Packers: 30 Bears: 27 The Good, Bad and Ugly
Aaron Rodgers, Ty Montgomery and Christine Michael, Jordy Nelson, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Soldier Field, Lions + Vikings losing
Run defense, Pass Rush
Damarious Randall, Overall Pass Defense, Aaron Rodgers' Calf
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Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].
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Comments (66)
PortlandMark
December 18, 2016 at 05:42 pm
Nelson also dropped two long passes in his hand. The defense is going to have to pick it up again if they are going to win a SB.
Bert
December 18, 2016 at 05:42 pm
Always good to win especially with so much on the line. Not real confident in the Pass D though. The drops by Adams and Nelson were almost fatal and very UGLY but I can write those off as anomalies. The Pass D not so much. I still think we will win the next two and the North as the Vikes have come apart at the seams and the finger injury has to be affecting Stafford. As for the playoffs, I just can't see the defense holding up against a top QB.
dobber
December 18, 2016 at 06:48 pm
Who in the NFC who has a chance of making the playoffs has a dynamic passing offense? Beyond Atlanta? Washington, maybe?
Thegreatreynoldo
December 18, 2016 at 07:21 pm
If Perry returns, that would help a lot. Helps the run and pass D (saw the ILBs bite a few times on PA and then get beat over the middle). If CM3 heals up, that would help some. Otherwise, help in terms of a talent infusion on defense is more difficult to forecast: perhaps Martinez (to help with over the middle pass D), Lowry, Fackrell, or Brice?
Bert
December 18, 2016 at 07:25 pm
Well Atlanta, Wash and Dallas have already chewed our defense pretty badly. We do need to get better in the secondary to beat those teams......I think.
TommyG
December 19, 2016 at 08:10 pm
Actually dobber makes a very good point. Should this packers team make the playoffs (thank you Detroit for finally imploding) then they actually stand a pretty fair chance against the teams which the NFC is producing.
zoellner25
December 18, 2016 at 05:43 pm
Good, good, good = Ty Montgomery and running game
Bad = MMs decision to go for it and pass up a short FG
Ugly = pass defense up the middle the entire 2nd half
pacman
December 18, 2016 at 05:45 pm
Not sure you put HHCD in good column for catching a ball throw right to him. And he certainly doesn't get one for holding the ball out there with 1 hand during the run back.
We almost like we have to create another category for the defense. What's the excuse today?
4thand1
December 18, 2016 at 06:14 pm
Dix made a nice catch on the 1st int, it was high and he hung on when everyone else was dropping easy ones. Him carrying the ball like a loaf of bread was stupid though.
dobber
December 18, 2016 at 06:56 pm
What was it, two years ago when there was a loooong stretch where no Packer safeties were recording INTs? Let me get this straight: now we're not only complaining about the fact that they ARE getting INTs, but we're complaining about HOW they get INTs?
ray nichkee
December 18, 2016 at 11:52 pm
I like what he can do after his picks. He did what he's supposed to do, catch the ball. Somehow it's being downplayed like they were gifted to him.
croatpackfan
December 19, 2016 at 05:12 am
You have to find yourself at the point where you can catch the ball. It always looks easy when you are sitting on the couch and spreading clever thoughts. It looks like you would catch it. But I cxan guarantee, you would not even be on the field. So do not spit on someone's else job performing at the top level. That is pathetic...
stockholder
December 18, 2016 at 05:47 pm
The Good. Loved the turnovers. Monty's running. The Bad: Dropped passes, the cold. The ugly, the secondary became to relaxed in coverage.
pooch
December 18, 2016 at 05:48 pm
Ugly- Dom Capers led defense
pooch
December 18, 2016 at 05:49 pm
Adams is like a school girl tease
lambeauleap
December 18, 2016 at 06:03 pm
Good
The running game most specifically Ty Montgomery. He was a stud today and pretty much rushed us to a victory. Without him we'd have maybe 3 points today.
Peppers Strip Sack & Ha Ha's INTs
Mason's game winning FG
Getting Jared Cook involved.
Bad
Why is Clay Matthews playing? Is a guy who is maybe at 30% better then anyone else behind him? If so that's NOT a good thing. But the last two weeks he's barely been serviceable.
Drops. Adams drops were bad and made me think of his first two seasons instead of most of this one. Jordy had a few key ones today as well. Just no reason for them.
Rodgers wasn't that great today which I get. He didn't practice all week, it was cold, he is hurting, and got very little help from his receivers. But his injuries could loom large if we get into the post season. There is no way we get a number 2 seed but my gosh would it have been nice to give Rodgers a week off. This team lives or dies by him. We need him at least semi mobile. He seemed to move around better come the second half but we have potentially (at most) 6 games left to play. I don't know if he can hold up that long. Plus we want him to be able to play in 2017 regardless of what happens this year.
Ugly
This defense overall. Just a hot mess. No pass rush, poor tackling, can't cover. Oy vey.
croatpackfan
December 19, 2016 at 05:14 am
Jordy also had few head scratching drops... It happens!
Since'61
December 18, 2016 at 06:17 pm
The Good: Aaron Rodgers, Ty Montgomery, OL, HH Dix,
The Bad: Special teams, where's the pass rush?, MM going on 4th and 2 in 2Q,
The ugly: 4th quarter defense, temperature
WKUPackFan
December 18, 2016 at 09:25 pm
The conditions had to play havoc on the kicking game. It was amazingly cold. Bad enough that Crosby's game winner was no gimme.
Nevertheless, Schum's last punt was excellent, and drove the Bears deep enough that the game could have been over then. Unfortunately, Barkley's passing, combined with a lack of pressure, led to an alternate ending.
4thand1
December 18, 2016 at 06:18 pm
Adams made nice moves to get open , didn't finish. Darius Slay pulled a hammy and left the game, Stafford bad pick in the end zone, oh oh luck is running out. Queens just suck. I thought this would be the toughest of the 3 remaining games. The div is there's to lose now.
GOPACKGO!
jeremyjjbrown
December 18, 2016 at 06:18 pm
I am trying to figure out if Matt Barkley is actually a pretty good QB. I think some of his throws where pretty good (last week too). The thing I'm not sure of is just how much Randall and Rollins pathetic excuse for zone coverage helped him. I think it was a lot. Either way I expect Barkley to be the Bear QB for a while.
sonomaca
December 18, 2016 at 07:08 pm
I think Barkley is better than a backup. The Bears will have a high draft pick. Will be interesting to see if they go QB.
WKUPackFan
December 18, 2016 at 08:57 pm
Thought Barkley played well. Have to think that on the one he threw right to HHCD that a receiver failed to be where he was supposed to be. The Bears had some drops also.
Heard somewhere that the coldest game he had played in before this was 41°. Not sure if that is correct.
mrtundra
December 19, 2016 at 08:58 am
Barkley never targeted Alshon Jeffrey until the 4th quarter, either. Then there was hardly a drop and our defenders had a rough time covering him in that prevent defense.
Lphill
December 18, 2016 at 06:45 pm
Pass defense was God Awful , I still think Michael should get more carries , but this turned into a typical Bears Packers game , I felt it would be close at the end and it sure was . Road division win, frigid temps , I will take it.
Dzehren
December 18, 2016 at 06:58 pm
The Bad: Virginia McCasky- Ted Philips-
The Ugly: Marc Tretman & Phol Emory
Finwiz
December 18, 2016 at 06:59 pm
Well I can tell you this, somebody's going to be wearing a NEW number next year, and just became the number one running back. Montgomery is good!!! Totally impressed with that man - wow, what a performance. And guess what....Jordy's BAAACCCKK!
fthisJack
December 18, 2016 at 09:45 pm
i hope TT doesn't sign fat ass to a new contract. he looks like he's running through cement compared to Montgomery and Michael. draft a RB.
Bearmeat
December 18, 2016 at 07:09 pm
G: Ty, HHCD... um.. Ty
B: WRs dropping balls, MM not taking the points early, 4th Quarter
U: The Chicago Bears. Lifetime series FINALLY tied!
NickPerry
December 18, 2016 at 07:33 pm
I didn't understand McCarthy not taking the 3 points early in the game either. Could have possibly been 10-0, instead the momentum totally switched and the Packers were down by 3 just like that.
Bearmeat
December 18, 2016 at 08:52 pm
Yeah. With a gimpy QB, you take the points. Unless you're trying to blow the other guys out as quickly as possible and then get your all pro QB out of the game. If that was the case, that's some incredible hubris.
MarkinMadison
December 18, 2016 at 09:33 pm
I think he just wanted to put the game out of reach fast. The D just could not hold up their end of the donkey today.
fthisJack
December 18, 2016 at 09:47 pm
the game is never out of reach with him as HC and Capers running the D.
jeremyjjbrown
December 18, 2016 at 10:57 pm
I was not happy to see them skip the fg attempt.
egbertsouse
December 18, 2016 at 07:30 pm
Good: Montgomery, the O-line, Jordy and, for once, MM's clock management at the end.
Bad: Demarious Randall, tackling, and Dum Capers' crazy 1990's zone blitz POS defense that never works (because every DC has seen it a million times) and leaves the middle wide open.
Ugly: Dropvante Adams and MM's bomb happy game plan that disregarded AR's gimpy legs.
Norm
December 18, 2016 at 07:31 pm
Zach, I think you mean pass defense in the bad, not run defense. Held then to under 100 yards rushing, although the YPC was 5.0 so certainly it was not great. Still not nearly as bad as 354 net yards and 21 first downs passing given up.
Thegreatreynoldo
December 19, 2016 at 01:28 am
I suppose both were bad. GB had zero tackles for loss, so no negative runs. Howard's 5.3 yd average had a long of just 13 yards, so it was not generally good defense with one lapse. Howard consistently picked up substantial yardage. We had a handful of positive plays against the run by the PFF definition.
We won because Chicago had 4 turnovers, including 3 in the span of just 6 plays. We forced one of those turnovers (Peppers strip sack), and commendably scored 17 points off of those turnovers. Two of the turnovers were simply because Barkley overthrow his receiver by a lot.
As many here commented when MN's defense was racking up a huge turnover surplus, this probably isn't sustainable, but I'll take the wins.
NickPerry
December 18, 2016 at 07:51 pm
The Good.... The OL did an outstanding job in both the running game and pass protection. Bears should have only had one sack (CB Blitz), the others were on Rodgers.
Cook... He was good in the 1st half, forgotten in the 2nd.
Monty and Michael...M & M... Both ran really hard. The announcers mentioned McCarthy told them Montgomery was drafted to be a RB... I call BS!! He's to damn embarrassed it took him this long to figure it out!!
Bad ... 2 times in the last 2 weeks in the 4th quarter a DL comes running on the field after the ball was snapped. Both times in the 4th quarter. Jezz guys, it's week 15..HELLO!
Ugly... Rollins... The guy didn't have a pass defensed all game, at least Randall made a play or two. After watching Casey Hayward shut down Amari Cooper today playing from the OUTSIDE, it only makes me wonder how much better this defense COULD have been.
Drops and penalties.
DOM CAPERS.... Even if they win a SB my hope would be Capers is gone the day after because it wouldn't be because of him, that's for damn sure.
Idiot Fan
December 18, 2016 at 08:19 pm
I'm not a "fire everybody" person after a bad game, or even a bad year, but I've been ready for a new DC for about 3-4 years now. At this point we know what we get from Dom: some strong games, some weak games, but overall pretty mediocre, with problems defending the middle of the field. If we somehow win the SB this year I would be happy to have him back, if only because nobody should be fired after winning the SB.
pooch
December 18, 2016 at 09:01 pm
Dont worry there not winning S.B.
rdent
December 18, 2016 at 09:31 pm
Capers is more of a liability than an asset,after all these years he still has no answer over the middle, we have seen that for too long.
WKUPackFan
December 18, 2016 at 09:51 pm
Casey could always play, and he's had a great season for SD. It's a shame he got away, but the Chargers paid him well, apparently beyond GB's salary cap plans.
NickPerry
December 19, 2016 at 05:31 am
Hey WKU... They paid him but nothing the Packers couldn't have matched or beat. If I remember the Packers didn't seem to even talk to Hayward, they were content letting him walk. Oh well, congrats to Casey.
WKUPackFan
December 20, 2016 at 12:28 pm
Hey Nick. Sorry for the late acknowledgement, just now thawing out from the game. When we left the South parking lot the car thermometer read -7°. I know the great folks of Wisconsin are somewhat used to that. Those of us originally from southern Kentucky? Not so much.
A few other things from the Chicago experience:
1) The seats still had snow on them when we arrived. Perhaps that is normal, but I was expecting them to have been cleared;
2) Barrels in the parking lot stenciled with "Hot Coals Only". Eerily similar to those back alley scenes in the movies;
3) Soldier Field may be iconic, but by modern standards it's a dump. They seriously need some larger restrooms, among other things;
4) Traffic going in was a nightmare. We would have made it 30 minutes earlier by walking, which originally seemed like a terrible idea being in possession of a parking pass; and
5) On the plus side, we had a fabulous meal the night before at the Cherry Circle Room in the Chicago Athletic Club! Highly recommend it for anyone going to Chicago. Brunch Sunday morning at the 11 Café was also delicious. Also, the accommodations at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place were outstanding.
Chicago really is a great city to visit. I was there many times on business 15+ years ago, and have been a few times since for pleasure. Other than the traffic experience above, it's always been easy to get around, and the dining is simply out of this world.
fthisJack
December 18, 2016 at 09:51 pm
same ole play not to win defense again in the 4th quarter. does the guy expect different results after it hasn't worked the last 33 times?
croatpackfan
December 19, 2016 at 05:21 am
I always get "bad" secondary and win than "excellent" secondary and loss. For your information Quinten Rollins was the best Packers tackler in this game with 8 tackles, so contrary to what you saw, he was not so bad. Worse of mentioned 2 were Randall who was dragged to the end zone by receiver and Jeffrey also scored TD on him... So, how Rollins were play bad, than?
NickPerry
December 20, 2016 at 05:56 am
He lead them in tackles because he gave EVERYBODY a 12 yard cushion!! Look at the REST of the stats a CB is measured by. He had ZERO passes defensed, gave up 9 completions on 10 targets to 4 different receivers. In other words, he was horrible against anyone he lined up against. The Bear threw AT HIM the whole way down the field on their final drive!
al bundy
December 18, 2016 at 08:16 pm
Good - eking out a close win over a non play off team
Bad - pass d. Hey again dix was playing way back. Had those two passes not floated the receiver would have has a nice receptin and some yardage to boot before Dix came in to make a tackle. He just wants to play center fild.
Ugly - shutting down early again. Had bears got the td instead of the holdng call this would have been a nice come vrom behind victory.
Dzehren
December 18, 2016 at 09:58 pm
2 picks are 2 picks.
Repeat after me- 2 picks are 2 picks. W/O 2the 3 picks we lose
ray nichkee
December 18, 2016 at 11:58 pm
Hey Al, do think with your elbows and type with your knuckles?
Dzehren
December 19, 2016 at 01:06 am
4 game winning streak. Let's run the table. Go cry Cutlers shoulder Al & keep talking about 1985.
MarkinMadison
December 18, 2016 at 09:37 pm
Cook made a statement today. Re-sign that man.
Montgomery - prime RB skills without the wear and tear found on you normal college cowbell RB
I'm not talking about bad or ugly today.
Dzehren
December 18, 2016 at 10:42 pm
Mark- I agree on #88. Guy was UNREAL today!!
Cook seems injury prone-- it would be hard not to re-sign Cook with his huge upside. TT will have to decide
fthisJack
December 18, 2016 at 09:53 pm
UGLY: MM and Capers 4th quarter collapses.
Dzehren
December 18, 2016 at 09:56 pm
From Bob McGinn- little GB & gigantic Chicago have played 194 games since 1921. now for first time since Oct 1933, the Packers have drawn even at 94-94-6.
4thand1
December 18, 2016 at 10:59 pm
Run the table will replace r-e-l-a-x if it happens. 4 in a row and people are whining, C'MON MAN! 2 weeks left and something to play for, what else could you ask for? Could be picking near the bottom of every round as usual again. I was down on this team and dammit, they got my attention again.
RCPackerFan
December 18, 2016 at 11:17 pm
Good- Montgomery, Michael, Cook, Peppers, Clinton-Dix, Hyde.
Good/Bad- Rodgers. Rodgers was good and made some great throws yet again. Unfortunately he had 4 huge dropped passes 2 of which were TD's. The bad comes when he held the ball to long, and tried to run.
Bad- Going up 17 points in the 3rd quarter to follow up giving up 17 points in the 4th. In the meantime they converted zero 3rd conversions in that stretch.
Ugly- whoever is in charge of letting the DBs play 10+ yards off the ball. Dropping TD passes.
pooch
December 18, 2016 at 11:44 pm
Can you say Capers
RCPackerFan
December 19, 2016 at 07:30 am
He is the guy at the top of the defense.
pooch
December 18, 2016 at 11:44 pm
Can you say Capers
Icebowler
December 19, 2016 at 12:16 am
The run defense did a lot better than I expected against Howard. It was the Bears bad run defense that surprised me.
Mojo
December 19, 2016 at 12:28 am
Good - after 83 years not trailing in the all-time series. Good- The Packers finally realizing they have a talented run-pass option with Montgomery. Why did it take so long? Good - Arod's passing ability and sucking it up to stay out there.
Bad -Arod's stubbornness in holding the ball and not taking what's given. Bad- D's inability to cover the middle. Or the boundary or just about anywhere past ten yards. Also, the total lack of pressure at critical times with blitzers getting stoned at the line.
Ugly - Bears mascot scooting it's butt on the field.
sheppercheeser
December 19, 2016 at 06:08 am
I don't have as much of a problem with AR holding the ball so long, but to not throw it away to avoid the hit and negative yards is inexcusable. That being said, I can't imagine being a Bears fan this morning- so close, but a typical ending for the Norse bottom feeders.
dobber
December 19, 2016 at 08:26 am
The Packers and Bucs gobsmacked them this season, but otherwise they've been more competitive--despite their QB issues--than people give them credit for. If I'm a Bears fan, I actually have some hope for next season...they've got some young pieces and are missing a ton of players due to injury.
PETER MAIZ
December 19, 2016 at 11:25 am
You may run the table but then there is the pass defense that allowed 27 points and almost a loss. If the Packers can't improve that, a victory against Detroit could prove questionable. They have got to really, really look at this. That's what led to 4 straight losses.
PaulRosik
December 19, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Its a week to week league. The previous week they picked Wilson off 5 times and held the Seahawks to 10 points.
The Packers have long appeared to have a problem adjusting their scheme if it is not working early in a game. When the scheme is set up well they can dominate. But when it is not set up well they do not appear able to fix it mid game.