The much ballyhooed “war” between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears more resembled a police action. One in which the cop confronts the perpetrator, grabs him by the neck with one arm, lifts him up against the wall and shakes him like a rag doll. The Packers so throttled the Bears, any hate for the Second City Frauds melted into pity. Rumor has it that Jim Miller was nearly arrested after the game for trying to steal a large quantity of sacred Lambeau Field turf. Turns out, about a pound-and-a-half of the stuff had been inadvertently crammed into every orifice on his body during the game. Buried so deep, a quick post-game shower couldn’t wash it out. He’ll be sweating ‘tundra’ from his pores for about a month. And who does he have to blame, other than himself of course (it’s not his fault he’s a third string QB thrust into a starters job)? It would be convenient to blame Chicago OC John Shoop for a defective offensive game plan (though it’s very difficult to ‘plan’ luck). Easier still to blame head coach Dick Jauron, who clearly had not a clue as to how to prepare his team for what was to come. But the fact of the matter is that the Bears offensive players, particularly their line, are not NFL caliber talents. Certainly some of them have shown signs this season; Miller and Booker, once against the Bucs; Thomas in several games
The Bears defense, is somewhat better than their offense, although limited in focus. Until Sunday, when their focus was to stop the Packers passing game, they had not allowed a hundred-yard rusher in more than a year, and were yielding a scant 77 yards per game on the ground so far this year. With attention diverted to MVP candidate Brett Favre, however, Green Bay running back Ahman Green ripped off 125 yards against the once vaunted Chicago defense which gave up 167 total yards on the ground, more than doubling the Bears’ average. Against Favre, who they sacked twice, and intercepted once, the Bears won the battle, but that victory cost them the war.
Favre had his third worst day of the season, posting a meager 77.2 passer rating. He managed to keep his string of consecutive games with a TD pass alive, however, on the opening drive when he hit Antonio Freeman to complete a 64 yard jaunt to Paydirt. Favre has thrown at least one TD pass in every game this season. Favre leads the league in TD passes with 25, as well as TDs per completion with 1 per 9.72 completions and TDs per attempt with 1 per 15.4 attempts. His passer rating is third in the league, behind Rich Gannon and Kurt Warner, and his passing yardage is third in the league behind Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning. Clearly Favre is the front runner in
But it was Green Day at Lambeau Field on Sunday. In addition to his rushing yardage, Ahman Green added another 49 on 2 receptions and took the winning score to the house near the end of the third quarter. Green is currently third in the league in rushing yardage, behind Priest Holmes and Curtis Martin, he is second in the league in receiving yardage behind Marshall Faulk and is second in the league behind Priest Holmes in yards from scrimmage.
The win on Sunday solidifies the Packer hold on the division lead. Though tied with Bears in won/loss record, the Packers hold their fate in their own hands by virtue of the two wins over the Bears, who must now hope to finish the season undefeated, with the Packers getting a loss, to regain the division lead and a bye in the playoffs. Unfortunately, one of the few times other than in Packer games that fortune has gone against them, the Bears, who are 4-3 this season against teams who have a .500 or better record, next two games are against teams with a .500 record or better: the charging Buccaneers who have won three in a row and are in the hunt for a playoff spot, and the resurgent Redskins who have won 6 of 7 since starting the season 0-5. The Packers, on the other hand, who have a record of 6-2 against teams with a record of .500 or better, face but one such team; the Cleveland Browns, who are on a 2-3 skid since losing to the lucky Bears.