Game 1: Packers @ Bears - Thursday, Sept 5th

[pacopete4]

Losing Nick Collins was huge. They never recovered.

 

 

They lost Collins, Finley and Murphy...the later never actually did much, but he was probably as talented a WR'er as Thompson drafted.

 

The thing about Collins injury, it looked like such a minor little hit to the head. Like Stewart's let just brushed it.

 

And then TT got dementia and now we are in 2019. Fun recap.

[HiAndTight]

The Bears offense is bad. I mean, downright horrible. But this defense stands the chance of being pretty dang good.

 

 

I really don't think they are. I think that's an average-ish offense.

 

Their skill guys are pretty solid. QB play is going to hold them back. Their scheme and game plan was atrocious tonight as well.

 

 

Well, offense is always behind defense, but Matt Nagy is one of the better offensive coaches and I think you're undervaluing Trubisky ALMOST as much as some Bears fans over-value him. He was pretty solid last year. 66 pct comp pct, he's athletic and can move...strong arm.

 

We just had so much more speed on the 2nd level and penetration up front than we've had in the past. He made some really great throws...like that one that was called back due to OPI. That doesn't negate his play. Getting away from a couple Packer defenders, scrambling to his right, throwing it back to his right.

 

I think our front, more Clark than anyone, but the front as a whole just made him move too much and they ruined their timing on the back end with their coverage.

[pacopete4]

Trubisky stinks. Good night.

[HiAndTight]

Love that Rashan Gary had the pressure to force the pick at the end as well. He didn't do a ton tonight, but the potential is very much there.

 

 

I didn't even see that. But it's not surprising. He's so explosive. And the have the luxury to bring him along slowly enough, but so many people are already whining about him, it's gonna be like the 3 years before Rodgers started listening to people complain about him.

[CheezWizHed]

Jimmy Graham is leading the league in touchdowns.

 

Amos leads in interceptions.

[wildcat83]

Really nice win to start the year. I thought the play of the game may have been the punt that pinned Chicago back on their last drive. Was really great to see the FA signings all contribute tonight.

 

The one glaring weakness was the OL. They were playing against a stout DL, but they were terrible at times. I don’t see Lane Taylor holding off Jenkins for long. He looked all sorts of bad tonight.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Not only did they not fold, but the defense had to shut the door twice inside 2 minutes and did it. Awesome sign.

[pacopete4]

I know people make many Rex Ryan jokes but the guy knows defense and when I heard him talk about the Packers before our season even started, it got me excited for this group.

[MrTPlush]

Trubisky has thrown 40+ passes in a game 4 times...he has lost 100% of them. They weren't good performances either.

 

That was a pretty confusing game plan to be honest by the Bears.

[OldHeidelberg]

Pretty refreshing to see the D win a game like that. In previous years I would have groaned when we settled for that late FG but I was happy when Rodgers scrambled to get us in better position. The Bears didn't have 2 scores left in them.

 

Rodgers was sure rusty, I think clearly a half or so of preseason work would have helped but we got through it, another tough D coming up next week. The sacks on 3rd and long carried over from last year, teams are pinning their ears back because Rodgers always waits for the play downfield. Of course the Bears were all over the early screen and the quick pass to MVS so sometimes you have to tip your hat to the opposing D. RSmith is a beast.

[nodakfan17]

The one glaring weakness was the OL. They were playing against a stout DL, but they were terrible at times. I don’t see Lane Taylor holding off Jenkins for long. He looked all sorts of bad tonight.

I wouldn’t call the OL or Lane Taylor a weakness. Cut them some slack, it was a tough front 7. If Jenkins replaces Taylor it will probably be because the rookie earned it, not because Taylor’s play is inadequate.

[xisxisxis]

That was a pretty confusing game plan to be honest by the Bears.

I think we just saw what $100M+ invested in your defense will get you. I don't think the Bears had any indication the packers could consistently cause pressure. The DL and Secondary are so interlinked. The Packers can now get pressure in the backfield. The secondary benefits from the reduced time for the QB to react and the better coverage/speed in the secondary makes the pressure from the line that much more damaging. Nagy should have adjusted at halftime, but maybe Trubisky needs a set gameplan or he can't adjust so they go with what they brought. Who knows, but that was a very nice performance by the D. Kenny Clark is a beast.

 

Very encouraging game. Now if Lafluer can get through to home run Rodgers and instill some form of ball control offense instead of the "throw it 40 yards and hope" this offense might be formidable. Its becoming clear that Aaron Rodgers is the biggest impediment to getting this offense going...

[EnglishCream]

Losing Nick Collins was huge. They never recovered.

 

 

They lost Collins, Finley and Murphy...the later never actually did much, but he was probably as talented a WR'er as Thompson drafted.

 

The thing about Collins injury, it looked like such a minor little hit to the head. Like Stewart's let just brushed it.

 

Your post jogged my memory. I was there in person, in Charlotte, for both Murphy's and Collins' injuries. Murphy's was on a Monday night, and an all around brutal game by the Packers, who nearly came back to win at the end with a crazy Favre comeback. I remember how silent the crowd got when he got hurt. And Collins, a few years later on a Sunday afternoon in a game the Packers ended up winning. I remember like you said, it didn't look that bad. Been to a few more Packer games in Charlotte since, they never seem to go too well. Thomas Davis' cheap shot to Davante Adams a couple years ago that concussed him, and in fact, it was Davis who hit Murphy which ended his career.

[wildcat83]

The one glaring weakness was the OL. They were playing against a stout DL, but they were terrible at times. I don’t see Lane Taylor holding off Jenkins for long. He looked all sorts of bad tonight.

I wouldn’t call the OL or Lane Taylor a weakness. Cut them some slack, it was a tough front 7. If Jenkins replaces Taylor it will probably be because the rookie earned it, not because Taylor’s play is inadequate.

 

I don't mean to take anything away from the Bears DL, because they are extremely talented. However, it's the NFL, you're paid to block them, or at least slow them down. There were multiple times Taylor was either steam rolled with a bull rush or completely whiffed in space that caused instant pressures. I don't have a subscription to PFF, but I'm guessing if someone looked up Taylor's grade from last night it would be pretty rough. Maybe he will settle in against lesser DL in the coming weeks, but if he doesn't play better than he did last night, he won't have that job for long.

[KeithStone53151]

I'll continue beating the dead horse here, but I couldn't be happier with the defense. It's easy to say "oh Trubisky sucks"...but while true, any NFL QB could light up any defense in 7 on 7 type drills. Trubisky was under pressure all night long. The front 7 was fantastic, constantly in his face and constantly getting pressure. From what I saw, the coverage was very good behind as well. I thought it was a bit weird that the Bears didn't really try to run more, we'll see how this front 7 handles the run. But hard to imagine them struggling against it too much...they won at the line of scrimmage today, they were going to shut down anything the Bears did.

 

The offense showed glimpses, but were clearly very rusty. It will certainly get better, but yesterday was not very good overall.

[nodakfan17]

There’s a pretty neat video on Packers.com where Rodgers gives MLF the game ball. My favorite part was just before that when the team is chanting ‘JK, JK, JK.’ How often does a team cheer the punter in the locker room? Good to see him get some recognition for last night’s performance.

[OldHeidelberg]

Love that Rashan Gary had the pressure to force the pick at the end as well. He didn't do a ton tonight, but the potential is very much there.

 

Just watched the highlight again, I think that was Preston Smith. I didn't notice Gary all night and he is not in the box score.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Love that Rashan Gary had the pressure to force the pick at the end as well. He didn't do a ton tonight, but the potential is very much there.

 

Just watched the highlight again, I think that was Preston Smith. I didn't notice Gary all night and he is not in the box score.

 

Yeah, I was mistaken on the last play ... but he did have two pressures earlier in that last Bears drive, though. He played 6 plays total all night. Kind of a disappointment, but it was his first action ever, and I expect that he'll make an impact at some point this season.

[areacodes]

Very encouraging game. Now if Lafluer can get through to home run Rodgers and instill some form of ball control offense instead of the "throw it 40 yards and hope" this offense might be formidable. Its becoming clear that Aaron Rodgers is the biggest impediment to getting this offense going...

 

This is a ridiculous statement.

 

21 of Rodgers 30 attempts last night were 10 yards or less. He threw 3 passes 40+ yards and completed 1 (one of the incomplete passes was the Hail Mary at the end of the 1st half)

 

If there is any reason for the sluggish offense yesterday it was a combination of no preseason game action and the Bears D. Rodgers didn’t have a great game (missed some throws, not putting it in the best place for the receiver to get up field after the catch) but he is not the “biggest impediment to getting this offense going.”

[HiAndTight]

That was a pretty confusing game plan to be honest by the Bears.

I think we just saw what $100M+ invested in your defense will get you. I don't think the Bears had any indication the packers could consistently cause pressure. The DL and Secondary are so interlinked. The Packers can now get pressure in the backfield. The secondary benefits from the reduced time for the QB to react and the better coverage/speed in the secondary makes the pressure from the line that much more damaging. Nagy should have adjusted at halftime, but maybe Trubisky needs a set gameplan or he can't adjust so they go with what they brought. Who knows, but that was a very nice performance by the D. Kenny Clark is a beast.

 

Very encouraging game. Now if Lafluer can get through to home run Rodgers and instill some form of ball control offense instead of the "throw it 40 yards and hope" this offense might be formidable. Its becoming clear that Aaron Rodgers is the biggest impediment to getting this offense going...

 

 

Exactly HOW is it "becoming clear," that Aaron Rodgers is the biggest impediment to getting this offense going?

[HiAndTight]

The one glaring weakness was the OL. They were playing against a stout DL, but they were terrible at times. I don’t see Lane Taylor holding off Jenkins for long. He looked all sorts of bad tonight.

I wouldn’t call the OL or Lane Taylor a weakness. Cut them some slack, it was a tough front 7. If Jenkins replaces Taylor it will probably be because the rookie earned it, not because Taylor’s play is inadequate.

 

 

No, I wouldn't call it a weakness at all. But of the 5...through one game, Taylor was the weakest point. You can't allow Robertson-Harris to walk you back like he did on the 1st player of the game or a few other plays. Not when you have a player who appeared to be a better option in Jenkins on the bench.

 

They thought enough of Jenkins to make it a competition and then basically said for the sake of continuity we're going with Taylor. Of the 5, none played bad given who they were facing, but I think Jenkins is clearly one of the 5 best and should start.

[HiAndTight]

Losing Nick Collins was huge. They never recovered.

 

 

They lost Collins, Finley and Murphy...the later never actually did much, but he was probably as talented a WR'er as Thompson drafted.

 

The thing about Collins injury, it looked like such a minor little hit to the head. Like Stewart's let just brushed it.

 

Your post jogged my memory. I was there in person, in Charlotte, for both Murphy's and Collins' injuries. Murphy's was on a Monday night, and an all around brutal game by the Packers, who nearly came back to win at the end with a crazy Favre comeback. I remember how silent the crowd got when he got hurt. And Collins, a few years later on a Sunday afternoon in a game the Packers ended up winning. I remember like you said, it didn't look that bad. Been to a few more Packer games in Charlotte since, they never seem to go too well. Thomas Davis' cheap shot to Davante Adams a couple years ago that concussed him, and in fact, it was Davis who hit Murphy which ended his career.

 

 

I actually had to go back and look. I thought it was the final pre-season game that Murphy got hurt. But you're right, it was on Davenport's fumbled KR when he dove to cover the ball that Thomas Davis and he hit helmet to helmet.

 

I actually like Davis, but that hit on Adams was just a cheap shot and out of character for him. The play Murphy got hurt on, just random bad luck. Or maybe good luck. He had that thinning of the spine, so maybe if he takes a Finley like blow, he never walks again. Last I heard he'd started his own business and it was in real estate. One of the biggest in Texas. Still...so talented and Thompson's first draft class, Rodgers, Collins, Murphy the first 3 players picked.