Post Game Thread: Packers Dump Bears 31-23

Half Empty said:
Was pleased to see the first sentence - impossible not to agree with that, and the best part was it didn't smack of "a win is a win". However, you then have to follow that up with "don't worry, be happy" because it's only the first game. We can't get upset before this, because "it's only preseason". Now, we can't get upset because it's only the first game. After seeing defenses that can't get off the field when necessary ever since the last Super Bowl (you mention them later), pi$$-poor tackling (ibid), and ultimately making a comfortable win into a nail-biter (thanks, in great part to the Bears, as in your last comment) when CAN we be concerned?

I really an not trying to be snarky, just couldn't find the appropriate emoticon. I just continue to feel my few remaining hairs stand on end when folks say R-E-L-A-X.
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The point I start getting concerned is if there is no growth week to week. The schedule coming up is not easy. If we see the same mistakes and poor play from the D several weeks in row then ya you can start getting worried because the coaches and players aren't fixing anything.
 
The defense definitely did not instill any fear in offenses and really did not seem to be improved from last year. How much has to do with the suspensions remains to be seen. I can't believe how much lack of discipline they had. Lousy tackling and penalties.

I also thought that the Bears had a good game plan and Culter played within the scheme through most of the game. I honestly don't think he saw Matthews when he threw it... not that it matters.

The only thing that the defense showed is that the can tighten up when they need to. The goal line stand being one of them. Lots of film to look at.

Aaron was channeling a little Brett Favre with the shovel pass. I got tickled at Lacy's comments afterwards... "I didn't know it was coming. I was just trying to block and turned my head and the ball was there." Read heads up play by him.
 
I hear everyone mentioning bad tacking. (Which is absolutely correct.)

This is what chaps my, _ _ _ though. We have been talking about tackling for 3 to 4 years and it does not get any better. Yeah, MM not calling plays and focusing on the defense has sure helped that area.

I know it is the first game but this kind of performance against a very average team and offense does not make me feel any better. We will see how this defense does against a real team like Seattle next week.

Can they stop Lynch, Graham, and Wilson? Will be very interesting. I am not optimistic at this point.
 
rpiotr01 said:
Bears ran for 189 total, with 60 of those in the second half as they were trying to play catch up. Cutler threw for 154 of his 225 in the second half.

So while the D did a little better in the 2nd against the run I'd still say they moved the ball almost at will against us.
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In the second half, the Bears had 4 drives.,

Drive 1 - Down 1 point they ran 7 times and passed 2 times. Forte had one 20 yard run and the other were 2yds, -1, 5, 2, 2 and 5.
Drive 2 - Down 8 points they ran 2 times and passed 7. Cutler scrambled for 11 and the other was a 3 yarder.
Drive 3 - Still down 8 they ran it twice and Jay threw the INT. One 8 yds the other no gain.
Drive 4 - Down 15 they gave up running and passed it 6 times against the prevent and scored.

Take away Jay's 11 yard scramble and they averaged 4.7 yards per carry in the second half on run plays. Not great but improved in the second half. Jay also threw for 72 of that 154 in one drive when the scheme changed to the prevent. I put that on MM and Capers more than the defense. The TD by Bennett was awful with Dix whiffing on the tackle big time. If he makes the tackle there they may have ran the clock out trying to score.

While not great, I feel like the D tightened up considerably in the second half.
 
Just rewatched the game. Ready for grades

I'd give the offense: A-

I wanted to change it to a B+ because this was afterall a pathetic bears defense last year, but it is a new season. Can't really complain after putting up 31pts, but they oline was slightly rusty (mainly Bakteria) with his hold giving up a TD, and I think there were another 2-3 Oline calls on that drive that almost knocked us out of FG range. Also, my one critique is the defense finally gets a big stop on a turnover on downs and the offense goes 3 and out and puts the pressure on the defense again. That has come back to haunt us in the past. Besides those two things, the offense was looking good.

Kudos to JJ, to Eddie 'Randy Moss' Lacy with one handed grab and hard effective running. Good job on the Oline of getting excellent blocks on 4th and 1, boy have we sucked on short yardage in the past so that was extremely encouraging. Rodgers good as always and a nice distribution of balls and smart running. JJ, Dick was very effective and might not be a fast, but he's a nice big target. Davante and Cobb both had a few important catches. Davantes on the right sideline was an excellent catch getting his knee and foot down.

Defense: D

I'm not giving them an F, because when the game was on the line and after not being able to force a punt since the beginning of the game the Defense got TWO important TURNOVERS. The first being a turnover on downs at the 2 yard line (I think that's lucky the bears forgot they had Forte) and they brought some pressure on Cutler to make bad throws. I saw the Bears run the same cross play with Forte running underneath then goes out left with Palmer in coverage, they ran it like 4-5 times because the first couple of times Palmer was getting stuck on the pick. Thankfully the Packers actually started figuring out that play. And of course Clay got the best of Cutler and got another turnover.

But overall it was a friggin pathetic mess of a defense. I don't want to hash over it again, but just a big ass fail for the entire defense at all 3 levels. Run defense was beyond pathetic. TE's and RBs were picking up chunks of yardage all day, Cutler looked like he had Russell Wilson's scrambling ability. HHCD can't tackle, Hyde was slow and has stone hands, Shields kept falling and brain farting, Sean Richardson was the opposite of the bigger tackling safety he was supposed to be. Randall was a bright spot, Peppers was a bright spot. Clay needs to keep taking the juice he's on, because its working, hopefully it's legal. The way Clay's body was flying around you'd think Andre the Giant was swinging him, I hope Clay can make it through the season with that kind of play.

Special Teams: B

Positive: Ty Montegomery had a great debut. The STs coverage was not leaky. The hands team knew what to do on an onsides kick!!

Negatives: Shields brain fart lead to 7pts instead of 3. WTF. Masthay has the worst punt of the day when we are backed up deep in our own end zone and we really need a big punt to help out our **** defense in an intense 4th quarter. The offense **** the bed on that drive and Masthay just compounds it with an awful punt and giving the Bears beautiful field position at our own 40!! Cmon!! WTF! We were fortunate Cutler reverted to Cutler. Masthay has one punt earlier in the game to pin the Bears deep it bounces inside the 5 but Goodson has no chance to get it, I think Bush has a shot at that ball. I'm not crying we should have had Bush, but Goodson I think is basically replacing Bush's role on those punts and I'd like to see Goodson match Bush's ability to track down those balls and avoid a touchback. Masthay could have hit it a little better too.

Coaching: C

Hard to judge coaching, I didn't see any obvious awful plays, no Kuhn dive plays were a BIG RELIEF! On the 3rd down play in the back of our end zone the Lacy split wide was kinda weird. I get they wanted Lacy on a LB but it was weird as a THIRD DOWN play. Overall the offensive plays seemed to have good balance and were effective. Defense on the other hand was crap. MM says he wants to spend more time with the defense, well..IT'S NOT HELPING. This defense looks like the crap we've been seeing for years. If they could just be average is all we really need, capers and MM that display was awful. BTW when did our entire defense forget to tackle? Did Mike Neal and the rest of these guys take lessons from Brad Jones on how to let a player run through your tackle while hardly slowing down?


Overall thank goodness this offense is talented and we have the best QB in the league, but we are going to need a much better effort by next week. This was a fairly close back and forth game against an inferior opponent, next week's opponent will be better.
 
With their 31-23 win on Sunday, the Packers pulled to within one game of the Bears in their all time series, the oldest rivalry in the NFL. While there was rust, and the defense did not look fantastic, the offense clicked and James Jones not only looked like he never left, but he looked like he was 28 again. Let’s examine what we learned from this week one battle.

What We Learned…

We learned that James Jones is going to provide the consistency and security for Rodgers while Jody Nelson is sidelined this year. In the victory against the Bears, Jones caught 4 passes for 51 yards and two touchdowns. In an admittedly small sample size, Jones showed he hasn’t missed a beat and is more like the Jones of two years ago than the James Jones who left to play for the Raiders.

One concern was Jones’ yards per catch. Last year, with the Raiders, it was a paltry 9.1 yards. In Sunday’s game, Jones had 12.8 yards per catch, a positive sign for Jones’ future productivity. And just like his last stint with the Packers, Jones just catches touchdowns.


Rodgers to Jones x2. #GBvsCHI pic.twitter.com/zHkKYTHjxR

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 13, 2015
​

We learned that Randall Cobb was at least somewhat limited with his shoulder injury. Cobb gained only 38 yards on 5 catches for an average of 7.6 yards per catch. This certainly had something to do with his injury and Rodgers’ unwillingness to put him in harm’s way with risky throws. As his shoulder improves, those numbers should as well.

What We Think We Learned…

We think we learned that Ty Montgomery is the real deal as a return man. In his three returns against the Bears, Montgomery averaged 35.3 yards per return. He looks like he can bust a huge play at any time, an element the Packers special teams has been sorely lacking in recent years. We think we learned that Clay Matthews is at the top of his game. Despite a training camp where Matthews barely participated due to injury, Clay looked great today. With 7 tackles, half a sack and an interception that was absolutely key to the victory, Matthews proved his value to this team again. Whether it was chasing down Matt Forte from behind, or pressuring the quarterback, Matthews provides the playmaker the defense needed today.


.@ClayMatthews52 looking like a cornerback! #Interception #GBvsCHI pic.twitter.com/iv27TRRGPK — Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 13, 2015
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What We Hope Isn’t True…

We hope it isn’t true that the Packers’ defense of old has returned. The run defense was dreadful at times. Matt Forte ran for 141 yards on 24 carries, brutalizing the Packers for 5.9 yards per carry. Even Jay Cutler was able to run on the Packers defense, registering 31 yards on 4 carries. We hope that, like last year, the Packers can improve the run defense as the season progresses.

We hope it isn’t true that Sam Shields is regressing. Shields looked downright terrible on Sunday, falling in coverage, missing tackles, and committing key penalties. He looked like a rookie out of place. The Packers fan base has to hope this was a one game hiccup, or this secondary is going to have problems this year.

Continue reading...
 
Great thread read board members - been busy with really life things - I agree with some of what sports media and fans discussed about this in regard to - considering the Packers defense in past and Matt Forte previous performances for the Bears - while Packers defense has to do better against the run - we all know this - they did a fair job. Cutler did not goof up all that much (like the QB Cutler we sorta kinda like to deride) except when Packers Clay Matthews got him on the interception.

I am one of the fans not fond of at all ( a bit incensed) at Packers defensive play calling that allowed the Bears their last touchdown. Dominance as a football teams means "put the game away" - the allowance of the last Bears touch down did not fit into that picture at all for me. Thank God for Cutler mistake and Clay Matthews. - I did not get hysterical but I sure did get a bit worried. Kaye
 
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