The Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler wont have to wait long to get his first taste of the Bears-Packers rivalry. The Green Bay Packers will be looking to give Cutler a bad taste of that rivalry, as I am expecting them to blitz Cutler heavy and often. The Packers run a 3-4 front, with defensive coordinator Dom Capers calling the shots. Capers is well aware of Cutler’s big arm, so he will be looking to pressure the Bear’s new talented QB and try to force him into some mistakes.
Cutler’s primary wide receiver will be the super athletic Devin Hester, but I’m looking for Cutler and TE Greg Olsen to hook up early and often. I think Olsen has the ability to be a Pro Bowler, as he has great hands and can move very well for a TE. Bear’s running back Matt Forte will also probably get a lot of touches through the air, as he was the Bears leading receiver last year. Although the Bears have a much more talented QB than they have had in years (probably decades), the Bears offense should still revolve around a strong running attack. Matt Forte proved he is a top tier running back in this league, as he rushed for 1,238 yards last year as a rookie and led all rookie running backs in total yards and receptions.
The Bears defense will have their hands full, as the Packer’s QB Aaron Rodgers proved last year that he has what it takes to be successful in this league. In his first year as a starter, Rogers threw for 4,038 yards with 28 TD’s and only 13 INT’s. He had a 63.6 completion percentage and finished the year with a 93.8 passer rating. He has a very talented Greg Jennings to throw to, as well as the proven veteran Donald Driver. The Bears were not very good at pass rushing last year and hopefully for the Packers, the Bears’ defensive end Mark Anderson is more like the Mark Anderson of last year and not the one who had 12 sacks a few seasons ago. Lovie Smith has taken over the play calling on defense, and improving the defensive line play has been an emphasis during the offseason, but I think Rodgers will not have too many problems with the Bears’ rush as the Packers offensive line has improved.
With the Bears offense greatly improved from last year, mainly because of the Jay Cutler acquisition, and the proven Aaron Rodgers on the Packers’ side, I think this could be a high scoring affair. I think both defenses will struggle to contain the talented QB’s and each will have his way with the oppositions defense. The Bears have the edge at running back and even though the Packers’ Ryan Grant rushed for nearly the same amount of yards as Forte last year, Forte proved he is not a one dimensional player as he led the team in receptions.
The X-factor, as it often has been in the past for the Bears, will be Devin Hester and the special teams. Hester struggled last year returning punts and kicks, especially on kickoff returns. Hester was moved to just a punt-returner but you could see Hester back returning kicks again, as he is still a huge threat for big returns. His problem seemed to be that he would try to do too much last year, but it could take only one good return for Hester to get that confidence back. So, overall I think this will be a battle of the QB’s with the Bears edging out the Packers 31-28.
