From The Mouth Of the Beast: An Inside Look at The Bears For Packers' Fans

I think we would all agree, there is nothing quite like the Green Bay Packers-Chicago Bears rivalry.

And no one knows the Bears quite like Bob Warja does here on b/r.

To provide Packers' fans with a little info prior to the game, I asked the Bears' Featured Columnist a few questions about the Packers and Bears showdown this Monday night.

Zach Kruse: We've all heard about the struggles of the Bears offensive line during the preseason. After two games, give me the lowdown on the Bears front five as they prepare for the NFL's sack leader in Clay Matthews.

Bob Warja: The Bears offensive line was very offensive early on vs. the Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware, but once their former first round draft pick, Chris Williams, went out of the game with an injury and they moved Frank Omiyale to the left side to protect Jay Cutler's blind side, no more sacks were recorded.

Now, was this a result of Omiyale playing well or the adjustments that Mike Martz made? Cutler started getting rid of the ball much quicker and if he can continue to do that, he can avoid the rush and have success against the Packers and Clay Matthews.

Now, the line is not good, but we hdo ave an offensive coordinator who knows what he's doing now, and I'm sure he will make the necessary adjustments if the Packers rush is getting to Cutler early on.

The key here is center Olin Kreutz, who needs to get a better push that he has been providing thus far. He also need to call changes at the line as the Packers defense adjusts to what we're doing.
 

ZK: It seems the Bears defense has been riddled with injuries in the past couple of years (Urlacher, Briggs, Harris, for example). With the group seemingly back to full health, is this unit back to being a strong point in Chicago? And what did they do to Tony Romo last week that they could use against Aaron Rodgers this week?

BW: The Bears' linebacking corps is as good as anyone in football. They really missed Brian Urlacher last year, and not only is he healthy and producing, his play calling has been key in adjusting to the opposing offense.

Lance Briggs continues to be solid and even Tommie Harris is playing better than he did the last couple of years.

Chris Harris provides help in the secondary, though he hits better than he covers. Still, the defense gave up a ton of yards last week, so they need to continue to take the ball away to be effective.

Watch Charles Tillman, who punches the ball out better than anyone in the league. If the Packers do not turn the ball over, they will win, plain and simple. 

ZK: Much was discussed about the Bears two big offseason pickups, Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor. Have they lived up to their price tags so far?

BW: Yes. While Peppers has only one sack, he has pressured the quarterback a lot and Taylor gives the Bears another receiver coming out of the backfield.

It's really difficult to gauge his effectiveness running the ball due to the offensive line's problems.

For the record, Taylor has 35 yards rushing on 13 carries, and has five receptions for 53 yards.

ZK: As a Bears fan, you might want to forget that Jay Cutler threw six interceptions in two games against the Packers last year.

Yet after two games in 2010, the stats so far look pretty for Cutler. What has changed in Cutler and the offense under Mike Martz that has helped him rebound in year two in Chicago? What new wrinkles might the Packers see Monday night?

BW: For one, Martz has convinced Cutler that it's OK to throw the ball away instead of forcing it into coverage. Plus, he got rid of the ball much quicker last week.

I think Cutler believes in Martz and respects him, unlike last year when he had no use for his quarterback coach and offensive coordinator Ron Turner.

(The stats seem to back up Bob's argument. Cutler has a 121.2 quarterback rating, with 649 yards passing and five touchdowns. Maybe the most important stat though, only one interception.)

ZK: Finally, give me the names of two Bears, one offense and one defense, that Packers' fans might not know now but surely will by the end of Monday night's game.

BW: On defense, watch out for DJ Moore, who had two picks last week. He is uber-confident and seems to have a nose for the ball.

On offense, you know Matt Forte but the Forte you saw last year isn't the guy lining up this year. Finally healthy, he is hitting the hole like he did his rookie year.

Unfortunately, there just aren't enough holes and that's why the Bears have been one of the worst teams running the ball so far. But he's dangerous catching the ball out of the backfield now that his knee is sound.

Now that the Packers' fans are all caught up on everything Chicago, be sure to watch the Packers and Bears on Monday Night Football on ESPN. And for more on the Bears, check out Bob's page here.