An outdated NFL adage is it’s not who you play however whenever you play them.
That might apply to the Chicago Bears’ Week 2 matchup Sunday night time at Lambeau Field in opposition to the Green Bay Packers.
The Bears seem like catching their rivals on the proper time — if there may be such a factor in a sequence that has been lopsided for the higher a part of three a long time throughout the Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers eras in Green Bay.
It could be overstating it to say the Packers are reeling after a gap 23-7 highway loss to the Minnesota Vikings, however it’s in all probability truthful to name them a bit of shocked.
Las Vegas oddsmakers don’t see it this manner. The Packers opened as nine-point favorites and the road has moved to 10, proof the wagering public isn’t placing quite a lot of inventory within the Bears’ splash-filled 19-10 upset of the San Francisco 49ers to start the Matt Eberflus period.
That’s positive with the Bears, who’ve maintained they’re extra centered on enhancing than regarding themselves with exterior narratives. They’re additionally not getting caught up within the Bears-Packers hoopla that some former coaches wrapped their arms round and squeezed. Remember, Lovie Smith took a cue from then-Chairman Michael McCaskey and talked at size about beating the Packers as a main purpose.
“The first thing Michael McCaskey went over when I came here to interview for the job was to make sure I knew about the rivalry,” Smith stated after the 2010 season because the Bears ready to satisfy the Packers within the NFC championship sport. “He let me know a little bit about it then too. Believe me, we know exactly how we’re supposed to feel about that rivalry.”
Eberflus didn’t get the identical directive, saying the rivalry didn’t come up in his interview with Chairman George McCaskey. Maybe that’s why Eberflus has steered away from any of the rivalry shtick that feeds fan bases.
The Packers have confronted questions because the spring about how Rodgers, 38, would stay on the prime of his sport after the commerce of broad receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. Things didn’t go nicely in Minnesota as Rodgers accomplished 22 of 34 passes for 195 yards with an interception.
Rookie Christian Watson was behind the Vikings secondary when he dropped a deep cross which may have gone for a landing. The timing and rhythm which have been second nature within the Green Bay offense had been clearly off.
Veteran Allen Lazard, who is predicted to steer the receiving corps, missed the sport with an ankle harm, the results of a freak accident in apply when a defensive lineman stepped on him. Lazard practiced Wednesday and may very well be in line to play this week. But can the Packers go from out of sync to buzzing in a single week?
More regarding is the offensive line, and that is the place the Bears should search for edges they’ll exploit. Left sort out David Bakhtiari and proper sort out Elgton Jenkins sat out Week 1 as they get better from ACL reconstructions. They reportedly would possibly miss no less than yet one more week, which might imply Yosh Nijman and Royce Newman are the beginning tackles.
With left guard Jon Runyan in concussion protocol, it may very well be a makeshift line in entrance of Rodgers. It’s one factor to be engaged on timing with younger receivers comparable to Watson and Romeo Doubs. It’s one other factor totally to not have time to throw.
“We don’t care who is out there,” Bears free security Eddie Jackson stated. “(Missing starters) can take effect, but the mindset doesn’t change as you are preparing or when you’re out there on the field.”
Rodgers has performed with loads of patchwork strains earlier than, even on this sequence, and it hasn’t appeared to sluggish him. The Packers have gained 12 of the final 14 conferences and Rodgers has a 23-5 profession file versus the Bears. He recorded a passer ranking of 125 or higher in 10 of these video games, probably the most such performances by a quarterback in opposition to a single opponent in league historical past.
Eberflus ought to warn his group that the league MVP from the final two seasons isn’t more likely to wrestle two weeks in a row. After all, weak-side linebacker Roquan Smith stated Monday {that a} “pissed off” Rodgers means the Bears will get the very best model of him.
“I don’t even go in that direction,” Eberflus stated. “I just stay focused on us.”
The different ingredient in play right here — and possibly the one oddsmakers are counting on — is the Packers haven’t misplaced consecutive regular-season video games since a three-game skid that started in mid-November 2018 and ended with coach Mike McCarthy’s firing.
His alternative, Matt LaFleur, has guided the Packers to a few consecutive 13-win seasons — the primary group in league historical past to take action. That’s a testomony to the job basic supervisor Brian Gutekunst and his employees have finished constructing the roster round Rodgers. If all it took was an elite passer, absolutely another group would have reached that pinnacle beforehand.
One extra issue, for those who’re reviewing what went improper for the Packers in Minnesota, is the Bears don’t have a Justin Jefferson on their roster. The Vikings broad receiver caught 9 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears don’t determine to problem the Green Bay secondary in the identical method, however they positively have to get Darnell Mooney extra concerned after he was focused solely thrice in opposition to the 49ers.
Catching the Packers at the beginning of the season as Rodgers will get accustomed to a revamped crew of broad receivers — plus the depth points they’ve on the offensive line — ought to hearten the Bears. It’s probably significantly better than enjoying them in one other month, when the wideouts may very well be settled in and the linemen wholesome.
“It’s just the next game,” defensive sort out Angelo Blackson stated, reaching for a cliche any coach would admire — particularly his personal.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com