Bears report card for Sunday
Scale: 5 balls excellent, 1 ball poor
GAME BALL: Sam Shields
Sam Shields, the Pckers’ undrafted rookie cornerback made big plays just when Green Bay needed them. He picked off a Jay Cutler bomb near the goal line to close the first half, then stepped in front of Johnny Knox for the clinching INT of Caleb Hanie with 37 seconds left. Oh, he also blitzed in for a sack that forced a Cutler fumble.
QUARTERBACK (2 balls)On a day when the Bears needed Jay Cutler to be good for 60 minutes, he struggled to find targets during his 32 minutes before leaving with an apparent torn knee ligament. Third-stringer Caleb Hanie rallied the troops for 2 fourth-quarter scores, but he also threw 2 INTs. Todd Collins narrowly avoided 2 more INTs during his two series.
RUNNING BACKS (3.5 balls)Matt Forte grew stronger as the game moved along and the Bears realized they could hit the Packers#146; weak side for some rushing yardage. Forte#146;s 160 yards from scrimmage marked his fourth-best effort of the season. Chester Taylor plunged for a TD, but also was flagged for holding to negate a first-half first down in the red zone.
RECEIVERS (2 balls)Not a good day when Devin Hester gets targeted four times and comes up empty. Johnny Knox had a nice 32-yard catch-and-run to set up Taylor#146;s TD plunge while Earl Bennett somehow slipped between two Packers for his 35-yard score. No tough catches made, no tackles broken.
OFFENSIVE LINE (2 balls)As the game wore on (and the Packers wore Cutler out), the Bears added guys to their protection schemes. In the running game#146;s 21 non-scrambles, the Bears picked up 70 yards for a 3.3-yard average. Chris Williams and Frank Omiyale picked up false starts.
DEFENSIVE LINE (3 balls)Big plays were in short supply for an event begging for them. Julius Peppers (1 QB hurry), Tommie Harris (1 hurry), Anthony Adams, Henry Melton (2 tackles) and Matt Toeaina were all basically AWOL.
LINEBACKERS (3.5 BALLS)Aside from one early play when RB Brandon Jackson juked him on a short pass, Brian Urlacher was terrific. He picked off Aaron Rodgers near the goal line, posted the Bears#146; only sack and earned another tackle for loss. Lance Briggs was in the right place at right time for a deflected INT off Donald Driver#146;s foot.
SECONDARY (2.5 BALLS)It seemed like Packers WR Greg Jennings could get open on deep slants any time he wanted. Corner Tim Jennings was hit with a pair of pass-interference calls totaling 38 yards. Chris Harris missed a little time with a cramp, but the safety trio combined for 16 stops.
SPECIAL TEAMS (2.5 BALLS)Lovie Smith drew boos when he opted to punt in second quarter rather than try 48-yard Robbie Gould FG. Gould was short and right on a 48-yarder during halftime, by the way. Corey Graham stepped on the goal line trying to down a Brad Maynard punt at the 1. Devin Hester never wriggled free, even as Green Bay kicked to midfield multiple times.
COACHING (3 BALLS)Green Bay#146;s offense had the Bears off-stride in first half as they couldn#146;t stop the run, which forced them to honor Rodgers#146; play-action fakes. Mike Martz gradually realized Matt Forte had the best matchups with the short passes, so that#146;s where the Bears went on their comeback. Special teams neither won nor lost the game. Lovie Smith won a challenge to overturn a Todd Collins third-quarter INT.