NFC Championship Game: Packers at Bears

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Special teams, Hester's opportunities again are the X-factor - Chicago Sun-Times

The Green Bay Packers are as determined to keep Devin Hester from beating them as Hester is to pull off the trick. Hester has the ability to take over Sunday’s NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field, but sadly, Green Bay will have a say in whether he gets the chance. Odds are they won’t give him an opportunity.

‘‘[Seattle coach] Pete Carroll said they were going to kick to me, but unfortunately they didn’t,’’ Hester said with a weak smile. ‘‘It’s been happening for a while, so I don’t know what [Green Bay] will do.’’

Sky punts make sense

It’s fun, at least for a team like the Bears, to imagine an NFL in which teams were forced to punt inbounds. It’s one of the most exciting plays in football, especially for a team with a player like Hester. Teams give up field position if they kick off out of bounds, but working the sidelines in the punting game is not only allowed, it’s encouraged.

And that has been one of the strategies used against Hester all year. Last week, Seattle changed up a bit and concentrated on sky punts, trying to force Hester into a fair catch. Hester is better as a natural return man than a decision maker, and the idea is to make him field the ball on a fair catch. On one such play against Seattle, he collapsed to the ground after catching the ball. His only good return came when the Seahawks tried to pin him on the sideline. They would have preferred to kick out of bounds, but that’s not always the easiest thing to do at windy Soldier Field.

That’s why sky punts make sense, especially when coupled with a rugby-style kick that features the nose of the ball down on contact to create an end-over-end effect that is harder to read and field.

‘‘Seattle’s idea was to get as much hang-time as possible,’’ special teams coordinator Dave Toub said. ‘‘[Green Bay] might try the same thing because Seattle had success, no doubt about it.’’

Green Bay special teams coach Shawn Slocum said it takes a village to stop Hester, including an excellent day by the punter.

‘‘We had two — actually four — punts inside the 20, I guess, and two of them were inside the 5,’’ Slocum said. ‘‘That was really good production. The objective, when you’ve got a guy who can change the game the way Devin can do that, is you’ve got to limit, No. 1, the space that he has to operate in and, No. 2, limit the total number of return opportunities.’’

 

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the thing that i love about aaron rodgers, that tom brady does not possess, is when the OL breaks down and the play breaks down, i love how mobile he is and how well he can throw on the run passes. IMHO, if rodgers can win a SB this year, he is bound to win one more. His team, if it stays intact, is so stacked its unbelievable. I also love AR'S swagger and how accurate yet powerful his passes are.

Kids got talent.

 

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Rodgers beats Cutler in cage match - Chicago Sun-Times

I can’t get past Aaron Rodgers, and I don’t believe the Bears can, either.

It’s not just that Rodgers is on fire. To say he’s on fire is to imply that it’s a fleeting thing. And it’s true that the crazy numbers he put up inside the temperature-controlled Georgia Dome last week probably aren’t going to be seen at cold Soldier Field on Sunday. But underneath his flame-******ant uniform is as smart and talented a quarterback as there is. And, yes, I’ve heard of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. They can’t run like he can.

I know what to expect out of Rodgers. I don’t know what I’ll get from Jay Cutler. Even in the Bears’ playoff victory over Seattle — one of Cutler’s best games of the season — there were two, maybe three passes the Seahawks could have picked off. Could have, but didn’t. Will Cutler be so careless and lucky against the Packers?

You’ll often hear quarterbacks say they’re playing against the opposing defense, not the opposing quarterback. But this is as close to a cage match of two QBs as you’re going to get. Rodgers the wise, skilled operator vs. Cutler the physically gifted, mercurial question mark.

The Packers have gotten through their share of injuries and are playing their best football of the season.

The Bears are a good football team, and, more important, they’ve improved as the season has gone along. In terms of injuries, they’ve been incredibly fortunate.

The Bears are capable of winning.

The Packers should win.

You can call that an unfortunate case of doubt, if not treason, if you want. I prefer to think of it as an absence of that last little bit of belief necessary to see the Bears through. I don’t have it. Maybe it’s because I have windburn from all the times I let the bandwagon blow past me this season. When they beat the Eagles at the end of November, they proved they could play with anybody (except, as it turned out, New England). But the Philly victory didn’t give them a police escort to the Super Bowl.

Bears fans can take consolation in the fact I’ve been wrong often this season. The team has surprised me at almost every step, and it might surprise me again Sunday. But I don’t think so.

I know all the arguments for a Bears victory. Their defense is better than the Packers’ defense. The Bears’ offensive line has come a long way. Of the three other teams left in the playoffs, the Bears have beaten two of them: the Packers and the Jets.

And then there’s this: The two Chicago-Green Bay games this season were close — 20-17 Bears at Soldier Field in Week 3 and 10-3 Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 17.

This is anybody’s game, but Rodgers isn’t just anybody.

Soldier Field is going to be a madhouse Sunday. It’s so much more exciting when a team arrives unexpectedly. There is going to be so much appreciation in the air for what the Bears have accomplished this season.

But Rodgers is too hot, and even if the Bears are able to lower the burner on his stovetop a bit, he’s still too good.

Oh, and Cutler’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. A jinx can’t help.

Packers, 14-7.

 

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History, heart, good fortune and, yes, talent = Bears win - Chicago Sun-Times

The Bears can beat the Packers.

And they will — if history, heart and good fortune have anything to do with it.

Talent?

The Bears have talent.

The Bears are 12-5, and you don’t win 12 games with walk-ons.

That they played the weaker-than-water 8-10 Seahawks in Chicago in the divisional playoff game is not their fault. That they have had good breaks all along, including getting home-field advantage throughout the postseason is, again, not their fault.

That the Bears whipped the Cowboys 27-20 down in Arlington, Texas, in the second game of the season — back when everybody thought the Cowboys were Super Bowl-caliber — is not their fault.

This thing called luck is what happens in the NFL. No unlucky team has ever won anything.

If you don’t get some breaks — like having teams punt to Devin Hester — you’re screwed. But then, if those teams don’t kick to Hester, they lose field position by aiming out of bounds or maybe even shanking punts. Their bad luck? No, your talent.

The Bears have a quarterback, Jay Cutler, who may not be quite as good as Rodgers, but who has similar size, style, running ability and ‘‘escapability.’’

Not as good as Rodgers, but close. And that’s high cotton.

If Cutler is in sync with offensive play-caller Mike Martz, and the Bears run the ball about half the time and Cutler doesn’t force passes — why can’t the Bears win?

Remember how Cutler cut up those Cowboys that September day in their glorified Vegas casino, completing 72 percent of his passes for 277 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 136.7 passer rating?

He can do stuff like that.

He can do it again. He can match Rodgers zip for zap.

Bears 16, Packers 14.

 

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Fox's Strahan: Cutler can be rattled - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Fox Sports studio analyst Michael Strahan, appearing on the "TOCHO Show," was asked by host Terrell Owens which of the four remaining quarterbacks in the NFL playoffs was the easiest to rattle.

"I'd say (Mark) Sanchez and (Jay) Cutler," said Strahan, a former New York Giants defensive end. "Probably on the same boat, man. Sanchez is young. None of these guys like to be hit. Sanchez is young. And Cutler, I think if he gets under pressure, he'll just start slingin' that sucker around like free loaves of bread in the 'hood, man. I don't think he's going to sit back there hold it and be cool with it."

Said Owens: "I feel like the guy is color blind. Just going to be tossing it, slinging it everywhere. At some point he is going to be the Jay Cutler that we all know . . . . When he just throws the ball anywhere."

CBS' Simms rates the remaining NFL playoff QBs - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

CBS-TV's Phil Simms during a conference call with reporters on Thursday was asked to rate the four quarterbacks in the NFL championships games Sunday in a variety of categories.


Simms was asked about what Cutler does the best.

"It's evident," Simms said. "He can throw that ball. I mean, Jay Cutler, coming out of Vanderbilt, (people said) throwing is overrated. I laughed. Really? Tell me about that. How overrated are these throwing arms now? We've got four guys left in the playoffs who can flat out throw it. . . . Basically, when the offensive coordinator goes in there on Monday, they have no limitations. When they draw the play up, they know their quarterback has the ability to make that play. You can't say that about all NFL quarterbacks. Sanchez - one day it will be all about him with the New York Jets. But it's just not there yet."

Simms was asked if Cutler's arm was stronger than any of the other three quarterbacks.

"Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers are at the top, and I would probably give Aaron Rodgers just a little bit of a nudge if we are just talking about really letting it go and who can throw it the hardest," Simms said.

 

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Here's a great story on Packers CB Tramon Williams, one of the best corners in the NFL.

Packers' Williams has covered a lot of ground - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

That's because Williams really identifies more with being a hard worker. And that's no gift.

That's a choice.

And he chooses - after a full day of practice, classroom work and weightlifting - to come home to his wife, Shantrell, a former standout basketball player, and their infant son. And he chooses, after spending time with them, not to zone out in front of the TV or play around on the computer, but to disappear into his home office, where he studies film for three hours, sometimes until 1 a.m.

"The time flies when I'm watching film," Williams said.

"I've always put effort into studying," Williams said. "I study about three different ways. Each way you learn something different. That's what's been helping me out."

Williams was a first-team all-district player at Assumption High School in Napoleonville, La. But, in an area known for its bayous and sugarcane, he worked odd jobs - like stocking shelves at the supermarket; shoveling coal and cleaning machines at the plant; and welding, cleaning tractors and planting the spring crop on his uncle's farm.

He even worked for a construction company that put up a building on the Louisiana State University campus.

He did not think football was his path to success, so he went on to Louisiana Tech to pursue an electrical engineering degree.

But that first semester at Louisiana Tech, he happened to attend a football game against Boise State.

"I watched the DBs and I was like, 'I could go out there, you know what I'm saying?' Williams said.

Williams tried out for the team the next spring as the only walk-on. Former Tech coach Jack Bicknell Jr. was walking by when he saw him take the vertical leap test (charted at 42.5 inches later at his Green Bay tryout).

"I just stopped dead in my tracks," Bicknell said in 2008. "I said, 'Let me see that one more time.' I just grabbed him and said, 'Now what exactly is your name, son?'

But after he had heard he might go in the third or fourth round, no one called draft day.

He spent the summer of 2006 with Houston as a free agent but got cut. He was brought onto the Packers' practice squad in late November that year, where he spent the rest of season.

In 2010, Williams showed up to play even though the Packers only signed him to a one-year tender. It turns out that at times he's outplayed last year's defensive payer of the year, Charles Woodson. Packers coach Mike McCarthy has said often that Williams has had a Pro Bowl-deserving year, but he is also impressed with his film study.

"The smartest players in this league are always the your best players," McCarthy said. "Tramon's the guy that's always in the front row with his book taking the notes. He's been doing that since he arrived. He has a total understanding of the defensive system. What's exciting about Tramon: He still has a lot of football growth in his game ahead of him. He's still relatively young."

 

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Considering Packers' X-factor guys - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Gary Horton of Scouts Inc. picked a few players from each of the remaining NFL playoff teams he thought would be X-factors in the championship games. These are players apart from the stars on each team.

The Packers he selected were cornerback Tramon Williams, fullback John Kuhn, wide receiver Jordy Nelson and nose tackle B.J. Raji.

Some of Horton's comments about each player:

Williams: "Has become a terrific ball hawk in this aggressive defense and will take some chances to make the big play. . . . His emergence will give cornerback Charles Woodson freedom to blitz more."

Kuhn: "He can be productive in short-yardage and goal-line situations, in the bone formation, on cover teams and even as a receiver out of the backfield."

Nelson: "Not overly flashy, but he has size and good route-running skills. He is effective out of the slot versus Cover 2 and just know how to get open."

Raji: "Has been almost unblockable in the 3-4 or 4-3 and can bring the inside pressure the QBs hat with his power and quickness. He frees up linebacker Clay Matthews for some inside blitzes."


The Bears Horton picked were tight end Greg Olsen, wide receiver Johnny Knox, cornerback Charles Tillman and wide receiver Earl Bennett.

Horton's comments on those players:

Olsen: "Offensive coordinator Mike Martz has not often used tight ends in the passing game, but Olsen is really effective on seam routes when he releases after an initial block."

Knox: "A legitimate deep threat in this offense, and in addition to his great speed, he will go over the middle and turn a short catch into a long gain."

Tillman: "He is an old-fashioned physical cornerback with the size to match up with big receivers. He can reroute them at the line of scrimmage and hold up in coverage when the Bears blitz."

Bennett: "Excellent third-down option and a solid chain mover. When Knox goes deep, he has good room underneath."

 

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Starts lost to injury: Packers near top, Bears at bottom - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Bill Barnwell of Football Outsiders wrote a story for ESPN Insider about the issue of injuries the Packers suffered this season compared to the Bears.

Football Outsiders has a metric called Starter Games Lost (SGL), which it keeps for each team in the NFL. It counts the number of games missed by players who would have been in the starting lineup if they were healthy.

By this count, the Packers starters missed 83 games this season, second in the league only to Indianapolis, which had 89.

The Bears' SGL count is just 11, tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the fewest in the NFL.

Bears have the knowledge to win, but will they apply it? - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

I've spent most of Smith's tenure in Chicago complaining about his emphasis on stripping the football rather than tackling the person with the ball. It has seemed to me the game was tackle football, not strip football.

Forget all that. The Bears must try to knock the ball loose at every chance.

We can safely assume that Rodgers is going to be as efficient as an ATM on Sunday because he almost always is. The Bears' defense is set up to not allow the long gain. It's set up to bend and make the offense break with a fumble or an interception.

It's almost a given that Rodgers is going to be able to pick apart the secondary with smart passes. But it's time for Charles Tillman to do his thing and rip the ball loose after one or two of those completions. The Bears have a blueprint of how to beat the Packers, and they need to attempt to follow it. They won that September game, 20-17. They took advantage of a fumble and some stupidity.

Smith won't have to go far looking for ways to motivate his players. Most experts are picking the Pack to win. He can hold up Monday's Green Bay Press-Gazette and point out that in a headline, the paper spelled "Chicago" as "Chicaco." Such disrespect!

 

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Green Bay's defensive line is the largest 3-4 in the NFL - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Weight stories are tough. They're just so personal. No one wants to talk about what they're draggin' in their wagon. Those weights listed on the Packers roster for some guys are probably about as accurate as what we put on our driver's licenses.

But get a load of Green Bay's defensive line:

Left end Ryan Pickett, 340 pounds.

Nose tackle B.J. Raji, 337 pounds.

Right end Howard Green, 340 pounds.

That's 1,017 pounds up front - the largest 3-4 defensive line in the NFL.

"There are few guys in the league who have the size and ability to take on double teams, hold the position and hold your ground and not get knocked off the ball," Green said. "And that's really what it's all about."

All of the linemen, including Cullen Jenkins, Jarius Wynn and C.J. Wilson, bring their own strengths to the table.

Green and Pickett are the brute strength guys. When Green came out of Louisiana State six years ago, he could bench press 495 pounds, he said.

But Raji is explosive and quick, with the bottom half of his body even stronger than his top.

"J.W. also has great upper-body strength," Raji said. "Other guys are more lower-body strength. Cullen is more of a quick-twitch guy, so he's not lifting as much weight in the weight room but doing a lot of fast reps just to get his muscles going."

The key to their size and great weight is balancing it with the necessary athleticism to play in the NFL.

"You want to keep your weight in an area where you can play and be physical and still keep your strength," Green said. "And not be out there just wobbling around."

The linemen say the best advantage for all that size up front is when the Packers stay in their base defense and defend the run. Green Bay allowed six rushing touchdowns in the regular season, No. 3 in the NFL. Minnesota's Adrian Peterson and Atlanta's Michael Turner are the only backs to have 100-yard rushing games against Green Bay since Week 3 of 2009. In the playoff game Sunday, however, Turner was held to 39 rushing yards.

"Opposing guys are probably not going to run through us. They're going to have to run around us, and that's how teams have been attacking us with the run game," Pickett said. "They try to get it to the outside. It's tough making a living running inside the tackles against us."

 

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Bears-Packers rivalry features strong linebackers - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Green Bay's Clay Matthews, Desmond Bishop and A.J. Hawk lead the middle of the Packers' fifth-ranked defense.

Chicago's Lance Briggs, Pisa Tinoisamoa and Brian Urlacher fortify the No. 9 Bears.

Hard-charging and hard-headed, they all expect to make an impact. So give a respectful nod to the standout defensive lines. Look for game-changing plays and potential matchups in both secondaries. But in the biggest clash between these two teams in their long history, do not forget the middle men.

"Urlacher in Chicago and with myself in Green Bay, there's so much history," said Matthews. "Nitschke and other great players . . . it's only my second year, but we can take another step in the right direction with a win this weekend."

Pick a category from the regular season statistics and the contributions from the linebackers show up everywhere.

Matthews, Bishop, Briggs and Urlacher all have two forced fumbles each.

They all have at least one interception. Briggs has two. Hawk has three.

Matthews and Bishop both have interceptions returned for touchdowns.

The Bears linebacker are exceptional at defending passes - Urlacher has 10 defensed, Briggs has seven; Bishop and Matthews have eight and four, respectively.

 

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Starks has grown into role of leading ball carrier - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

First, Starks eschewed offers to bigger Division I schools and stayed close to home at the University of Buffalo, where former Packers director of player development Turner Gill had just become head coach. (Gill gave the Packers a glowing recommendation of him.)

Second, Starks ended up rooming at Buffalo with the son of Packers scout Alonzo Highsmith, a running back as well.

Third, Starks missed his senior year with a shoulder injury, and not too many people n the NFL went back and studied his sophomore and junior tapes. (The Packers already were clued in.)

Finally, the Chicago Bears had Starks on the phone on draft day and were about to make him the 12th pick in the sixth round, when they quickly did an about-face and drafted quarterback Dan LeFevour instead. (Twelve picks later, the Packers took Starks.)

"I knew I'd get an opportunity somewhere," Starks said this week. "As long as I was getting an opportunity, I'd be happy. I knew things would fall my way. Now I'm a Green Bay Packer, and I'm loving it."

Starks' injury problems prior to this season have been well documented. A hamstring injury kept Starks out of off-season workouts, and when he strained it again in training camp, he was left on the physically unable to perform list.

It took until Week 11 before he was finally activated to the 53-man roster. At one point, Starks told Bass he thought the Packers were going to cut him, but Bass told him there was no chance.

Starks broke out with a 73-yard performance against San Francisco on Dec. 5, but late in the year, coach Mike McCarthy didn't feel he could trust him to carry out every assignment. Starks was put on notice that he needed to study harder. After two weeks of inactivity, he was activated for the second Bears game and was the only running back who had any success carrying the ball that day (five carries for 20 yards).

When Starks broke out against Philadelphia, one of the most noticeable things about him was his smile every time he had a good run. He broke one long run in the game, but the Packers think he has the ability to do it more often.

Some of his teammates could see that potential early on.

"He's strong," injured running back Ryan Grant said. "Physically, he can get it done. I told him he's in the best position to do that because he doesn't have the bumps and bruises of the season. He should be strong and fast. He's put in the work. He's hot right now."

 

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Scouts Inc. prediction: Green Bay 21, Chicago 17 - JSOnline - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Scouts Inc. predicts the Packers will beat the Bears, 21-17.

Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. ranks the Packers superior to the Bears at quarterback, wide receiver, offensive line, linebacker, defensive back and coach.

He ranks the Bears better than the Packers at running back, defensive line and special teams.

A few of Williamson's talking points:

• "Late in the season, opposing wideouts were doing a lot of damage against the Bears," Williamson writes. "And Green Bay is sure to test Chicago with five-wide receiver sets, where (Aaron) Rodgers will often find a linebacker covering a wideout. The Packers will use a lot of empty sets regardless of what personnel is in the game. They also use a lot of their "Bone" formation, which consists of two fullbacks and a running back all lined up in the backfield. It makes for some ideal run-blocking angles and added protection in the pass game. Green Bay is very tough to prepare for."
  
  
• "The Packers are the more talented team overall and are playing at an extremely high level, but they are at a major disadvantage in the kicking game. No one wants to kick to Devin Hester, but that is easier said than done and often results in short kicks and great starting field position for Chicago. Hester's 17.1-yard per punt return average is the best in NFL history, and he could be the difference in this contest. The Bears' coverage teams and specialists are also superior to Green Bay's. However, the Packers did not have to punt once last week."

 

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Apparently fans of the Chicago Bears - a group that prides itself in being the NFL's oldest franchise - have yet to learn that when their team has the ball they should be quiet, not loud.

RosenBlog: What part of 'Shut up' don't some Bears fans understand? | Chicago Tribune

This has been going on for a while, but it finally became public last week when it was reported that the Bears practiced indoors with piped-in noise -- for a home game, mind you.

It was reported because the Bears needed to have it reported. They had to get the word out, but they couldn’t tell their fans to shut up. What to do? How do the Bears tell the paying customers they’re idiots?

By using the media, of course. We’re good at telling fans they’re idiots. It’s one of our four major food groups. No amount of in-stadium shushing was working, so the Bears turned to the media that frequently turns on them. That’s the way I connect the dots, and that tells you how desperate they are to create the Soldier Field Library when they have the ball. I believe some of us in the Evil Media have done our job. WSCR-AM 670 reporters Zach Zaidman and Laurence Holmes tweeted and talked about it Friday. I mentioned it in Sunday’s column. Score afternoon annoyance Dan Bernstein blogged about it yesterday. And I’m back at it again today.

This feels like a last, desperate act by the Bears. Fans making noise when the Bears have the ball is not a new development, but it wasn’t much of a problem before because the noise vanished quickly out of the old, wide-open Soldier Field. Poof, gone, like Michael McCaskey’s management skills.

The new Soldier Field spaceship design, which looks as stupid as some fans sound, does a better job of keeping noise in, which has meant worse things for the Bears. The issue became most acute this season with Mike Martz’s demanding play-calls that include constant shifting like he’s working some kind of human Rubik’s Cube. The more the the Bears won, the louder the noise, the worse it got for the offense that would lead the league in wasted timeouts if they kept that stat officially.

So, we have a long-standing streak of fan stupidity, further amped by Bears fans noisily getting the anthem singer of their choice, thus making it more difficult for such learned behavior to become unlearned, and it must be unlearned in a hurry, believe me, because of Green Bay’s defense. The Packers play a 3-4 that has consistently vexed the Bears’ offense with its unpredictable but deadly blitzing ways. That places more importance not only on efficiently relaying the play-call from the sidelines to Cutler, but also allowing Olin Kreutz to be heard out to the tight end spots with his calls for blocking assignments -- and they can’t do it if you people don’t shut up.

Bears fans made enough noise to get the anthem singer of their choice, not the one being pimped by the network to the league of negotiable virtue. Good for Bears fans. Mad props. Or is it mad propz, with a Z? Phat, I got that spelling, but props/propz, I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. The point is not whether I’m tragically hip, but whether Bears fans are tragically flawed.

They are. Some of them, anyway. Stop it. I’ll try to kept this simple for those simpleton fans: Jay Cutler is conducting an orchestra, while Julius Peppers is leading a jailbreak. Wolfgang Amadeus Cutler. Joliet Julius Peppers. Understand?

Probably not. I must be speaking too fast. Try this:

When. The. Bears. Have. The. Ball. Shut. The. Hell. Up. Already.

 

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Tommie Harris: Chicago Bears need vintage Tommie Harris - ChicagoTribune.com

The first time the Bears played the Packers this season, Bears coaches thought their team was better without Tommie Harris on the field. The next time the teams play, it's the Packers coaches who no doubt would love for Harris to be off the field.

No one knows whether or not Harris will be a difference-maker in the NFC championship game Sunday at Soldier Field, but he was one against the Seahawks for the first time.

What is significant is the defensive tackle has established that he still is capable of a dominant performance. He had two sacks against the Seahawks, which is 1/2 a sack more than he had all season, and one less than he had all of 2009.

As one pro scout who studied the game tape said, "Where the hell did that come from?"

But is Harris capable of repeating that type of performance?

If he is, the arrows Rod Marinelli shoots will be laced with poison. The Bears' defensive scheme is reliant on a three technique tackle who can penetrate and create pass rush opportunities for others.

Marinelli has been searching all season for a second player who can burst off the line and get upfield quickly to complement Julius Peppers. If Harris can be that man, confetti may be raining on the Bears in the coming weeks.

The tricky thing is Harris has changed over 17 games. One offensive coach and two pro scouts from opposing teams agreed they saw improvement in Harris' game throughout the season.

"Later in the year, you saw more quickness, more of the suddenness off the ball that he had early in his career," the coach said.

Harris lost his starting job for 10 games. He regained it Dec. 12 against the Patriots and has started the four games since.

"I thought he was playing very average early in the year, like a dancing bear at the line," one of the pro scouts said. "You can see now he's playing with better pad level and working the edges. He's getting off the ball fast, trying to finish."

Physically, Harris is not the same player he was a few years ago. Scouts say knee and hamstring problems have taken some of Harris' lower body strength. But he clearly still has enough first step explosion and pass rush savvy to defeat blockers. And he is only 27.

It's possible Harris is regaining effectiveness as he has become further removed from the injuries. At times in the past, Harris appeared to be very protective of his knees. That's not the case so much anymore.

"It seems like the life is back in his legs," the second scout said. "He's not quite the same player he was two years ago, but he's better than he was earlier in the year."

 

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Chicago Bears: Matt Bowen breaks down NFC championship game - ChicagoTribune.com

Chicago Tribune: The Packers have done a number on the Bears wide receivers before, and they also have clamped down on tight end Greg Olsen in previous meetings. Play Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers. Who do you want to stop and how?

Matt Bowen: I'm going to go after Olsen and take him completely out of the game because the rest of the Packers DBs, especially their nickel personnel, can win against Johnny Knox and Devin Hester. That doesn't mean they can win all the time but the majority of the time. Olsen is the type of tight end the Bears can use creatively, remove him from the formation, get him down the field vertically like we saw against the Seahawks versus the safety. I think Capers will say, "OK, I'm going to put Charles Woodson, my best defensive player, on Olsen and force you to beat me in other areas.''

CT: The Packers have had success running against the Bears. Can they run with James Starks against the Bears' Cover-2?

MB: I don't think anyone can run the ball on the Bears right now. I know Starks is getting a lot of hype and he blew up the Eagles, but there is a reason they are at home. If the Bears can't stop the run with their front seven, which I believe they will do, that will be huge for the Packers. If you can keep those two safeties deep, which you do in Cover-2, and let your linebackers chase down the running game, that is an advantage. The Bears up front are too tough versus this Packers offensive line. They will get penetration and you will see Brian Urlacher running to the football.

CT: Jay Cutler ran for 43 yards against the Seahawks and had 37 rushing yards against the Packers in the first meeting. Why is he a threat to tuck and run this time?

MB: Any time you play Cover-1 and play your corners in a press alignment and your pressure does not contain the quarterback, you're asking for trouble. Cutler is not Michael Vick, but he's athletic enough where he can pick up 10, 12, 15 yards. Start putting those things together, and all of a sudden you're at midfield. It's a killer for the defense.

CT: Jermichael Finley had 115 receiving yards against the Bears in the first meeting before a knee injury cost him the rest of the season. How did Aaron Rodgers replace him?

MB: I don't think he replaced him, he just has spread the ball around a lot more. James Jones has made big plays, Jordy Nelson has become more involved. Everyone knows what Donald Driver can do. He's the most reliable player in the NFL. Greg Jennings is a legit No. 1. From an X's and O's standpoint, I think we'll see them line up Jennings inside as the No. 3 receiver. That puts Jennings down the middle of the field versus Urlacher in Cover-2. You're trying to get speed on the linebackers and safeties versus Cover-2, so that is a tough matchup. That forces the safeties to lean inside a little bit, and when you lean inside in Cover-2, that opens up the sidelines.

CT: Mike Tice put seventh-round pick J'Marcus Webb at right tackle and moved Chris Williams, who everyone else thought was a left tackle, to guard. The line finished last in the league in sacks allowed, but when you look at the body of work from Week 1 to now, how do you evaluate it?

MB: It's what you expect from a guy who has been a head coach. Tice knows what he's doing. He's coaching the O-line, which is his bread and butter, but he has that head coach mentality and he's making the right decisions for his team. All of those moves he made, he has gotten this line to play better. At the end of the season, the arrow should be pointing up. That's a sign of good coaching.

CT: Besides Cutler, who could be a difference-maker for the Bears?

MB: I want to say Devin Hester, but Packers coach Mike McCarthy is too smart to kick to him. The deciding factor for the Bears is Earl Bennett because if the Bears can get rid of the ball versus that pressure and work routes inside the numbers, Bennett could have a huge game. When they pressure, you throw the ball the shortest distance, and that means to the inside guys. If they have Woodson on Olsen, that means Bennett is on a No. 3 corner, and I would expect him to win.

 

[jmt57]

Analysis: NFL conference championship games | CSNNE.com

Ever since Aaron Rodgers returned from the concussion he suffered against Detroit (Dec. 12th), he has been untouchable and the Packers have been unbeatable. They won four in a row over the Giants, Chicago, the Eagles and Atlanta to advance to the conference final. They are playing with tremendous confidence and for good reason: They have the hottest quarterback in the final four.

Rodgers had a 134.5 quarterback rating in the playoff wins over the Eagles and Atlanta with six touchdown passes and no interceptions. He was 31 for 36 passing against the No. 1 seed Falcons and was in complete command, avoiding the rush and coolly picking apart the Atlanta defense. The Packers won the game 48-21 and it really wasn’t that close.

The Chicago defense is very good (fourth in points allowed), but it is also very vanilla. The Bears play almost exclusively a Cover 2 zone scheme with the safeties deep. They allow few big plays, they tackle well and they are stout against the run (90.1 yards per game), but Rodgers knows them so well at this point he will know exactly where to go with the ball.

If the field is as sloppy as it usually is -- it was an absolute mess for the Eagles game in November – it may work to the advantage of the visiting Packers. The Bears must get a rush on Rodgers if they hope to slow him down, but if the footing is bad, it will make it harder for Julius Peppers and the other D-linemen to push off. Also, Greg Jennings, the Packers best receiver, loves to double move and that could leave a defensive back on the seat of his pants.

On the other side, Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler had a big game last week against Seattle (two rushing touchdowns, two touchdown passes), but the Green Bay defense is a different animal. When these teams played in the final week of the regular season, the Bears managed just three points and Cutler was one-for-13 on passes to wide receivers Devin Hester and Johnny Knox.

The suffocating coverage of cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams combined with the pass rush of linebackers Clay Matthews and Erik Walden will be more than the Bears can overcome.

Didinger's pick: Packers 21, Bears 16.

 

[pherein]

the thing that i love about aaron rodgers, that tom brady does not possess, is when the OL breaks down and the play breaks down, i love how mobile he is and how well he can throw on the run passes. IMHO, if rodgers can win a SB this year, he is bound to win one more. His team, if it stays intact, is so stacked its unbelievable. I also love AR'S swagger and how accurate yet powerful his passes are.

Kids got talent.

Rogers is fun to watch, great QB. The problem with the "Steve Young" type QB is Concussions. Steve Young had 7 before he was forced to leave the game, but Ive heard of people getting only 4 and having serious problems. Theres a possibility he might have his career cut short, if he keeps diving in for TD's. Im pretty sure the 2nd concussion happened because the 1st one was not fully healed, usually thats the case.
Hes fun to watch, I hope he has a long career.

 

[Kontradiction]

This has to be one of the more interesting "Star Spangled Banners" I have ever seen. This game is going to be downright nasty!

 

[PatriotSpy]

This has to be one of the more interesting "Star Spangled Banners" I have ever seen. This game is going to be downright nasty!

I think that's the same guy who does the star spangled banner for the blackhawks. That guy is a beast.

 

[pherein]

Ya, it is