The NFC Championship and The All Bears/Packers Team
The Bears and Packers will meet for the 180th time Sunday in the NFC Championship Game. This will be only their second meeting in the post-season.
Their only other post-season meeting was a 33-14 Bears win in the 1941 Western Division Championship game. That game was necessary after both teams finished the regular season 10-1.
If the Bears and Packers were to merge, who would be the starters? Which players would be the stars? Here is a look at the best Bears and Packers by position.
Coach Lovie Smith, Chicago
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Picking between Mike McCarthy and Lovie Smith to coach the all Bears-Packers team is not an easy task. Both coaches are coaching in their second NFC Championship game and making their third appearance in the playoffs.
Smith has not been the most popular of coaches in Chicago. He gets the edge because of his experience coaching in the Super Bowl as a Head Coach and defensive coordinator in St. Louis under Mike Martz. Martz is now Smith's offensive coordinator in Chicago.
Smith has a 63-47 record in Chicago and 3-2 post-season record in seven seasons. Smith has four winning seasons and three losing ones.
McCarthy has a 48-32 career record and identical 3-2 post-season record. He lost in his only conference championship game appearance in 2007, Brett Favre's last game as a Packer.
QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
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Rodgers continues to shine as the next great Packer signal caller. There was an outcry when the Packers traded Brett Favre to the Jets three years ago.
Rodgers finished 2010 with 3,922 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He missed one game this season with a concussion, otherwise he would have recorded his fourth straight 4,000-yard season.
RB Matt Forte, Chicago
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Forte has been a vital part of the Bears' revamped offense under Mike Martz.
He rushed for 1,069 yards and caught 51 passes for 547 yards.
Forte has also scored nine touchdowns in 2010.
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FB John Kuhn, Green Bay
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Kuhn has spent most of his NFL career as a fullback. When the Packers starting running back, Ryan Grant, went down with injury, Kuhn was pressed into action at halfback.
He responded by rushing for 281 yards, catching 15 passes for 97 yards and scoring six touchdowns. All were career highs.
WR Greg Jennings, Green Bay
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After slipping a bit in 2010, Greg Jennings has returned to being one of the NFL's most productive wide receivers.
He caught 76 passes for 1,265 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2010.
WR Johnny Knox, Chicago
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Knox was a 2009 fifth-round draft pick by the Bears from Abilene Christian.
He is Jay Cutler's deep threat, has become his most productive receiver and played in the Pro Bowl as a kick returner.
His 18.8 yards per catch averaged fifth in the NFL this season. He finished 2010 with 51 receptions (tied for the team lead with Forte) for 960 yards and five touchdowns.
TE Greg Olsen, Chicago
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If the Packers' Jermichael Finley had stayed healthy, this would be an interesting race. He had 21 catches for 305 yards through in the season's first five games before going on season-ending injured reserve with an injury.
Many questioned where Olsen would fit in to Mike Martz's offense. Traditionally, Martz's offense uses tight ends mainly as blockers. Martz adapted his system to use the talented Olsen to his advantage.
The former Miami Hurricane finished 2010 with 41 catches for 404 yards and five touchdowns. He has also improved immensely as a blocker this season.
LT Chad Clifton, Green Bay
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Clifton has spent his entire 11-year career with the Packers. He has started in and played in all but five games in the last eight seasons. During that time, he has been rewarded with trips to two Pro Bowls.
G Daryn Colledge, Chicago
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Colledge has played all five of his NFL seasons in Green Bay. He has in 76 of the 80 games he has played during his NFL career.
Before playing collegiately at Boise State, Colledge attended North Pole High School in Fairbanks, Alaska.
C Olin Kreutz, Chicago
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Kreutz has been the mainstay of the Bears offensive line since 1998. He is the longest tenured Bear. This is his fourth trip to the postseason.
Kreutz has played in six Pro Bowls during his career, but none since 2006. In his 13 seasons in Chicago, Kreutz has snapped the ball to 20 quarterbacks.
G Roberto Garza, Chicago
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Garza is in his 10th year in the NFL. He has played the last six seasons with the Bears.
Since 2006, Garza has started every game but two. He has been a steady if not spectacular player during his tenure playing for Lovie Smith.
OT J'Marcus Webb, Chicago
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Webb has stepped into the right tackle role admirably for the Bears as a rookie. The Bears offensive line has improved tremendously since Webb earned a starting spot for Week 5.
Webb's Packer counterpart at right tackle, Bryan Bulaga, is also a rookie with a bright future.
DE Julius Peppers, Chicago
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Peppers signed a six year, $91.5 million contact with the Bears last off-season. He was the most sought after free agent in the 2010 off-season.
His statistics don't truly tell the story of his impact to the Bears this season. Peppers finished the 2010 regular season with eight sacks and 54 tackles.
The Bears defense improved from 21st to fourth in scoring this season.
DT Anthony Adams, Chicago
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Anthony Adams has played a key role in the improvement in the Bears defense in 2010. He has 37 tackles and two sacks this season in becoming an anchor on the Bears defensive line.
DT B.J. Raji, Green Bay
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In just his second NFL season, B.J. Raji has become a force in the interior of the Packers line.
Raji recorded 39 tackles and seven sacks this season.
DE Israel Idonije, Chicago
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No one has benefited from Peppers' arrival more than Israel Idonije.
Idonije finished 2010 with 48 tackles and eight sacks, both career highs.
OLB Clay Matthews, Green Bay
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Clay Matthews has quickly become one of the NFL's most dominant forces in his second season. Matthews earned his second straight trip to the Pro Bowl.
The son of the former Cleveland Brown and Atlanta Falcon with the same name finished 2010 with 14 sacks, 60 tackles and an interception return for a touchdown.
MLB Brian Urlacher, Chicago
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Urlacher enjoyed a bit of a renaissance in 2010. He had his best season in three years in leading the Bears to their first playoff appearance since 2006.
Urlacher earned his seventh trip to the Pro Bowl with 123 tackles, four sacks and an interception.
OLB Lance Briggs
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With Urlacher suffering through injuries the last few seasons, Lance Briggs has become the cornerstone of the Bears defense.
Briggs only had 89 tackles this season (his lowest since his rookie year in 2004, but earned his sixth trip to the Pro Bowl.
CB Charles Woodson, Green Bay
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Green Bay had the best secondary in 2010. Woodson, Nick Collins and Tramon Williams all earned trips to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.
One season after being named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, Woodson remains one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.
He finished 2010 with 92 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions. This marked the fifth straight season that Woodson returned an interception for a touchdown.
CB Tramon Williams Green Bay
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Tramon Williams has become a star during the postseason. He has three interceptions in the Packers victories over the Eagles.
He followed that up with a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown as the first half expired against Atlanta.
That interception changed the game. It doubled the Packers lead from seven to 14, as Green Bay took a 28-14 lead into intermission.
Williams finished 2010 with 67 tackles and six interceptions.
SS Nick Collins, Green Bay
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Nick Collins is the third member of the Packers Pro Bowl defensive backfield. He has 70 tackles and four interceptions in 2010.
This is Collins' sixth year in Green Bay, and he has started all 93 games he has played in his career.
FS Danieal Manning, Chicago
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Danieal Manning is in his sixth season in Chicago. Manning started all 16 games during the Bears last run to the Super Bowl.
He is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career. Manning had 72 tackles, seven pass defenses and one interception in 2010.
He also averaged 24.7 yards per return as the Bears primary kick returner.
KR/PR Devin Hester, Chicago
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Hester has been dubbed "Ridiculous" by Bears play-by-play man Jeff Joniak. He is arguably the best return man in NFL history.
The Bears used Hester mainly as a punt returner in 2010, but he did shine in limited time as a kicker returner as well.
Hester averaged 35.4 yards per kickoff return this season and 17.1 per punt return with three touchdowns.
His three punt returns gave him the all-time record of 14 career returns for touchdowns. Hester earned his third trip to the Pro Bowl and has also been named All-Pro twice.
Punter Tim Masthay, Green Bay
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Tim Masthay has had an outstanding rookie year in Green Bay.
He averaged 43.9 yards per punt, had 25 punts land inside the 20 and only five touchbacks.
Only 31 of his 71 punts were returns this season, and none of his punts were blocked.
Kicker Robbie Gould
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Robbie Gould is the sixth most accurate kicker in NFL history. He has made tough kicks before. His overtime field goal in the divisional playoffs defeated the Seattle Seahawks to put the Bears into the NFC Championship game during the Bears run to Super Bowl XLI.
He has made 85.5 percent on field goals during his career and made 83.3 percent this season. With 66 points during the 2011 season, Gould will become the Bears second most prolific scorer all-time in just his seventh season in Chicago.
Gould struggled from 40-49 yards, making only four of seven in 2010, but he did connect on three of his four attempts from beyond 50 yards. In a tight game, Gould has the edge on clutch kicks over Green Bay's Mason Crosby.
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