Bears Insider: Q&A with Jim Schwantz
Q. What’s the one thing the Bears absolutely have to do Sunday to win the game?
A. It’s tackling. It sounds pretty simple, but the Packers — ever since Sterling Sharpe and Antonio Freeman and Donald Driver — their receivers are really good after the catch. I heard Charles Tillman talk about it this week. We saw last week, the Falcons had three rushers on Aaron Rodgers, but they just couldn’t tackle.
It’s going to be about tackling the receivers after the catch, about tackling James Starks and not letting him get his momentum going forward and about getting some shots on Rodgers — you’ve got to tackle him.
Q. The waiting has been brutal for the fans this week; what’s it like for the players?
A. Everything you do in the NFL is about routine, and they’re not going to do anything to get out of their routine. The week goes fast, it always goes fast. It doesn’t drag like it does for us. For players, it’ll be Sunday before they know it.
Q. What’s the one aspect you’ll be watching early on Sunday to get a sense of how things are going to play out?
A. The big thing I want to see offensively with the Bears is are the assignments sound? You’re facing a team that likes to pressure and likes to bring different packages so it’s all about being assignment-sound.
If you’re out there and there’s one of 11 guys that’s not quite sure of the assignment, you’re going to get a free rusher, a guy running the wrong route ... and if Jay Cutler’s assuming it’s going to be a hot read and the receiver doesn’t read it, now you’re throwing into a spot you don’t want to throw into.
Some of the Bears’ adjustments are going to be on the fly and that’s where this offensive line getting a chance to play together for a while is going to help them.
Q. Now the big question: How do you see things playing out today?
A. It’s going to be close; it’s the NFC championship game, the two best teams in the NFC. It’s great that it’s Bears-Packers. It’s outstanding that it’s at Soldier Field. I can’t wait to be part of the atmosphere.
This is such a great game because these two teams know each other so well. Hunter Hillenmeyer said it best when he said, ‘you play the whole football game for the right to win the three or four plays that are going to determine the winner.’ There are 100 or so plays in a game and it really comes down to those three, four, five plays and who can execute on those plays — that decides the winner.
Ÿ Jim Schwantz, a former linebacker for the Bears, serves as Palatine’s mayor. His analysis can be heard on WBBM 780-AM during the pregame and postgame shows.