Packers Headlines
Jrlombardi reviews Packers headlines.
Wilde writes about the Collins apology for his outbursts against a Bears fan on Monday night, Frank Zombo will start at right OLB against the Lions, and coach McCarthy’s failed challenges. Silverstein talks about how Zombo impressed the coaches earning a start against the Detroit Lions. Bedard says Collins regrets encounter with a fan. Polzin says Collins’ teammates have his back and McCarthy accepts responsibility for the failed replay challenge. Dougherty writes that coach McCarthy will not wait on a healthy OLB Jones starting rookies right OLB Zombo. Demovsky tells fans that OLB Matthews will be named September player of the month.
Packers vs Lions: Preview
Jrlombardi previews Packers vs Lions.
ESPN: Countdown Daily AccuScore–DET vs GB
ESPN Dell goes inside the numbers to tell you who win the Lions-Packers game.
Packers Headlines
Jrlombardi reviews Packers headlines.
After the Bears game loss, Wilde writes head coach Mike McCarthy is not in panic mode requiring major changes despite the costly penalties, special teams blunders, questions about aging tackles, and an awful running game.
Nickel reports McCarthy is fine about the current running game. Silverstein writes about the NFL is reviewing the confrontation between between Nick Collins and a Bears fan.
Polzin writes that McCarthy backs offensive tackles Tauscher and Clifton despite their glaring penalties and repeated inconsistent performances in the first three games of the season. Demovsky points out correctly that Tauscher and Clifton are showing their signs of aging. Dougherty previews the Lions with a scouting report.
Packers vs Bears: Highlights & Grades
Jrlombardi highlights & grades Packers loss to Bears.
Highlights: Packers vs Bears Week 3.
Grades: Jrlombardi vs Oates.
Offense: C vs. C-. The Packers had another very poor running game. QB Rodgers had a good game completing 34 of 45 for 316 yards and two total touchdowns. The problem was the failure to make crucial conversions going 4 for 10 on third down coversions. WR Jones’ sideline fumble gave the game away in the final minutes.
Defense: C vs C+. The defense got three sacks, but they were in the first half. Rookies Shields, S Burnett, and OLB Zombo failed to do an adequate defensive performance. In the end, we forecast this scenario in the preseason. Thus, the Packers need to use their high-powered offense to control the tempo of games until they become more experienced players. Every team will try to take advantage of these weaknesses on the Packers defense.
Special teams: F vs F. Endless awful special teams performance including K Masthay’s line drive 35-yard punt late in the first half that Hester returned 28 yards to the Packers’ 44 leading to the Bears’ first touchdown, in the second half Hester returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown, K Crosby’s blocked field goal attempt, and K Crosby’s kickoff going out-of-bounds giving good field position to the Bears.
Overall: D- vs D. The two old issues under coach McCarthy’s era–penalties and awful special teams–arose again in a brutal game.
CBS Sportsline Overall Grade–F. The Packers lost a division game that they should have had complete control over if it wasn’t for a franchise-tying 18 penalties, two huge special teams miscues and a big fumble by WR James Jones. Packers have only themselves to blame.
Packers Headlines
Jrlombardi reviews Packers headlines after losing to Bears.
ESPN: Breaking Down Bears Win Over Packers.
Ugly game of flagged football: Must be something about Monday night games, the Green Bay Packers and penalties. After having just eight penalties in their first two games this season, the Packers committed a franchise-record 18 penalties for 152 yards against the Bears in a stunning 20-17 defeat. The last time the Packers played on Monday night, on Dec. 7 against the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field, the Packers had 11 penalties for 175 yards. Both teams combined to tie for second all-time with 310 penalty yards that evening. The biggest penalty this time, a 24-yard pass interference call on safety Morgan Burnett against Bears receiver Earl Bennett with 1:44 left gave the Bears a first down leading to winning score.
Source: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images.
Packers’ special teams play especially awful game: “How important are special teams? Well, the New Orleans Saints finished 29th in the Dallas Morning News special teams rankings last year – the worst ranking ever for a Super Bowl champion. And the year before that, NFC champion Arizona was just 28th. It will be up to the Green Bay Packers to decide if they can get by with a subpar special teams unit or if they will have to improve this group to pursue their Super Bowl aspirations. One mistake after another by the Green Bay special teams unit made a difficult NFC division game on the road even tougher on the Packers Monday night at Soldier Field.
A Long Night Of Oops And Downs For Packers: The combination of ends Julius Peppers and Mark Anderson driving blockers into the backfield and coach Mike McCarthy eschewing the running game for a spread offense spelled disaster for the Green Bay Packers Monday night. What started out as a good night offensively proved to be temporary as the Packers slid down a slippery slope and ended up playing right into the Chicago Bears’ hands. Despite outgaining the Bears, 379 yards to 276, the Packers scored just once in the second half and left Soldier Field with an NFC North-sized black eye. “We made way too many mistakes,” right tackle Mark Tauscher said. “We didn’t finish our drives. It was real disappointing playing a good football team.”
Vandermause column: Cliches don’t cut it in a game littered with gaffes: The Packers last-second 20-17 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Monday night will go down as one of the most brutal and disappointing games in Mike McCarthys five-year tenure as head coach. The Packers blew a 10-point first-half lead. They blew a chance to grab sole possession of first place in the NFC North. They blew a game they should have won. The defeat produced some customary clichés in the locker room, but phrases like “We shot ourselves in the foot” and “We didn’t execute” just don’t cut it. The Packers’ undisciplined, sloppy brand of football was alarming coming from a team that is talented enough to compete for a Super Bowl championship this season.
This loss? Penalties, special teams, didn’t take advantage: The Packers moved the ball, pressured the quarterback and generally outplayed the Bears for much of Monday night. But that wasnt enough to stop the Bears from landing the first big blow of the 2010 race for the NFC North title.
Rants and Raves–fourth-quarter blunders costly: Rant–The Packers lost their composure in the fourth quarter, with a pair of 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Frank Zombo and Nick Collins. LB Zombo’s was especially costly when he inflicted a blow to the head of Bears QB Jay Cutler, which nullified a Nick Barnett interception. The Bears went on to kick a game-tying field goal. Rant–Packers opened the second half by marching 61 yards in 12 plays and used up 8:27 on the clock, yet they came away with nothing after Mason Crosby’s 37-yard field goal was blocked. A holding penalty on Mark Tauscher nullified a 15-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Jermichael Finley. Another holding penalty on Josh Sitton also stalled the drive. Rant–Tim Masthay punted a 35-yard wounded duck late in the first half that the dangerous Devin Hester returned 28 yards to the Packers’ 44, which set up the Bears’ first touchdown. It is generally believed Masthay is an upgrade over 2009 Packers punter Jeremy Kapinos, but it sure didn’t look like it on that punt. Then early in the fourth quarter, Hester returned a Masthay punt 62 yards for a second-half touchdown.
Notebook: loss makes you sick, special teams coach says: The Packers special teams took two, three, maybe four steps backwards in the stomach-turning 20-17 loss to the Bears on Monday night.
You can’t win playing like that: Miscues add up to frustrating loss: When penalties weren’t slowing down the Green Bay Packers, a costly turnover did. Fundamental errors, the kind coach Mike McCarthy and his staff spent all offseason and all preseason trying to stamp out, killed the Packers in Monday night’s 20-17 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. That the game was even that close, that Robbie Gould’s 19-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining was the game-winner, made the early-season NFC North showdown all the more frustrating to those in the visitors locker room. Never before had the Packers committed 18 penalties in a game, but that was their total against the Bears. The previous franchise high was 17 committed way back on Oct. 21, 1945.
Packers Lose To Chicago Bears 20-17: The Packers moved the ball, pressured the quarterback and generally outplayed the Chicago Bears for much of Monday night. But that wasn’t enough to stop the Bears from landing the first big blow of the 2010 race for the NFC North Division title. The Packers were done in by a barrage of penalties and two huge special-teams plays by Bears playmakers. That set up a climactic final few minutes that saw Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher force the game-turning fumble and kicker Robbie Gould hit a 19-yard field goal with 4 seconds left that gave Chicago a 20-17 win.
Bonus coverage: At the Wisconsin State Journal, Polzin talks about how the Packers could not overcome a mistake filled performance and how Frank Zombo starts at OLB for injured Brad Jones, Masson makes a good point about the defense couldn’t make the final stop, and Tom Oates makes a big point about how the Bears’ strides in improvement were key as were the same old Packers’ faults.
