Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to get excited about said surprises, but it still leaves this meatball Bears fan asking himself a couple of questions. McCown especially is drawing my self inflicted interrogative sentences : "Could the Bears have signed him last year instead of Todd Collins? Could the Bears have signed him sooner this season when Cutler first became injured? How can McCown, a guy that was coaching high school this year, look so much more competent running this offense, than a backup they've had on the roster for 4 seasons?"
I'll attempt to answer those questions as I go. Nevertheless, here's what I saw as my chestnuts were roasting on an open fire:
Offense : *Disclaimer - I know the Packers defense is not really good right now, especially in their pass defense. Still, they are a top 10 defense against the run, yet that didn't stop Kahlil Damn Bell from racking up 121 rushing yards against them. While Bell deserves a good amount of credit for yards after contact and being shifty in the holes all night, his offensive line played really well too. It was very apparent that the Bears had little trouble pulling both guards Edwin Williams, Chris Spencer, and center Roberto Garza to either side of the line to initiate point of contact and down field blocks for Bell and scrap-heap addition Armando Allen. All told, the Bears ran for 199 yards against the Packers. Bell certainly upped his stock tonight, and pretty much guaranteed he'll be on the Bears roster next season.
As for the passing game, McCown wasn't bad. Not all that good, but pretty far from bad. Compared to Caleb Hanie, Josh looked like Kurt Warner!
McCown still threw a really dumb interception to Clay Matthews in the second quarter during a likely scoring drive. McCown's second interception wasn't nearly as egregious as he took a chance attempting the "chimney drop" throw in between two Green Bay defenders to Earl Bennett, but the pass bounced off Bennett's hands into the arms of Future Hall Of Famer Charlie Peprah. McCown also threw a touchdown pass, on his way to 242 yards through the air.
I'm not saying McCown is a starter in this league, but in terms of finding a perfect backup for Cutler last season, why the hell didn't Martz consider Josh?! McCown was definitely available. Obviously Martz knew who Josh was, yet Martz still felt he needed Todd Collins last year and Collins couldn't play DEAD! The worst part is, I don't know if McCown is worth keeping for 2012 because he only seems to work if Martz is calling plays. Regardless as I said, McCown was a pleasant surprise tonight.
Defense : I've made no secret to anyone that knows me, that I think Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback I've ever seen play football. Ever. I know his body of work is too short to make this official, but I'm not really concerned about that right now.
With that said, the effort the Bears defense gave tonight was laughable, especially in the second half. 5 Touchdown Passes allowed on the day will make it laughable. One thing that absolutely chaps my ass, is how wide-damn-open Packer receivers seem to be over the middle. I mean not a SOUL in sight of a Packer receiver. There isn't a crossing route, slant, dig, drag, or comeback route the Packers won't run over the middle on any team, yet it always seems to be open no matter who they are playing?
The Bears front four barely breathed on Rodgers all day - not that it makes much difference. The key for the Bears to stop the Packers was jamming their receivers at the line, throwing them off their routes, and generating key turnovers. The Bears drew a big zero in all three of those keys, and Matt Flynn taking garbage snaps in the 4th quarter is a direct result of the Bears defensive ineffectiveness.
Special Teams : Devin is still injured/sucks. Podlesh is Podlesh, and Gould missed a 49 yard field goal attempt early in the first quarter. Dave Toub isn't a genius this week.
Where Do We Go From Here? : Now that the Bears are officially eliminated from the playoffs this season, the only interesting thing to keep an eye on before the Bears perfunctory game against the Vikings will be to see if they fire Mike Martz this week. I doubt they will, but in the off chance they do fire him, it will serves as an indicator of what the Bears offseason will be like. If they fire him, it will show that Jerry Angelo will not be "retiring" as he never wanted Martz in the first place. If they keep him, we'll still be unsure of what happens to Angelo this offseason.
For my money, I believe Jerry will be "retiring" this offseason. The only thing that will bother me about it, is if they name his buddy Tim Ruskell as his replacement. Ruskell has shown that he makes Mark Hatley look like Ted Thompson.
Whether the Bears go with Ruskell or not, the departure of Jerry Angelo will shape the Bears as an organization for years to come...
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