Rodgers sets sights on struggling Bears defense

With all due respect to Brett Favre, seeing him leave Green Bay wasn't necessarily the best thing that could happen to the Bears and their fans.

That's because even though the future Hall of Famer was 18-2 against them from 1994-2003, Favre was picked off 13 times while throwing just 2 TD passes in his last six games vs. the Bears.

His replacement, Aaron Rodgers, has thrown 13 touchdown passes this year and just 5 interceptions, and he even has a slightly higher passer rating than the Jets' quarterback - 93.3-93.0.

So Bears defenders weren't rejoicing this week over the prospect of facing Rodgers at noon today at Lambeau Field (Channel 32; WBBM 780-AM).

"It's the same system with Aaron, and he's younger," Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. "He can run a little bit better than Brett can, and he doesn't seem to make the mistakes that Brett made. I don't want to compare a legend to a guy who's just starting out, but Brett was a little more careless with the ball. He'd throw it to anybody. Aaron is not afraid to hold on to it and run it, so there has to be a little difference between those two."

Rodgers is the Packers' second-leading rusher with 125 yards on 33 attempts, and his 3.8-yard average, while not spectacular, is better than Ryan Grant, the team's featured running back. But it's Rodgers' arm that has impressed the Bears, who have struggled to stop much less-talented quarterbacks this season.

"He does some similar things that Favre does, throws some similar balls," Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said. "But I don't think you'll see Aaron do some of the other things that Favre does, as far as running around and throwing the ball to an opponent rather than taking a sack. So maybe that's a plus for Green Bay."

That would be a minus for the Bears' defense, which ranks 30th in passing yards allowed and 29th in sacks. The Packers' starting wide receivers, Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, form one of the more talented tandems the Bears will face this season. Jennings is especially dangerous, averaging 18.6 yards per catch, and the Packers are expected to run some of their five-WR sets that will challenge a Bears secondary that has underachieved this season and could see some shuffling today.

Assuming cornerback Charles Tillman plays with a shoulder injury, he could be paired with Corey Graham in the starting lineup. Graham, the second-year New Hampshire product, has played well all season, first filling in for Nate Vasher at cornerback and then for Danieal Manning at nickel back, when they were injured.

Even when Manning returned last week from a hamstring injury, he didn't get his job back from Graham. But Vasher's play has slipped this season, even before the wrist injury that kept him out for three weeks. So Graham could be back in the starting lineup, with Manning returning to nickel.

Graham has been solid in coverage, and he provides a more physical presence than Vasher. But if the Packers go with extra wide receivers, all the Bears corners could see extensive playing time.

"This is a big week for us," Graham said. "You know the same thing we know - they go across the middle a lot. They do a lot of inside routes, and against our defense that would hurt us a little bit."

The Bears have frequently been vulnerable to short slant routes, which the Packers have run against them in the past with success.

"Everybody's vulnerable to something," Graham said. "You can't take away everything." When it comes to pass defense, the Bears haven't been bale to take away much of anything lately.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=250997">Offense more to blame in Titans' loss <span class="date"> [11/15/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>