Thumbs Up:
1 Defensive Game Plan: Dom Capers drew up a beauty
here folks. With a home loss in week one, a divisional opponent coming to town,
and Jay Cutler flapping his gums during the week, the pressure was on the
defense. The plan was obvious from the get go: take Brandon Marshall out of the
game with Tramon Williams underneath and a safety over top and test the
offensive line by bringing pressure from different angles. Both strategies
worked to perfection as Cutler was sacked seven times and Marshall had exactly
one catch, which occurred in garbage time. Yes the pass rush was spectacular
and Clay Matthews was his explosive self, but the sacks were more about scheme
and coverage than any one player. The defensive line finally woke up, we got
pressure from both inside and outside linebackers, we rotated players in and
out to keep them fresh, and when we didn’t get home, the d-backs made plays.
This was a phenomenal team effort that started at the top and included just
about everyone.
2 Special Teams: Another week, another explosive
special teams play. Holy shit was that fake field goal executed flawlessly.
Mike McCarthy said they’d been working on that play for three years, and the
perfect opportunity finally presented itself. Beyond that, Crosby was perfect
on three medium to long range attempts and Masthay did his thing. The most
dangerous return man in the history of football was completely neutralized by
accurate punting and strong coverage. Someone buy Shawn Slocum a beer.
3 Cedric Benson: Although his numbers will look
unspectacular (81 yds rushing, 35 yds receiving, no touchdowns), he turned in a
gutsy performance. He averaged over four yards per carry against a very good
defense without much help from his offensive line. He was fantastic after
contact and seemed to be feeding off the physicality of the defense. He shied
away from not a single hit yesterday and refused to go down without a fight. He
seems to be gaining a comfort level with the team and should continue to
improve as the season goes on. Imagine what he could do with some decent
blocking…
Thumbs Down:
1 BALL SECURITY: Jermichael Finley committed a
potentially costly fumble in Chicago territory and Aaron Rodgers threw his
second pick in as many weeks. Now the pick was 95% James Jones’ fault, but a
turnover is a turnover. If our defense had not produced four turnovers of their
own, these two mistakes would look much more glaring. Turnover margin is
perhaps the most critical stat in all of football when it comes to winning
games, and we simply cannot continue spotting teams the ball. Clean it up
McCarthy.
2 Offensive Line: Again, if our defense had not
produced seven sacks of their own, the five that we gave up would have looked
like a much bigger deal. The fact is, Rodgers looked uncomfortable for most of
the game. He was getting very little time in the pocket and simply wasn’t
himself. Yes the Bears can rush the passer, but so can half of the other teams
in the league. We have to protect better or we risk decreased production,
turnovers, and even an injury to Rodgers. I’d rather not see Graham Harrell
under center this year. Despite Benson’s 4.1 ypc average, the line did little
to open holes for him, and he took plenty of contact in the backfield. Signing
a good back is all well and good, but we’ve got to give him a chance to get
into the second level and break a long one.
3 Third Down Offense: Speaking of contact in the
backfield, we were horrible on third down, and specifically third and short.
Four for fourteen on third down is unacceptable. I can’t remember the last time
I felt confident on third and one, and our offense has been awesome for years.
Why can’t we get better at this? What is it going to take for us to be able to
pick up one yard when the defense knows that’s all we need? This is not about
trickery or creativity or scheme or any of that. This is about one fucking yard
and a little push up front.
Notes:
- Sam Shields got the start at corner opposite
Tramon Williams
- Charles Tillman is the best in the league at
punching the ball out, and has been for years
- Dezman Moses got some PT, and even beat J-Marcus
Webb for what would have been a clear shot at Cutler had he not been blatantly
held
- The replacement refs were once again terrible
- Charles Woodson calmed his teammates down during
a scuffle that could have escalated
- AJ Hawk had a fantastic game
- Jay Cutler is a bitch
Cutler came in a close second to Matthews for Packers player of the game.
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