Grading the Bears: Week 3

GAME BALL

Aaron Rodgers

There have been a lot of terrific stat lines in the early going of this NFL season. Rodgers’ 28 completions in 38 attempts for 297 yards and 3 TDs didn’t quite approach Tom Brady and Cam Newton, but some of the throws he made to get those numbers were amazing. He threaded the needle several times while finding WR Greg Jennings and TE Jermichael Finley.

QUARTERBACK (2 balls)

Jay Cutler had more time to throw than last week, but he didn’t take advantage of it. Some of the problems were of his own making — at least 6 throws that were way too high or off-target for his receiver — but he also was victimized by at least 4 drops.

RUNNING BACKS (1 ball)

Matt Forte received a grand total of 9 carries, and he rarely had a chance to make a move without a Packer already in the backfield. He did catch a team-high 7 passes for 80 yards, several as Cutler’s checkdown receiver.

RECEIVERS (1 balls)

Kellen Davis delivered a nice broken-field run for a 32-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. Dane Sanzenbacher crossed the middle for his second TD grab in as many weeks. Johnny Knox was wide open on a deep seam and let Cutler’s pass go off his chin strap. Davis, Roy Williams and fullback Tyler Clutts each dropped a pass. Oh, and Devin Hester had the 15-yard unnecessary roughness call in the fourth quarter that all but clinched matters.

OFFENSIVE LINE (1.5 balls)

Cutler rarely got touched in the first half before suffering 3 sacks in the second. Other than that, there were too many mistakes to count. Chris Williams ignored the defensive lineman across from him — opting to help Roberto Garza on a double team — for the easiest sack in history. During one stretch in the fourth, Frank Omiyale had his second false start, Garza earned a hold and Chris Spencer earned a hold.

DEFENSIVE LINE (2 balls)

Julius Peppers and Henry Melton each got to Rodgers for a sack — and Peppers did it while being held. Those were the only two times Rodgers took a hit all day. The line appeared to struggle with Rodgers’ cadence as Peppers and backup DE Nick Reed were drawn offside as was LB Lance Briggs.

LINEBACKERS (2 balls)

Briggs piled up 14 tackles, his highest total since a 16-tackle effort in a 27-20 win over Green Bay on Oct. 7, 2007. Briggs also forced the fumble that set up Davis’ TD catch. Brian Urlacher had another diving interception, but he kept getting blocked on Ryan Grant’s big cutbacks up the middle.

SECONDARY (2 balls)

Safeties Craig Steltz and Brandon Meriweather didn’t have their finest days. Corners Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings weren’t much better as the Packers knew how to dissect the Cover-2. Nickel back D.J. Moore entered after the touchdown on the first series and couldn’t make any customary big plays.

SPECIAL TEAMS (2.5 balls)

The Bears worked all week on Johnny Knox’ late punt return for the TD that wasn’t because of a spurious Corey Graham holding call. Five balls for the scheme and the execution. Nothing else magical happened, but it needed to in this game. Green Bay punt returner Randall Cobb got too many yards as punter Adam Podlesh netted 37.0 yards.

COACHING (2 BALLS)

After Green Bay’s remarkable opening drive, the Bears figured out a way to make things tougher on the Packers. As for the offense’s lopsided pass-run ratio, you knew the Bears wouldn’t be able to run when they couldn’t handle a 6 vs. 6 situation in the box and Forte got thrown for a loss. That play should’ve been big for the Bears.

— Lindsey Willhite