Here’s the things that stuck out to us the most in the historic Bears game.
D-Line
The defensive line, without Mike Daniels, their best defensive player, has been faring quite well. Kenny Clark is becoming the force we thought and hoped he would before the season began. He’s a young guy who is still growing and he got bigger and stronger in the off-season without losing any athleticism. Dean Lowry continues to develop into a very nice, long-armed, space-eating 3-tech. When Mike D come back, this can be a dominant line. RJF and Quinton Dial have proven to be quality depth guys. I’ve said before, these young ascending D-linemen can become a force and they are certainly trending that way – next week will be a great test.
O-line
James Campen has earned his keep this year (and for his whole tenure with the team). He lost ALL of his tackles this year, all five… all of them. He marched out a center and four guards and they were very good against a very good Bears defensive line. Akiem Hicks was kept in total check (2 tackles and a line of goose eggs on the box score) and Rodgers was only sacked twice and hit twice – that’s not amazing most days, but under these circumstances it sure is. I know the game situations were very favorable to the o-line, but still, that was impressive. They came out and shoved the ball down the Bears throat and kept them off Rodgers all night. Kudos to Lane Taylor for being the only serviceable backup left tackle we’ve had since Bruce Wilkerson.
Clay
CM3 is healthy and he’s spectacular! I don’t get why people are so down on him when he plays hurt – do people really not get the beating these bodies take and how that impacts their play against the greatest athletes and steroid-riddled freaks of nature in the history of the world?
Danny Trevathon
Remember when you all wanted to sign him? That’s not Packer People. If I were to speculate (which I will becuase I have no problem doing that), I think he was p!ssed and playing angry, so when he saw a chance to lay into someone, he did it. Then he felt all awesome and proud of himself for popping a defenseless player when his teammates held him in place and they were getting spanked, but wasn’t going to let anyone on the field tell him he was wrong. Then, when he saw how bad it was, genuinely felt bad and apologized, but wasn’t ready to admit he was wrong (and may not believe he was – the stories we tell ourselves). He’ll just tell us we don’t understand… but a lot of us do – you don’t have to play like that.
DamaRand and Hawkins
Soap opera, yay! I’m not gonna pretend to know what happened there, even though I don’t mind speculating. What I do know is that Damarious looked good his rookie year, was injured this sophomore year, and now seems to have a mental block. I’m not ready to give up on him, which may make me as “stupid” as Ted Thompson (but I don’t care). I would like to see him humble himself, and jam his f#cking face into the playbook so he can ball out. He might not, but I’m not ready to cut the guy. Hawkins had great numbers, but I felt like he should have been flagged with pass interference like every play the ball was within ten yards of him. I hope to see him grow and would love for him to become a stud, or even a solid backup, but I’m not ready to cut a first rounder who showed he belongs for him just yet.
Mike McCarthy
There were some great play calls in there, but more than anything, he deserves credit for being a leader of men. He gets his team to believe in themselves no matter how many injuries they have or how big of an underdog they are. To do that, he convinces his team that they don’t need out-scheme the bad guys, they just need to strap on a jock and outplay them. It leads a lot of people to say he’s too “predictable,” but it’s a part of the package and those red zone TD passes, especially the first one to Davante, had some killer route combos.
Other Stuff
- Aaron Jones showed some nice moves for a third stringer, but still only had a 3.8 yard average per carry
- TyMo was getting his Bears groove on – hope he’s back soon
- Perry is so fun to watch (and impressive) playing in a cast
- Ahmad Brooks looks like another underrated TT pickup
- Marty caught balls, but I would still like to see more out of him (not that 2017 Jared Cook has been lighting it up – he had a nice end zone drop on Sunday)
- Aaron Rodgers… warming up…
- It’s been 84 years, but we’re all alive to see the Packers take the lead in the oldest rivalry in the NFL… that’s pretty cool
- Obviously, there are more important things in life that the outcome of a game (or even a century-old rivalry), and Tae’s injury reminds us – let’s all hope he gets well soon
Two things:
Romo, best announcer ever? I say yes.
Is it just me, or does it feel like McCarthy is getting more recognition this season?
I’ve had to watch the Romo-announced games in areas I wasn’t able to hear him, but most people seem to be pretty high on him. He’s obviously knowledgeable about the game, but doesn’t have a prima donna pedigree – that can go a long way in making an entertaining commentator.
As for McCarthy, I can’t say I’ve heard him get more credit, but maybe the whining isn’t too terrible since they only lost one game and it was clearly all Dom Capers’s fault. Maybe if we lose a close game it will be McCarthy’s turn to get fired.
It’s really hard to coach in the NFL and I think when you can show any level of consistent success and keep a team engaged for a decade, it says a lot. Not enough for some people, but more than enough for me.
They started the game with 4 guards and a center, during the game lost the top 2 RBs, and Rodgers is not on the injury report. I find that amazing.