Packers at Bears NFC Championship Release.indd - NFL.com

THE DOPE ONTHIS WEEK’SOPPONENT:Packers vs. Chicago Bears:All-time regular season:83-91-6All-time, postseason: 0-1All-time, at Soldier Field: 19-19-0Streaks: The Packers have won four of the last six meetings.Last meeting, regular season:Jan. 2, 2011, at Lambeau Field; Packers won, 10-3Last meeting, postseason:Dec. 14, 1941, Western Division playoff at Wrigley Field,Chicago; Bears won, 33-14COACHES CAPSULESMike McCarthy: 51-34-0, .600, (incl. 3-2 postseason); 5th NFL seasonLovie Smith: 66-51-0, .564 (incl. 3-2 postseason); 7th NFL seasonHead to Head: 5-5vs. Opponent: McCarthy 5-5 vs. Bears; Smith 8-6 vs. PackersMIKE McCARTHY…Is in fifth year as the Packers’ 14th head coach.Has led his team to the playoffs three of the past four years, and to theNFC Championship twice in that span.One of only two coaches, along with New Orleans’ Sean Payton, tohave his offense ranked in the top 10 in total yardage each of the lastfive years. Was named Packers head coach on Jan. 12, 2006, his first head coachingjob after 13 years as an NFL assistant.Honored as the 2007 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year and NFL AlumniCoach of the Year.Became the first Packers coach since Vince Lombardi to lead the teamto a championship game in his second season.LOVIE SMITH…Is in seventh year as the Bears’ 13th head coach.With 63 regular-season wins, ranks third in franchise history behindHall of Famers Mike Ditka and George Halas.Guided the team to its first Super Bowl appearance in 21 years in ’06.Named the AP NFL Coach of the Year in 2005 after he led a worst-tofirstrevival in the NFC North. The Bears’ six-win improvement from theprevious season was tied for the biggest in the NFL that year. Came to Chicago from St. Louis, where he served as defensive coordinatorfrom 2001-03, helping the Rams return to the Super Bowl in2001. Prior to that, coached LBs for Tampa Bay from 1996-2000.THE PACKERS-BEARS SERIESNo two teams have met on the gridiron more than the Packers andBears. Sunday they face off for the 182nd time, but for just the secondtime in the postseason. The Packers swept the season series in ‘09 for the first time since2003. That ‘03 sweep capped a seven-game win streak and an 18-2stretch dating back to 1994. On only four occasions in NFL history hasa team enjoyed a better 20-game stretch against a single foe. Chicago has swept the season series twice in the last five years (2005,‘07), their only series sweeps since 1991.The Packers’ 37-3 win on Nov. 16, 2008, marked the largest marginof victory in the series since Green Bay’s 40-3 win on Dec. 11, 1994.Chicago’s win in December of that year was just the second OT gamein series history and first since Sept. 7, 1980, when Packers K ChesterMarcol returned his own blocked FG for the winning score.The last time Green Bay led the overall series? On the heels of its threestraight NFL championships, 1932, when the Packers led 11-10-5. Twomonths after Babe Ruth allegedly called his shot at Wrigley Field in the1932 World Series, the Bears stole from Green Bay a fourth straighttitle (which at the time was determined by league standings). Chicagobarely finished atop the league standings, which unlike today did notcount ties. Had the league counted ties in standings, the Packers wouldhave won. The next year, 1933, the NFL began determining its championwith postseason games.NOTABLE CONNECTIONSGreen Bay RB coach Edgar Bennett finished his playing career in Chicago(1998-99)...Packers asst. O-line coach Jerry Fontenot was a third-rounddraft choice of the Bears in 1989 and was a mainstay at C in his eight seasons(1989-96) in Chicago...Lovie Smith was a Univ. of Wisconsin assistantin 1987, while Bears LB coach Bob Babich spent two seasons on theBadgers’ staff (1988-89)...Packers DE Ryan Pickett played in St. Louis forboth Smith and Bears off. coord. Mike Martz, when Smith served as theRams’ def. coord. and Martz as head coach...Bears assistant DB/safetiescoach Gill Byrd served as the Packers exec. dir./player prog. and comm.affairs from 1999-2001...Packers T/G Bryan Bulaga earned all-statehonors as a senior at Marian Central Catholic High (Woodstock, Ill.)...Bears TE coach Mike DeBord was the head coach at Central Michiganwhen Packers DE Cullen Jenkins played there...Packers WR coach JimmyRobinson was on the staff of Memphis (USFL) in 1985 when Bears RBcoach Tim Spencer played for the Showboats...Packers President/CEOMark Murphy was a teammate of Bears WR coach Darryl Drake with theRedskins in 1979...Bears asst. special teams coach Chris Tabor was thespecial teams coach at Utah State for Packers CB Jarrett Bush’s finalseason there (2005)...Bears off. quality control coach Andrew Hayes-Stoker was a college teammate of Packers coaching admin. Curtis Fullerat TCU...Bears DE Julius Peppers was a key member of the Carolinadefenses that Packers DL coach Mike Trgovac coordinated from 2003-08...Bears LB Nick Roach is a Milwaukee native who played in college atNorthwestern...Packers QB Matt Flynn, FB Quinn Johnson and Bears SCraig Steltz led LSU to the BCS national title in 2007...Other former collegeteammates include Bears WR Rashied Davis and Packers WR JamesJones (San Jose State), Bears WR Devin Aromashodu and Packers CBPat Lee (Auburn), Bears CB Zackary Bowman, S Josh Bullocks andPackers RB Brandon Jackson (Nebraska), Bears DT Marcus Harrison andPackers LS Brett Goode (Arkansas), Bears LB Brian Iwuh and Packers KMason Crosby (Colorado), Bears G Lance Louis and Packers WR BrettSwain (San Diego State), and Bears TE Greg Olsen and Packers CB SamShields (Miami).INDIVIDUALLY VS. BEARSQB Aaron Rodgers is a combined 133-of-194 for 1,396 yards with sevenTDs and four INTs (92.6 rating) in six career games...WR Donald Driver’sregular-season career-long catch was an 85-yard TD reception at Chicago(Champaign) on Oct. 7, 2002, on Monday Night Football. Driver has1,027 career receiving yards against the Bears...WR Greg Jennings hasfive career TD catches vs. Chicago...S Nick Collins has six career INTs,including a two-INT game at Chicago on Dec. 31, 2006, that featured a55-yard TD return...The first two-INT game of CB Charles Woodson’scareer came at Chicago on Oct. 5, 2003, while playing for Oakland.Woodson has had four games with two INTs since coming to Green Bay.LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASONJan. 2, 2011, at Lambeau Field; Packers won, 10-3.Needing a win to qualify for the postseason, the Packers trailed 3-0 inthe third quarter when S Charlie Peprah intercepted QB Jay Cutler inthe end zone to keep the Bears from extending their lead.CB Tramon Williams ran a punt back 41 yards to help set up the tyingFG late in the third, and the Packers drove 75 yards for the winning TDearly in the fourth. A 21-yard catch by Donald Driver was followed bya 46-yard grab by Greg Jennings and a 1-yard TD pass to Donald Lee.The Bears drove to the Green Bay 32-yard line in the final moments,but Cutler’s deep pass to WR Devin Hester was picked off by S NickCollins with 10 seconds left.LAST MEETING, POSTSEASONDec. 14, 1941, Western Division playoff at Wrigley Field, Chicago; Bearswon, 33-14.With both teams 10-1 and having beaten each other in the regular season,the Bears dominated to advance to the NFL title game.The Packers took an early 7-0 lead when the Bears fumbled the openingkickoff and scored on Clarke Hinkle’s 1-yard TD run.But Chicago rattled off 30 straight points by halftime to take control,begun when Hugh Gallarneau returned a punt 81 yards for a TD.The Bears rushed for 277 yards on the day, led by George McAfee’s119 and Norm Standlee’s 79 yards with two TDs. Green Bay’s DonHutson was held to just one catch for 19 yards.33