Cory's Corner: Time For A History Lesson
The Packers and Bears will forever be intertwined. The Packers and Bears have a combined 211 years in professional football. But the Bears haven't exactly held up their end of the bargain.
Sharpen your No. 2 pencil. Sunday will be a three-hour history class that will be taught on a football field.
The first meeting between the Packers and Bears was in 1921. The Staleys beat the Packers 20-0 and by next season they became the Bears.
The Packers own the all-time series 107-95-6, including winning the last 10. The last time the Bears won was on Dec. 16, 2018 when Mitchell Trubisky had a passer rating of 120.4 and outdueled Aaron Rodgers for a 24-17 victory.
The Packers have always been waiting for the Bears to finally get right, but unfortunately it has never happened. A very good Journal Sentinel story highlighted that Caleb Williams is the 37th Bears starting quarterback since Brett Favre came to Green Bay way back in 1992.
The most important position in sports has always eluded Chicago. Rex Grossman was the quarterback for Super Bowl XLI, but the Bears got to a soggy Dolphin Stadium despite him. That defense anchored by Brian Urlacher, was ranked third in points and fifth in yards.
Even when the Bears had the Packers’ backs to the wall, they couldn’t close the deal. Green Bay was staring at fourth-and-8 at the Chicago 48 in Week 17 of the 2013 season. The Bears brought the kitchen sink and Randall Cobb was wide open. Aaron Rodgers spotted him and Cobb sprinted into the end zone. The Packers stunned the Soldier Field crowd 33-28 as Green Bay claimed its third straight division title.
The Packers and Bears are two franchises that will always be connected at the hip. The Bears will always look down at the Packers because Chicago is the hub of the Midwest and Green Bay is a tiny outpost. But none of that matters when it comes to winning football games. From Bart Starr to Brett Favre to Rodgers and now Jordan Love. The Packers understand how important it is to know before you do.
The Packers were met with a lot of skepticism when they drafted Love and then proceeded to sit him for three years — including not even suiting him up for his rookie season. It would’ve been smart for the Bears to bring in a veteran quarterback to take some pressure off Williams and allow the rookie to fully understand what he was getting into.
But that’s not how the Bears operate. They wanted Williams to come in right away and be the savior, even if the offensive line was average at best. And now, Williams is taking a beating — mentally and physically — for being the punching bag that was never properly protected.
You can dislike the fact that the Packers move at a dinosaur pace, but be happy that they are intentional with their decisions. They believed in what they saw from Love and they built around his skill set.
And that’s why the Packers need to win the toss, take the ball and score right away. Don't mess around with a team that is trying to be like their northern neighbors.
Now that's a great history lesson.
“Caleb Williams is good, he just needs a better offensive line.”
Also Caleb Williams: pic.twitter.com/2xNfgACXTb
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) November 11, 2024
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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Comments (25)
HawkPacker
November 16, 2024 at 07:11 am
When the Bears drafted Williams, I thought they should keep Justin Fields to give Williams time and also to give Fields another shot.
They pretty much screwed that up.
ricky
November 16, 2024 at 09:17 am
Never, ever underestimate the Bears ability to ruin the career of their starting QB. But there is a second thought. The Bears are in a desperate situation. Their back is against the wall. They are desperate to rebound from what is becoming an abysmal season. Which makes them dangerous. Throw out the records in this one, and get ready to rumble.
White92
November 16, 2024 at 09:36 am
I thought the same thing. They were too worried about the "feelings" of both QBs and locker room unity. Funny, both are issues now and they got very little for Fields anyway.
Guam
November 16, 2024 at 07:58 am
"The Packers have always been waiting for the Bears to get right...."
Cory is young and should be forgiven the hyperbole of "always". For almost the entirety of my life (and I'm old) the Packers trailed the Bears in the lifetime series and sometimes by a wide margin. Despite the wonderful success of the Lombardi years it seemed as though the Packers would never catch the Bears in the lifetime series. Through the '70s and 80's the Bears were waiting for the Packers to get right.
Then along came Farve and Holmgren and Rodgers and McCarthy and LaFleur and the Packers did get right. And caught the Bears in the lifetime series. That was a very big deal for me and I love that the Packers are now 12 games up in the series. However statistically it is still a very close series - the Packers have won 51.4% of the games, the Bears have won 45.7% and they have tied 2.9% of the time. The Bears may eventually get right again (hopefully not in my lifetime) and it is still a rivalry worth watching.
White92
November 16, 2024 at 09:39 am
For sure. From the Millenial generation onwards, very little is known of the Packers struggling like this Bears franchise has for the last 40 years.
dobber
November 16, 2024 at 11:42 am
Yeah...I ain't waiting for the Bears to "get right". I'm hoping they continue to suck for a good long time.
stockholder
November 16, 2024 at 08:02 am
“The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history"
Believing in the new over old is a mistake.
It's only a revolving door.
Todays teams put everything into their QB.
Most are over-paid.
Until the packers get the right players around Love.
His skill set doesn't matter.
As you pointed to Defense; with Urlacker.
"Defense wins championships."
And thats the history lesson,"Champions know".
White92
November 16, 2024 at 09:41 am
Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it.
LeotisHarris
November 16, 2024 at 11:01 am
Damn, stockholder, "time is a flat circle" was right there for the taking and you walked past it.
"Fool me once, shame on ... uh you? Fool me twice, um, we won't get fooled again." - George W. Bush
"Nostalgia... because everything about the past is perfect, except how it led to the present" - Homer Simpson
dobber
November 16, 2024 at 11:44 am
""Fool me once, shame on ... uh you? Fool me twice, um, we won't get fooled again." - George W. Bush"
I think this was in a surprise duet with Roger Daltrey.
dobber
November 16, 2024 at 11:45 am
This reads like a "best of stockholder cliches" post.
barutanseijin
November 16, 2024 at 02:51 pm
How many championships did Urlacher win?
Oh, that’s right. Zero.
He did his job, and it was never enough because the Bear offense sucked.
GregC
November 16, 2024 at 08:34 am
I disagree about the coin toss. If the Packers win, they should defer. Taking the ball first has not worked out well for them this season. The Bears offense is much weaker than the Bears defense. If we have the choice, let's put their weakest unit on the field to start the game.
White92
November 16, 2024 at 09:53 am
Agreed. Hold them to a 3 and out on the first series and the crowd will boo them vociferously.
dobber
November 16, 2024 at 11:47 am
I think the tone-setting of taking the ball first loses out too often to the strategy of controlling the closing and opening drives around halftime. I think you can sometimes fire your guys up that way, but not every week.
Starrbrite
November 16, 2024 at 03:25 pm
I’m with Greg—defer and take the potential of stacking scores before and after halftime.
Since'61
November 16, 2024 at 08:50 am
There is always value in the historical perspective. However what matters most is defeating the Bears in tomorrow's game and keeping the current winning going. That's the focus for this week and hopefully MLF will have his team ready to play and prepared for a desperate Bears team. Go Pack go! Thanks, Since '61
White92
November 16, 2024 at 09:43 am
Yep. Neither Starr, nor Favre, nor Rodgers are playing in this game on Sunday. It will always come down to the fundamentals of blocking and tackling.
Starrbrite
November 16, 2024 at 03:26 pm
Well said ‘61—excellent!
Leatherhead
November 16, 2024 at 09:50 am
Even at the high school level, if you want your QB to play well, you have to protect him. You can't ask him to execute the offense and make good throws when he's running for his life. And protecting isn't just the offensive line; it's the play selection, the backs, the TEs....lots of things go into keeping your QB upright.
I don't understand why the Bears don't get this. Here are the 5 teams that have lost the least yards to sacks:
Bills, Packers, Cards, 49ers, Ravens. Notice anything? Like maybe the composite record? Look at the teams that give up the most sack yardage: Texans, Bears, Browns, Eagles, Patriots. Two good teams, three week teams. The Eagles, with Hurts, take some huge sacks. I watched Hurts take a 20+ yard sack rather than just throw it away.
If you can't protect your QB, you can't pass. Before you get a golden arm, or superduper receivers, you have to have a plan to keep your QB upright.
Guam
November 16, 2024 at 01:03 pm
Speaking of protecting the QB, Jordan Morgan is out having reinjured his shoulder again during Thursday's practice. This is getting to be chronic and he may need season ending shoulder surgery. The Packer O-line depth is getting very thin.
Leatherhead
November 16, 2024 at 02:34 pm
I thought from the beginning that Oline depth was our biggest Achilles Heel. In retrospect, I'd rather have had another offensive lineman in the draft instead of Marshawn Lloyd.
Hoping fervently that this offseason we add some real beef. Myers will almost certainly be gone, and then the following season it'll be Tom, Walker, and Rhyan with expiring contracts. We need fresh meat.
Guam
November 16, 2024 at 10:48 pm
Amen LH.
Spock
November 16, 2024 at 10:07 am
I always say, "Throw out the record." on the Bears games with the Packers. You just never know what will happen.
On an unrelated note, once again F*&^%ng Fox has decided to not show the Packers game in Tucson. This time it seems almost PERSONAL as Fox IS showing the Packers/Bears game in the ENTIRE state of Arizona north of Tucson. We get the Seattle/49ers game here. Sigh. I'm too crippled up to watch a full game at a sports bar so I will have to settle for (thankfully it's Larry & Wayne) Sirius radio. Oh, well. At least this game I should be able to watch the rebroadcast on the NFL network later in the week. GPG!
GregC
November 16, 2024 at 10:15 am
That's a bummer for you. I lived in Tucson from '96 to '98 and had to watch most Packer games at a sports bar. Those were the two seasons when they went to the Super Bowl.