Bears Blitz

Jay Cutler has never been to Green Bay, Wis. and really can’t be entirely sure what to expect from the Packers defense he’ll face on Sunday in Lambeau Field.

The Bears quarterback is sure of this much, however: He and the Bears offense is ready to go live when the season opens on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

“I was thinking about it today; it went by pretty fast,” Cutler said Wednesday. “Once the trade was a done deal, we’ve been kind of in fast-forward mode, learning the offense trying to get through the (organized team activities) and preseason and the first game is on us and I think everyone in this building is excited.”

Cutler’s Bears career begins with immediate exposure to the team’s biggest rival.

He may or may not have started the week by angering some Green Bay fans by saying he imagined Green Bay must be like “Kansas City,” a smaller place with an older stadium and loud, loyal fans—or perhaps he angered some in Kansas City for comparing them to Green Bay.

The season also begins against a friend who now is a rival in Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.

The two became friends after attending some of the same off-field events together. While it will be a competitive friendship, it’s not going to be anything like Cutler’s rivalry with San Diego QB Philip Rivers, who can best be described as an enemy of Cutler Nation.

“I think the world of (Rodgers),” Cutler said. “I think he’s playing really well right now. We text each other every once in a while.

“When I got traded here I just texted him and said I get to see him twice a year. So I wish him the best, except for this game, and I think he feels the same.”

It’s Rodgers’ defensive teammates who will have Cutler’s attention Sunday. The Packers new 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Dom Capers certainly has caught their attention in film study this week.

“We don’t really have a lot on them, have to go back and look at the past and see what Dom Capers has done and just trust in the first three or four games that they played that they’re going to hold up,” Cutler said. “But we’re going to see some stuff that we aren’t prepared for, and we’re going to do some stuff offensively and defensively that they’re not prepared for.

“So we just have to go out there and react, do our jobs and let it all fall out there.”
The Bears have focused a lot on film from New England and Miami, the two places where Capers last coached.

“We just have to go out and be ready to make adjustments to things they’re doing,” offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. “Fortunately, we’ve worked against 3-4 teams the last two weeks, so that helps a little bit.

“But still we’ve got to see what they’re doing and apply our rules and then be ready to make adjustments.”

One thing the Bears do know they’ll face from Green Bay’s 3-4 is bump-and-run coverage on their receivers. It’s not necessarily standard fare for a 3-4, but Packers cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris are strongest in man to man. They completely shut down Bears wide receivers in the first game at Green Bay last year, a 37-3 Packer win.

“They’ve got two guys that can do it really well, and we’ll definitely see it,” Turner said.

The anticipation overseeing the Bears’ offense with a bonafide quarterback and without the normal preseason restraints is building.

“We’re going to go out there and try to control the ball, limit turnovers and execute our offense,” Cutler said. “Are we going to put up 40 points, are we going to put up seven points?

“We’ll have to see.”