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Monday night's game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears has been billed as a battle of coaching gurus, and for good reason. Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers is spinning a scheme that hardly resembles its 3-4 title, while Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz has already displayed a willingness to move away from his traditional seven-step drop passes to help quarterback Jay Cutler. According to ESPN's Stats & Information, the Packers have used their base 3-4 set on 15 of their 114 defensive snaps this season. Most of the others have featured a form of the nickel or dime package with extra defensive backs. That trend poses an interesting decision for Monday night. Cutler has a 105.5 passer rating this season against nickel defenses, but he threw five interceptions in two games against the Packers' nickel last season.

Woodson and the Packers' defense have played in their base 3-4 set only 13 percent of the time.
The numbers suggest the Packers should be judicious with their running game Monday night. With tailback Ryan Grant (ankle) out for the season, the Packers don't have a runner who can stretch the field. Brandon Jackson, John Kuhn and Dimitri Nance have combined for a 2.7-yard per carry average outside of the tackles since the start of 2009, according to ESPN's Stats & Information. And the Bears' defense has been especially stingy on outside runs this season, holding opponents to 2.2 yards per carry in those instances. Realistically, the Packers should focus on grinding some hard inside yards and then working their play-action game with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Whom do you trust more? A rookie first-round draft choice making his first NFL start? Or a middling veteran who has never started at the position? That's one of the key issues in Packers-Bears I, especially if the Packers start rookie Bryan Bulaga at left tackle (in place of the ailing Chad Clifton) and the Bears slide over right tackle Frank Omiyale to replace Chris Williams (hamstring). The significance of those possibilities can't be understated with two of the NFL's top pass-rushers on the field in Chicago's Julius Peppers and Green Bay's Clay Matthews. Even if Clifton and/or Williams manage to start, you're talking about two players who are injured enough to have missed significant portions of practice this week.

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ORIGINAL: Jim Frenette

Hey Gonz, hapy belated birthday

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ORIGINAL: Lars

That is the best part of getting old....the universe of hot women expands.

FWIW, I think she's cute as well.

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ORIGINAL: SoMnFan

It was. Guess I'm officially old. She's cute to me.
Lets nix this before it becomes a 4-page "Ann Carroll" debacle all over again.
[&:][&:]

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ORIGINAL: TheGonz

Bill Simmons, via Twitter

"Braylon Edwards ended up missing 17 plays. I think the NFL taught us yet another valuable lesson about drinking and driving."

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ORIGINAL: thebigo

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ORIGINAL: TheGonz

Bill Simmons, via Twitter

"Braylon Edwards ended up missing 17 plays. I think the NFL taught us yet another valuable lesson about drinking and driving."

That was the Jets. The NFL may have more to say on the matter.

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ORIGINAL: SoMnFan

Last nights Packer/Bear game was the top-rated "match-up of prick QBs" in the history of the NFL, according to The SMF Opinion Page .
Barely edging out the epic Jay Cutler/Phil Rivers duel of a couple years ago.
It's impossible to act any "cooler" than Cutler did last night, and it's also impossible to think up a more irritating move than Rodger's "I wear the belt" celebration.
Cannot wait to see these two clash twice a year forever ... [&o]