FILLING OUT THE DANCE CARD

How the Pack/ Vikes Game Affects the Playoff Picture

 

The plotlines that swirl around the finale of the 2012 NFL campaign when the Green Bay Packers face the Minnesota Vikings are chock full of suspense and a tale of strange bedfellows. It seems someone else has as much vested in the game as the Packers and the Vikings themselves.

Start in Green Bay. The Packers already have sewn up a playoff spot and the NFC North title. After beating up the Bears and mauling the hapless Titans last week the Packers are steaming into the playoffs hitting on all cylinders and peaking at just about the right time. A quick rundown of the plots, subplots and how much interest this game will draw in the sidebar as teams are jockeying for the last playoff spot.

WHAT’S AT STAKE: GREEN BAY

The Packers are far from just playing out the string and looking ahead. If they look ahead they can see a first round bye and a home field advantage if they come out with a win and they lock up the #2 seed. Mike McCarthy knows how to tweak his squad. They have been here before. Last year’s disappointment against the Giants is this year’s motivation. The great coaches at some point let the players’ own natural competitive sides take over. Over the course of a season, a season that includes OTA’s and mini-camps and walkthroughs as well as the mindless grind of training camp any coach’s words begin to lose their effectiveness. If a player isn’t motivated by the desire to compete or be successful his spot will be replaced pronto. McCarthy isn’t a Lombardi-esque whip-and-a-chair taskmaster; McCarthy prefers the relationship of professionals knowing their jobs and executing them at the highest levels at full speed.

WHAT’S AT STAKE: MINNSEOTA

The Vikings have their own singular vested interest and is doesn’t get any simpler than the following – win and you’re in. The advantage the Vikings have is threefold – they play at home, the Packers are already in and have less urgency, and the Vikes have all world RB Adrian Peterson. Peterson blew out his ACL last Christmas Eve and looked to be done for at least the majority of this season. Running backs on gimpy knees are a dime a dozen. But Peterson is anything but conventional. Peterson’s return has stunned not just the NFL but the entire sports world and has become one of the most compelling stories of the year. If it were not for Peyton Manning’s triumphant renaissance in Denver Peterson would be a mortal lock for Comeback Player of the Year. The NFL loves and markets its’ quarterbacks and the media-friendly Manning will get the nod after missing all of last year and leading the Broncos to the playoffs after neck surgery. AD is a scant 208 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s record for yards gained in a season. While Packers to a man respect Peterson the last thing they want is for him to break the record at their expense. To be successful the Vikings will need more than just Peterson. The NFL is a quarterback’s league now and QB Christian Ponder is nowhere near the elite and he must now match throws with one of the NFL’s best in Aaron Rodgers. He will have to be more than his season long average rating for the Vikes to get into the dance.

WHO WILL BE WATCHING - WHAT’S AT STAKE:

CHICAGO BEARS – How bitterly ironic is that Da Bears fans have to become cheeseheads for a day. The Bears have played themselves almost completely out of the playoff picture and to have any hope at all their equation is simple – they must win AND Green Bay must also win. Minnesota and Chicago could be flip flops depending on how the game in Minnesota plays out. The Bears opened the first half smoking at 7 – 1, their lone loss at the hands of the Pack in week 2 and now in order to salvage what has been a horrendous second half that has seen them win 2 games they need the Packers help. Jay Cutler has been abysmal in the drought and Matt Forte has gone AWOL in the losses that have piled up. Since the Packers/ Vikings game has been moved to a more audience receptive time slot of a 4:25 kickoff we can hardly wait to see Soldier Field decked out in green and gold for the newest members on the bandwagon.

WHO WILL BE WATCHING - WHAT’S AT STAKE:

SAN FRANCISCO – The Niners are already in but are fading in the backstretch. San Fran broke so quickly from the gate they looked to lap the field. But as the season has ground on the 49ers are looking less intimidating. The Niners need a win and a Packers loss to jump back into the 2 seed slot. But their outlook is a bit more specious. Since benching QB Alex Smith in favor of the more athletic Colin Kaepernick the 49ers passing game has suffered. Kaepernick is still a rookie and while exciting he also plays like a rookie at times. The NFL is a passing game now and without Smith the Niners have slid backwards. Now WR Mario Manningham is done for the year with a knee injury and Michael Crabtree has been a monumental disappointment and Randy Moss is so far past his prime he is hardly worth mentioning. TE Vernon Davis is big game capable but since his breakout against New Orleans Davis has struggled to regain any dominance.

WHO WILL BE WATCHING - WHAT’S AT STAKE:

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS – It is almost inconceivable but the thieving, conniving, game-stealing Seahawks could hijack the #2 seed. How? With their tainted W against Green Bay securing them a playoff spot if the Pack loses to Minnesota and the 49ers lose to Arizona and the Hawks get by the Rams then Seattle (gulp!) becomes the #2 seed. As it is the Hawks will be no worse than the 5 seed. But a hyper jump to #2? Hey – stranger things have happened.

WHO WILL BE WATCHING - WHAT’S AT STAKE:

THE MESS IN THE NFC EAST – Okay, class – here is the short version. The Cowboys and Redskins are playing for the NFC East title and that game has been moved to prime time at 8:20 to reach the largest audience possible. While hardly a renewal of the old Cowboys and Indians duels of the 70’s and 80’s this game has an impact. RG3 – Redskin QB Robert Griffin III taking on the Tony Romo win-in-spite-of-themselves Cowboys in a winner take all match. That game is easy – whoever wins is in and the loser gets to pick up their golf clubs. This game is a death match.

But on the outside looking in with the faintest of chances are the defending Super Bowl champs in New York. The Giants have looked superb at times – they dismantled the Packers in their meeting this year – but have looked flawed and vulnerable inexplicably at others. The Giants were destroyed by Joe Flacco and the Ravens last week and barely looked willing to even compete. This is a how to defend a Super Bowl crown? The Giants have the most complex of equations and all the planets will need to line up for New York to even have a shot at defending their title. The G-Men need a W against the hapless, soon to fire Andy Reid Eagles, and then need an awful lot of voodoo to get in. A loss renders the point moot, but if New York grabs the win they will be parked in front of the NFL Network’s Red Zone coverage and need the Vikings AND the Bears AND the Cowboys to all lose, a tall order under even non-playoff circumstances. With Da Bears needing a W of their own and playing at the same time as New York as the Giants exit the field they will know whether or not the TV needs to be turned on. Desperate? Yeah, Eli and Co. are that desperate.

The central key in all these configurations will be played out in the Dome in Minneapolis. The Packers are rolling and are looking to keep their streak alive as they want to roar into the playoffs. As the injured key components get healthy and rejoin the lineup the extra week would serve the Pack well. To knock out the Vikings Aaron Rodgers will have to play a lot of defense.

Yes – Aaron Rodgers playing defense. But not in the traditional sense of the word.

Rodgers will not be lining up next to fellow pro Bowler Clay Matthews and looking to take on Peterson one on one. There’s an old saying that goes the best defense is a good offense. In this case keeping Peterson off the field is clearly to the Packers advantage and putting the ball in Ponder’s hand and forcing him to beat Green Bay with his arm is a decided tilt in the Pack’s direction.

Green Bay has a far more well-rounded and complete offense than Minnesota. Green Bay cannot match Minny in quality of running back – but then again no one can. But Green Bay can kill the clock and move the ball and put points on the board

One big knock that has been haunting the Packers for some time is their penchant for playing down to the level of their opponents and keeping them around. If last week’s blowout against Tennessee is a portent of things to come that may change. If Rodgers’ aerial assault can put points up on the board it forces Minnesota to match them point for point something they are not built to do. If Peterson runs wild the Vikes have as good a shot as anybody.

This game has much at stake for both teams. There are records in the abeyance and there is still the annoying cold streak of Mason Crosby. Rodgers would like to put up enough points to put Minnesota away early and force the pass from Ponder. When Green Bay does just that, the Giants will sullenly snap off their TV’s and get ready for a long, cold winter of asking the question “What went wrong” while the Bears will be singing the praises of Green Bay.

For their efforts the Pack gets a week off and steams into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league at just the right time.

 

 

 GREEN BAY 27  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Minnesota  24  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



HITTING THEIR STRIDE

Packers run over Titans, Another Strong

Defensive Effort

On Friday a blizzard dumped upwards of 10+ inches of snow on Green Bay. After volunteers cleared the stands on Sunday the Packers came out and dumped an avalanche on top of the Tennessee Titans to the tune of 55 – 7. Coupled with the 49ers stunning loss to Seattle by a score of 42 – 13 Green Bay finds itself in the driver’s seat in the #2 seed, a goal head coach Mike McCarthy has said he was shooting for all along.  Should Green Bay grab one more win on the road against Minnesota next week they will have gone through the NFC North undefeated with a lock on the 2 slot and head into the playoffs knowing they will be at home and are now peaking. Make no mistake – the Packers are hitting on all cylinders right now and the 55 – 7 pasting of a helpless Tennessee squad was a full 4 quarter relentless effort, the type of which will need to be seen throughout the playoffs.

Fifty five to seven.

Compounding the felony the score makes it sound much closer than it actually was. If Packer fans wanted something special for Christmas the Pack gave it to them in bunches. Tennessee got behind early and often as the Packers rolled up 21 first quarter points. Aaron Rodgers was magnificent and with the exception of a few tosses that were maybe 12” too long or he would have had more than the 3 TD’s he threw. The NFL’s leader in receiving touchdowns James Jones added to his total with another TD, Randall Cobb had a spectacular catch early and Greg Jennings finally crossed the goal line with a 1 yard catch.

In game that could best be described as a laugher Green Bay came out and won this game in all three phases of the game. The offense rolled and had 4 rushing touchdowns with returning hero Ryan Grant adding 2 to go along with an 80 yard rushing day. Green Bay was without James Starks again and Alex Green. Grant was signed as a free agent last week and after fumbling last week Grant looked like the Ryan Grant of old with his cutback/ hit the lane style. Seeing Grant do a Lambeau Leap not once but twice was a nostalgic look at the future.

The Packers running game was down to 3 healthy bodies – Grant, FB John Kuhn and rookie DuJuan Harris. Harris added another explosive TD to his year’s totals as the Packers were able to move the ball effectively on the ground all day. As the playoffs are just around the corner seeing the Packers round into playoff form with their running game can only make Mike McCarthy smile.

McCarthy has been dedicated to the run all year. He has stood by his guns even when the critics early on were not seeing the results. Maybe the only thing surprising is the cast of players doing the work as it resembles nothing like what McCarthy had in the backfield to open the season. After opening without Starks and losing Cedric Benson in game 5 for the year there was much concern whether or not staying with a running game would actually pay off. McCarthy beat the drum steadily stressing quality carries over quantities of yards.

The litmus test came on Sunday in earnest. The Titans were reduced to guessing and Rodgers’ play action fakes froze both linebackers and cornerbacks. Rodgers is one of the best in the business at selling a play fake and no longer can opposing defense lightly regard the Packers ability to run the ball. As the tumblers click into place the Packers have become a far more well-rounded team on both sides of the ball. Future Hall of Famer Jeff Saturday found himself in the ignominious position of being benched for the first time in his career. Saturday has been at best serviceable but the tread has worn down pretty far on his tires. Saturday has been well below even his own standards in pass protection, so much so that as LG T. J. Lang was healthy and surprise rookie UDFA Don Barclay continues to shine at RT in place of Bryan Bulaga McCarthy decided to make one more move by inserting a younger and better Evan Dietrich-Smith into the lineup at center. Always a consummate professional Saturday accepted the demotion with class. The move paid dividends immediately as Dietrich-Smith had a great game. Keeping the line healthy and intact will determine just how far the Pack can go. As the ailing and infirmed on the roster rejoin the lineup how good can the Packers truly be seems like the burning question.

Jennings’ return from an abdominal pull has only been tarnished by his decreased role in the offense as he plays himself back into game shape. Jennings’ looming contract that expires at the end of the year has become the elephant in the room and impossible to ignore. Jennings himself has intimated that he can see himself in something other than green and gold next year. Even if that is the case Rodgers has a bevy of weapons, a football cornucopia of targets at his disposal. TE Jermichael Finley had a big day with 5 catches for 70 yards. Finley’s output rendered his one gaffe to the almost laughable. As Finley broke from the line and turned to his right Rodgers rifled a tracer dart right at him. Finley’s reaction time was off slightly as the ball hit him square in the face and bounced away. Given Finley’s high profile and quotability factor in the media and his recent calling out of Rodgers maybe Rodgers was in fact aiming for his tight end’s mouth.

Rodgers utilized 8 different receivers on the day making it impossible for the Titan D to focus on any one of them. TE’s D. J. Williams saw time after his long injury-riddled season and Ryan Taylor also was targeted. Rodgers’ slight misses to a wide open Greg Jennings, Jones and Cobb could have seen the Packers break their own record for points. As it is the 55 they dropped on Tennessee is good enough for 3^rd place on the all-time Packer scoring list. The thought of the Packers receiving corps getting better is going to put a few grey hairs in opposing defensive coordinators heads. Jordy Nelson is due to return soon as is Starks, Alex Green and Sir Charles Woodson. In Woodson’s absence rookie CB Casey Hayward has been nothing short of spectacular with 6 INT’s for the year. Shields’ return put promising 2^nd year man Davon House on the bench and in an area that was once considered suspect the Packers are suddenly staggeringly deep at CB with veteran Tramon Williams back in his All Pro shutdown form. With the new emphasis on running the ball successfully the question is how far can the Pack go?

As good as the offense was perhaps the defense was better. They limited the Titans to 180 yards and contained RB Chris Johnson, one of the most feared backs in the NFL. Johnson rushed for a paltry 28 yards on 11 cards and his longest scamper of the day was for but 8 miniscule yards. QB Jake Locker fared no better, Locker was sacked 7 times and was picked off twice. Sam Shields had a spectacular ankle-breaking grab on an underthrown ball from Locker while LB Erik Walden continues to shine after heralded rookie Nick Perry went to the IR. Walden had a pick that set the Packers up for another score.

The defense was swarming all afternoon and made Lockers life miserable. LB’s Brad Jones and A.J. Hawk led the LB’s with tackles and Hawk had a team high 2 sacks while Jones had 1 of his own. Clay Matthews came in, chased Locker and any other Titan with the ball down, and then caught a seat on the bench after he tallied a sack. As the benches were utilized even newly signed FA DT Jordan Miller was on the field. DE Mike Neal continues to improve as he had a bull rush sack when he ran right over his man to grab Locker and deposit him on his backside. Neal did not limit his play to just sacks. Early on he introduced himself to Johnson as CJ2K cut to the right and as he swung back towards the goal line as he looked for room Neal shed his blocker, kept on play and ran over Johnson from behind in a steamroller move.

K Mason Crosby went 2 for 2 on his field goal attempts but it is far too early to declare his slump over. He had a short chip shot early on, a kick of 26 yards that was little more than an extra point. He also connected from 48 yards but as the ball clanged off the post it managed to fall on the good side for a change as Crosby pumped his fist in celebration. While the kick was good it was hardy a ringing endorsement that was heard when his kick hit the upright. McCarthy has made it clear he is both sticking with Crosby as well as making sure Crosby knows he needs to make his kicks. Perhaps McCarthy was protecting his kicker in the 3^rd quarter when the Packers went for it on 4^th down rather than send Crosby out to try a 44 yard attempt. In any event the play worked as Green Bay moved the ball with staggering effectiveness.

One area of concern outside of Crosby’s shakiness was Randall Cobb. After fielding a punt as Cobb was brought down his knee and ankle were rolled in an ugly way. Cobb was seen trying to work out the pain on the sidelines but his day as a punt returner was over. Green Bay employs the “Next Man Up” philosophy so went Cobb went out in came rookie WR Jeremy Ross, a FA signing from the Colts’ practice squad who took the first punt he saw and broke off a huge return to the Titan 9 yard line setting up Grant’s final score.

The Packers dominated in every measurable statistic, especially in time of possession keeping the ball for over 34 minutes. With the #2 seed they now possess expect Green Bay and Minnesota to have an epic clash to end the season. San Francisco has struggled mightily of late and the smack down at the hands of the Seahawks exposed the Niners weakness in their passing game. San Fran was without the services of DT Justin Smith and his loss was immense. After opening the season 2 -3 the Packers are now flying high.

McCarthy has no intent of letting up. A bye week with a home field advantage all but ensures the Packers will not just go through the motions next week. Adrian Peterson is chasing history and Dom Capers will have no break over the Christmas holidays and neither will his defensive unit. Peterson is averaging 113 yards against the Packers in his career and already put up 212 yards against Green Bay at Lambeau this year. Getting to QB Christian Ponder is paramount to Green Bay’s success while, limiting the amount of damage AD does.

While the pretenders fall to the wayside the Packers are poised to make a deep run and are in a much better place over last year’s record setting squad. There are far fewer holes and weaknesses. As the air gets cold the Packers are the hot team in the NFL.

Yeah, baby… it’s playoff time.

A CHRISTMAS WISH

what we hope for in santas bag

An All Pro slot for James Jones, Casey Hayward, and B. J. Raji. Aaron Rodgers, Tim Masthay and Clay Matthews are mortal locks for the nod.

A dose of cure for the still ailing among the Packers. Jordy Nelson, Charles Woodson, James Starks, Tom Crabtree, Erik Walden and anyone else whose injuries still linger could use a few doses right about now.

Some relief for the offensive line. At times they have been above average but at other times poor Aaron Rodgers is getting hit way too hard way too often.

Continued good play from the new surprise players. RB DuJuan Harris and RT Don Barclay have both been very pleasant surprises this year not only filling in but playing very well on top of it.

Enough cap space to be able to resign Greg Jennings and then B.J. Raji and then Clay Matthews and then Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, we know it’s a tall order but geez Louise Santa – you’re the Big Man. Help us out here, will you? Please??

Oh, I almost forgot!! In addition to a cure for the injured how about NO MORE INJURIES!! Enough is enough already!!

A Coach of the Year award would be a great idea for Mike McCarthy. No question he has been exceptionally good – and he deserves it.

A GPS for Mason Crosby, one that hones in on the area between the uprights.

And we’d like a little bit of respect and a lot of recognition for Ted Thompson for his ability to continue to find great draft picks and street free agents who play well.

A playoff bye. That could also fall under the cure for the injuries category. And it would be nice. Really nice.

A nice little 6 game win streak would be very nice starting now. If not, then at least a 4 game streak. AFTER the regular season. Yes, Santa… that includes the Super Bowl.

Snow in Lambeau Field when Chris Johnson and the Titans come to town. Not only is it more fun to watch, let’s see CJ2K try to get traction on that.

A really big sock to stuff in Deion Sanders mouth over at NFL Network. He is almost as abrasively annoying off the field as he was on the field.

A bigger sock for Michael Irvin’s mouth. His garbled, yelling gibberish is almost undecipherable at times. Apparently he and Neon Deion were never told in Journalism 101 that yapping, chatting and NOT SHUTTING UP while someone else is talking or trying to make a point was their show sound like a bunch of drunken fools playing “Oh, YEAH?? Sez YOU!!!” in a South Philly gin joint.

While on the topic of broadcasters a little more respect for Cris Collinsworth. The guy flat out knows what he is talking about.

This may sound petty but a huge lump of coal in Lance Easley’s stocking. Yeah, THAT Lance Easley, the incompetent moron who made THE Call, the Fail Mary in Seattle.

And how about delivering the Seahawks to Green Bay for a rematch. In January. At Lambeau. In the snow. With REAL refs. Let’s hear PeeWee Carroll and Golden Fried Taters yap about how they beat the Packers then.

This may sound petty but a continued losing streak for Da Bears. How the hell does a team NOT make the playoffs after opening the season 7 – 1? Oh, wait… they had to play good teams in the second half. ‘Nuff said.

Give Peyton Manning Comeback Player of the Year. He deserves it.

Give the MVP to Aaron Rodgers again. He deserves it. Is there any player anywhere more valuable to his team or better at Rodgers? Naaah, we didn’t think so either.

Give a lump of coal to the Bears. Just because they’re the Bears.

Give a new Blue Ray player to Jay Cutler. Yes, THAT Jay Cutler.

And give a new Blue Ray DVD of the Packers/ Bears games of 2012 to Brandon Marshmallow. Then he and Cutler could get together and discuss next year’s strategy.

And so they don’t go hungry bring Jay and Mr. Marshmallow a couple of huge slices of humble pie. They might choke on it as they watch the Packers/ Bears replays but we are not concerned. The Bears choke a lot against the Packers.

And give a nice long contract extension to Lovie Smith. That gives him job security and the Packers game security.

Another great draft. With noted few exceptions TT has knocked the ball out of them park in his past few drafts, Justin Harrell notwithstanding. Really, who ever heard of Casey Hayward BEFORE the draft? And Ted traded back UP to get him? Color us impressed.

More shaky passing for the 49ers. Alex Smith and Colin Alphabetsoup have been streaky. Keep that streak on the low side for the next 6 weeks, because that defense in San Francisco is truly scary.

A nice, warm place for Andy Reid to land after the fallout of the Philly Phailure. Andy is a good guy, a good coach, and deserves better than that hell hole of a dump of a city called Philadelphia has given him.

And some long lasting humility for Captain Horatio ‘Rex’ Blowhard in New York. If the debacle of Tebow and the flameout of Sanchez and his overblown opinion of his underwhelming team isn’t enough to close his pie hole nothing will. The Jets are so bad even Revis wouldn’t help.

A playoff spot for RG3, leaving the Giants and Cowboys outside the bakery with their snotty little noses pressed up against the glass. Yes… we are vindictive. Yes… we remember last year. The Cowboys? We are not alone. No one likes the Cowboys. Except Jerry Jones. And no one likes Jones.

A trade for Viking MLB E.J. Henderson. Oh, we don’t need him as a player. But how cool would it be to have a roster of guy’s whose names are A.J, B.J., C.J., D.J. (2 of them!), E.J. G.J. and J.J.? Messrs.’ Hawk, Raji, Wilson, Smith, Williams, Jennings and Jones could take him out to the abbreviation annual dinner and golf outing.

This may sound petty but don’t bother giving any gifts to the Seahawks. They already got theirs, courtesy of Lance Easley.

This may sound petty but if you get stuck looking for a bathroom on your trip Santa – use Lance Easley’s stocking.

A lump of coal for everyone connected to the Saints Bountygate scandal. Include Roger Goodell in along with the coaches who sanctioned it and the players that did it. The military has a term perfect for how this whole scenario played out – FUBAR. We ain’t saying. If ya don’t know, ask any veteran or active service member. They see it all say, every day.

While on the topic a THANK YOU from a grateful nation to every man and woman who has served and is currently serving in the Armed Forces. Our heroes do not just play on Sunday. The real heroes stand at the ready so we can enjoy our games on Sunday.

And something really nice for those service personnel that must spend the holidays apart from their loved ones. The price of freedom is steep.

And one last thing Santa – we wish for all people everywhere a safe and happy holiday season. We wish warmth for those that are cold, compassion for those that are struggling, food for those that are hungry, fellowship for those that are lonely, peace for those in turmoil and comfort for those that need it most.

 

We wish everyone everywhere a Happy Holiday Season!

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As for this week the Pack keeps the foot on the gas as they go for a first round bye. Too much for Tennessee to keep up with and Green Bay pulls away. With a blizzard in Green Bay CJ2K will find the road much too slick to do much.  Crosby will get his chances. He needs to deliver, especially now. 

 

 

  GREEN BAY 31 

 

 

 

  Tennessee  10   

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Pack Pounds Bears; Shut Marshall's Mouth

 

Christmas came a little early for the Green Bay Packers this year. They must have been exceptionally good because when they woke up on December 17 they found themselves in first place with another NFC North title, a lock on the playoffs, at least one home game in the big dance, an excellent shot at a seeding of #2, a receiver who leads the NFL in TD’s, an improving defense and to make this Christmas a complete one they did it at the expense of the hated Chicago Bears. Da win over Da Bears sealed another title for Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy and in a double whammy the win has also put the Bears recent slide into overdrive, so much so that the Bears are threatening to fall completely out of the playoff hunt.

Whenever the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears hook up there is bound to be some animosity. Close in proximity, bound by history each team plays the other with a ferocity only a few other teams know. Brandon Marshall came out early in the week by saying how much he “disliked the Packers and their players.” He then challenged, dared the Pack’s secondary to try to cover him.

Marshall has some juice behind the braggadocio. He came in leading the NFL in receptions with 101 and yardage with 1,342. He went out beaten and silenced and calling for other members of his team to lose their jobs. His reunion with Jay Cutler in the Windy City has been as trumpeted as loudly as the last big reunion when Don Henley kissed and made up with Glenn Frey of the band the Eagles.

In the first meeting this season it was Cutler gleefully wishing the Packers “good luck” in trying to cover his bevy of receivers. This time it was Marshall downplaying the Packers after they kept him to 2 catches for 24 yards. Cutler learned the hard way about shooting his mouth off. Marshall goaded the Packers in the press daring them to try and stop him one on one. Marshall was held to a paltry 56 yards and the lone Bears TD and failed to deliver on his promise of a big win.

This game was, for all intents and purposes, a playoff game. At stake for the Packers was the NFC North crown. For the Bears it was put up or shut up. The Bears have been reeling since the hallway point of the campaign. After opening with 7 wins the Bears have one solitary W to add to the count and are in serious jeopardy of finding themselves on the outside looking in, a feat almost unimaginable earlier this year. The Bears came in angry and the Packers were loaded for Bear.

While the Packers were putting in a far less than brilliant early season and getting hosed by a few incompetent officials the Bears broke fast. At one point Green Bay occupied the basement and the city of Chicago was giddy with the notion of the Pack’s demise. The injuries began to pile up. A horrendous second half collapse against Indy ensued. Last year the Packers made the blowout the norm as QB Aaron Rodgers was almost perfect in every aspect of the game. Rodgers and the offense were so dominating it covered up the suspect defense that ultimately was exposed in the playoffs.

Winning ugly has been the theme this year. After Indy rallied and the Packers blew a huge 18 point halftime lead there were more than a few doubters in the crowd. Somehow Green Bay found itself in the next matchup against the new powerhouse in the AFC when Green Bay completely and totally dismantled the Houston Texans. The Packers became hot losing only to the Giants in an embarrassing performance. Marshall may have felt confident in running his mouth.

While Marshall leads the league in catches the new TD machine of the NFL is James Jones, the quiet, often overlooked 4^th receiver in the Packers arsenal behind Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson and breakout star Randall Cobb and the last hurrah of seldom used Donald Driver. Jones clearly is the 5^th Beatle in this contingent. Remember when there was preseason talk about dealing Jones? About how Jones couldn’t make the crucial catch? Or that Jones had the dropsies? Any talk of Jones’ lack of value in the offense has been dispelled. As both Jennings and Nelson have now each missed large chunks of the season it has been Jones who has very quietly put together and almost certain Pro Bowl season. While Cobb is flashy and spectacular Jones flies under the radar and just produces. Jones’ strength is his route running and ability to find the hole in coverage. He already has at least 3 ESPN da da duh da da dunt play of the year highlight snags this year. His 12 TD’s lead the NFL by a good margin, and there are few quotes coming from Jones that could end up on a locker room wall.

While Brandon Marshall has been more like Brandon Marshmallow against the Packers Jones was a literal one man wrecking crew. He and Rodgers hooked up 3 times and each score came at a significant time. Jones first one brought the Pack out a first period funk and knotted the game 7 -7. The young defense once again swung the game on a big play. Cutler did what Cutler always does. He looked for a receiver, wound up, and fired a bullet…right into the hands of rookie Casey Hayward whose eyes were as big as saucers when he saw the perfectly thrown spiral directly at him. Hayward’s 6^th pick of the year leads all NFL rookies and is among the league leaders.

TD #2 put the Pack in front and when Jones came down with his 3^rd in the 3^rd It threatened to blow the game wide open.

If the Packers were in a funk early then K Mason Crosby has taken up an extended stay. Crosby’s first attempt from 41 yards was so bad it was almost laughable. A random kicker selected from the stands to make the same shot would have fared better. Crosby seems to be striking the ball well, but when his solid boot clanged off the left upright from 42 McCarthy had finally seen enough. Crosby himself knows how bad he has been. When McCarthy opted to go for it on 4^th down at the Bear 30 the message was clear. McCarthy has zero faith or confidence in his kicker. Granted a brilliant Rodgers play (again) extended the drive (again) and resulted in a key TD. But Crosby has become the pimple on the nose that no amount of makeup can cover anymore. The Bears lost K Robbie Gould for the year, turned right around and signed 174 year old Olindo Mare and when the old man can knock two through and your guy can’t match him  it’s time not just to bring in competition but maybe to give Crosby the boot.

But Crosby was not alone in the awful department. After the Bears closed the gap to 21 -10 on the ensuing kickoff what transpired can only be described as ‘bizarre.’  As Randall Cobb fielded the kick he ran up the right side but suddenly pulled up short. The former quarterback then wound up and threw ACROSS the field to rookie Jeremy Ross. The ball popped loose and Chicago recovered on the Packer 11. McCarthy was criticized early in his career for his lack of imagination and predicatble play calling. Lately he has been much friskier and the risks have been rewarded with few glitches. Yes, he’s pulled off a fake punt or three that have been wildly successful.

The execution and timing of this ill-fated play could not have been worse. The Packers had consumed almost 7 minutes in opening the 3^rd quarter the ended with Jones in the end zone (again). The Bears ran the clock down to just a little over 1 quarter of football to play. With a two score the notion of this play will become a “What the hell were ya thinking??” play in the years to come. The risk this time blew right up in the Packers face and suddenly the Bears could and would and most likely should turn it into a 21 -17 game.

Once again the Bears did what they always do. Cutler was hounded relentlessly by the Packers swarming defense. The last thing Cutler wanted to see was the return of Clay Matthews. Matthews and Cutler are becoming a lot like the characters in the Warner Brother cartoons where the Sheepdog picks up the wolf at the door, they exchange pleasantries as they clock into work together and then  spend the next 3hours beating the living hell out of each other. But it is Matthews who does most of the damage. Even after missing 4 games he leads the Packers with 9 sacks. His 2 on Sunday move him right back among the NFL leaders. In typical fashion the Bears then began to march a drive to their own goal line – backwards.  Penalties and sacks pushed the Bears away from the end zone. The Packer D held and kept what could have been a game changing gaffe limited to a FG by Mare, the last points either team would score.

Mike Neal also returned after a shoulder injury and looked impressive against the run and had a sack of his own. CB Sam Shields finally may have had a few go his way. But there were questions if Shields would be able to escape the flag on the penalties his opponent committed. Early on rookie WR Alshon Jeffery drew Shields and as the much taller than the much faster Shields jockeyed for position Jeffery reached out, grabbed Shields by the facemask and yanked Shields out of his way disdainfully. When the yellow laundry hit Packer coach Mike McCarthy began applauding. When he realized the penalty was on Shields the next thing he hit was the roof. The poor ref looked like he wanted a replacement right there as McCarthy unloaded on him. The only printable part of McCarthy’s tirade ended with “…bad call…”

There are good officials and there are bad officials. The bad official will make a bad call, realize it, and then call it every time because he called it the first time and hey – gotta at least be consistent. The good ones get together and go “okay fellas… we saw what happened. Keep your eyes on the guy he’s with….” Or similar words to that effect. After seeing how Jeffery had a grasp on Shields helmet and that the view was obscured on the field Jeffery had sold as much as he could, and the buyers dried up.

One offensive pass interference call is occasional but not routine. Two is a lot of offensive pass interference calls. But three? Not only is it hard to fathom but 3 were called on Jeffery late in the second half after he got away with one. Shields had some small measure of retribution when he clearly yanked Jeffery’s shirt out of his jockstrap but had no call as the game wound down. Marshall could be heard saying “yeah…try that MY way…”

Marshall was rendered as impotent as his mouth. The Bears once had a hammerlock on the division and title and for the third straight year the Packers have wiped their feet on them. There is dancing in the streets of Green Bay, and as more and more of the injured get healthy and return the playoff picture has become much clearer and has a decided tint of green and gold.

For the Bears both Cutler and Marshall got a lump of coal in their stockings. Cutler once again had a horrendous day against the Packers throwing for 135 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception. RB Matt Forte was held in check and with the exception being the Bears opening drive the Packers dominated the play after the 1^st quarter. As the playoffs are just around the corner, the Packers are suddenly becoming a hot team heading in at just the right time. As the injured get healthy and return to the ranks, the Pack looks poised for an extended run. The Bears however are in total free fall. With the Redskins playing well and the Cowboys in the same shoes Chicago could very well be on the outside looking in. The Packers shut Marshall’s mouth, locked up the title, clinched a game in Lambeau at least and celebrated at the Bear’s expense.

Now, Santa, if Crosby, or Ryan Longwell or Billy Cundiff could only add to this…?