It's not often a game among division rivals turns lopsided but the Green Bay Packers laid the wood to the Chicago Bears Sunday at Lambeau Field to the tune of 37-3, the most lopsided Packer victory in the 176 game series in over a decade.  This was remarkably thorough and not just on the scoreboard, but in the stat sheet.   Ryan Grant found his stride, rolling up 145 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown, setting the tone on the first series when he ripped off a 35 yard gain, his longest rush since opening night.  The offensive line opened the holes, but also protected Aaron Rodgers.   Belted into submission last week against the Vikes, Rodgers wasn't sacked, had time to make his reads and produced another 100 plus passer rating game (105.8), connecting on 23 of 30 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns.  He hit 9 different receivers with Greg Jennings (3 yards) and Donald Lee (5 yards) getting into the end zone.  The offense piled up 427 yards on the day and controlled the clock for nearly 37 and a half minutes, scoring on 6 of their 9 posessions.  As for the defense, they kept rookie Matt Forte in check.  He had 22 touches for 104 yards but his longest run covered 10, his longest catch a mere 18.  Kyle Orton, coming off a sprained ankle passed for a scant 133 yards before giving way to Rex Grossman in garbage time.  The secondary nearly shut out Chicago's wide receivers.   The first wideout to make a catch was Brandon Lloyd in the third quarter.  And until the final series, receivers had only two catches against Al Harris, Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams.  And has been the story all year, the defense got into the scoring act.  This time it was backup defensive end Jason Hunter, who scooped up a dropped shotgun snap by Orton and raced 54 yards for a touchdown that put the Pack up 34-3.  It was a club record breaking 7th defensive touchdown on the season.  This game reminded me a lot of the 34-0 whitewash against the Vikings last year, which propelled the Pack to a 5-2 finish down the stretch.   A lot of mistakes were eliminated Sunday, only 6 penalties, only one turnover, a poorly underthrown ball by Rodgers that Brian Urlacher intercepted with Donald Driver open for a sure touchdown.   The blowout shows just how capable the Packers can be when executing cleanly, now can they parlay the big day into a 6 week sprint to the finish line?  With Minnesota losing to Tampa Bay 19-13, the Packers, Vikings and Bears all stand 5-5 in the North Division race.  Green Bay and Chicago have the best division record at 3-1 and the Packers have the leg up on the Bears.  As stumbling drunk as it has appeared at times this season, the Packers have had a knack of righting the ship at just the right time and the extraordinary pounding of a division rival might just be the ticket for the stretch drive.  After taking 4 straight from the Pack at Lambeau, the Bears were shown the door by the most complete 60 minute performance of the season.

Mark Daniels

A defense is supposed to deliver hits, not take them, but the Packers took a big hit Monday when Mike McCarthy announced Nick Barnett's season was over.   The middle linebacker tore his anterior cruciate ligament against the Vikings and will need knee surgery.  He heads to injured reserve as the leading tackler on a defense that has struggled mightily against the run and the task to plug those leaks will get more difficult.  McCarthy is considering 2nd year pro Desmond Bishop to take over.  Bishop had ups and downs in his second half stint at the Metrodome.  On the first play after Barnett was hurt, Bishop was burned by Chester Taylor's catch toward the sideline and with one cut and a whiff, he was gone on a 47 yard touchdown.  Bishop was also out of position on Adrian Peterson's clinching touchdown.  He anticipated a cut back from right tackle and got caught up in the wash.  The cutback never came and Bishop should have continued flowing to the hole.   He had bright spots too.   Coming off a block, he stripped Peterson of the ball on a critical 4th and 1 stop by the defense.   Desmond had a solid training camp, making former draft pick Abdul Hodge expendable, but his lack of experience could hurt.  McCarthy is also considering moving AJ Hawk inside and starting Brandon Chillar outside.  Take Barnett's injury, add Cullen Jenkins to the list, the five weeks missed by Al Harris and the cut departure of Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, the defense has thinned markedly from a year ago and there may not be time to recover.

The head coach was a bit testy at his Monday press conference.   Understandable in the wake of the Barnett news, but McCarthy sounded miffed over the increasing amount of questions over items like play calls, replay challenges and strategy.   These are questions he hasn't had to deal with since taking the job in 2006.  He was rightfully granted a grace period in his rookie season, even when the team hit 4-8.   A nice run to the finish was parlayed into the 13-3 division winning season last year and a trip to the NFC title game and the honeymoon deservedly continued.   Now his team is underperforming at 4-5, wounded physically and in danger of falling out of the NFC North race this year.   Brace yourself coach, this line of questioning will continue and intensify if things don't get turned around.

Mark Daniels

The Green Bay Packers nearly stole the lead in the NFC North at the Metrodome Sunday but a sieve-like offensive line and Adrian Peterson made sure it didn't happen as the Minnesota Vikings got even with the Pack 28-27.   Aaron Rodgers was harrassed all day, twice getting caught in the end zone for safeties and Peterson churned out 192 yards on 30 carries including the clinching 29 yard touchdown run with 2:22 to play.  The offense managed a scant 184 total yards on only 43 snaps, endured 4 sacks, had a long gain of 19 yards, converted just 1 of 11 third down plays yet the team still had a chance to win.  Mason Crosby's 52 yard field goal try sailed just wide of the right post with :26 remaining.   It was the play of the secondary, the strong suit all season, that kept the Packers in this game.  Charles Woodson's 5th interception led to Ryan Grant's 1 yard touchdown run that tied the score at 7 in the first quarter.  Tramon Williams swiped another pass (his 4th) late in the first half that set up Crosby's 47 yard kick at the gun to make it 14-10 Vikes at intermission.  In the third quarter, Nick Collins did it again, easily reading a pass over the middle and making the interception and then weaving his way 59 yards for his third scoring pick of the year.  Two minutes later, Will Blackmon gave the Packers the lead as for the second time in as many games against Minnesota, returned a punt for a score.  His 65 yard runback was an incredible play, breaking tackles, losing his balance and finding his way into the clear to make it 24-21 Green Bay.  A huge 4th down stop helped increase the lead.   The Vikes went for it on 4th and 1 from their own 41 when Desmond Bishop, subbing for the injured Nick Barnett (knee) knocked it loose from Peterson.  The Vikes recovered but came up short.   When a touchdown could have sealed the game, the Pack had to settle for another Crosby field goal.   Minnesota then turned to Peterson who gained  64 of the 69 yards on the final drive by himself.  The last 29 came off right tackle when he found a hole and outraced Atari Bigby to the end zone.  This game will be remembered for the back to back safeties however.  On the first, Kevin Williams knocked the ball out of Rodgers hand.   Scrambling to recover, Rodgers picked it up and almost batted toward Tory Humphrey upfield.  It only rolled out of bounds, drawing a penalty.  Referee Alberto Riveron called it an illegal forward pass in the end zone, resulting in two points.   The second safety was simply Jared Allen beating Chad Clifton outside and chasing down Rodgers for the sack.  Recurring issues plagued the Pack again, 10 penalties for 80 yards, a hit and miss running game, although Grant seemed unhappy over his lack of attempts, he did gain 75 yards on 16 carries and had four runs of over 10 yards.  The loss sends Green Bay to 4-5 on the season, one game back of both Minnesota and Chicago, losers to the unbeaten Titans Sunday.  It's the Bears who come to Lambeau next and if the Packers can't find a way to win the close ones again, the 2008 season could be a sad sack campaign indeed.

Mark Daniels

There's no place like dome.  The Packers make the annual pilgrimmage to the Minneapolis Metrodome on Sunday and the one time house of horrors has become much more hospitable in recent years.  The stakes are high in this year's border war as both the Packers and Vikings stand at 4-4, one game behind the Chicago Bears, and with the Midway Monsters looming next, the NFC North driver's seat is there for the taking by surviving this double dip of Black and Blue games.  Mike McCarthy's record against the Vikings is a perfect 5-0, he has yet to lose indoors and Green Bay has come home happy from the Humpty Dumpty dome 4 out of the past 5 years.  How can they keep it going this weekend?    Start by stopping Adrian Peterson.  The second year back may be the NFL's best already, piling up over 2000 yards in a season and a half.  Problem is, while the Vikes were one dimensional with Tavaris Jackson under center, they've added the passing game dimension with Gus Ferrotte.  He's making his first start against Green Bay since he was a Lion 9 years ago.   He's been able to stretch defenses leaving precious more room for Peterson to run.   Gus fired three TD passes in the win against Houston last week.  Bernard Berrian, the ex-Bear, is the deep threat but Visante Shiancoe has become a capable tight end and another target.  As porous as the Pack's run defense has been this year, the pass defense has been just the opposite, holding opposing quarterbacks to a league low 59.8 passer rating.  That's why the run D has to get shored up immediately.   On offense, Green Bay should be able to the move the ball, even on the ground against the vaunted Viking front 7, who allow a scant 69 yards per game on the ground.  Ryan Grant creased a couple of long runs at Lambeau on opening night and he's running better now.  Aaron Rodgers should find ample opportunities to make plays downfield as the Minnesota secondary continues to struggle.  Don't forget the return game.  Will Blackmon's 76 yard punt return for a score in September was only the beginning for Minnesota, which ranks last in both punt and kickoff coverage.   Solid returns on Sunday will shorten the field and give the Pack's offense even more chances to put points on the board.   Despite the pre-season hype over the Purple People Eaters, I still think the Packers are better and they have a chance to prove it by coming home with a predicted 24-20 victory in the cozy confines of the once feared Teflon covered Metrodome.

Mark Daniels