Dec 25, 2011; Green Bay, WI, USA; The Chicago Bears line up for a play against the Green Bay Packers during the game at Lambeau Field. The Packers defeated the Bears 35-21. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

Green Bay Packers-

2011 Record-15-1 (Lost in divisional round to the New York Giants)

Coach- Mike McCarthy- 63-33 regular season 8-5 post season 1 Super Bowl Championship

All-Time Record- Bears lead 92-86-8 (1-1 Postseason)

2012 Subtractions- Qb Matt Flynn, C Scott Wells, T Chad Clifton, CB Pat Lee, SS Nick Collins

2012 Additions- C Jeff Saturday, DE Anthony Hargrove, DE Phillip Merling, DT Daniel Muir

2012 Meetings- Week 2 Sept 13 at Green Bay, Week 15 Dec 16 in Chicago

Strength of Schedule-31

Fantasy Impact- Aaron Rodgers-1st round Greg Jennings 1-2 round Jordy Nelson 2-3 round Jermichael Finley- 5th round  Cedric Benson 4-5 round (more…)

Aug 23, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) hands the ball off to running back Cedric Benson (32) during the pre-season game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Leifheit-US PRESSWIRE

The Green Bay Packers pre-season dress rehearsal was against a formidable defense last night in the Cincinnati Bengals.  The first string Packers offense didn’t miss a beat putting up 17 first half points including two first quarter rushing touchdowns by Aaron Rodgers.

The best part of the game for the Packers and worst part for Bears fans is that Cedric Benson was highly effective in his play.  He had 6 carries for 38 yards and 1 catch for 10 yards.  Benson plays best when he has a chip on his shoulder, I’m sure nobody has forgotten the 189 yards Benson collected against the Bears in 2009. The 2012 chip on Benson’s shoulder will be that the Bengals decided that BenJarvus Green-Ellis was a better option than Benson. Benson isn’t a home run hitter but he can give them 4.5 yards per carry, then Benson can and most likely will bring some balance to the Packers offense which could make their offense down right scary.

Rodgers was his usual self throwing for 122 yards rushing for 52 and 2 scores in a half.  He’s a statsitcal nightmare if you are playing against him in fantasy football!  Jermichael Finley was the only big name offensive player to miss the game as Greg Jennings made his first appearance in the pre-season after battling injuries early in camp.

The dress rehearsal game shows what everyone knows already about the Packers. This is a very good team and unless Rodgers gets hurt, it will be a huge fight to win the NFC North title from them in 2012.  Let’s hope the Bears offense can be just as effective tonight in New York!

It was BEARly worth mentioning, but they our are biggest rival!

DA BEARS

Jan 7, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson (32) carries the ball during the AFC Wildcard Playoff game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. The Texans defeated the Bengals 31-10. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Guess who’s in Green Bay today?

Former Chicago Bears first round draft pick Cedric Benson is in Green Bay and is expected to sign a contract today with the Packers according to ESPN and Chris Mortensen.  Benson who spent the last 4 seasons with the Bengals including 3 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons was not offered a contract by Cincinnati and went unsigned throughout the summer.

Benson couldn’t understand why he wasn’t offered a contract but getting passed over could be a blessing in disguise.  The glaring weakness in the Packers offense has been the running game, and last night’s pre -season game showed no improvement with the Packers running backs, led by potential starter James Starks, averaging only 2.1 yards per carry on 22 attempts.

This could be a perfect fit for Benson where he won’t have to come in and be counted on to carry the offense, but just to compliment Aaron Rodgers and their potent offense.  As much as I dislike Benson from his Bears tenure this signing really isn’t a good thing for the Bears and their fans!

Do you think Benson will help the Packers running game?

Cedric Benson is familiar with mugshots, like this one from 2008.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  One of my favorite targets has popped up on the Austin, TX blotter once again.  That’s right, when you put Austin, blotter and Chicago Bears together, you can only think of one person – Cedric Benson.

According to the report out of the Austin American-Statesman, Benson was involved in a May 30th dust-up at a local establishment:

Former University of Texas football player Cedric Benson was arrested and charged with assault with injury early today after an incident last month at Annie’s West at 706 West Sixth Street, where officials said he punched a bar employee in the face.

The 27-year-old current running back for the Cincinnati Bengals had been involved in an altercation at the establishment and was being escorted out when he punched an employee, according to an arrest affidavit.

The affidavit said the May 30 incident began at 1:50 a.m. when a fight began between Benson and an unknown person inside the bar. Club staff separated them, at which time Benson shoved a manager “in an attempt to continue the fight he was previously engaged in,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit said Benson spit blood from his injured lip at a bar employee.

Workers then asked Benson several times to leave.

“Benson refused, and was escorted out of the bar,” the affidavit said.

Outside, the affidavit said employees tried to prevent him from going back in. At that point, he punched “with his right fist to the left side” of an employee’s face, causing the employee to stumble backwards.

All this while Benson is seeking a new contract.  What a shame if this hurts his chances of getting new paper.  Benson may have saved the Bungles a few bucks with this latest misstep with the law.

After Benson and the Bengals ran roughshod over the Bears last season, there were plenty of Bears fans who bemoaned the 2008 release of Benson following a pair of alcohol fueled incidents back in Texas.   Any change of opinion after this latest incident?

Benson is an ass-hat, plain and simple.  He is a piece of crap who stole millions from the Bears and never showed any motivation to succeed or live up to his lofty #4 overall draft status. Only after being released by the Bears and staring a McDonald’s application in the face did he get himself into shape and play like the #4 pick should.

I hope he gets to spend some time in the old gray bar motel.  Maybe that will set him straight.  Nah!

When you’re on a budget – and we know the Misers of the Midway always are – it’s best to do a little research before going on a shopping spree to be sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck.

Last season the second biggest disappointment for the Bears, besides Jay Cutler and his knack for throwing the ball to the other team, had to be Matt Forte.  You can blame the O-line or playing with a bum wheel, but the fact is that the Bears had no one to spell and/or compliment Forte.

Let’s assess the expected crop of Free Agent Running  Backs the Bears might consider to bolster their backfield:

Darren Sproles

This little waterbug is likely to be a hot commodity on the free agent market.  His diminutive stature (5’6″ and 185 lbs) makes it a stretch to think that he could be a primary back, so that might cost him a few bucks, but heading into an uncapped year, that will hardly make a difference.

Sproles i’s quicker than a hiccup and sometimes tougher to stop.  Mike Martz has wet dreams about this type of running back.  Can you imagine the screen plays he could run with him?  Would be the perfect compliment to Forte in the backfield and I can hardly imagine what Dave Toub could do with his unique talents on special teams?   (more…)

This weekend take a look at a team that really lives up to the Bears’ formula – the New York Jets.   The Jets finished up the season ranked 1st in defense and 1st in rushing at just over 172 yards per game.

In stark contrast, the Bears wound up with about 93 yards per game.  They did this with – ya, you guessed it – Bears castoff Thomas Jones toting the rock.  You remember him, right?  The guy they traded to make way for Cedric Benson.  The Cedric Benson who tallied over 1200 yards for the Bengals when he got his head screwed on right.

Meanwhile, the guy we had to draft to replace the guy that chased the other guy out of town played all season with a bum wheel.

The Jets have more ties to the Bears besides T Jones.  How about head coach Rex Ryan?  Yup, Buddy’s son.  And one of his assistants?  46-zone defense ‘namesake’ #46 Doug Plank.

Critics have said that the Jets backed their way into the playoffs, thanks in large part to the Colts laying down for them back in Week 16.  But the Jets have gotten the job done in the playoffs with strong running from Jones and emerging superstar Shonn Greene (take note 2010 fantasy footballers) and playing killer defense behind lockdown cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Look for Revis to follow Reggie Wayne into the locker room at halftime – that’s how tight he’ll be covering.  I doubt the Jets will be able to confuse Peyton Manning with various fronts and blitzes – who can?  But if the Jets can run the ball and keep Peyton and the Colts offense off the field…   Well,  you never know.

So if you like old-school 1985-style 46-defense and smash mouth running attack that the Bears advertise, throw your support behind the Jets.

Even though the Bears‘ season is over (sigh), it doesn’t mean football season is over.  Wild-Card Weekend featured plenty of teams the Bears faced this season (5), ex-Bears runners, a crumbling dynasty, an ex-Chicago team and a hated Bears rival in an instant classic.   Here’s my wrap-up:

Jets 24, Bengals 14

Ex-Bears ran wild in this game, especially Cedric Benson, who ripped off 169 yards and a long TD run in a losing effort.  Former teammate Thomas Jones added a TD of his own as the Jets cruised past the Bengals behind Rex Ryan (yes, Buddy’s son) who runs a lot of the old Bears 46 defense.

The loneliest guy in Cincinnati has to be Shayne Graham.  It seemed like every time the Bengals tried to close the gap, he was missing a short field goal.  It’s going to be a loooong offseason for that guy.

The Jets head to San Diego to take on Phillip Rivers and the red-hot Chargers.   (more…)

White Meat Plays (guys I like)

1. Aaron Rodgers, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and Ryan Grant @ Detroit – Hell, I would probably also throw Jermichael Finley into this bunch…I think GB comes out and stomps Detroit.  I know Detroit plays tough on Turkey Day, because it is their birth right to host a game every year, but not this year my friends.  GB wins and wins big!!!
2. Marion Barber vs Oakland – Shocker, I am picking a RB to light up Oakland, but until they can stop anyone on the ground, I will keep picking against them.  The Oakland D is 30th against the run and they have allowed a league high 16 rushing TDs.  Surprisingly, they are not so bad against the pass, so I expect Barber to gain > 100yds on the ground and likely 2 TDs.
3. Brett Favre vs Bears - There is really no explanation needed.  The Beloved are hurting and Favre’s colors have changed, but the song remains the same.  Oh, and he has a pretty good running game to support a lot of play action over the top of our vaunted Tampa Two defense.
4. Whichever Cincy RB starts vs Cleveland - Whether it is Cedric Benson or Bernard Scott starting for Cincy, they should be starting for you.  They will light up Cleveland!!!

Dark Meat Plays (guys I don’t like)  (more…)