The Green Bay Packers took care of business, and I give them credit for it. The Chicago Bears took care of business, and it was a sight to see. Period. Before any of the trash talk starts, and it will, I want all Bears and Packers fans to acknowledge how amazing this week, ending with Sunday, will be. This is what sitting through all of the 4-12, 6-10, and 9-7 seasons have led to. All the years where we had to watch SportsCenter and all the other national shows and listen to how great the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Vikings, Saints, or Falcons were. This week, this game, this moment is the time when the Bears and Packers fans can both say that we are the best in the conference and that we are going to battle it out on the football field for the right to say that one team is better than the other.
This will be decided completely, and in a refreshingly objective manner, on the field. No opinions matter. Whoever wins this game will be the better team, all that will matter is the scoreboard. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I get the feeling from the Bears veterans that they are ready to be that team. This is their moment, and the most important thing is they know it. If they lose, it will be because of a lack of talent, not mental mistakes or not taking this moment seriously enough. That desperation, knowing that this is their last and best opportunity for a Ring, can be seen in the eyes of every one of them.
What makes me feel good going into this game is that the Bears have more of a veteran team, whereas the Packers are relying on a lot of young guys (Williams, Starks, Jones, Shields to name the guys with the biggest roles) who may feel that they have more chances down the road and as such may not have the same level of desperation. I also like the way the Packers and Bears won their respective divisional round games, in how they set up for next week. The Packers won with their passing game (in spite of their subpar running game) and turnovers. While the Packers dominated, their domination was aided in large part by a lack of talent on Atlanta's defense and big mistakes by their offense.
While the Bears definitely played a lesser opponent in the Seahawks, the Bears did not rely on that inferiority, and simply dominated this game by marching up and down the field on offense in a methodical fashion, while playing excellent defense and special teams. I love the way Julius Peppers, Tommie Harris, and the rest of the defensive line created pressure, and put hits on the Quarterback. One thing I noticed was that the Falcons often got to Rodgers but could not bring him down--I don't see that being the case as often against the Bears. I loved the hard hits by the linebackers. I loved the aggressiveness of the corners, in fact they looked almost Packers-like at the corner spots. And I loved the play-calling on offense--the Bears had balance but were unpredictable, not the least of which was the strike thrown to Greg Olsen on a 3rd and 1 play for the first touchdown. Greg Olsen and Matt Forte (to name a few) made the Bears offense seem VERY dangerous.
More to come this week Bears fans, if nothing else make sure you soak this in and enjoy it. It has never happened before, and may never again. What a week...
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