Packers Notebook (Dec. 15)

By: 
Bill Huber
Correspondent

Do you have a defense?

On Sept. 5, the Green Bay Packers started their season and the Matt LaFleur era with a 10-3 victory over the Chicago Bears. It was a long night for the Aaron Rodgers-led offense, but the former MVP didn’t care.

“We’ve got a defense,” he said with a wide smile after the game.

Four months later, do the Packers really have a defense? How will they handle an improving Bears offense in Sunday’s rematch at Lambeau Field?

Last season, Green Bay ranked 22nd with 25 points allowed per game. Heading into Sunday, the Packers are 13th with 20.8 points allowed per game. However, the Packers are actually worse than last year in terms of yards allowed per play (26th in 2019 vs. 14th in 2018), yards allowed per passing play (25th vs. 23rd) and yards allowed per rushing attempt (27th vs. 13th).

That’s with the three high-profile free-agent signings of outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith and safety Adrian Amos all paying dividends.

“As I always say, we play our best defense sitting on the bench,” defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said last week. “So, that’s key for us — we’ve got to get off the field.”

Green Bay’s defense dominated the week one matchup. The Bears managed 254 yards and only moved the chains on 20 percent of their third downs. Green Bay forced Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to beat them and he wasn’t up to the task, compiling just a 62.1 passer rating.

The Bears, however, have won three straight entering the 200th edition of the rivalry. A key to the late-season surge has been the play of Trubisky, who’s posted back-to-back games with passer ratings of at least 115. Plus, rookie running back David Montgomery has added a physical element that their offense lacked in the 10-3 loss to Green Bay in Week 1.

“They look more polished, just as any team would throughout the season, just understanding their given scheme,” linebacker Blake Martinez said. “Obviously, Mitch Trubisky is playing really well as of late and understanding his capabilities being able to run the ball. He’s starting to take those chances after certain reads are taken away to run the ball, get open and get 10, 20 yards. That adds another dimension to their offense.”

Bears have a pulse

Going through the schedule a few weeks ago, this looked like one to pencil into Green Bay’s win column.

However, the Packers have stumbled of late with a horrid loss at San Francisco followed by two less-than-spectacular victories over the Giants and Redskins. Chicago, on the other hand, has gotten hot. At 7-6, the Bears still have a slim chance to make the playoffs, though the loaded nature of the NFC will make that difficult even if they sweep the Packers, Chiefs and Vikings to end the season.

“The biggest thing for all of us when you go through this, you’ve got to understand that it’s never what you think is going to happen,” said Bears coach Matt Nagy, who led the Bears to the NFC North title last year. “So, how do you prep for it? I think that’s from the type of people and culture that we have here.

“So, when you run into some of the lows that we had, you’ve got to figure out how to handle it, and you handle it with being honest, you handle it with having humility. Our team has done that. No one’s pointed fingers. We’ve all rallied around each other.”

Win and they could be in

The Packers could clinch a playoff on Sunday. To do so would require a victory over the Bears and the Rams losing at slumping Dallas.

“We put ourselves in pretty good position to be able to be one of those teams,” receiver Davante Adams said. “We control our destiny. We’ve just got to keep winning games. As long as we’re in, I don’t really care who gets in, how they do. If we get in, we’ve just got to take care of business.”

Cheap shot?

On Washington’s first touchdown drive last week, second-year running back Derrius Guice broke into the open field before being taken down at the knees by safety Darnell Savage for a 23-yard gain.

Guice, who missed all of his rookie season with a torn ACL in his left knee and half of this season with a torn meniscus in his right knee, hobbled off the field. On Monday, he was placed on injured reserve with an injured MCL in his left knee.

In a since-deleted tweet, Guice accused Savage of a “cheap shot.” Savage was caught off-guard when asked about that comment.

“I didn’t know about that,” he said. “I try to stay off all that social media stuff. I’m sure you guys knew this, but I’m not a dirty player. In my career, I’ve never done anything to hurt somebody. That’s unfortunate it happened. I actually told a couple of my teammates, ‘I hope he’s good’ after the play happened. If he feels that way, it is what it is.”

It’s cold outside

Fortunately for the fans, this game wasn’t played on Wednesday. Still, with a predicted high of 18, it will be a fittingly chilly Sunday at Lambeau Field.

“It’s not a big secret or surprise: You’ve got to keep your head warm, you’ve got to keep your hands warm if you want to throw the ball without gloves,” Rodgers said. “There’s some things you can do with some toe warmers than can make the freezing of your cleats a little less difficult to deal with, but the cold is a great equalizer at times for parts of the game and I’ve always felt like I’ve played pretty well in the cold.”

Man of the year

Martinez is the Packers’ nominee for the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

“Every day, in cities and towns across America, NFL players give of themselves to make our communities better,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “This year, as we celebrate our 100th season and the 50th year of the Walter Payton NFL Man of Year Award, NFL players have continued to raise the bar on community engagement and impact. The 32 nominees for this year’s award are the best of the best and truly embody the spirit of Walter and his legacy of leaving the world better than he found it.”

The winner will be announced during the NFL Honors program on Feb. 1, the night before the Super Bowl.

More honors

The Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that Packers legends Brett Favre and Jordy Nelson have been selected for induction into the 70th anniversary class of the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame on June 5 in Madison.