Packers Daily Links: Soldier Field Concerns
The Soldier Field playing surface the Packers will play on Sunday has been called among the worst in the league. That and more in today's Daily Links...
When the Packers travel to Soldier Field to take on the Bears in the NFC Championship game, they're going to be playing on a surface that's been almost universally hailed as terrible. "While his teammates were considerably more kind in their assessments of Soldier Field’s turf, Greg Jennings did not mince words, calling the playing surface 'probably the worst in the league,'" writes Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.
Despite the concerns... "The general manager of Soldier Field, the site of the NFC Championship Game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears, said Monday that the Chicago Park District and the Bears have no plans to replace the sod in advance of Sunday's game," reports Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That being said, the NFL apparently will have the final decision in whether to replace the turf.
Players still remember the pain of the 2007 NFC Championship game loss to the New York Giants. "There are 23 players on the Packers’ 53-man roster that were on the team in 2007, including 10 returning starters," writes Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. The Giants were the lowest seeded team ever in the NFC to advance to the Super Bowl. Ironically, if the Packers were to win on Sunday, they'd be the lowest seeded team from the NFC to ever make the Super Bowl. Jason Wilde pens a similar article.
Sunday will mark the third consecutive road game for the Packers in the playoffs. "After going 3-5 away from Lambeau in the regular season, the Packers have won at Philadelphia and Atlanta," writes Lori Nickel of the Journal Sentinel. "In those hostile environments, they've only had three offensive penalties." Rob Demovsky of the Press-Gazette writes a similar article.
There's a feeling that these two opponents know everything about each other, meeting now for the third time this season. "The fact these two teams played on Jan. 2 in the regular-season finale speaks even more to a sense that neither team is going to fool the other," writes Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel. "Facing a must-win to make the playoffs, the Packers pulled out a hard-fought, 10-3 victory at Lambeau Field."
Right tackle Bryan Bulaga was named to the NFL's All-Rookie team. "Since the team, which is recognized as the official all-rookie team, was originated in 1974, the Packers have had three other tackles selected: Mark Koncar in 1976, John Michels in '96 and Ross Verba in '97," writes Bob McGinn of the Journal Sentinel. Bulaga was the only rookie to make the team. I thought the argument could have been made that Tim Masthay should make the team, but Zoltan Mesko of New England was the punter.
Tramon Williams' film-study habits are documented by Kareem Copeland of the Press-Gazette. "No one should ever accuse Tramon Williams of not being bright," writes Copeland. "The Green Bay Packers cornerback knew he had a lot to learn coming out of college as an undrafted free agent. Picking film junkie Charles Woodson as a tutor was likely a $33.074 million decision as the fourth-year player earned a four-year extension with his play this season."
While the Bears are historically known for being a tough defensive team, the Packers might have the better one this year. "The Chicago Bears are called the “'Monsters of the Midway' and their defense, led by Brian Urlacher, has earned consistent praise over the years," writes Bill Huber of Packer Report. "And that probably will be the case nationally this week, but it’s the Green Bay Packers who rank second in the league in scoring defense (15.0 points per game) while the Bears are fourth (17.9)." The Associated Press writes a similar article.
Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre officially filed his retirement papers with the league. "Favre certainly is familiar with the protocol," writes Bill Huber. "He filed the paperwork to the league upon retiring from the Packers and again the following year with the Jets." Kareem Copeland notes that Favre thinks the Packers will win the Super Bowl.
The Press-Gazette and the Journal Sentinel have both sent reporters down to Chicago to cover the scene in advance of Sunday's showdown.
Cliff Christl takes a look back at the historic 1941 playoff matchup between the Bears and the Packers at Wrigley Field for the Press-Gazette.
West Coast Offensive is high on the Packers.
Comments (23)
January 18, 2011 at 10:26 am
Even Cutler is complaining. Probably wants it flavored with banana cause he'll be eating quite a bit of it.
January 18, 2011 at 11:19 am
Congrats to Bulaga. He's played with occassional inconsistancy, but he's showing great stamina (mental and physical) for a rookie. Only 21 years of age, the kid is very solid and still has upside. He will benefit from the offseason program, great fit as a Packer.
January 18, 2011 at 11:45 am
Sam Shields shoulda made the rookie team but he wasnt a high profile draft pick so its understandable
January 18, 2011 at 11:48 am
100% agree
January 18, 2011 at 01:29 pm
Also agree. His good play frees Woodson
January 18, 2011 at 11:46 am
The field conditions are what they are - both teams have to play on it. I'm honestly a little confused that conventional wisdom suggests you run in these conditions. The problem with that is that running is the hardest thing to do on a slippery track. If the receivers can focus on making the catch, I think the passing game makes a lot more sense. Pass rushers should be slowed as well. I can see why corners gain a slight advantage, but in the overall scheme, I like the passing game in conditions like these. The exception, of course, is wind. I'm hoping for low winds and temps in at least the teens...
January 18, 2011 at 11:57 am
DB's are at a significant disadvantage. WR's know exactly when and where they intend on planting their foot, making a cut. The DB can only react, slip and slide.
Advantage wide receivers.
January 18, 2011 at 12:07 pm
That's sort of what I was thinking, too - except that I was listening to a couple former defensive players this morning talking about how that since the receivers can't cut quite as sharply, they're able to get another fraction of a second to read the route. So, I'm sort of just deferring to people who've played the game, but I'm certainly not considering myself the expert on this issue.
Zone coverages also will help, I'm sure.
January 18, 2011 at 12:11 pm
"DB's are able to get a fraction of a second to read the route."
Can't dispute that's a possibility, but do you believe the Bears carry a DB on their roster with that ability let alone enough DB's with that ability to match up with the Packers on 3, 4 or 5 receiver sets?
January 18, 2011 at 12:16 pm
That's probably one of the most annoying developments of the past few days: sports writers praising the Bears DBs for shutting down the Seahawks WRs. Would Mike Williams even make the Packers roster?
January 18, 2011 at 12:21 pm
No, he wouldn't. He would be the 5th receiver on the roster competing with Swain. To be the 5th receiver on the Packers roster you need to make a significant contribution on special teams.
Kudos to Williams for re-dedicating himself to the game, but the Packer roster is stacked at receiver.
January 18, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Not to mention the bears didn't shut down the hawks wr's. They simply dropped a lot of balls.
January 18, 2011 at 12:04 pm
I suppose this is a bit of "homer" take, but I think the worse the footing is, the more it hurts the Bears. Their D needs to get pressure with 4 rushers. If the field slows those 4 guys down, and Rodgers has even a half-second more time for stuff do develop each play, I think it gives our offense a major edge.
And as far as when we are on D, all I'm hearing is how a crappy surface is going to slow down Clay Matthews' speed rush. Our most deadly blitz lately has been the classic delay, where somebody loops back inside. Does a bad surface really hurt delayed pressure? Does it hurt Woodson's untouched blitz out of the slot? If it slows Chicago's front 4, it's going to slow down our guys, too. But I'm not sure it's going to hurt our two most effective blitzes.
Which QB is more deadly right now with extra time to throw? QB1 or Cutler?
January 18, 2011 at 12:06 pm
That's my take. If, as CSS says, the field is a positive for receivers, then I think that's a positive for the Packers seeing as they have the (much) better passing attack.
January 18, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I may be oversimplifying the ability for each team to bring pressure on a bad surface, but it's simple for me:
Which team can come at you with the most defensive looks from the most angles with the most personnel? That would be easy advantage Packers.
Peppers is the great equalizer in this game. Can we avoid the forced penalties as a byproduct of Peppers? Is McCarthy willing to run at him or throw screens at him in order to neutralize his bull-rush.
As Peppers goes, so goes that defense. No disrespect to Urlacher, but Peppers makes that engine hum.
January 18, 2011 at 09:37 pm
Look. Both teams have to play on it. The GBP have played many cold weather games there and the field is perennially a pile of shit. I heard the bares very own Breeana Earlicker say it sucks for them too. If for some reason the field is an issue, that's some poor planning. Bring several sets of cleats, go out and cut in pregame, find the ones you like best. Go out and get it done.
GBP 4 LIFE
January 18, 2011 at 12:17 pm
If the Pack WRs have just a good day & AR carries over from the Atlanta game, this game will not be close ......
If the elements make it more difficult to display a potent offense, then the 'D' will be the difference ......
Either way, Chicago's season ends on Sunday at about 5:35 PM CST .....
January 18, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Truth. The Packers are the better team. End of story. They just need to get it done.
January 18, 2011 at 09:38 pm
Yessir.
January 18, 2011 at 12:21 pm
In some kind of bizarro scenario where the officials/referees found the field to be in an unplayable condition, what would happen?
January 18, 2011 at 12:40 pm
I don't get all this talk about the NFL monitoring the field and they will determine if changes need to be made.
The game is in 5 days. What changes could possibly get made? New sod is not going to attach in the middle of January in 5 days.
January 18, 2011 at 03:15 pm
It's pretty crazy that 2 undrafted RB's were voted in for the all-rookie team
January 18, 2011 at 09:39 pm
"Bulaga was the only rookie to make the team."?
To the all rookie team? Am I reading that right?