[CBFF] 'Bear weather' affected young Packers in loss in Chicago

[Jerry Madsen]

As I'm sure many of you can imagine, but many Packer fans seem to be
crediting the weather as giving the victory to the Bears.  I find that
logic completely mystifying since the Bears had to play in the same
weather.  It wasn't like the Bears offense got to run it's plays at
some indoor facility.

For as much criticism as I've thrown at Lovie, I'll say this much for
him: He's got Favre and the Packers' number.  To beat them 6 out of
the last 8 games is a great feat and it reversed the trend in Favre's
career against the Bears.

Jerry
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Wednesday, December 26, 2007
'Bear weather' affected young Packers in loss in Chicago
Associated Press

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Brett Favre said he and his teammates can't brush
off the Green Bay Packers' 35-7 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier
Field on Sunday simply because it was played in extreme conditions.

Asked on Wednesday if he sensed that some of his teammates lost
concentration because of the weather, Favre said yes -- a surprise,
given the team's success all season and the potential playoff
ramifications of Sunday's game.

"I don't know if anyone was really into it," Favre said.

The Packers still had a shot at earning home-field advantage
throughout the playoffs going into the game, but Favre said the
weather might have thrown off the NFL's youngest team.

"I'm sure there were some guys on our team who thought, 'What did I
get myself into?,'" Favre said. "I don't think anyone knew what we
were up against from a weather standpoint. And I think being a real
young team, it probably was a little bit of a shock to them."

That's a bit unsettling for a team that has at least two more games
left at similarly frigid Lambeau Field. Dallas clinched home-field
advantage with Green Bay's loss. But the Packers, who finish the
regular season against Detroit at Lambeau on Sunday, are assured of a
first-round bye and one home playoff game.

As cold as it gets in Green Bay, chances are the Packers won't face
such an extreme combination of wind and cold again. After the game,
Favre said it was the worst conditions he'd played in during his
17-year NFL career.

But they still might have to prove they can win in bad weather -- a
nagging concern all season, as the Packers evolved into a pass-first
offense that relies on Favre's precisely timed and accurate passes to
spring wide receivers free to run for yards after the catch.

"We did not handle the weather very well at all, and that's something
we talked about as a team today," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.
"We talked about the focus, we talked about the preparation leading up
to that -- what could we learn from that particular game, the wind and
so forth. And we have moved on from that.

"But it's an experience that we definitely need to learn from, because
our performance was unacceptable. We will not play like that again. I
won't tolerate that."

Favre said the Packers can handle cold, but admitted that wind might
affect them more than other teams that aren't as reliant on the
passing game.

"For us, [if] we get into another game like that, I'd like to think we
would be more productive in the passing game, but I don't know," Favre
said. "I think in a game like that ... it's a matter of, you may not
be overly productive but you can't make mistakes and that goes for all
phases. And there's only so much you can do in those conditions."

Favre recalled playing in the cold against Jacksonville in 2004, a
game the Packers lost but were able to score points in.

"It was like zero, three degrees, something like that," Favre said.
"But there was no wind, and yeah, it was cold and they won the game,
but I think we would be much better suited playing in something like
that than the wind.

"The wind to me means everything. Shotgun snaps were moving, punt
snaps were moving, the ball, it was a tossup -- I throw it here, it
ends up over here."

The Packers have been running the ball better in the second half of
the season with running back Ryan Grant, but it wasn't enough to bail
them out on Sunday.

Favre said the Bears, who ran the ball consistently and took advantage
of the Packers' offensive and special teams mistakes, provided a
blueprint for winning in bad weather.

"They threw 14 passes, that's the way you would like to do it in games
like that," Favre said. "But it is the way we play, and I hate to say
it was a wake-up call. Because I just think, thank goodness we haven't
played in a lot of games like that."