No easy task ahead for Chicago Bears' defense
The Packers dropped 93 points on the Bears last year in a pair of almost-criminal blowouts, and the main culprit was Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
In those two games Rodgers completed 40 of 55 passes for 617 yards, 10 touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of - wait for it - 149.0.
Rodgers threw 6 touchdown passes in last year's second meeting, all in the first half, when he also had 315 passing yards.
New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio wasn't around last year, and he hasn't brought up the past to this year's defense.
"I haven't talked about it at all," he said. "I'm sure the guys that were here that went through it - giving up 93 points in two games - it's still in their memory bank. But I haven't alluded to it at all."
Keeping the league's reigning and now two-time MVP from abusing the Bears' new 3-4 defense Sunday at Soldier Field is the best way for the home team to reclaim a little dignity - or to at least keep fannies in seats for the entire game.
It won't be easy.
In games Rodgers has started and finished against the Bears, he's 12-2. The Bears won 27-20 at Lambeau Field in Week 9 of the 2013 season when Rodgers suffered a fractured collarbone on an opening-series sack by Shea McClellin. Not counting that game, Rodgers has won nine straight against the Bears, and his career passer rating against them is 106.2.
As great as Rodgers is, Fox doesn't want his team focusing on just one player at the expense of overlooking a team that is considered one of the Super Bowl favorites.
"We've got to prepare for the Packers," Fox said. "That's on offense, defense and on special teams. It's not a one-man show, and I think (Rodgers) would tell you the same thing.
"It takes a pretty good supporting cast. I think some would argue he might be the best guy in the game right now. There's no doubt we've got great respect for him."
The Packers have won nine of the last 10 meetings with the Bears and beaten their oldest rivals five straight times at Soldier Field.
There is no blueprint for controlling the owner of the highest career passer rating in NFL history because very few teams have been able to contain him. His 106.0 career mark is far superior to Tony Romo's next-best 97.6.
"With a great quarterback like him, there is no one key because there is no one way to stop a great quarterback like him," Fangio said. "Some people would say, 'Pressure him,' but he can hurt you there. Drop a lot of guys, he can hurt you there.
"That's why he's a great quarterback. There's not one way to play him. You've just got to mix it."
When all else fails, there's always unconventional methods, as Fangio said when asked how to stop the lightning-quick release that is a large part of what makes Rodgers arguably the best there's ever been.
"His release?" Fangio said. "Can we break his arm or something?
"The only guy that even comes close to his release over the years is Dan Marino, and I think his is better than Marino's was. He's gifted with a great release. I've coached against him a lot and seen a lot of tape of him, and he never ceases to amaze you."
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