Gary Seymour, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Mike McCarthy may not quite have ushered in a return to the days of extreme prejudice that defined the Forrest Gregg and Mike Ditka era, when those coaches of the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears hated each other’s guts, and urged their players to go and do likewise.
McCarthy, whose bona fides as Packers coach since 2006 includes two conference titles and a Super Bowl championship, was only throwing a bucket of reality onto the embers of political correctness when he announced at the annual luncheon that in their opener in Chicago his team would be introducing the Bears’ backsides to its good friend Doc Marten.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what emboldened McCarthy to make such a claim for the Sept. 13 meeting at Soldier Field, although it may have something to do with the fact that the last time the teams met, the Packers couldn’t have had an easier time moving the ball on a 4-3-4 alignment of folding chairs.
If there is a football heaven for Packers fans, that game will be shown on continuous replay on a wide screen in high definition.
While another blowout of that magnitude is unlikely, there is little reason to believe much has changed in the relative strength of the two teams. But, owing to the uncertainty of every season, especially opening games, did McCarthy needlessly poke a hornet’s nest in the Windy City?
“I looked at the tape (of the Packers’ 55-14 win),” Bears coach John Fox said. “They should be confident.”
Yeah, they should. Even Las Vegas is confident. Most betting parlors expect the Packers to win by seven points.
The Packers covering seven against the Bears? In a similar long shot, the sun is favored to rise in the east tomorrow.
McCarthy tempered his remarks subsequently, noting the history and intensity of the rivalry. He also reminded inquiring minds that it’s football they’re going to play, not hopscotch.
Pro football’s oldest rivalry today must include an asterisk, because in true rivalries, both teams take turns beating each other.
Lately, it hasn’t been the case. The Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers — like Brett Favre before him — have Chicago’s number. Given the undetermined offensive continuity with wide receiver Jordy Nelson out of the mix, there couldn’t be a more desirable first-game opponent than the Bears and their porous secondary.
Since Rodgers took over as the starting quarterback in 2008, the Packers are 12-3 against Chicago, losing once in overtime, once when Rodgers left the game with a broken collarbone and once when the Packers were whistled for 18 penalties.
The Bears may have improved slightly over last year, but they still don’t appear to have a pass rush, which would mean for an unhurried Rodgers that it can be another all-you-can-eat Sunday at the first down buffet.
The Packers so dominated Chicago in their last meeting that they could practically have named the score. Credit McCarthy for calling off the dogs when they led 42-0 at halftime. Running it up, as the Packers could have last year and as Chicago did in its 61-7 win in 1980, can create the sort of ill will that breeds late hits and other season-ending cheap shots.
It will be a grind, but the Packers have enough talent on the roster to win the Super Bowl without Nelson. Without Rodgers, the same can’t be said. The very last thing the Packers need is someone going Charles Martin on their quarterback.
The close proximity of the two franchises, in addition what they both mean to the league whose popularity has soared exponentially from the days of Curly Lambeau and George Halas, adds a luster to any Packers-Bears matchup, even ones that look like a varsity scrimmage against the freshmen.
So at last, the preseason wait is over, the road to what could be a fifth Super Bowl title begins, and it’s Chicago. Say no more.