Taming the monster

By Jacob Bressler

It’s not that I don’t like the Packers – it’s that I can’t stand anyone associated with the organization or even the city of Green Bay.

OK, that might be a little harsh, but since the early 1990s, Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers have made it a point of consistently humiliating the Chicago Bears twice a season.

For people in my age group, the oldest rivalry in the National Football League has been predominantly one-sided. We were too young to fully appreciate the great Bears teams of the ’80s that dominated practically everyone in the league, including the Pack.

When the Bears hired coach Lovie Smith last winter, he made it perfectly clear that beating the Packers was the number one goal for himself and his staff. Bears fans took notice of a new leader who promised to do what his predecessors couldn’t – beat the mortal enemy.

Dick Jauron was 2-8 against the Packers, including two losses when the Bears won the division in 2001. Dave Wannstedt was 1-11 against them in his six seasons. You remember Wanny, don’t you? The guy with the mustache who now coaches the Dolphins and once exclaimed “All of the pieces were in place?” The last time I checked, former running back Rashan Salaam was having some fun with a piece of his own.

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Heading into Sunday’s game, the Bears had lost seven straight games to the Packers dating back to 2000.

At the beginning, it looked as if the trend of Green Bay’s dominance would continue. The Bears offensive line was being manhandled and the defense could not stop Ahman Green.

Then, all of a sudden, things changed. Thomas Jones started to find holes, the defense was gang tackling and forcing turnovers and the Bears looked like a legitimate playoff contender.

The turning point of the day was Brian Urlacher’s forced fumble and Mike Brown’s subsequent 95-yard return for a touchdown. It was the first Brown sighting since 2002, and it was definitely short-lived. The safety is out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury. The team will miss Brown, but I like what I see so far this year out of Mike Green and Bobby Gray.

It is nice to see Urlacher flying around the ball again. He looked as though he didn’t care last year. In the first two games of this campaign, you can tell that he is motivated to re-establish himself as one of the premier linebackers in the game.

I am now pronouncing Thomas Jones as the premier “TJ” associated with the NFL. Tom Jackson had a nice run on ESPN, but he now must pass the reins onto the Bears running back.

Jones looked explosive against the Pack after a mostly sluggish game in the opening week loss to the Lions. Carrying the ball 23 times for 152 yards and a touchdown, Jones dictated the flow of the game in the second half. He enabled the Bears to eat clock and let the defense get some much-needed rest in its quest to stop the feared Packer offense.

A telling sign of things to come happened in the third quarter, when the Bears marched down the field in the first possession of the second half. With a 14-3 lead, Lovie wanted to even further establish the running game and build on first-half momentum.

TJ accounted for all 79 yards on the Bears’ drive that gave them a commanding 21-3 lead. It is too early to tell whether Jones will be a consistent workhorse in the rugged NFC North, but so far so good.

Kudos also goes out to the A-Train for making things happen in his limited fourth quarter duty.

Rex Grossman is still getting little protection in the pocket and completed only 10-of-18 passes. What happened to his favorite target from last year, Justin Gage? Is Gage still hurt from training camp or is he just in offensive coordinator Terry Shea’s doghouse?

In the coming weeks, Grossman will have to step up and be a more productive leader for this offense.

For now though, he can sit back and relax while the entire state of Illinois enjoys this victory. All it means in the standings is the Bears are 1-1 with a long way to go. However, it is a step in restoring a dormant franchise with a long and storied tradition.

It remains to be seen whether the 2004 Bears will be the “pride and joy of Illinois” in December.

Jacob Bressler is a senior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].