NFL Wild Card Round: Packers @ Bears on January 10th at 7:00 PM

[OldSchoolSnapper]

7 hours ago, Jopal78 said:

I can’t explain the Golden situation, a guy taken in the 1st round who is the 5th or 6th WR.

 

I don't think Matt LaFleur himself can explain Bo Melton dropping passes in  favor of letting Golden play. It all smacks of old fashioned "he's not ready" coachspeak. Well, Melton isn't "ready" either.

[CheezWizHed]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I don't think Matt LaFleur himself can explain Bo Melton dropping passes in  favor of letting Golden play. It all smacks of old fashioned "he's not ready" coachspeak. Well, Melton isn't "ready" either.

I can see Golden losing touches to Watson, Reed, and Daubs (maybe even Wicks), but losing them to Melton is a head scratcher. 

I tend to feel this is a "where there is smoke there is fire" situation... Early in the season with Reed and Watson injured, Golden was getting a lot of play, but very few balls thrown his way (even when wide open).  Not sure if he wasn't running the right routes or gaining Love's trust?  

AJ Dillon was a bad example of the rookie issue IMO.  He ended up a decent backup RB (eventually), but he wasn't nearly good enough to take reps away from Jones.  Just giving him reps because he was a rookie and taking the rock from AJ is just bad coaching. 

[CheezWizHed]

IMO, the 2025 draft was more about future potential than immediate help (like it or not). 

Golden was certainly ready to play day one, but I think he was drafted more to cover Watson's injury and losing Daubs next year. 

Belton was physically gifted, but still raw on technique (hand placement).  But regardless, he worked his way into starting and has improved mightily through the season.  

Williams was another physically gifted, raw on routes and hands WR.  Yet, he got quite a bit of gadget play and return duties... just didn't do anything with it and then got injured.  Certainly will see more time next year. 

Sorrell probably could've seen more time this year and showed it last week.  But with Parsons, Gary, LVN, and Enagbare ahead of you, that is a tall ladder to climb for a rookie.  He will be Enagbare's (or Gary's?) replacement next year. 

Oliver wasn't going to play much when we drafted him due to his injury. With our injuries, he might get a few snaps in the playoffs, but another pick for next year's potential.

Brinson - all 6th and 7th rounders are some level of development, but both he and Stackhouse have gotten significant time for this level of pick.  Both were probably forced in before they were ready due to the Clark/Parsons trade, but he certainly didn't lack opportunity.

Williams - I don't think they expected him to be out this long, but another pick that would've gone higher without his current injury status.  And another "for next year" pick. 

Robinson - 7th round CB that needed a year on the PS, but was poached by a team with a terrible roster (Titans). 

[adambr2]

2 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

I can see Golden losing touches to Watson, Reed, and Daubs (maybe even Wicks), but losing them to Melton is a head scratcher. 

I tend to feel this is a "where there is smoke there is fire" situation... Early in the season with Reed and Watson injured, Golden was getting a lot of play, but very few balls thrown his way (even when wide open).  Not sure if he wasn't running the right routes or gaining Love's trust?  

AJ Dillon was a bad example of the rookie issue IMO.  He ended up a decent backup RB (eventually), but he wasn't nearly good enough to take reps away from Jones.  Just giving him reps because he was a rookie and taking the rock from AJ is just bad coaching. 

In Dillon’s case I was more saying it was just not a very good pick and a really, really weird one if you still had long-term plans for Jones.

[CheezWizHed]

7 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

In Dillon’s case I was more saying it was just not a very good pick and a really, really weird one if you still had long-term plans for Jones.

I think they were trying to do the "Thunder/Lightning" approach with the two, but Dillon thought he was the lightning...

I think that draft is a good example of over drafting players based on a type-cast role (especially Deguaro) and compared to talent.  Seemed like his drafting approach changed a bit after that.  He probably is still too "RAS" focused, but that approach seems to serve him better at least. It does miss out on the "natural football instinct" (i.e. Jim Leonard, Randall Cobb types) part, but we end up with athletic players that can overcome that somewhat. 

[Sixtolezcano]

4 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

I think they were trying to do the "Thunder/Lightning" approach with the two, but Dillon thought he was the lightning...

I think that draft is a good example of over drafting players based on a type-cast role (especially Deguaro) and compared to talent.  Seemed like his drafting approach changed a bit after that.  He probably is still too "RAS" focused, but that approach seems to serve him better at least. It does miss out on the "natural football instinct" (i.e. Jim Leonard, Randall Cobb types) part, but we end up with athletic players that can overcome that somewhat. 

Dillon, Deguaro and Golden (probably not) have to be on Gutey’s worse possible picks. Both of these players could probably been pick 2-3 rounds lower ( Deguaro 3-4 rounds0.

[adambr2]

I really want to win this. Not because I think we are going anywhere but because getting pounded by Seattle 38-3 in the divisional round would be a far, far better season outcome than losing 21-20 to the Bears, have them end our season, and parade it all over our face all offseason.

It was easy to forget when they were so irrelevant for so long, but I had completely forgotten how absolutely insufferable their fan base is. But these are generally the same folks who root for the Cubs, and we are quite familiar with them, so it checks out.

[OldHeidelberg]

7 hours ago, adambr2 said:

I really want to win this. Not because I think we are going anywhere but because getting pounded by Seattle 38-3 in the divisional round would be a far, far better season outcome than losing 21-20 to the Bears, have them end our season, and parade it all over our face all offseason.

It was easy to forget when they were so irrelevant for so long, but I had completely forgotten how absolutely insufferable their fan base is. But these are generally the same folks who root for the Cubs, and we are quite familiar with them, so it checks out.

I am more interested in the Packers making their coach cry than their fans, I grew up on west side of state so Vikings have always been a bigger rival and I didn't know many Bear fans. We haven't won in over a month so I am right there with most of us expecting a loss here. But win here and our expectations will change, we are much better off going into playoffs this season than we were last when our WR's were banged up. And none of the NFC teams are that scary good. Just have to get a win to turn things around and this is winnable for sure.  Huge game for both franchises, can't wait. 

[CheezWizHed]

3 hours ago, OldHeidelberg said:

I am more interested in the Packers making their coach cry than their fans, I grew up on west side of state so Vikings have always been a bigger rival and I didn't know many Bear fans. We haven't won in over a month so I am right there with most of us expecting a loss here. But win here and our expectations will change, we are much better off going into playoffs this season than we were last when our WR's were banged up. And none of the NFC teams are that scary good. Just have to get a win to turn things around and this is winnable for sure.  Huge game for both franchises, can't wait. 

I grew up south of Superior, when to college in Milwaukee, worked in Northern IL for 8 years, over by LaCrosse for 12, and now in the Twin Cities for 8.  

Bears fans are far more obnoxious. If the Vikings ever win a SB, they might become that, but 4 losses and "MN Nice" keeps them from saying much. The Bears fans are obnoxious if they are SB winners or cellar dwellers. 

[OldHeidelberg]

12 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

I grew up south of Superior, when to college in Milwaukee, worked in Northern IL for 8 years, over by LaCrosse for 12, and now in the Twin Cities for 8.  

Bears fans are far more obnoxious. If the Vikings ever win a SB, they might become that, but 4 losses and "MN Nice" keeps them from saying much. The Bears fans are obnoxious if they are SB winners or cellar dwellers. 

I am in La Crosse but spent 12 years in Minneapolis. Maybe they ran out of gas now but trust me if you were there during the Randy Moss years you would not find them so nice. And they REALLY hate the Packers. 

[CheezWizHed]

4 minutes ago, OldHeidelberg said:

I am in La Crosse but spent 12 years in Minneapolis. Maybe they ran out of gas now but trust me if you were there during the Randy Moss years you would not find them so nice. And they REALLY hate the Packers. 

Oh, sure they do.  And certainly the Moss years were the worst... But Bear's fans (especially the IL variety) are always lippy.  

[Strike4]

1 hour ago, OldHeidelberg said:

I am in La Crosse but spent 12 years in Minneapolis. Maybe they ran out of gas now but trust me if you were there during the Randy Moss years you would not find them so nice. And they REALLY hate the Packers. 

So I was in Minneapolis for Grad School when Favre won his Super Bowl after decades of futility.  

 

It remains my best sports memory along with the weeks following the Super Bowl in which I may have reminded the Viking fans (who were brutal the first two seasons I was there)  how somehow Favre had more Super Bowls wins  that their entire franchise. 

[HarveysWBs]

Thankfully, I don’t live in Chicagoland, but nevertheless still solidly in “Bear country” to the extent that I’ve endured more than enough mouth from the knuckle-dragging majority the last couple of months. After an early childhood of Bear fan obnoxiousness, it has been a rather lovely thirty year silence (Cubs fans notwithstanding, of course) and I’d dearly like it to resume.

Heres how I think this one *should* go:

If (and this is a huge if) Love, Tom, Rhyan, Watson, Reed, and Jacobs all stay upright, there’s more than enough firepower there to put up points against a defense that isn’t a great run D and plays a lot of man coverage. Wind was a worry earlier this week, but if it stays in the forecasted 10-20mph range, I wouldn’t expect a meaningful limiting of the vertical pass game. LaFleur and Love (and Jacobs in the red zone) need to get theirs, and there’s no excuse not to. Score 28+ in regulation and I think it’s probably a done deal.

But this is what I *fear*:

The Bears can win, and it’s not hard to see how. In-game injuries aside, if Love has an off day, if the receivers get focus drops, if a couple fluke turnovers happen—the Packers can certainly beat themselves. But the Bears can also force the issue by using their greatest strength (running) against Green Bay’s most glaring vulnerability (interior defensive line). That may not be enough for the Bears to pull away, but as we know, their formula is to keep it close late and roll the dice.

If it’s a one-score game with under seven to play, and it once again comes down to Johnson can’t hide Williams and Hafley can’t hide his corners—who wins that matchup? First time HC and first time QB in the playoffs probably shouldn’t have an edge, but I wish I could report I was more confident.

Bottom line, I’ve become conditioned to expect maximal pain. What would that look like in this year’s playoffs? I suppose if the Packers somehow made the Super Bowl and lost, I’d be really bummed because of how hard the franchise has been grinding to get back there. But more realistically, losing this game would just hurt more than in Seattle/LA/Philly/SanFran or anywhere else. I want this one bad, so I suspect I’m not going to get it. But then again, I did get to see the Cubs fly the L, so there’s just enough hope there…to make it hurt even more.

[Mark6887]

On 1/7/2026 at 2:44 PM, adambr2 said:

And I’m kind of over that. If the kids can play, cut them loose. Holding onto the approach and philosophy that we shouldn’t expect much from our rookies and second year players and that you need some rite of passage time on roster before you can contribute is an outdated approach, and not a very efficient one when rookie contracts are only 4 years.

The problem is he hasn't shown he can be the it man at all. He was a college spread kid trying to learn a timing route tree, and it's just not there yet. Sometimes it takes a season to switch from the college to the pro gam,e and I think that's what's going on with Golden.

[Jopal78]

15 hours ago, Mark6887 said:

The problem is he hasn't shown he can be the it man at all. He was a college spread kid trying to learn a timing route tree, and it's just not there yet. Sometimes it takes a season to switch from the college to the pro gam,e and I think that's what's going on with Golden.

I don’t know if that’s true. I think Golden was deemed by the pundits the “most ready” to play in the NFL : fluid hips, separation, hands etc. And he played at a big time college facing strong opponents each weak. Maybe his size or adaptability to the nuances of the pros is holding him back 

[homer]

39 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

I don’t know if that’s true. I think Golden was deemed by the pundits the “most ready” to play in the NFL : fluid hips, separation, hands etc. And he played at a big time college facing strong opponents each weak. Maybe his size or adaptability to the nuances of the pros is holding him back 

He's a rookie WR who missed three games due to injury (probably should have been four) and when he came back he was playing behind Watson, Reed, and (to a lesser extent) Doubs.

Emeke Egbuka who was drafted ahead of Golden had a similar season minus the injury. Not necessarily similar statistically,  but he started off on fire and then was basically the 3rd receiver by the end of the year when Evans and Godwin were both on the field.

[valpocrewsader]

From the Game 17 thread:

>> Almost all Amazon games are free to view on Twitch.tv.

As someone living out of market without Prime, I'm intrigued. Is there any way to know if this will be true for tonight's game? Are there any hoops to jump through to access?

[nate82]

For Twitch there is nothing you need to do.  The only thing you will want to do is disable or hide the chat.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

On 1/9/2026 at 8:34 AM, OldHeidelberg said:

I am more interested in the Packers making their coach cry than their fans, I grew up on west side of state so Vikings have always been a bigger rival and I didn't know many Bear fans. We haven't won in over a month so I am right there with most of us expecting a loss here. But win here and our expectations will change, we are much better off going into playoffs this season than we were last when our WR's were banged up. And none of the NFC teams are that scary good. Just have to get a win to turn things around and this is winnable for sure.  Huge game for both franchises, can't wait. 

The worst part of this game is that I'm expecting the Packers to lose but not because they're worse than the Bears.

[LouisEly]

Word going around is that Zach Tom is out for tonight...

[OldSchoolSnapper]

One team has gotten turnovers all year and the other has not. I think that will decide the outcome. It will be incredibly frustrating.

[OldHeidelberg]

The Tom news and the reminder on radio that Bears were without Odunze and Burton last game has already taken some wind out of my sails tonight. I feel like if it is close Bears will pull it out with a late FG, not looking forward to an excruciating playoff loss to the Bears. 

[adambr2]

Didn’t Lafleur almost come right out and say earlier this week that Tom would play? Incredibly frustrating.

[HarveysWBs]

No Tom is a disaster. The offense is so middling at best when he’s been out, I would revise my expectations to less than 50% win odds on that news alone,  even before accounting for the Packers choke factor. Yet another playoff game missing a marquee OT…

[LouisEly]

Is the video a little choppy for anyone else?