NFC North 2013 Discussion thread.

The Game Room
81

Josh McCown looked surprisingly competent last week and put up some nice numbers. Now, the Redskins defense is terrible and I was dead wrong about Caleb Hanie under similar circumstances (in my defense that was preseason, not live action), but I can at least hope.

I have one question that could provide interesting results: What if McCown is a better fit for Trestman’s system and actually excels? That would create a fair bit of drama, and considering how bad the Bears defense is getting with these injuries I’m a little glad that we’ll actually get 4 or 5 games to see what a less stubborn QB does in that system.

I really don’t want to spend the next several years in QB limbo like the Browns or Vikings, but I suspect this week is the first game of a on-going referendum on Cutler. In any case, Emery was probably smart to not extend Jay. (That said, I bet he’d have been great trade bait if they did extend him and wanted to move on, so perhaps it’s ultimately shortsighted.)

82

I put his success down to the miserable Redskins defense. Watching him in 2011, it seemed he had no actual interest in playing, and his 26 passer rating was abysmal.

I’m not sure he’s a better fit. He has more int’s than td’s over his career, and, from the very little I see, tends to lock on his receivers. I don’t think he’ll be a better fit, but it certainly would be interesting.

As I’m sure you could guess, I think one of Jay Cutler’s best attributes is that he’s not Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Caleb Hanie, Todd Collins, or Jason Campbell (or Christian Ponder/Josh Freeman/Brandon Wheeden to use your examples). I certainly hope he continues to be judged against guys like that rather than against Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, or the great QB’s in the NFL (or even Matt Ryan, Phillip Rivers, Tony Romo, and the better than average QB’s in the NFL). That way, the Bears may give him big money. In that sense, this injury may be a boon for his career, as the Bears or other teams look at how he did against New Orleans and the Giants and give him a big contract at the end of the year.

I think it’s smart not to extend him, but they may be forced to franchise him to avoid that QB quagmire you fear so much.

I think the Bears have blown it by not drafting/holding onto young QB’s to develop behind Jay. Not that Dan LeFevour or Nathan Enderle would be good NFL QB’s, but I think they should have grabbed/developed a Mallett, TJ Yates, Cousins, Wilson, or someone else to develop behind Cutler to deal with this eventuality.

83

I’m hoping Trestman feels that way. I always advocate drafting QBs anytime you can, and you need to proactively develop them. That said, how many QBs in the league from your good list were actually developed? Rodgers maybe, everyone else pretty much got thrown in right away and it just clicked.

The Bears problem wasn’t not developing QBs, it was not investing in the position at all. Things are bound to go bad when you draft the 6th best QB in a class out of desperation or go with another team’s cast off. Good teams proactively invest on way or another, the Pats drafting Brady even though the had Bledsoe, ditto Rodgers. The Saints and Broncos paid top dollar for FAs in spite of having decent game managers on their rosters. The Colts and Redskins made their own hard decisions and decided to be aggressive.

The Bears at one time did that, drafting Harbaugh in spite of having McMahon and Tomczac. Then they continually turtled up drafting a bunch of “safe” RBs in search of the next Payton without understanding that QBs made all the difference.

Generally QBs either get it or they don’t and I’ve yet to see a HC or GM who is reliable in projecting that. Ultimately you need to throw resources at it until you get it right.

84

Week 9: (Sun., Nov. 3) Vikings at Cowboys, 1 p.m.
Week 9: (Mon., Nov. 4) Bears at Packers, 8:40 p.m.
Week 9: Detroit BYE

The Cowboys just lost in final seconds to the Lions last week so (I assume, you never know) they will be looking to take it out on the Vikings this week. The Vikings are pretty hapless right now and are going through a carousel of quarterbacks. It’s Ponder this week, right? They’re going to have to lean on AP heavily and hope to take advantage of the Dallas defense’s ability to collapse.

I’d like the Bears win here, of course, but I have a hard time seeing it. After a little stumbling earlier in the season, the Packers are back to form. Both teams have injuries but the issues on Chicago’s defense will likely allow Rogers to have a nice day. Of course, any given Sunday can happen Monday night and McCown is an efficient QB with some good receivers and a good running back, but it won’t be easy.

85

For the third time this year, the Vikings defense allows a last minute drive for a touchdown to lose a game they could have won. I think the Vikings are better than their 1-7 record shows (especially when they get even average QB play), but there were some questionable coaching decisions, and some very poor secondary play, both of which may haunt them all season. I think they made progress by feeding Peterson enough, unlike other games, and Ponder wasn’t horrible, but their holes in their defense and the age of their D line is costly.

Packers/Bears tonight. Should be fun.

86

Ugh, the one Packer that we need to stay healthy. At least there’re is a run game, but the odds have definitely worsened.
Brian

87

They’re saying it’s his left collarbone. Arrrrrgh.

88

Not the way I wanted to win. (Of course with the Bears run defense, this is by no means a gimme)

That said, if it had to happen I’m glad it happened on a good, clean play that stopped a drive against the Bears instead of on a Suh cheap shot or some random AFC team getting to him in garbage time.

89

In case anyone was interested, the Bears just signed Jay Ratliff today. Considering the injuries to the middle of the line, it’s a good gamble. If he’s got anything left it might be a nice add.

90

Don’t want to jinx it, but so far I’m thoroughly enjoying the Josh McCown experience.

91

Things got a lot more interesting in the NFC North last night.

I’m sure part of it is my own personal view of the regular season. Being spoiled by having Aaron Rodgers, 4 straight playoff appearances, and a recent Super Bowl win, the regular season has been much more of a thing to enjoy slightly until the playoffs come around and things get much more fascinating. I just kinda figured the Packers would make the playoffs.

I don’t think I can make that assumption now. Depending on the extent of the injury to Rodgers, the regular season may be a battle the entire year. And while I remain convinced that the Packers certainly can make the playoffs even without Rodgers, I really don’t have the confidence I did just a scant 14 hours ago. Now the games take on much more importance, and rather than saying to myself “Oh, the Packers will win that one, no need to watch or worry too much”, I may have to worry about the Packers being able to beat even the iffy teams.

The loss to the Bears last night still only merits a Meh, though. Without two weeks to prepare, Wallace was sloppy and was absolutely no threat to the Bears’ secondary, allowing them to focus on stopping the run game. I hope Wallace gets better with more reps and more practice time, but I’d actually rather have Flynn back and playing for the Packers. We’ll know at 3:00 if he clears waivers. :fingers crossed:

I’ll also note that the Packers also lost TJ Lang, their starting RG to a concussion. Hopefully he won’t miss too much time, because Newhouse was just abused filling in at RT after Barclay moved inside. Fucking injuries.

The Bears have their own bit of intrigue, with McCown looking like a legit NFL QB filling in for Cutler. I would be shocked if Cutler doesn’t get his starting job back, and I put much of McCown’s success (and Cutler’s nice games earlier) down to Marc Trestman, who has been impressive. The Bears defense, especially against the run, has been woefully lacking, so they have a fair bit of work to do.

So we have 3 teams tied at 5-3 for the lead of the NFC North. And the division title will be a big deal, because there are a fair number of other teams in the NFC wildcard hunt. It’s going to be an interesting few weeks.

92

In an odd bit of coincidence, Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, who is basically the dean of the Packers writers, had a feature story in the Sunday paper “Packers could win without Aaron Rodgers” Talk about tempting fate. The Packers did still have a chance to win last night if the defense had played up to the level that they had showed in recent weeks, but by the fourth quarter I think they were gassed, the offense was not able to sustain their end of the time of possession battle.

And yes, losing T.J. Lang definitely seemed to be a turning point. Newhouse is a bust, through and through.

93

[Man uses stun gun on wife after bet on Packers game](<iframe width=“640” height=“360” src=“//www.youtube.com/embed/rTP8SkAXgJM?feature=player_embedded” frameborder=“0” allowfullscreen></iframe>).

Wow, that’s just all kinds of stupid.

94

Week 10: (Thur., Nov. 7) Redskins at Vikings
Week 10: (Sun., Nov. 10) Lions at Bears
Week 10: (Sun., Nov. 10) Eagles at Packers

Holy cow, the Vikings get a win against the Redskins and show you can’t turn 'em over and call 'em done just yet. Ponder was injured in the game again, so Vikings troubles continue nonetheless.

Lions and Bears are playing for the lead in the NFC North. It was announced that Cutler will start on Sunday though part of me wishes they kept him off the field for one more week. Detroit’s offense has been potent, to say the least, with Megatron and Bush. Bears defense needs to step up, stop the run, and contain Johnson.

Packers and Eagles. God I hope the Eagles win. I have no problem admitting that I like watching Rodgers play but after a couple decades of solid QB action from Green Bay while Chicago had it’s revolving carousel clown car of “quality” QBs, it’s really hard for me to feel sorry for them. Hey guys, I think Chad Hutchinson is available, you should sign him.

95

I was impressed by Ponder and the whole team for not giving up when they fell behind. A good chunk of the win was the poor Redskins defense and a couple of missed opportunities by RGIII. I was just really thankful it wasn’t a painful game to watch, like earlier Vikings games were.

Interesting game. I’m wondering if teams will begin to figure out the Trestman offense, or if he’ll be able to change it up to help his team. Could be a shootout, but something tells me it will be a more defensive game. Should be fun to watch.

To me, there is a ton of difference between team wide incompetence in the selection and development of QB’s and an injury that knocks someone out. As much as I love to see the Bears lose, I don’t want them to do it because their missing their most important players on offense and defense.

It should be an interesting game to see if the Pack can contain the Eagles. Without Rodgers, they need the defense to step up (which it failed to do against the Bears) and that running game to control the clock. It will be a good test for the coaching staff. Hopefully they’ll have their two best passrushers back from injury too. Should be an interesting game too.

96

Wow, big win for the Lions. The Lions continuing complete lack of discipline was just barely overcome by Trestman’s stubborn stupidity of keeping a smacked up Cutler on the field.

But a division lead and the tie breaker over The bears, with a absurdly easy schedule for the rest of the year has the Lions in the best position they have been in a long damn time. :slight_smile:

97

I chuckled (which isn’t easy after watching the Packers have two straight games of losing their starting QB in the first quarter) when the Lions got called for a personal foul penalty, giving the Bears a second chance to tie the game. And then again when the Bears’ couldn’t.

For a game that should have been a shootout, I was not all that impressed with either team. Stafford made some bad passes, including a gift interception to Chris Conte, and Jay was Jay, throwing a int. in the red zone. But neither team struck me as one that could go far in the playoffs. The best thing that happened to them was that the Packers may not be able to recover from their decimating injuries and poor defensive play.

As an added bonus, they also gave up the “NFL’s douchiest team” mantle to the Dolphins, so they have that going for them.

98

Stafford looked sloppy on a lot of passes today, he has been good most of this year but at times he has trouble hitting his receiver in stride. His job has to be harder with his number 2 and 3 receivers out. Jay’s pick wasn’t his fault, Suh just got a hand up there. Overall I thought he played pretty well considering his recent injury. Lions should get Burelson back soon and the rest of our schedule looks soft. Barring a meltdown we have a good chance for the playoffs, but we probably have to many holes to make it far once we get there. At the begining of the year I would have been happy with 8 or 9 wins this season and it now looks very acheivable. Winning the division would be icing on the cake.

99

Damn. I thought the Bears could have had that one. Trestman should have pulled Cutler at the 4th quarter (at least). The Lions got away with a couple of late hits in that game (and I’m not talking about when Cutler fell over the guy trying to step over him). That TD pass to Jeffery should have been a TD, but I see why it wasn’t.

I’m still waiting on the Lion’s epic mid-season collapse. It’s coming kind of late this year.

100

Matthew Stafford, the Lions penalties, and their dropped passes made me think the Lions were trying to give you guys the game, but the Bears’ O line looked bad (which can happen when you’re playing two top 15 DT’s), and Forte had nowhere to go. They did a great job taking advantage of that poor Lions’ secondary though. Last week I praised Trestman, but this week, you could see that he’s a first year head coach. It will be interesting to see how he develops as a coach.

You can see the holes in their game, but they keep getting it done. It really helps that they are one of the healthiest teams in the league though.