The Thursday Night Football schedule kicks off tonight as the Chicago Bears take on the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Our TNF analyst Trent Green filed this report:
I’ll believe it when I see it:
The last couple of seasons the fans, media, and some players made Mike Martz out to be the fall guy for the lack of consistent productivity by the Bears’ offense. Martz was blamed for not running the ball enough and putting the offensive line in tough situations. Mike Tice has taken over as offensive coordinator and the thought was that he would be more run-oriented and o-line friendly, since he was the offensive line coach last season. After one game, the Bears offense has attempted 37 passes and run the ball 33 times. And that was against an over-matched Indianapolis team that the Bears beat by 20. I’m anxious to see what the game plan will be against a Green Bay defense that gave up nearly 200 yards rushing last week to San Francisco.
If I’m Aaron Rodgers, I don’t back away from throwing to Tim Jennings’ side of the field:
Yes, Jennings had two interceptions last week and, yes, he is leading the NFL in that category, but I would keep throwing to his side of the field. Andrew Luck had his receiver open on both of the Bears’ corner’s picks and simply under-threw the ball. The first interception was man coverage and the receiver had a step on Jennings. It was a great pick and showed his athleticism, but had Luck led the receiver it would have been a big gain. The second INT was into Cover-2 and Luck tried making a throw into the soft spot of the coverage along the boundary. Aaron Rodgers and his receiving core will not shy away from attacking that side of the field. And they shouldn’t.
My own Lambeau Leap:
In 2003 I was playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. We had a terrific start to that season, winning our first nine games. During that stretch we played at Lambeau and were down 17 points in the fourth quarter. After a long drive that ended with a touchdown, we had cut the Packers lead to 10 and our defense was taking the field. On third down from around midfield Brett Favre decided to hit his check down late in the left flat. Oops!!! Jerome Woods picked it off and went yard, closing the deficit to 3. We made a late field goal in regulation to send it to overtime. On our second possession in OT, I hit Eddie Kennison for 51 yards down the right sideline for the game winner. We won 40-34. Now that’s a great memory!
— Trent Green
Ian Eagle, Trent Green and sideline reporter Hub Arkush will have all the action live from Lambeau Field tonight as the Packers host the Bears. Coverage begins at 8 Eastern. You can listen to TNF on NFL Audio Pass on NFL.com, NFL Mobile on Verizon, SiriusXM Satellite Radio or on a Westwood One affiliate radio station near you.