Bears need to stop Packers running game

By Edward Kensik  |   Sunday, September 13, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

Chicago Bears
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By Edward Kensik

It might sound too simple, but Sunday night’s contest between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers will come down to if the Bears defensive line can stop Packers’ running back Ryan Grant and the other Pack backs.
While everybody will be talking about the battle between Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers, all you have to do is look at the 2008 results.
When the Bears held Grant in check, Chicago came out on top and when Grant went crazy the Packers won.
In the Nov 16, 2008 contest at Lambeau Field, Grant carried the ball 25 times for 145 yards and a touchdown. Rodgers also threw for 227 yards in the air for two touchdowns. He was also almost a perfect 23 of 30 in pass attempts. But it was Grant’s running that kept the Bears defense on the field and the Chicago offense off the field.
And then just days before Christmas in 2008 at Soldier Field, the Bears defense got a hold of Grant and limited him to only 61 yards on 25 carries. The Bears squeaked out that game, 20-17 in overtime with a Robbie Gould field goal. Rodgers had a little bit of a worse game connecting on only 24 of 39 pass attempts and throwing for 260 yards.
The Bears won that game despite Chicago quarterback Kyle Orton being sacked three times while the Chicago defensive line did not get to Rodgers.
There are obviously a few differences for the two teams this season. The first is obviously that the Bears have Cutler instead of Orton and secondly, the Packers have moved to the 3-4 defense, which many believe will take some time to adjust to the new defense.
But this season on the defensive side of the ball for the Bears, they have a new look and that is the arrival of Rod Marinelli as the assistant coach and also the defensive line coach. The Bears are hoping that his attack style defense will return the club back to the 2006 season when they made the Super Bowl. For Bears’ fans Sunday night is the hope of that return to 2006 especially for the defense.


Top match-ups on Sunday night


1. Bears defensive line versus Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Grant - Tommie Harris, Mark Anderson and Adewale Ogunleye, if you hear a lot of their names on Sunday night, you know that the Bears defense will be on fire and giving Rodgers and Grant fits. This will be a good test for Rod Marinelli’s spin on defensive line.






2. Jay Cutler and wide receivers versus Charles Woodson and Al Harris - The Bears only made four receptions for 60 years as the Bears were beaten 37-3four catches for 60 yards in a 37-3 rout in last year’s trip to Lambeau Field. Of course that was Kyle Orton and the Bears have Cutler this season. Just like the Packers using a new defense in the 3-4, Cutler is still getting use to the Bears receivers especially Devin Hester. During the preseason, there were times where they were not on the same page. You probably will get a steady dose of tight ends Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark in the opener.


3. Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson versus the new 3-4 Packers defense - The NFL is a copycat league and the Pack is trying to pick up the success of the Steelers who use the 3-4. If Forte reaches or goes beyond the century mark of yards on the ground, the Bears should be in prime pouncing position to win the opener. The Bears are also looking to give Forte fewer touches and with Kevin Jones out for the year, they will need Peterson to get some quality carries.





4. Bears defensive backs versus Rodgers - The Chicago defensive backfield is most likely the weakness of the club if not because of injuries. As of Sunday morning, it was still unknown if Charles Tillman was going to play with his back injury. Tillman missed all of the preseason with the injury and it was expected that he would be return for the opener, but that was always suspect. In addition, Danieal Manning just started practicing last week as did Zack Bowman, both with hamstring injuries, started practicing a couple of weeks ago. Even if those three are not in the lineup, Bears defensive line pressure on Rodgers will alleviate that worry in the defensive backfield.




5. Brain Urlacher versus the Packers offense - Despite the accolades and the star status, Urlacher has not been what he is all cracked up to be especially in 2008. The hope is that with the arrival of Rod Marinelli for the defensive line and Lovie Smith having more input into the defensive schemes that it will revive his career. A good start against the Packers would show that one of the best linebackers in football is back.


Prediction: Bears 27 Packers 20
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