There are moments in life where you have to step back and realize just how fortunate you are to witness something that could be a once in a lifetime experience. That feeling one gets when they are in the middle of something that they won't forget for as long as they live. These things don't happen everyday, which is why many people will remember exactly where they were from approximately 2-5 PM on Sunday, January 23rd. If you aren't catching my drift, I'm talking about the NFC Championship game involving two teams that are engaged in the longest ongoing rivalry in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. One of the league's most prolific offenses against a team that prides itself in its defense. A team in it's fifth week of win-or-go home football against a team that has been locked in the playoffs for quite some time. The first meeting between the Bears and Packers in the post-season since 1941! Have I set the stage enough? Well too bad, I have more to talk about.
First, let's take a step back and revisit the second round match-up between the Atlanta Falcons and the Pack last Saturday night. I'll admit, I completely whiffed on what the key to the game would be in stating that running back James Starks would have to at least come within the vicinity of what he did versus the Eagles. Turns out that a quarterback named Aaron Rodgers put the team on his back and almost single handedly dismantled the Falcons by putting up video game numbers. It was hard to realize what exactly Rodgers was doing at the time, but looking back, this has to be one of the greatest performances in playoff history. Dancing around, evading the rush and making almost every key 3rd down throw possible, Rodgers might as well have been playing against the Sussex Hamilton high school secondary. James Starks had a decent game, and in the big picture, he played a roll in setting up the play action pass in the Georgia Dome as Green Bay compiled a 48-21 victory. Matt Ryan (formerly known as "Matty Ice") threw as many touchdown passes to the Packers as he did to his own team thanks to the outstanding play of Tramon Williams. Could a guy have more clutch INTs than Tramon has had thus far in the post-season? Two of Williams' picks have come in the opposing team's endzone while his most memorable interception turned the tide of last Saturday's game when his TAINT put the Pack up 14 right before the half, forever shifting momentum. The fashion that Green Bay won this game in was something barely anyone could've imagined.
But now we turn our attention forward to a game where the average ticket price is reaching upwards of $800. Yes, you read that correctly. David Radcliffe will not be attending this event, although I'm very thankful to have witnessed possibly the 2nd biggest game in the rivalry's history just weeks ago when Green Bay had to defeat Da Bears to reach the playoffs. Anyway, it's time to break down some of the key match-ups between Chicago and Green Bay (in no particular order).
1. Aaron Rodgers v. Chicago defense
Probably the match-up that will receive the most attention leading up to the actual game on Sunday will be the Bears ability to contain A-Rodg. In week 17, Chicago used a lot of press coverage, which was effective because many of the routes that Green Bay receivers run take time to develop. Therefore, by slowing down Rodgers' targets, they were able to get more pressure than the Packers would've preferred and forced a low scoring performance. Look for Green Bay to try and adjust with either some quick slants and shorter routes or to continue trying to develop a run game so they can buy more time with the play action pass. It might be a big mistake for the Bears to bring too much pressure because of Rodgers' ability to avoid the rush and make plays.
2. Jay Cutler v. Green Bay secondary
I saw an alarming stat this week...Jay Cutler, who normally has a lot of success throwing the long ball while using play action, is completely shut down by the Packers in the same situation. I mean literally shut down...like 0 completions. Cutler looked pretty sharp against the Seahawks last week, but let's be real: it was the SEAHAWKS. Seattle couldn't get any pressure on the Chicago QB and Cutler essentially had a field day. Whether or not you want to compare Cutler's performance to Rodgers' is a different story (Psst! You can't compare them!). The Bears may still use play action, but only for short yardage situations while mainly relying on the run game to help protect the diabetic d-bag. Speaking of the run game...
3. Chicago run game v. Green Bay front
It was no secret that the Packers struggled against the run earlier in the season thanks to countless injuries (which was concerning because of how the 3-4 defense is supposed to plug up the middle), but lately the run defense has looked stronger. Quite frankly, I'm surprised Chicago didn't pound the ball more with Matt Forte and Chester Taylor in week 17, which is why I think we'll see a lot more of this on Sunday. These guys like to bounce the ball outside more than the typical running back, so this could cause Green Bay's secondary to pay more attention to the outside and maintain their assignments while Clay Matthews and the D-Line charge the middle like mad-men.
4. Greg Olsen v. Green Bay linebackers
Another struggle Green Bay has had that has forced Packer fans everywhere send off distress signals is the opposing teams' strong tight end play. The reason? Our linebackers simply can't cover. I think this could be where Sam Shields plays a huge role for the Packers because matching him up with Olsen could put a halt to one of the Bears' most pertinent game plans. Olsen's performance last week against Seattle caught my eye, so hopefully it also catches the eye of the scheming mastermind of Dom Capers.
5. Devin Hester v. Green Bay special teams
Alert! Alert! This could be the reason I break something this weekend! Alert! Here is my advice to the Packers: kick it high or kick it out of bounds. Don't let that man be the reason you are heading home two weeks earlier than you should be. Week 3, the Packers go home with a victory if they don't allow the human highlight reel to take it to the house. Also, I wasn't too thrilled with the kick return TD that Green Bay allowed last week against the Falcons. I don't know how the Packers can combat their alarming special teams' issues other than...hmmm, I don't know...put your best tacklers and defenders out on the field? But that will never happen, so for now I'll just hope and pray that our special teams doesn't completely crap the bed. Not gonna lie, I have a bad feeling they will. The Bears' special teams unit is far superior of Green Bay's.
Hopefully I've done a better job of breaking down the Packer game than last week. We'll find out for sure in just a few days when the winner of Bears v. Packers heads to the Super Bowl. You can read into these key match-ups...or any other match-up for that matter...as much as you want, but in the whole realm of things, everything could very well go out the window. These teams know each other SO WELL, and if there is one thing that I can be sure of, it's that this game will be closer than some may think. It's easy for an outsider of this rivalry to say that because of how well Green Bay has been playing, they will run away with this game (just look at the betting line). However, the Bears have showed that they know how to slow down the high powered Packers offense, and the Packers have showed that they can frustrate Jay Cutler so much that he's forced to go eat a candy bar on the sidelines. Once again, you aren't getting a prediction out of me, but don't let that stop you from tuning in to one of the most anticipated Packer games of our lifetimes...God it's going to be good.
Sorry. Nothing on the Bucks, Badgers, Warriors or Brewers. Maybe next time.
GO PACK GO!
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