league’s best group of cornerbacks, headlined by Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.”
Its all about the pass rush. But unlike the Bears who built their defense around getting pressure from the front four, the Jets defense starts with the corners. They allow them to bring extra pressure from all directions on the quarterback.
“According to an NFC personnel director, there isn’t another team in the conference that plays defense like the Jets. But the Green Bay Packers, the Bears’ opponent Sunday in the regular-season finale, are one team capable of playing that brand, and they’ve done so more in recent games.”
Jensen mentions that the Packers played a lot of cover two against the Bears the first time around. But the Bears aren’t’ the same team offensively that they were then. For one thing a lot will depend upon their ability to stop the Bears running game in it, something they are going to find a lot more difficult now than they did then.
And the Packers do always like to be aggressive and they may need to be this game. The offensive line is better, at least in the second half of games, and Green Bay is going to have a tougher time getting pressure on Cutler if they aren’t a bit more aggressive, than they were the first time around, I think.
The guess here is that Green Bay will still try to sit back in the zone again and wait for Cutler to get impatient or react badly to pressure and make a mistake. But I think they know that they’re going to have to be more flexible than usual and ready to change depending upon how things are working. They know the Bears a lot better than the Jets did. They know their weaknesses and they’ll exploit them. For instance, I think we can count on occasionally seeing them mix it up, coming out of the defense to bring that corner that Cutler has a bad habit of not seeing coming off the edge.
In any case how watching to see what they do and how successful they will be is just one more thing that makes this a fascinating matchup.
Dan Pompeicontrasts the state of the Packers with the Bears going into the game at Green Bay. He goes through some of the reasons why the Packers have survived through an incredible number of injuries to still have a shot at the playoffs:
“(head coach Mike) McCarthy, who has done an outstanding job with this team, is a candidate for coach of the year.”
“If you do things the right way, you stay true to your processes, your training, your fundamentals, you will have an opportunity to win every game,’ he said. ‘I think we’ve done that this year. We’ve played at a pretty consistent level regardless of all the challenges. I believe in the program. I have an excellent coaching staff.”
“The Packers had an easier time overcoming some of their adversity because they have quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who McCarthy calls the best player on the team and one of the best in the league.”
Good coaching, good talent and depth. These are really important. But McCarthy in my opinion leaves the best reason for last:
“(We have) a very healthy locker room as far as character and work ethic.”
Nothing happens in the NFL or anywhere else without character. The Packers fought like lions against the odds all year to scratch their way to the opportunity that presents itself this weekend. Collectively they’ve got as much in the way of pure guts as any team in the league and the deserve all of the credit and respect that a Bear fan can give.