Bears v. Packers Preview
Packers Offense v. Bears Defense
The Bears gave fans a glimpse into what this season could have been with a brief reminder of how dominant the Bears defense is on the field. Nathan Vasher proved to be a key element to creating turnovers and lived up to both his nickname of the “Interceptor” and his long term contract. If only he was on the field the past couple months, things may have turned out differently. I was also extremely impressed by the play of rookie Matt Toeaina, who played well enough on Monday night to earn a chance at a roster spot next year.
All that mixed together won’t be enough on Sunday. The Packers have a potent offensive attack going into the playoffs and appear ready to make a run at a Super Bowl appearance if they can get past Dallas. Ryan Grant has become a run threat and Brett Favre has shown all season he can throw the ball as many times as he needs to generate a win. The Bears were able to get at Minnesota due to concentrating on shutting down the running game and making Tarvaris Jackson throw the ball under pressure. No much luck here as the Packers will be able to do want they want on the field. The emergence of deep threat receivers like Greg Jennings will be too much for the Bears safeties to handle.
Ryan Grant may have a 100+ yard game or Favre may just throw the ball all over the field. It depends upon conditions at Soldier Field tomorrow and it looks like conditions will be pretty bad. It could be as cold as 18 degrees with high speed winds whipping off the lake. The Bears may be forced to attack teh run and see if Favre can battle a defense and mother nature.
Bears Offense v. Packers Defense
Think the Bears have a chance to get a touchdown on the Packers defense? I’ll have some of what you’re drinking. The Packers went on their playoff run in the beginning of the season because of how their defense kept the offense in the game. Now that the offense has become so explosive, people have a tendency to forget this defense is playing like the Bears defense of last year. Weather conditions could force the Bears to establish a ground game. That’s like playing Where’s Waldo for another 15 minutes after you couldn’t find him for 2 hours. It’s pretty much gone and it’s not going to magically appear.
I really have no idea what the Bears may accomplish offensively, other than to hope Kyle Orton has some magic stored up in that chin beard. I doubt Adrian Peterson will get over 40 yards rushing and the Packers will likely be prepared for the screen pass. Perhaps Garrett Wolfe can surprise us with some of his blazing speed, but that’s just wishful thinking. Moose Muhammed will be lucky to get any closer to his milestone of 10,000 receiving yards. He is less than 100 yards away, but has to find a way to get the ball from Kyle Orton to him, which could be a big challenge for the veteran.
Moral of the story is, this could be ugly and boring.
Special Teams
This is starting to get old. Yes, the Bears have the best special teams in the NFL thanks to Devin Hester. No, the Packers will probably not kick to them since the Bears offense can do anything even when they get the ball at the 40 yard line. Snoozefest.