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Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears:

My unfitered game day running blog post of comments, observations and first impressions.

Inactive for Packers today: 

21 DB Charles Woodson
44 RB James Starks
56 LB Terrell Manning
80 WR Donald Driver
84 TE D.J. Williams
87 WR Jordy Nelson
98 DE C.J. Wilson

Inactive for Bears today:  

12 QB Josh McCown
26 CB Tim Jennings
54 LB Brian Urlacher
58 LB Geno Hayes
69 DT Henry Melton
80 WR Earl Bennett
99 DE Shea McClellin

Game Notes:

Clay Matthews returns to the field today, a huge boost for the Packers’ pass rush. Matthews had 3.5 sacks in the first game against the Bears.

Tim Jennings being out for the Bears is as big, if not a bigger loss than Urlacher being out.

With a win today, Green Bay would clinch their second straight NFC North Title.

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Mike McCarthy Pregame Show on 620 WTMJ:

Due to some “technical difficulties” WTMJ didn’t have tape of McCarthy’s interview with Wayne Larrivee. But here are some things MM supposedly said.

Matthews will play and they will monitor his progress. Expect him to be a major contributor.  Read more... (893 words + 3 images, estimated 3:34 mins reading time)

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Bears WR Brandon Marshall

The Packers-Bears rivalry has been going on for 91 years. The Bears have won 92 of those games, the Packers have won 87, and they’ve played to six ties since the rivalry began in 1921.

When the Bears named Lovie Smith head coach in 2004, he clearly stated that his team’s No.1 goal would be to beat Green Bay.

But recently, the Packers have owned the rivalry. Green Bay has won seven of the past eight matchups, including a victory in the NFC Championship at Soldier Field in the 2010 season.

The most recent chapter of the longstanding rivalry was week two this year when the Packers dominated the Bears 23-10 at Lambeau Field. The offense was crisp, and the defense was stellar.

The Green Bay defense was tough against the run and the secondary silenced the Bears’ top receiver–Brandon Marshall.

Marshall caught just two passes for 24 yards in the first meeting. And after the game, Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson were vocal in their assessment of the Bears’ offense, and mainly, quarterback Jay Cutler.

“It’s the same old Jay,” Woodson said after the game. ”We don’t need luck, Jay will throw us the ball. Proof is in the pudding.”

Cutler, of course, publicly wished the Packers’ secondary “good luck” before the two teams met at Lambeau Field. It seems Cutler’s well wishes turned out well for the Packers, as cornerback Tramon Williams caught as many passes from Cutler as Marshall did–two.  Read more... (831 words + 5 images, estimated 3:19 mins reading time)

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Jermichael Finley and Aaron Rodgers

During the Packers’ demolition of the Chicago Bears last Thursday, both Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers and Bears quarterback Jay Cutler were caught on camera screaming at their teammates.

Cutler was seen lashing out at left tackle J’Marcus Webb after repeatedly getting beat by Packers linebacker Clay Matthews. And for the much-maligned quarterback, it was just another link on a long chain of events in which he’s displayed questionable behavior.

Rodgers, on the other hand, yelled at wide receiver James James after a fourth quarter interception. For the Packers quarterback, the on-field verbal abuse of a teammate was a rarity.

National media outlets have since put both situations under the microscope over the past few days.

ESPN’s Tedy Bruschi chimed in on the so-called “controversy” earlier this week. Bruschi suggested that Cutler’s outburst towards a physical mistake was unnecessary:

“Clay Matthews has beaten many offensive tackles who are a lot better than J’Marcus Webb. So when you get on somebody and embarrass somebody on national TV for getting beat physically, it’s almost like you’re kicking a man when he’s down … It was one man against another, and you lose. You kick him when he’s down, it’s not the right thing to do.”

On the other hand, Bruschi had no problem with Rodgers lashing out at Jones following a miscommunication:

“James Jones made a mental error … That’s when you can get in their grill because they made a poor decision. That justifies any type of criticism you can give them on national TV or not.”  Read more... (573 words + 2 images, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

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Clay Matthews sacks Jay Cutler – again and again and again.

Take the ball out of Aaron Rodgers’ hands, pound the ball with Cedric Benson and let the defense rule the day.

Just what everyone expected, right?

Utilizing a rather unorthodox (for them) gameplan, the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 23-10 and moved to 1-1 on the season.   The Packers of 2011 played with an offense with so much firepower and a defense that was notorious for bending, but not breaking.

Last night, however, was something out of some kind of mirror universe.  The Packers sacked Jay Cutler seven times (with Clay Matthews accounting for exactly half of them) and intercepted him four times (Tramon Williams accounted for exactly half of those).  The Packers shut down Brandon Marshall and the defense created a Bears meltdown no Packer fan will soon forget.

The offense on the other hand showed some signs of rhythm, but still was nowhere near the juggernaut it was a season ago.  Aaron Rodgers was sacked five times and his receivers continued to be plagued by a case of the drops.

So who stood out? It’s time for another addition of Game Balls and Lame Calls.

Game Balls

LB Clay Matthews

I think It’s safe to say: the Claymaker is back.

Want proof? Through two games this season, Matthews has accumulated six sacks. His total from all of 2011 was….six. He is currently on pace for 48 sacks though he likely won’t finish with quite that many.  Read more... (844 words + 1 image, estimated 3:23 mins reading time)

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Surprise of the Game – Tom Crabtree Fake Field Goal TD run

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears:

My unfitered game day recap and blog post of comments, observations and first impressions.

Inactive for Packers today:

WR Jarrett Boykin
WR Greg Jennings
S Sean Richardson
CB Davon House
RB James Starks
LB Terrell Manning
DE CJ Wilson

Notes:

Jerel Worthy gets his first NFL start with CJ Wilson out for this game.  He can expect to see a steady dose of Matt Forte and Michael Bush.

31  yr old CB Charles Tillman will play for the Bears. Tillman has been responsible for more than 50 turnovers in his career (interceptions & forced fumbles combined).

LB Erik Walden returns after serving his one game suspension. It will be interesting to see how many snaps he takes from Nick Perry.

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Mike McCarthy Pregame Show on 620 WTMJ:

Packers – Bears: It’s going to be a tough game. That’s what we’ve prepared for. It’s early in the season, but it’s a game we always look forward to playing

Weird schedule: This is our only division game in 1st half of season.  That’s the NFL, it’s a moving target, that’s what makes things fun.

Jennings: Greg has played very well in these game. I just spoke withhim – he’s in the tank a bit about not being able to play. If it was a 7 day week, I think the outcome would have been different. Greg has made a big impact in these games with his  ability in the quick passing game and his ability to make people miss.  Read more... (1043 words + 3 images, estimated 4:10 mins reading time)

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Packers vs. Bears: Week 2 key Matchups

After a tough loss at home to open this season, the Packers gladly move on to week 2 to face their long-time rival Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on Thursday. The good news is that they have a chance to get the bad taste of a week 1 loss to the 49ers out of their mouth. The not so good news is that they have only 4 days rest and prep time before that game. The Bears also will have just 4 days to prepare and travel to Green Bay to face the Pack. They are riding high after a 41-21 week 1 romp over the Indianapolis Colts at Soldier Field.

Both the Packers and Bears have made several changes to their roster during the offseason. The Pack added 6 defenders in addition to free agents Jeff Saturday and former Bear RB Cedric Benson. The Bears traded for standout WR Brandon Marshall, who was a teammate of Jay Cutler’s in Denver. They also added RB Michael Bush and recently acquired D lineman Amobi Okoye. Rookie draft picks Shea McClellin, Alshon Jeffery and Evan Rodriguez have cracked the starting roster and will likely see time against the Packers. Let’s take a look at some of the matchups to watch for in this week’s game.  Read more... (2304 words + 2 images, estimated 9:13 mins reading time)

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To get yourself in the right mood for tonight’s Packers – Bears clash, here’s a fantastic new video on the Packers – Bears Rivalry and history by Dale Decker, who is one of the best Packers video creators I’ve seen on Youtube. You can see more of his Packers videos here.

Follow Jersey Al:

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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