Sept 13, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews (52) celebrates with defensive tackle Jerel Worthy (99) after a sack during the game against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

Backs against the wall, division title at stake, head coach’s job likely on the line, last home game of the season oh and the 186th meeting with the Green Bay Packers.  Could we pile anything onto this Week 15 matchup forthe Chicago Bears and their arch rivals from up North?

The Packers have dominated the series of late, having taken 5 straight games and 7 of the last 8 games.  It looks bleak for the Bears, who started the season 7-1 and are now scrapping to keep their hopes of a division title or a playoff appearance alive.

To help us prepare for this epic battle, we’ve enlisted the help of Ray Rivard, editor of our FanSided sister site Lombardi Avenue for our belated weekly 5 Questions.  Here are my questions and Ray’s answers: (more…)

There is turmoil in JWebb Nation!  After a rough outing against the Packers, the residents of the small island nation off the shores of Lake Michigan near Chicago have overturned the government and removed president J’Marcus Webb from power and replaced him with a new, more powerful leader, Clay Matthews.

“Matthews represents our vision for the future of JWebb Nation.  His power and speed, coupled with his determination and dreamy blonde locks are how we want to represent our nation,” one of the dissidents explained. (more…)

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…)

Detroit

Nowhere to go but up, coming off an 0-16 mark.  Grab a potential franchise QB with Matthew Stafford at #1 and pay a ridonkulous amount of money to a rookie who has never taken an NFL snap.  Somebody’s got to step in and do something about a rookie wage scale, but that’s a LOWER THE BOOM post in the making.  With their second pick, #20 overall, the Lions grabbed tight end Brandon Pettigrew, the consensus #1 TE in the draft.  Add safety Louis Delmas from Western Michigan to the mix at the top of the third round and you expect at least the first three picks to contribute right away.

To be honest, I am surprised the Lions didn’t go defense with their second pick of the first round.  You’ve hired a defensive oriented coach and are in the process of changing to a 3-4 defense, yet you don’t take a front-7 player until the 12th pick of the 3rd round?  And it’s great that you took a QB with your first pick, but you need to protect him, don’t you?  No O-linemen until the 7th round?

Make no mistake about it, this draft class is all about Stafford for the Lions.  If he is successful, this will be looked on as a good draft.  Generally speaking, rookie QB’s don’t make an immediate positive impact, but as Matt Ryan showed last season with the Falcons, that is not always the case.  Somehow I think Urlacher, Briggs, Tommie Harris and company will be looking forward to making the acquaintance of young Mr. Stafford and giving him a warm Chicago Bear welcome to the NFL.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers loaded up their re-vamping defense with a pair of 1st round picks of their own.  Defensive Tackle BJ Raji will prove to be a challenge for Olin Kreutz and the Bears offensive line while Clay Matthews should add some versatility to an already solid front-7 for the Pack.  It will be interesting to see how they make the change to the 3-4, but unlike the Lions, they actually drafted players in an effort to make this change.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikes took the biggest gamble among NFC North foes in the 1st round, selecting Florida wideout Percy Harvin.  Harvin has freakish speed and his raw talent that combined with Purple Jesus Adrian Peterson could cause the Bears and other defenses around the league many headaches. Harvin slid down some draft boards due some character concerns and a positive marijuana test at the NFL Combine.  The Vikings are not shy taking high risk/high reward receivers, like one Randy Moss back in the late 90′s.

Too bad they don’t have anyone to get him the ball.  Frankly, I’m surprised the Vikes didn’t take a QB somewhere in this draft to try to find a hidden gem or at least get a developmental project.  Leave it to Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson to duke it out for the primary hander-offer to Adrian Peterson, I mean, quarterback.

Minnesota looked to bolster their running game by taking a ‘Wide Load,’ 330 lb. Philip Loadholt to anchor the right tackle spot and open some running lanes for AP.  They added some depth to there defense with picks in the 3rd, 5th and 7th round selections.

Regardless of their draft, the key to the Vikings’ success is still Adrian Peterson.  If AP is good and the Vikes D is what is has been in recent years, Minnesota will be competitive.  It will be interesting to see what happens with the pending suspensions of the Williams boys.  If they get a couple of games off, that would go a long way to helping stall the Vikes right out of the gate.