[align=center]TOP HAT'S WEEKLY GAME REVIEW[/align]
SUMMARY:
The Packers committed five crucial turnovers and twelve costly penalties that the Chicago Bears capitalized upon for a 27-20 come-from-behind victory in a prime time Sunday night home game. Q Favre completed 29 passes for 322 yards with one touchdown and one costly interception. The Packers did establish a good running game rushing for 121 yards with a net of 5.5 per yards. The loss dropped the Packers from the ranks of the unbeaten to 4-1.
QUOTES:
Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said: “Green Bay's got a very good football team. They're going to be a playoff team. They're going to get their allotment of wins. I really think they do a nice job using their personnel on offense and I really like their defense."
Favre said: "We're not a bad football team but we're not great, either. We help them out like we did tonight - put the ball on the ground, make bad decisions, stupid penalties (12 for 93 yards) - you're going to get beat. Their [half-time] adjustments, I guess, were better than ours.”
McCarthy: "It's very important when you set particular objectives in a football game as part of your game plan that you go out and execute them. We had a number of turnovers that game that took points off the board. You cannot turn the football over and win in this league. It's evident week in and week out."
TURNING POINT:
With the Packers leading 20-10, on a third-and-5 play at the Packer 15-yard line, Q Favre did a roll out to the right side. Instead of throwing away the ball in face of tight coverage, he threw an awful interception to LB Urlacher. On the next play, the Bears scored a touchdown changing the momentum of the game to their favor.
REPORT CARD: THE GOOD, BAD, & UGLY
Passing offense: B+
Q Favre completed 29 passes out of 40 throws for 322 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. WR Jennings had a solid game with 4 receptions for 83 yards. WR Jones had 5 receptions for 64, but he dropped a pass and he made two crucial fumbles in Bears territory. RB Morency had 7 receptions for 48 yards. In the third quarter, Favre’s first interception changed the momentum of the game leading to a Bears score. The team failed to score in the second half except on a field goal with the Bears in a cover two scheme. In the red zone, the team was one out of four.
Rushing offense: B-
The rushing game came to life getting 121 total yards averaging 5.5 yards per carry. RB Wynn had 13 carries for 78 yards. RB Morency had 9 carries for 43 yards. However, the second half saw a return to a struggling running game with the offense getting only 19 yards on 9 carries. The reviewers assigned major responsibility for the second half collapse of the offensive line to the guards Coston and Colledge: "McCarthy wasn't too far off in declaring that there were yards to be made on the ground, but thanks mostly to the inability of the line - mostly the guards - to block linebacker Lance Briggs (16 tackles), the running game went nowhere."
Passing defense: B
The cornerbacks had a generally solid game. The big plays were caused by the failure of LBs and Ss to cover the RB and TEs. LB Poppinga had a bad coverage game giving up the crucial scoring touchdown pass to TE Clark. Also, S Collins had a bad coverage game allowing big plays including RB Peterson's 30 yard reception and TE Olsen's 27 yard reception. Further, S Bigby surrendered a touchdown pass to TE Olsen, although it was a great catch.
Rushing defense: B+
DT Pickett, DT William, & DT Jolly were solid against the run. The Bears tried to grind-it-out with 33 carries, but they got only 82 yards averaging a mere 2.5 yards per carry. DE Jenkins and DE Kampman continued to struggle against the run. Also, their pass rush was almost nonexistant. Generally, LB Hawk and LB Barnett had solid games against the run and the pass.
Special Teams: B
The Packers used pooch kickoffs to keep the ball away from KR Hester, but the Bears averaged good field position because of it. On his punt returns, Hester averaged only 10 yards. KR Williams had six kick returns averaging a good 29 yards. However, CB Woodson's punt returns averaging 12 yards had one costly fumble. Ryan had five solid punts averaging 48 yards gross, 40 net, and 4.24 hang time. K Crosby hit two FGs of 37 yards.
Coaching: C
McCarthy failed with half-time adjustments and crucial playcalling facing the second half cover two scheme with weaknesses that all coaching staffs know about...ask Leroy Butler. In the second half, he abandoned the passing offense after Favre’s costly interception in favor of a too conservative play-calling mode. As one brutal reviewer put it: "During the intermission you're supposed to make adjustments. OK, they're gonna stop the run now, so here's what we'll do. What the Packers did in the second half was run the ball into the heart of the defense, like mindless idiots, and then throw the short checkdown on third down. They got one first down on their first possession, on a screen pass. And between that time and their last possession, with 1:58 left in the game, after the Bears had fought back and taken the lead, they didn't have any. Five straight series of three and out. Five series of garbage plays, highlighted by that lunatic pass Favre threw into Brian Urlacher's arms that came back for six." As an echo from last season, in the second half, the Bears outcoached and outplayed the Packers.
Overall: C
The Packers literally gave this game away with the turnovers, penalties, bad field positions, and conservative play calling in the second half in a sloppy "inexcusable" performance lacking maturity and poise at home against an old division rival.
COMMENTARY:
"It was a mortifying display. In a haze of five turnovers and 12 penalties, the four-game winning streak went out the door, the magic left the building and the Bears have life, thanks to a Packers team that performed like the Patriots in the first half and the Brewers' bullpen in the second. What should have been a four-game lead over the Bears is just two. What should have been a team that continued to grow in confidence is one whose confidence has been shaken. All the things that seemed probable yesterday are only plausible today. Things, perhaps, are simply not what they seemed. Good teams close these games out. Good teams don't self-destruct with the game in hand. So, it's fair to ask yourself, did the Packers go from a good team to suspect in 30 minutes? There is no way to know for certain, but this much is a certainty. This was a monumental collapse; there is no other way to frame it. It was equal parts puzzling, disappointing and disturbing."
GAME BALLS:
1. RB Wynn.
2. WR Jennings.
POSITIVES:
1. Reality check for a young team, learning maturity and poise, with the coaching staff knowing the weak links that need to improve against future rivals.
2. Running game is improving.
3. We are still 4-1 next at home against Washington, a tough game that can be won.
SUMMARY:
The Packers committed five crucial turnovers and twelve costly penalties that the Chicago Bears capitalized upon for a 27-20 come-from-behind victory in a prime time Sunday night home game. Q Favre completed 29 passes for 322 yards with one touchdown and one costly interception. The Packers did establish a good running game rushing for 121 yards with a net of 5.5 per yards. The loss dropped the Packers from the ranks of the unbeaten to 4-1.
QUOTES:
Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said: “Green Bay's got a very good football team. They're going to be a playoff team. They're going to get their allotment of wins. I really think they do a nice job using their personnel on offense and I really like their defense."
Favre said: "We're not a bad football team but we're not great, either. We help them out like we did tonight - put the ball on the ground, make bad decisions, stupid penalties (12 for 93 yards) - you're going to get beat. Their [half-time] adjustments, I guess, were better than ours.”
McCarthy: "It's very important when you set particular objectives in a football game as part of your game plan that you go out and execute them. We had a number of turnovers that game that took points off the board. You cannot turn the football over and win in this league. It's evident week in and week out."
TURNING POINT:
With the Packers leading 20-10, on a third-and-5 play at the Packer 15-yard line, Q Favre did a roll out to the right side. Instead of throwing away the ball in face of tight coverage, he threw an awful interception to LB Urlacher. On the next play, the Bears scored a touchdown changing the momentum of the game to their favor.
REPORT CARD: THE GOOD, BAD, & UGLY
Passing offense: B+
Q Favre completed 29 passes out of 40 throws for 322 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. WR Jennings had a solid game with 4 receptions for 83 yards. WR Jones had 5 receptions for 64, but he dropped a pass and he made two crucial fumbles in Bears territory. RB Morency had 7 receptions for 48 yards. In the third quarter, Favre’s first interception changed the momentum of the game leading to a Bears score. The team failed to score in the second half except on a field goal with the Bears in a cover two scheme. In the red zone, the team was one out of four.
Rushing offense: B-
The rushing game came to life getting 121 total yards averaging 5.5 yards per carry. RB Wynn had 13 carries for 78 yards. RB Morency had 9 carries for 43 yards. However, the second half saw a return to a struggling running game with the offense getting only 19 yards on 9 carries. The reviewers assigned major responsibility for the second half collapse of the offensive line to the guards Coston and Colledge: "McCarthy wasn't too far off in declaring that there were yards to be made on the ground, but thanks mostly to the inability of the line - mostly the guards - to block linebacker Lance Briggs (16 tackles), the running game went nowhere."
Passing defense: B
The cornerbacks had a generally solid game. The big plays were caused by the failure of LBs and Ss to cover the RB and TEs. LB Poppinga had a bad coverage game giving up the crucial scoring touchdown pass to TE Clark. Also, S Collins had a bad coverage game allowing big plays including RB Peterson's 30 yard reception and TE Olsen's 27 yard reception. Further, S Bigby surrendered a touchdown pass to TE Olsen, although it was a great catch.
Rushing defense: B+
DT Pickett, DT William, & DT Jolly were solid against the run. The Bears tried to grind-it-out with 33 carries, but they got only 82 yards averaging a mere 2.5 yards per carry. DE Jenkins and DE Kampman continued to struggle against the run. Also, their pass rush was almost nonexistant. Generally, LB Hawk and LB Barnett had solid games against the run and the pass.
Special Teams: B
The Packers used pooch kickoffs to keep the ball away from KR Hester, but the Bears averaged good field position because of it. On his punt returns, Hester averaged only 10 yards. KR Williams had six kick returns averaging a good 29 yards. However, CB Woodson's punt returns averaging 12 yards had one costly fumble. Ryan had five solid punts averaging 48 yards gross, 40 net, and 4.24 hang time. K Crosby hit two FGs of 37 yards.
Coaching: C
McCarthy failed with half-time adjustments and crucial playcalling facing the second half cover two scheme with weaknesses that all coaching staffs know about...ask Leroy Butler. In the second half, he abandoned the passing offense after Favre’s costly interception in favor of a too conservative play-calling mode. As one brutal reviewer put it: "During the intermission you're supposed to make adjustments. OK, they're gonna stop the run now, so here's what we'll do. What the Packers did in the second half was run the ball into the heart of the defense, like mindless idiots, and then throw the short checkdown on third down. They got one first down on their first possession, on a screen pass. And between that time and their last possession, with 1:58 left in the game, after the Bears had fought back and taken the lead, they didn't have any. Five straight series of three and out. Five series of garbage plays, highlighted by that lunatic pass Favre threw into Brian Urlacher's arms that came back for six." As an echo from last season, in the second half, the Bears outcoached and outplayed the Packers.
Overall: C
The Packers literally gave this game away with the turnovers, penalties, bad field positions, and conservative play calling in the second half in a sloppy "inexcusable" performance lacking maturity and poise at home against an old division rival.
COMMENTARY:
"It was a mortifying display. In a haze of five turnovers and 12 penalties, the four-game winning streak went out the door, the magic left the building and the Bears have life, thanks to a Packers team that performed like the Patriots in the first half and the Brewers' bullpen in the second. What should have been a four-game lead over the Bears is just two. What should have been a team that continued to grow in confidence is one whose confidence has been shaken. All the things that seemed probable yesterday are only plausible today. Things, perhaps, are simply not what they seemed. Good teams close these games out. Good teams don't self-destruct with the game in hand. So, it's fair to ask yourself, did the Packers go from a good team to suspect in 30 minutes? There is no way to know for certain, but this much is a certainty. This was a monumental collapse; there is no other way to frame it. It was equal parts puzzling, disappointing and disturbing."
GAME BALLS:
1. RB Wynn.
2. WR Jennings.
POSITIVES:
1. Reality check for a young team, learning maturity and poise, with the coaching staff knowing the weak links that need to improve against future rivals.
2. Running game is improving.
3. We are still 4-1 next at home against Washington, a tough game that can be won.
