Monday Night Preview...

It has been too long since the last Bears and Packers match up, but not to worry, there is a Monday Night Football game where the Bears host the Packers and it's going to be a doozie!! Aaron Rodgers vs Jay Cutler, Clay Matthews vs Lance Briggs, Cullen Jenkins vs Julius Peppers, this is going to be a fairly good match up. Defensively, both teams are going to be solid based on what we've seen in the past two weeks. Clay Matthews has exploded for 6 sacks total in two games, and 12 solo tackles so I think it's safe to say he is playing out of his mind. The Packers as a defensive unit has allowed on average 136 rushing yards so far this year, where the Bears have only allowed 28 rushing yards. But when you look at the passing game Chicago has let the opposing QB air the ball out a little bit too much. The Bears are giving up about 261 yards in the air, and the Packers, only 116 yards passing. This may be an issue because Aaron Rodgers has been great for Green Bay since he took over the starting job. Rodgers so far has thrown for 443 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, pretty good numbers especially going against a defense who is ranked 27th in opposing teams passing yards. On the offensive side for the Bears, they are ranked 3rd in passing and 29th in rushing, they have got to find a way to move the ball between the tackles. With Martz's pass heavy offense, the run game hasn't been able to really get it going and that I think will be one of the key's to winning this game. Cutler is off to a great start with 649 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, and only 1 interception, oh yeah he also has the highest passer rating in the NFL right now with a 121.2. Wait a minute, there is a guy by the name of Brian Urlacher that is 100% healthy and seems to be having a lot of fun on the football field, he's flying around the field, he and Briggs teamed up for a total of 14 tackles last game, yes the poses a problem for the Packers. If you double team one, then the other is going to reek havoc. Go Bears!! Hey, I'm still a fan!

Braylon Edwards Gets DWI....C'Mon Man!!

Ok for the life of me I can't understand why professional athletes just don't get it, specifically NFL players. Is because they are constantly getting hit? Or is it because they feel the money puts them in a different category then everyone else? I think it may be a little bit of both. Edwards starts the night off at a fundraiser for another teammates organization, great that looks good especially after a big win against the Patriots. Then the next place he ends up is probably the spot where he did most of his partying, have some fun, it's ok you just had a pretty awesome game with a stat line that read 5 catches for 45 yards and a touchdown, plus a 2pt conversion catch. Feeling good, well you should. But wait this is where things get interesting, Edwards and apparently two teammates, tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and defensive end Vernon Gholston were in the car as well when Edwards got pulled over. 5:15 in the morning he's stopped for having tints on his window that are past the legal limit, then once the arresting officers see Edwards eyes were blood shot red and he reeked of alcohol, matters just got worse. Braylon then tried to talk his way out of the DWI by suggesting he just leave the car where it was and take a cab, but that wasn't enough for the police. They administered a breathalyzer test, and this is where he blew a 0.156, then later at the station blew a 0.164, yeah he was drunk. So that's just part of the story, the NFL has this program where players who have had a couple of drinks while hanging out can call a number where an armed guard, (off duty officers or retired), will come pick you up and take you home, this is called The Player Protect Program. This is not just a cab ride, these vehicles are top notch, and the best part about it is that you DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE!! I don't understand it, why is it that so many of these guys have issues with DUI's Or DWI's in this case, there should be none at all. Now, this is where "believing you're above everybody else" comes into play. Going out spending cash then driving off into the night in your new "whip", this is what they think it's all about, not making the right decision is the case for them anymore. Now the league says due to certain rules that are in place from the collective bargaining agreement, the Jets can not deactivate a players for certain offenses and this happens to fall under one of them. Living above the law it seems like these are doing, ok so he might catch a charge from the law, but we all know what hurts athletes the most, take away what they love to do most. We will talk more about this on Sunday at http://www.sportstownchicago.com/ from 2-4 on Chi-Town Shop Talk.