I am very worried, I hate being favored and lord knows the Bears don't need more ammunition for the game. I'm just afraid the positive press may get to the guys' heads since it's so fervent and hard to ignore that they'll think this is going to be a walk in the park. That's what happened in 2007.
That's exactly right. A lot of this game is mental.... it's execution and attitude.
And many times, especially when a game has the players a bit on edge, nervous, so close to the prize, using that underdog, us-vs-the-world attitude helps players gain an edge, calm down, play loose.
It's happened many times... not only the Giants against us, but also against Dallas the week before... remember Dallas was the #1 seed that year and had beaten the Giants twice that season.
I will tell you this and McCarthy better get it across to the players:
The Packers better be prepared for a smash-mouth, physical, punch-them-in-the-mouth, grind-it-out game for 60 minutes.
If any of our players are expecting more crappy soft defense like Atlanta had, or are expecting smooth pass routes, they're going to be in for a rude awakening because the Bears are tough on defense.
How many times has a team been rolling... think the Miami Dolphins with Marino or the Colts with Manning, and then they met a legit great, strong defense.... and all of a sudden the game became not a scoring fast, and they weren't prepared for that type of battle, weren't used to it... had lost too many close games.