Game Recaps

The Packers were firing on all cylinders. This was the first game in the "new" Soldier Field, and the Packers battled an emotional Chicago crowd and emotional opponent by executing flawlessly in pretty much all aspects of the game. The Packers had this game in hand very early on and never let up.

RB Ahman Green continues to impress. Of course, the Bears run defense has been atrocious to this point, but still Green did what he was supposed to do, and that is to beat up on the weak defenses. He put a great move on Bears DB Jerry Azumah during his 60-yard touchdown run (prompting Al Michaels to comment that Azumah was "faked out of his jock"). Then, Green showed his power game by blasting through the Bears defense on his second touchdown run, this time from six yards out.

QB Brett Favre enjoyed a typical excellent game against the Bears, a team he has torched many times during his career. This win marked the 10th consecutive time Favre has come into Illinois and beaten the Bears. His numbers were very solid (21-30, 179 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception). Favre also passed Dan Fouts for fifth place on the all-time passing yardage list.

Chicago Bears

If the Bears defense does not improve its play, the team may never win a game this season. They allowed Ahman Green to run roughshod over them to the tune of 176 yards - on just 19 carries. The Bears actually got back into this game late in the fourth quarter on a 67-yard touchdown run by Anthony Thomas, which cut the lead to eight points. But, as has been the case all too often for Chicago this year, they allowed the Packers to march right back downfield and score a quick touchdown to put the game out of reach.

The one bright spot for Chicago was the play of RB Anthony Thomas. He finished up with 13 carries for 110 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown scamper. The other two backs, Adrian Peterson and Rabih Abdullah, had one carry each for a combined total of minus 1 yard. Thomas also had a 60-yard touchdown run earlier in the contest that was nullified by a holding call on WR David Terrell. It should be noted, however, that without the hold by Terrell, the run would have likely only gone for about 10 yards or so. It was the hold that enabled him to rumble for the big gain.

As bad as the Bears defense is, their offense is looking just as anemic. Offensive coordinator John Shoop, in an attempt to utilize Kordell Stewart's athletic ability, called for a number of QB option runs and several running plays for Stewart. Rarely did the Bears take a shot downfield (once to Dez White and once to Marty Booker) and were never really close to connecting on either of them. Booker's role with the team is especially puzzling. He had just seven balls thrown his way (three on the last two drives basically in garbage time). Meanwhile, Dez White saw 9 targets and David Terrell, the supposed #3 guy, saw 12 passes head in his direction. None of the wide receivers did much with their targets, though, because it was TE Desmond Clark who led with 63 receiving yards.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Green Bay Packers

QB: Brett Favre did what he usually does against the Bears - beat them. His numbers weren't mind-blowing (21-30, 179 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception), but the three touchdowns certainly make it a nice day from a fantasy perspective. Favre passed Hall of Famer Dan Fouts for fifth place on the all-time passing yardage list. He was nearly picked off at the goal line on a pass intended for WR Donald Driver, but Driver made a nice play in keeping it away from the defender. Other than that, there weren't any situations where he tried to make too much out of nothing and force the action (as he has often been known to do).

RB: Ahman Green set the tone early in this one with a 60-yard touchdown run on the Packers' second possession. Following that carry he never let up, and was over 100 yards rushing before halftime. He finished with 19 carries for 176 yards (9.3 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. He added 4 receptions for 4 yards, several of which were shovel passes that went nowhere.

Tony Fisher, the new backup RB with the demotion of Najeh Davenport, only saw carries to give Green a quick breather. Fisher totaled 12 yards on 4 carries and added another 12 yards on 2 receptions.

WR: Donald Driver was worked into the mix a lot more than last week. Driver had eight passes thrown his way, and he caught 4 of them for a team-high 50 yards. He also made a nice play in breaking up a potential interception at the goal line.

Javon Walker was the number two man for tonight's game, and he had a solid game (5 receptions for 41 yards, 1 touchdown). Walker caught Favre's second touchdown, which put the game out of reach. After last week's late reception against Arizona and this week's touchdown with the outcome still to be decided, it is apparent that Favre now has another receiver who he trusts in a big spot.

Both Robert Ferguson and Antonio Freeman were active for this game. Although you would have had a tough time knowing it. Both were non factors.

TE: Just when it seemed Bubba Franks was going to do nothing, he came up with a 24-yard reception and then a touchdown on the Packers' last scoring drive. Franks finished up with 3 receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Pass Defense: Outstanding. Using a variety of blitz packages, the Packers stopped nearly every Bears drive. Kordell Stewart never had much time to look downfield, and the mobile quarterback was actually sacked a whopping five times. At times, it appeared the Packer defensive ends knew the snap count because they blew off the line of scrimmage like they knew the play. Green Bay also managed two interceptions of Stewart, including one that, for all intents and purposes, ended the game.

Run Defense: Surprisingly, they weren't able to keep Anthony Thomas or Kordell Stewart in check. Granted, it was really just the one big 67-yard touchdown, but even removing that big run shows that the duo of Thomas and Stewart combined for 114 yards on 24 carries. In all, Green Bay gave up 181 yards on the ground to the Bears. Commentator John Madden noticed towards the end of the third quarter that the Packers defensive players seemed to be wearing down.

Chicago Bears

QB: This loss wasn't completely Stewart's fault, at least. Whether it was an offensive line and running backs that couldn't block, or receivers who couldn't get open, or dropped the ball, it was an uphill battle all the way for Stewart in this game. One thing against Stewart was when Madden commented that several times, Bear receivers caught passes that were just "a little bit off". This, in turn, meant that they had to make adjustments for receptions and thus, couldn't gain valuable yards after the catch. If Chicago does not see another legitimate offensive weapon step to the forefront, it could be a long season. Stewart did have a late touchdown run to somewhat salvage an otherwise forgettable day from a fantasy perspective.

RB: The one bright spot for the Bears was the play of RB Anthony Thomas. This looked more like the "A-Train" of 2001 than the model we've seen lately. Thomas gained 110 yards on 13 carries and added another 4 yards on 2 receptions. The highlight of his night was a beautiful 67-yard touchdown run that cut the deficit to eight points. Thomas showed shiftiness, elusiveness, and most of all, patience in breaking off that long run. Once he got into the open field, he used his own burst of speed combined with that one last block in order to spring him for the huge gain. He nearly had an earlier big touchdown, but the 60-yard run was nullified due to a holding call on WR David Terrell. In all honesty, the only reason Thomas was able to break that run for 60 was because Terrell held the guy who would've likely slowed Thomas enough to prevent him from scoring.

Rabih Abdullah got the first carry of the game, and it was his only one. It resulted in a loss of 4 yards. Abdullah caught 2 passes for 14 yards.

Adrian Peterson also got just one carry, and gained 3 yards.

WR: Marty Booker is still referred to as the #1 receiver on the Bears, but his statistics certainly don't back that up. After campaigning for more touches after the Week 2 loss, Booker saw just 6 balls head his way. He caught 3 of them for 34 yards, and nearly scored late in the contest. He stretched out at the goal line only to be ruled down at the 1-yard line. In actuality, though, it probably should have been ruled a fumble and Packers football in the end zone.

David Terrell was the man Kordell Stewart looked to late and on third down. Despite not starting, Terrell saw the most looks from Stewart (12) and caught 7 balls for 48 yards.

Dez White was right there with Terrell in terms of involvement, but not so much with production. White was targeted nine times, but caught just two passes for 26 yards.

TE: Desmond Clark quietly put up very solid numbers. Clark was only thrown the ball six times, but he converted all six of those opportunities into catches. He finished with 6 grabs for a game-high 63 yards.

Pass Defense: The stat sheet will tell you that the Bears held Brett Favre to just 179 yards. Reality, however, will tell you that the only reason the Packers didn't throw for 300 yards is because they didn't need to. The Bears run defense was so abominable that Green Bay was able to swiftly move the ball on the ground. Which isn't to say they couldn't throw it. Favre completed 70% of his passes and threw three touchdowns, so the Packers passing game made it's mark. One certainly got the feeling that they could have thrown it all over the field, if necessary.

Run Defense: When your opponent's running back has over 100 yards before halftime, something is wrong. When he finishes with a per carry average approaching ten yards, then it's downright panic time. All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher had four tackles and was not a factor. He and the rest of the Bears unit allowed Ahman Green to run all over the place. It seemed as if every carry Green made resulted in a first down.