In a bid to ensure more games reach a national audience, and ultimately for the league to make more money, there is going to be a game every Thursday this season. Well, except week one, because there was a game on Wednesday.
Anyways, the Packers and Bears are playing on NFL Network tonight, which is good news for local fans who are either A) sick of having to watch these two teams whenever they play on Fox, or B) excited to see, I don’t know, Baltimore and Philadelphia on Sunday instead. Probably bad news for almost everyone, since I don’t think NFL Network has all that much market penetration yet.
So who wins this game, now that we’re talking about it? For one thing, this won’t be the typical knockdown drag out fight that you expect from the Bears and Packers. Both squads have invested heavily in their passing game. The Packers have already seen the fruits of their labor, while the Bears need to see a few more weeks out of Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey before they can decide whether or not their investment has paid off.
Another reason not to expect a real grinder is that the game is in the middle of September. It’s still in the 70s, for heaven’s sake. The ball will travel easily, making passes and kicks sail through the air with ease. Expect the fact that the Bears have a better running game not to be a factor, and for this game to be an aerial assault.
After seeing the two teams only once, I have begun to believe that the Bears have the better teams. They have a more diverse attack on offense and a better overall defense. Still, when the Bears and Packers play, not to sound cliched, it rarely matters. I will be picking the Packers to win at home in a shoot out.
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