Throughout the first half of the Green Bay Packers’ win over the Chicago Bears, we saw Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers constantly using his ability to take advantage of the mistakes the Bears made.
One play put this in sharp focus. The Packers had a third and 11 to start the second quarter. The Bears showed a single-high safety look, with Brock Vereen deep and fellow safety Chris Conte in the box, and the Packers’ called play apparently wasn't going to work against that because Rodgers called an audible to another play. Then Bears linebacker Lance Briggs checked out of the Bears defense, after Rodgers checked to a new play. That happens all the time. But many of the Bears players clearly never heard the check from Briggs.
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Briggs took the blame for it this week, saying there was no play to check to out of that defense. What happened was that Briggs apparently wanted to switch to “Cover 2” zone with two deep safeties. The corner opposite Nelson’s side, Kyle Fuller, played man-to-man. Conte and Vereen ran the initial play. But the corner on Nelson, Tim Jennings, ran “Cover 2” and allowed Nelson to run by him, figuring on deep safety help.
It is a great example of the chess match not working for the Bears. Really, it’s symptomatic of their season defensively.
The other part of that first-half explosion is that Rodgers puts a lot of pressure on a defense. He’s a unique player who is a combination of a timing, rhythm quarterback and a quarterback who can make plays late in a down. He’s not a mover at quarterback, necessarily. But he can play just outside the edge of an offense’s structure. And when he plays outside the edge of that structure, it makes it difficult on a defense.
Nelson’s second touchdown came off Rodgers’ movement. Against a “Cover 2” zone, Rodgers moved outside of the pocket as Randall Cobb and Nelson both ran vertical routes from the right side of the field to attack Mundy, the safety on that side. Mundy showed no awareness of Nelson to the outside and Rodgers’ movement, and Rodgers hit Nelson for a 40-yard score.
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Part of the Bears’ problem is safety play. They don’t have a lot of speed at safety. They need a significant upgrade at the position, but that won’t happen this season.
Another issue is the Bears don’t have an effective pass rush. For a team that likes to run “Cover 2” and “Cover 3” zone, that’s a big problem. No zone can hold up against seven-step drops. At 2.6 seconds and beyond, if the pass rush can’t get to the quarterback, the coverage can’t stand up.
Cobb had a 29-yard catch that showed Chicago’s issues with its lack of pass rush. The Bears ran a “Cover 2” zone, and Rodgers moved freely for five seconds. That’s way beyond what “Cover 2” can do. Cobb was uncovered and Rodgers hit him.
Rodgers had a great night. Part of that was him, and his unique skill set. The other part was the Bears and their flaws on defense. The combination led to a blowout.
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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.
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