NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Jclombardi highlights Packers headlines.

Guest senior writer jclombardi @ http://lombardiave.com

Packers vs Bears Previews–5 Things to Watch: BASICS–teams: The Green Bay Packers (2-0) vs. the Chicago Bears (2-0). Time: Monday, 7:30 p.m. Wisconsin time. Place: Soldier Field, Chicago. TV coverage: ESPN. The ESPN broadcast will also be simulcast on WISN (Ch. 12) in Milwaukee. BREAKDOWN: FIVE THINGS TO WATCH. Laying it on the line--Game could very well be decided by which team's offensive line handles its opponent's best pass-rusher most effectively. Shielded so far: In Packers' first two games, neither the Philadelphia Eagles nor the Buffalo Bills found a way to exploit No. 3 cornerback Sam Shields, an undrafted rookie free agent who won the spot in the nickel defense in training camp. One would think the Bears' Jay Cutler will be looking for that matchup. Looking good: Bears quarterback Jay Cutler looks like a changed man now. Gaining yards his Forte: Although his productivity in the run game hasn't been much (27 carries, 79 yards),  RB Forte has been terrific catching passes out of the backfield with his 188 receiving yards and three TD catches lead the Bears. Many happy returns: The coverage units have been solid, new punter Masthay has been an upgrade and kicker Crosby is back on track. The biggest improvement has come on returns where kick returner Nelson has emerged as a significant weapon in the battle for field position. PREDICTION: Packers' 2-0 record is significantly less surprising than the Bears' 2-0 start.  After sweeping Chicago last year, this is one of those games where a Packers team with Super Bowl aspirations needs to play like a contender in a marquee prime-time game against a motivated division rival. The guess here is that, after some up-and-down performances in the passing game, Rodgers & Co. exploit the Bears' secondary and claim sole possession of first place in the NFC North. Packers 31, Bears 21.

Notes: Starting left tackle Chad Clifton and starting left guard Daryn Colledge were the No. 1 duo at Saturday's practice and both are listed as probable for the Packers' Week 3 showdown at Chicago. Packers injury report: Questionable: LB Brad Jones (knee), DE Mike Neal (side/rib), S Charlie Peprah(quad), DE Ryan Pickett (hamstring). Probable: LB Desmond Bishop (hamstring), LT Chad Clifton (knees), G Daryn Colledge (knee), TE Tom Crabtree (arch), FB Korey Hall (hip), DE Cullen Jenkins (hand), S Derrick Martin (ankle), LB Clay Matthews (hamstring), LB Brady Poppinga (knee), CB Brandon Underwood (shoulder), CBCharles Woodson (toe). McCarthy said he's being "smart" with Pickett but was much more pessimistic about Neal, who figures to miss a third consecutive game. Neal, Peprah and Martin were the only players who were held out of practice. Clifton, Jones and Pickett were limited. Everyone else was a full participant.

Spreading the Wealth: As unselfish as the Green Bay Packers' top four wide receivers (Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jordy Nelson) and budding star tight end Jermichael Finley claim to be, Jennings knows it isn't easy for Rodgers to spread the ball around enough to keep all five players happy. "I've said this before: I would hate to be in his shoes. Because you have five guys over here that all want the ball," Jennings said as the Packers prepared for Monday night's NFC North showdown with the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. "They're unselfish – to a certain extent. Until they go a game without getting a ball – then everything kind of flips.

Notes: Playing time fading away for Packers Lee. Packers are expected to start Clifton at left tackle and Colledge at left guard after both worked with the No. 1 offense Saturday. Linebacker Jones (knee) worked on a limited basis all week and was listed as questionable. Poppinga or Zombo would replace him. Cornerback Underwood practiced all week, said he would be active, and play on special teams. It’s probable Underwood will replace Lee as the No. 5 cornerback.

Packers Green Bay Press Gazette headlines: Demovsky lists factors determining the final number of Matthews' sack record and Bulaga may start at left tackle or left guard. Copeland writes CB Underwood should add more depth to pass defense and Shields faces test against Bears.

Behind Enemy Lines Headlines: Bears rule out Williams, Wright–Bears have ruled out starting left tackle Chris Williams and backup safety Major Wright for their game Monday night against Green Bay because of hamstring injuries. Five Things To Watch For–Bears-Packers: Five things to watch for when Bears host the Green Bay Packers on Monday night. Performance on third down. It’s vitally important on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Bears could make the contest easier for themselves by keeping the ball away from Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The best way to do that is to convert on third down.

Two games, two wins. That and a number of injuries is the story of the 2010 Steelers as we head into this third weekend of the NFL season. The team will go with Charlie Batch Sunday, and will be without starting OG Trai Essex while it looks like Max Starks and Casey Hampton will both be back on the positive front.

They are favorites for the first time in 2010, and with a win they would stay up top the AFC North. With that, here’s the keys to a win in Tampa vs the Bucs Sunday.

1. Mistake free on offense – Last week the defense had to collect 7 turnovers in Tennessee, and STILL only won by 8, which when you think about it is kind of unheard of. This week they have to be mistake free and not give the Bucs short fields to work off of. In the first two wins, the Bucs each game have collected three turnovers in their favor vs the Browns and Panthers. Call me crazy, but I would rather see Batch throw for 25 yards again than have three picks.

2. Watch Winslow - Bucs TE Kellen Winslow is someone the Steelers know well from his years in Cleveland, and it seems he has fit in nicely in his couple years in Tampa. He leads the NFC in third down catches for first downs, and he’s Josh Freeman’s safety valve that he will look too in the face of the Steelers blitzes. It could be up to either a LB or Troy Polamalu to make sure they keep Winslow in check.

3. Make plays on offense when you can – It’s no secret the Bucs are going to try and load up the box and force Batch to make throws, and those chances will come early and often. The key will be to make sure they take advantage of those chances, and not waste them with drops and penalties. It’ll be up to players like Hines Ward, who had just one catch last week, and Mike Wallace to catch passes when they come their way, and even for Heath Miller to make sure plays are made when Batch finds him. There’s no question a couple drops or penalties will make it that much tougher to move the football.

Prediction – The Steelers are the better team, but the Bucs have confidence winning their first two games and QB Josh Freeman is playing well. The Steelers D won’t be so nice to Freeman, and will force some mistakes and some turnovers as well. It’ll be another hot day, so a note to Flozell Adams – drink water now! Anyway, let’s hope that Batch can make some plays, and Rashard Mendenhall will be the workhorse in the run game. I have a hard time thinking the Bucs will have the plays in them to pull this out, as the Steelers will go to 3-0 ready for the Ravens at home next week. Steelers 20 Bucs 7

Jclombardi highlights Packers headlines.

Guest senior writer jclombardi @ http://lombardiave.com

Packers vs Bears Preview & Prediction: Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. C.S.T.  TV: ESPN. Series History: 179th meeting. Bears lead regular-season series 90-82-6. Packers won both games last season, 21-15 at Lambeau Field and 21-14 at Soldier Field. In a Monday night game two years ago, the Bears won in overtime 20-17 at Soldier Field. Keys to Game: Bears QB Cutler has been consistently sliding within the pocket to buy time behind a shaky offensive line and RB Forte will again be an important outlet. Packers LB Matthews has 3.0 sacks in each of the first two games and the Bears get stuck in plenty of third-and-long situations due to their pedestrian ground game.  Green Bay’s running game is also struggling minus  Grant. The question is whether Chicago’s front seven can apply enough pressure to keep QB Rodgers from picking apart the secondary. Prediction: Packers 28, Bears 23.

Behind Enemy Lines 1–Packers QB Rodgers: In a conference call with the Chicago media, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers praised the Bears defense as well as quarterback Jay Cutler.  On the Bears defense: “I think they are playing very well. The addition of  Peppers has obviously helped.  Having Urlacher and Tinoisamoa be healthy has solidified that front seven. The back end is doing a nice job as well. They’re playing very well together. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us. They seem to be running their stuff a little bit better. Lovie has been fairly consistent the last number of years he’s been coaching. They are always adding new wrinkles. They’ve always played us very tough on defense. It will be important for us to keep the chains moving and take the crowd out of it early.”  On being hurt by Ryan Grant’s injury: “That’s media talk. We always have felt like when someone goes down with an injury, the next person has to step up and make the plays. We’re very confident in Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn being able to take the load that Ryan carried. Obviously losing Ryan is difficult, not only from a production standpoint, but from a leadership standpoint.  It’s going to be important for us to stay the course, stay balanced and try to get our backs in space.” On how the Packers have started: ”On our side we still need to find a little better rhythm. It wasn’t until the second half of the Buffalo game when we started clicking a little better. Hopefully we’ll be able to put our best product of the season on the field on Monday night.”

Packers need to limit DE Peppers: Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers is as familiar to Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher as arthritis is to retired linemen. Peppers has been more of a pain to the veteran Green Bay Packers tackles in their latter years, but for the most part they have been able to protect their well-being, holding him to three sacks and a forced fumble in five meetings with his former team, the Carolina Panthers. Prior results aren’t always an indicator of future earnings, but in this case, the Packers can go into their Monday night showdown with the 2-0 Bears with some confidence Peppers won’t rampage through their backfield like Godzilla through telephone wire.

Special teams–headed in right Direction: So far this season, a lot has gone right on returns with Nelson, who came under some criticism last year for his returns – fire that may not have been all that fair. Among the Packers' primary returners during their touchdown drought, only Rossum with a 25.8-yard average in 2000 had a higher per-return average than Nelson's 25.4-yard mark last season. The difference this season with Nelson, who 51- and 40-yard returns at Philadelphia in the season opener and a 34-yarder against Buffalo last week, is that the coaches have altered their blocking schemes to better suit Nelson's skill set. "Jordy's best asset is his speed once he gets going," Slocum, the team's second-year special teams coordinator, explained. "He's a big guy, and I think he looks relatively hard to tackle because his knees are high and he's one of those big guys who just chews up grass. So the thing we have to do is get him started. So what we're trying to do from a blocking standpoint is be square on blocks and give him options of where to run the ball."