Packers let Bears out of the grave

By Darrell Laurant  |   Monday, October 08, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Green Bay Packers
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Normally, pro football games don't evoke thoughts of Biblical stories, but during their 27-20 loss to the Chicago Bears Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers gave a pretty good collective imitation of Peter walking on the water.

If you'll remember, Jesus got out of his fishing boat, strolled out onto the roiling Sea of Galilee, and suggested that Peter come and join him.

Which he did, for a few minutes. But then he looked town, had a sudden "What am I doing here?" panic attack, and started to sink.

Like the Packers. Coming into Sunday night's game, Green Bay was walking on the surface of the NFC North with a 4-0 record. During the first half against the Bears, Brett Favre picked the supposedly rugged Chicago defense to shreds and the Green Bay line blew the Bears off the line of scrimmage consistently. It was 17-7 at the break.

Then came the second half. All of a sudden, it was as if the Packers suddenly realized that they weren't supposed to be doing what they were doing and decided: "We've got to be careful and protect this lead." The play calling -- rather audacious at times during the first half -- turned conservative. Favre (243 yards passing in the first half) was limited to pitch outs and shovel passes. The Green Bay momentum stopped, and began to slip backward.

Granted, the Bears' coaching staff deserves some credit more making adjustments. Green Bay backs Vernand Morency and DeShawn Wynn barreled through holes in the first half that could have accommodated a beer truck. After intermission, those holes filled up.

Still, the Packers tried to run. Only a couple of times did Favre test the Bears deep late in the game.

Worse, Mike McCarthy's team developed a pattern of spoiling good plays with corresponding bad plays. Charles Woodson reeled off a punt return into Chicago territory, only to fumble at the end of it. The Pack stopped Chicago on third down, only to have linebacker Nick Barnett flagged for blatantly latching onto the ball-carrier's face mask.

With five turnovers (three fumbles, two by rookie receiver James Jones, and two Favre interceptions) and nearly 100 yards in penalties, Green Bay should have had no chance to win the game. But the Packers nearly did.

The first half was vintage Favre. The second half, unfortunately, showcased Brett's evil twin. Early in the third quarter, flushed out of the pocket, he lobbed a weak pass into the middle of coverage, and Chicago's Brian Urlacher grabbed it. That led to a Brian Griese to Desmond Clark touchdown and cut the lead to 20-14.

"I should have thrown the ball away," Favre said later to reporters.

Instead, it was the game plan that was discarded.

Chicago is now 2-3 this season, and Green Bay lost a shot at home to bury the Bears altogether.
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