MVN - Most Valuable Network

Where’s the Frozen Tundra? Bears Visit Packers In Week 5 Clash

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For the 2nd straight week, the Chicago Bears will take on a team they’re looking up at in the NFC North Standings, and for the 2nd straight week that team will have a high powered passing attack. Not good news for a Bears defense that seems to lose a player to signifigant injury every week.

This week’s injury is rookie Free-Safety Kevin Payne. Payne broke his arm in the debacle that was the contest against the Detroit Lions. The Bear’s secondary is now extremely depleted thanks to injuries to Safety Adam Archuleta (hand) and cornerbacks Charles Tillman (ankle) and Nate Vasher (groin) were all injured a week earlier in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Safety Mike Brown was lost for the season when he tore the ACL in his left knee in a Week 1 defeat to the San Diego Chargers.

This week a team that has rapidly seen a season that opened with such great optimism flow down the drain, will face off against a Packers team having a dream season. Green Bay improved to 4-0 last week, and Brett Favre is playing like he did 10 years ago, arguably with half the talent around him.

While Green Bay’s quarterback situation is as settled as always, the Bears quarterback situation is an absolute catastrophe. After Rex Grossman struggled through much of last year, and the beginning of this one, Brian Greise was anointed the savior by the fans, and the starter by his coach. His first game was anything but impressive as he threw 3 interceptions, all on the Lions’ side of the field.

This game will be all about controlling the football, and not turning it over, something the Bears have not been good at pretty much since the pre-season wrapped up. Cedric Benso, so far has been a major dissapointment, and his inability to get yardage on the ground directly resulted in Griese having to throw the ball 52 times in his first start.

But controlling the ball isn’t simply important in avoiding turnovers, the Bears defense, while starting off as dominant as ever, had folded badly in the 4th quarter the last two games. One can certainly chock that up to being exhausted from being on the field constantly.

And now it’s time for the weekly installment of our “From the Eyes of the Enemy” this week I talked to Andrew Erdman from MVN’s Packers page “The Frozen Tundra” and asked him our usual 5 questions:

1. What is the one player the Packers need to stop in order to win
2. What is the one player the Bears need to stop in order to win
3. What is the one key factor that Packers must do in order to win? ( i.e.: balanced attack, lots of blitzing……)
4. What is the one key factor that the Packers must stop the Bears from doing in order to win
5. Score prediction

His Answers are below:

1. Devin Hester — He’s already returned a punt and a kick for a touchdown in 2007. Three of the four Packer victories this season were close wins. The Packers can’t afford any special teams points from Hester — points that would likely alter the outcome of the game. Plus, field position is crucial. If Green Bay can consistently stop Hester’s big returns and pin the Bears’ back deep, their offense will have a tough time driving down the entire length of the field series after series against the Packer defense.

2. Brett Favre — With the Packers’ running game in shambles, they’ve relied on the arm of Favre for wins in ‘07. So far it’s worked. But the team that figures out how to penetrate the Packers’ line and apply constant pressure on Favre — sacks, hurries, knockdowns — has the best chance to win. That’s what the Bears need to focus on: getting Favre rattled so he makes the mistakes he has in the past.

3. Win the turnover battle: If Favre can continue to play smart and manage the game fairly conservatively like he has thus far and avoid costly interceptions, the PackersPackers fumbled twice in the 4th quarter that could’ve cost them the game. Teams such as Chicago will take advantage of those turnovers, which is why it is crucial for the Packers to protect the ball. On the flip side, Green Bay must force turnovers by applying pressure on Greise and forcing errant throws. My feeling is that the team that wins the turnover battle will also win the game.

4. Stop the Bears’ running attack: The Bears are doing poorly thus far running the ball as a team. Through 4 games, the Bears have only 331 yards rushing (still way more than GB) and average only 3.3 yards per carry (again, still better than GB). If the Packers can continue to keep the Bears’ rushers in check, then Greise will be forced to work with 2nd and longs and 3rd and longs, which will undoubtedly lead to sacks, incompletions and interceptions.

5. Since the game is at Lambeau, and since the Packers have won 8 in a row dating back to 2006, and since the Bears are struggling right now, I see Green Bay taking this one. Score: Green Bay 27 Chicago 17.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with Andrew, although I think it could actually be worse than he believes. If Griese has the same sort of mistake prone game he had against the Lions, this game could easily get out of control.

Prediction: Green Bay 31 Bears 10

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 10:30 am and is filed under Nathan Vasher, Charles Tillman, Brian Griese, Kevin Payne, Adam Archuleta, Rex Grossman, Cedric Benson, Mike Brown, Game Preview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.