Bears-Packers Rivalry To Renew at Lambeau: Preview and Prediction

After all of the games are played Sunday afternoon, there will be one remaining – and it’s the oldest rivalry in the NFL.

The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears will meet for the 178th time Sunday night at Lambeau Field. It will also be the 21st time the two teams have met in the season opener.

The storied teams split last year’s series, with the Packers routing the Bears at home 37-3, while the Bears escaped with a 20-17 overtime win on a frigid December night at Soldier Field. (I should know. I was there.)

Before we break down the two rosters, here are the particulars for Sunday night’s Packers-Bears matchup:

Chicago Bears (0-0) at Green Bay Packers (0-0)

• Bears-Packers Date: Sunday, September 13th
• Bears-Packers: TV & Kickoff Time: 8:30 ET on NBC
• Bears-Packers: Location: Lambeau Field in Green Bay
• Bears-Packers: Announcers: Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth
• Bears-Packers: Point Spread: GB -3.5
• Bears-Packers: Over-Under: 46.5
• StubHub: Packers-Bears tickets – Week 1 in Lambeau
• StubHub: all Green Bay Packers tickets
• StubHub: all Chicago Bears tickets
• StubHub: all 2009 NFL tickets

This year brings with it a lot of questions for both teams:

1. How will Green Bay adapt to its new 3-4 defensive scheme under new coordinator Dom Capers? 
2. How will Jay Cutler do in his new city with less-than-average receivers? 
3. Can Aaron Rodgers build on last year, when he threw for over 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns? 
4. Will Cutler’s big arm mean more passing from the Bears offense? 
5. Will Ryan Grant return to his 2007 form, or was that just an anomaly?

The questions go on, and most will be answered, at least in the short term, Sunday night.

The Packers have been downright dominant in the preseason, posting a 3-1 record — the same as the Bears — with the first-team offense scoring touchdowns on nine of 13 possessions. The Packers were 3-0 before dropping the backup-filled finale to Tennessee.

The Pack seem to have a slight edge at quarterback, mainly because Cutler’s effectiveness is a relative unknown with receivers such as Earl Bennett, Devin Aromashodu, Rashied Davis and rookies Johnny Knox and Juaquin Iglesias. The supposed top receiver for the Bears is Devin Hester, who is still learning the ropes on offense bytdefinitely trumps any return specialist the Packers have.

The Packers certainly have a huge edge is at wideout. Aaron Rodgers has a plethora of weapons, including Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson. Jennings, in fact, just might be emerging as the best player from the 2006 draft. Add Donald Lee and Jermichael Finley at tight end, and it makes the weapons pool even deeper for Rodgers.

The Bears have their own talented tight end in third-year player Greg Olsen, but neither Desmond Clark, Michael Clark, nor Kellen Davis give Chicago a 1-2 punch at tight end like Lee and Finley.

The running back edge belongs to Chicago, mainly because the versatile Matt Forte can flat out carry the rock and is effective catching passes out of the backfield. The second-year stud from Tulane ran for 1,238 yards last year to set a new franchise record for rookie tailbacks. Adrian Peterson is a nice change-of-pace back for Chicago, which recently lost Kevin Jones for the season.

Green Bay has plenty of runners, but none with the talent of Forte. Ryan Grant did eclipse 1,200 yards last year, but averaged less than four yards per carry. If he can get that number back up this year, the Packers will be all right. Spelling him in the backfield will be Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn.

Both teams have solid offensive lines, which they’ll need against the aggressive defenses they’ll see on Sunday night. Despite finishing the year 6-10, the Packers led the NFL in defensive touchdowns last season. Where they struggled was in the pass rush, something the new 3-4 scheme is supposed to remedy. Cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris are two of the best in the business, and safety Nick Collins was a Pro Bowl selection in 2008.

Chicago has another aggressive unit led by linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. If they can control the middle, the Bears can exert their will on pretty much any team. Green Bay’s backers are also good with Nick Barnett, A.J Hawk, Brandon Chillar, rookie Clay Matthews, and now Aaron Kampman added to the mix as an outside linebacker.

Kampman led the Packers with 9.5 sacks last season, his first year without registering double-digit sacks since 2005. If the Packers can get some pressure on Cutler, it could be curtains for the Bears.

It’s hard to overlook that Green Bay led last year’s game in Chicago 14-3 before imploding and handing the game back to Chicago. The Packers were clearly the more talented team last season, and look to be again this year.

Green Bay wins its home opener by beating up on the Bears, 31-13.

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* – Brian Urlacher getting owned photo credit: Mouth Piece Sports

Father of Donald Driver Beaten By Police, Taken to Hospital

The father of Packers’ Pro Bowl wide receiver Donald Driver was beaten by Houston Police officers following his arrest for outstanding traffic warrants on Monday morning.

Martin Driver, Jr. was taken into police custody and was declared “unresponsive” upon being admitted to jail. Shortly after, he was then taken to a nearby hospital where he remains unable to speak due to internal bleeding in his brain as a result of blunt force trauma.

This story is another horrific and despicable example of police brutality as well the dangers that can befall the private lives of professional athletes. According to the Driver family, who called a press conference following Martin Driver’s explanation of this incident in written notes at the hospital, the elder Driver was beaten by police offers who he claims knew both him and his son Donald personally. In Martin Driver’s written description of the event, he was beaten by the officers in question and forced to swallow something that would “take him to see Jesus.”

Few additional details have come to the surface considering Driver’s condition or the police assault. The officers involved are still on the active duty, pending an investigation.

This incident is a frightening glimpse into the public lives that athletes live in our society. Following the tragic death of Sean Taylor, and the string of robberies and beatings of other professional athletes, the awareness of the dangers that confront professional athletes has come to the forefront of sports reporting. Even this week, ESPN ran a story that interviewed NFL players about how their lives have changed in the last year since Sean Taylor’s murder. The tragic beating of Martin Driver, however, has not been carried by ESPN (Editor’s Note: as of 11:00 am ET), even though it has been published by the Associated Press which is ESPN’s news source.

As is often the case, the media can have a profound impact on how justice in this country is served. Public awareness of an incident can help family members seek justice in even the most dire of cases. As we are all aware, police brutality cases carry with them a certain sense of fighting an uphill battle when you or your loved ones are the victims. The Drivers came forward in a press conference, requesting that the accused officers be taken off the street, but the only story that seems fit to publish is that Donald Driver has been excused from practice and that he intends to play.

I can understand not running the story out of respect for the privacy of the Driver family. But if they came forward in a press conference then they are obviously seeking justice. Unfortunately, ESPN isn’t listening.