Friday, Sept. 24, 2010
4:45 PM
By Jim Miller
CSNChicago.com
Just got off air for Sirius NFL Radio. I could not have been more fired up to chat with Jay Cutler, who joined us on air today. To give you a little background about this weekend's matchup, I asked Jay last year, when he arrived in Chicago, if he realized what BearsPackers represented? After all, the start of his Bears career kicked off Week 1 against the dreaded rival Packers. I could tell by his response, he was not prepared for what he was getting into. He acknowledged as much in a follow-up interview later in the year. The promise of a coach, the backlash of the fans, and former players with plenty of analysis.
What a difference a year makes. The most storied rivalry in football resumes Monday Night with a Bears QB at the helm who now understands the gravity of the game. Jay mentioned he never experienced a game with as much intensity and hype in the AFC West. San Diego was the team to beat, but Kansas City was historically always Denver's rival. The Raiders assumed that mantle because of Mike Shanahan's hatred of Al Davis. My point is, rivalries cannot be manufactured. Bears vs. Green Bay is the most pure, historical, emotional and intense a match-up that can never be duplicated. You have to experience it, to understand what it truly means and how deep it goes.
Green Bay D
Slow down Clay Matthews! Jay talked about why he has backpedaled from underneath the center quite a bit in the first two games. Sometimes you just need to see what is going on! Facing Kyle Vandenboesch, DeMarcus Ware and now Clay Matthews, look for that to continue. Matthews has six sacks after two games, the first Packer ever to accomplish that feat. Sometimes, I expect Clay to be completely unblocked to set up a screen to his side. The Bears have been very impressive with their screen game this year. Backpedaling out allows Jay more comfort seeing hot reads and anticipating throws.
No Huddle
I would expect a no huddle at some point from the Bears or a lot of quick content. Line up and go! It is problematic for Green Bay. When I ran the scout team for the Steelers, our defensive coordinator Dom Capers and linebackers coach Dick Labeau were starting to forge their careers on defense. They hated no huddle and quick count. The strength of Dom's 3-4 defense is their pre-snap look is very different than their post-snap reality. They want to show one thing and do something entirely different as the cadence moves along to the snap. No huddle and quick count will force Green Bay to line up into their final defensive look. The Bears can force Green Bay to show their hand, and now Jay can call a favorable play at the line of scrimmage.
Jim Miller, an 11-year former NFL quarterback, is a Comcast SportsNet Bears analyst who can be seen each week on U.S. Cellular Bears Postgame Live. Miller, who spent five seasons with the Bears, analyzes current Chicago QB Jay Cutler in his "15 on 6" blog on CSNChicago.com and can be followed on Twitter @15miller.
