HE’S BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!

Rodgers Returns to Face Bears in Winner-Take-All Game

It’s only fitting that the Packers face the Chicago Bears for the NFC North crown on Sunday. Prior to the season the North looked to be one of the strongest divisions in football especially at the QB position. Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matt Stafford and Christian Ponder all looked to be well above the curve at the position.

Then reality set in.

Rodgers went out with a broken collarbone, Cutler not only lost time to an injury but was outplayed in the process by Josh McCown, Stafford started out as a fantasy phenom then suddenly couldn’t hit water if he fell from a boat and Ponder became just another show pony on the Viking QB Carousel.

The supposed power in the North rests in the West divisions in the AFC and NFC this year. The winner take all contest will send either Green Bay or Chicago into the playoffs, and in doing so at best a 9 win team will be playing while Arizona could conceivably win 11 games and be left out of the dance.

Way back in October the Packers found their footing and were cruising along at 5 -2. The loss to San Francisco to open the season was close and mistakes littered the field against the Bengals. Green Bay settled into a comfortable spot and was ready to lay a trap for the Bears.

Then reality set in.

Shea McClellin planted Rodgers into the turf breaking Rodgers left collarbone. In stepped Seneca Wallace and faster than it takes to look up the school he went to he was on the IR. Plan C was the next option, hardly a palpable notion given the Packers entered the season without even a Plan B.  After cutting their QB projects in camp Wallace was brought in as a veteran QB presence and emergency fill in. Scott Tolzien started the year in San Fran and became the next man up. Tolzien is an industrious, hardworking kid with enough of a skill set to warrant keeping around. Being called up from the practice squad and a week later being charged with the tall order of keep on winning Tolzien faced a real life Walter Mitty challenge.

Then reality set in.

Tolzien was game and hit some very big throws against the Giants but became erratic and scattershot after that. In time Tolzien will develop into a solid NFLer. In time. But the Packers time is now. After faltering and watching the L’s pile up Ted Thompson went out and reclaimed a long lost son in Matt Flynn. Flynn was at the epicenter of an historic comeback against the Cowboys and also at the helm of the disaster against Detroit. While the Packers were piling up the losses the division was Detroit and Chicago’s to win.

Then reality set in.

Neither the Bears nor the Lions were able to capitalize on the Packers misfortunes. Detroit had a golden opportunity literally slip thru their fingers. Stafford suddenly became an interception machine as the Lions blew contests to Baltimore, Tampa Bay, a lead against Philly and an OT embarrassment against the Giants. The Lions meltdown should cost Coach Jim Schwartz head his job. In response to the fans’ merciless booing Schwartz was seen red faced in addressing the crowd with invectives. The Lions held the hammer and lost out giving away the division. For their part the Bears were em-Bear-assed by Philadelphia last week 54 – 11. Knowing all they needed to do was to win to render this game irrelevant the Bears went into hibernation and now have to find the switch to turn it back on against Green Bay.

When Cutler went down the Bears were far from rudderless. The offense actually became more

effective under McCown as McCown had a streak of 12 TD’s to 1 INT, a stat line Cutler could never come close to claiming. Matt Forte is still a threat as a runner and even mores o as a receiver. With McCown the Bears have utilized Forte’s ability to make defenders miss in space by sending him into swing patterns and running screen passes with deadly efficiency. The Bears also found some genuine talent at the WR slot with both Brandon Marshall and second year man Alshon Jeffery being twin tower threats as each is over 6’3” and setting up size mismatches on both sides. With TE Martellus Bennett at 6”6” the Bears boast some of the tallest pass catchers in the game. For a change Chicago has found an offense to go with their stifling defense.

Then reality set in.

The Bears are 32^nd against the rush this year. Go ahead and re-read that – the Bears defense is the worst defense in the entire NFL. Just uttering the phrase sounds as odd as saying the balmy December conditions in Lambeau Field. Injuries have crippled Chicago’s D. DT Henry Melton has been sorely missed. Many Bear pundits claim the McClellan’s only contribution was disabling the Packers main man. With defensive leader LB Lance Briggs nursing an ailing shoulder the defense won’t get much rest. After being mauled and gutted by the Eagles last week in an embarrassing 54 – 11 blowout the Bears have to shake the stink of that effort off quickly. With the chance to end the season once and for all Chicago went out and played its’ worst game by far this year. Playmaking CB Charles ‘Peanut’ Tillman has been on the IR/Designated to Return list and his ball hawking presence has made defensive coordinator Mel Tucker grow greyer by the week.

If this was Hollywood this is a script that defies logic or credibility. The Packers enter the game a puny 7 -7-1 while the Bears are 8 -7. The news for the Bears doesn’t get better. Now Aaron Rodgers has finally been cleared to play after 8 long weeks. In addition to Rodgers Randall Cobb is also ready to hit the field running again. While some may blanch at rust on Rodgers it doesn’t seem likely. Protecting Rodgers is at the top of the list this week. Expect Rodgers to get rid of the ball much quicker and not look to run it yet.

While Rodgers was on the shelf the one area in which the Packers have excelled all year is at the once weak link in the chain at RB. Rookie of the Year candidate and frontrunner Eddie Lacy has been everything the Packers wanted and much more in his inaugural year. Lacy now owns the Packer rookie rushing and TD record breaking John Brockington’s 41 year old mark. But lost in the hubbub over Lacy has been the solid effort of James Starks. Starks has become the Packers change of pace back and there is little drop-off from Lacy when Starks is on the field. The tandem of Lacy and Starks have put up over 1,500 yards rushing and Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin called the pair the best set of RB’s in the NFL.

The Packers have fared only slightly better than Chicago against the run. Coming in at #26 in run defense there are obvious needs in the D. The linebacking will be without Clay Matthews as he re-aggravated his surgically repaired broken thumb last week against the Steelers. Without Matthews the Bears will try to exploit the other LB’s ability to play in space by testing them with screens and swing passes. There will be much pressure on Nick Perry and Mike Neal to make up for Matthews’ absence. With Jeffery and Marshall spreading the field and demanding tight coverage the Packer LB’s will not be able to rely on much help from the DB’s. They must do two very important things to make it to the playoffs – stop the run and contain the screen passes.

In fact both teams will be required to do the very thing they do best and worst – to run and then stop the run on defense. Rodgers addition could help the defense immensely. With Rodgers at the wheel the Packers would love to control the clock and dictate the pace. With the weather conditions as they are the team that can run the ball and control the clock is the team that gives itself the best shot at the title. Having Cobb back will not only help the Packers but for Rodgers he won’t even have noticed that Cobb was gone as the two shared the time in trainers’ room.

The Bears do have a QB controversy. Head Coach Marc Trestman has decided to roll the dice with his incumbent albeit shaky starter in Cutler and bypassing the statistically far more sound McCown. The question is how long will Trestman ride that horse? If Cutler falters will Trestman go to the bench? The matchup of Marshall and Jeffery against Tramon Williams and Sam Shields could be epic as the Packer CB’s are playing at their peaks right now. They concede height but not heart. It will be fun to watch the game long confrontation. Now they are in the death match with their hated rivals. They were helped by knocking their biggest thorn in their sides Rodgers out for two months. But they never separated or distinguished themselves when they had the shot so now in the most ironic of twists that same guy is coming back and will be looking to extract vengeance upon the Bears.

Say this about Rodgers. He doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder. He has a lumber yard on his shoulder and he has routinely throughout his career made his career by answering the critics, doubters, naysayers and tormentors. There is so much riding on this game without superfluous hype. Would Rodgers relish the thought of ending the Bears season as the Bears almost ended his? The oddsmakers did a complete 180 this week as well. After announcing that Rodgers would be starting for the Packers by a cold-suffering Mike McCarthy earlier this week Green Bay went from a 4 ½ point underdog to a 3 point favorite on the road.

Rodgers will be a different Rodgers. He will keep the defense honest with his arm but this one is an old fashioned black-and-blue division trench battle. Controlling the line, executing the blocks and making the tackles will replace the Madden-esque pinball scoring of the new NFL. This time Rodgers has a running game. The Bears website lists Eddie Lacy as ‘out’ for this game with a nagging ankle injury. Don’t make book on that. That is some very wishful thinking on their part. Lacy is a complete gamer and competitor. Only handcuffs will keep Lacy from tormenting the Bears.

In Hollywood the script that reads like fantasy makes for a good storyline. How’s this one – star player gets injured early. Teams struggles mightily in his absence to the point of being booed at home. In the process they become both criticized and galvanized. The Evil Empire in black is unable to vanquish the besieged ragtag band of rebels. But suddenly the hero returns and enters in the climactic final scene to face his own personal demons and tormentors.

And we all get a front row seat to witness the spectacle. Rodgers makes the difference and gets his pound of flesh in a tough, hard fought battle.

On to the playoffs.

 

 

 

 GREEN BAY 20  

 

 

 

 

 

  Chicago 17