After the game, Aaron Rodgers was questioned for poaching. He is wanted in the Midwest for Bear killing.

What a scintillating way to start the 2009 season for Green Bay! It wasn’t quite the offensive throwdown some had anticipated, but it was one of the more exciting games of the weekends with a thrilling finish. Oh, and by the way, did I mention that I absolutely pegged this game in my preview last week, right down to the exact margin of victory? Of course, there’s a lot I didn’t get right, but we’ll sort through that after I walk through the five things I’m still thinking about a day later:

1. The fake punt that wasn’t: watching it live, I thought the same thing many of you thought. “What a gutsy, but idiotic play call.” The confusion only amplified once Lovie Smith decided he’d challenge the play, leading to my favorite exchange of the weekend:

Al Michaels: “And Lovie Smith has thrown the challenge flag.”
Cris Collinsworth: “Maybe on his own play.”

Turns out Lovie had installed a hot read for his punt team. If the long snapper saw twelve men on defense, he was supposed to quickly hike it to the up-back, resulting in a free play and a potential first down. Only problem was, Green Bay had the appropriate eleven-man formation (linebacker Clay Matthews was hustling off the field but easily on the sideline by the time the snap had occurred). Chicago ended up losing its second (and final) challenge, its second timeout of the half, field position, and momentum – all on one play! Green Bay was only able to come away with a figgie on the ensuing drive, and to be sure, three points did not decide the game. Still, you have to wonder how different the complexion of the game would have been if Green Bay had been forced to march down the field for points. Remember, at that time, the Packers had done zilch on offense in the second half, only accruing two first downs.

2. The 3-4 works, at least for now: for all the hoopla surrounding the potential of Aaron Rodgers and the offense, I was most excited to see how Dom Capers’ new scheme would work in live, meaningful action. Fans were not disappointed, as Cutler was harassed into throwing four interceptions. The relentless pressure also resulted in two sacks and countless hurried throws. Cullen Jenkins looks like an absolute wrecking ball on the defensive-line. I’m impressed by the play of outside linebacker Brandon Chillar, who might just be the best cover linebacker on the squad but also flexed his blitzing ability. New linebackers coach Kevin Greene effectively implemented a valuable asset in Chillar, a free agent afterthought last summer. I worried about Aaron Kampman as a cover back and there were times that mismatch was exploited, but for the most part he was allowed to do what he does best – rush the passer and disrupt running lanes. Speaking of running, did anyone else notice that Matt Forte was held to 55 yards on 25 carries last night? Apart from a few nice looking runs in the third quarter, Forte was being consistently met in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage. It was great to see all the gang tackling after the lack of tenacity in the tackling game the previous few years. Hats off, at least for one week, to the new coaching regime.

1. Cutler all cut up: running around like a chicken with his head cut off and hoisting Favre-like interceptions is no way to go through life, son. Jay Cutler’s performance was far from what Bears fans had imagined when they served up Kyle Orton and the draft pick platter to wrestle the grumpy quarterback from Denver. Sure, he had his moments where fans were left in awe of his arm (case in point: the beautiful lob to a streaking Devin Hester for a third-quarter touchdown), but he had far more moments where fans were left dumbstruck by his decision-making. I counted no less than five passes where Cutler was flushed out of the pocket and decided to throw a ball back across his body, including the gift interceptions by Nick Collins and Tramon Williams. The final pick, an Al Harris theft, was probably as much Cutler’s fault as it was his inexperienced receiver’s, but it demonstrates an overall inability to get the job done when the pressure is on. I have to reiterate that the Bears put all their eggs into the basket of a quarterback who has a lifetime winning percentage below .500, has never won a playoff game, and has demonstrated a large degree of petulance at such an early point in his career. Maybe he’s got Donovan McNabb Syndrome, and he won’t get a chance to truly flourish until the Bears invest in quality receivers. For now, he’s got a lot of film to study.

The Cutler Sandwich. Served 24/7.

Insult to injuries: the game wasn’t the only thing the Bears lost last night. Starting strong-side linebacker Pina Tinoisamoa was lost before his name was even introduced last night. He sprained his PCL and will be out for a few weeks. The biggest news is of course the loss of Brian Urlacher for the season. Urlacher, the face of the Bears’ franchise for the better part of the decade, dislocated his elbow early in the game. Now the Bears have to wonder who’s going to fill in the middle of their defense. The Bears also lost their second tight end, Desmond Clark, to a back injury and starting left guard Frank Omiyale to an ankle sprain. The Bears aren’t afforded the luxury of a weak schedule while their walking wounded mend: they have a home date against the reigning champion Steelers next week followed by a roadie at Seattle, always a tough place to steal a victory.

5. Specialists teeming: Kicking was a point of contention during the Packers’ training camp. Mason Crosby had to tinker with his line-up, the normal placeholder Matt Flynn suffered a shoulder injury, and the punting situation inspired little. Seems like the Packers made the right adjustments. Mason Crosby missed a field goal on the opening drive but hit two more during the course of the game, including a 52-yard bomb that had extra distance. Jeremy Kapinos had two touchbacks in the punting game but overall fared far better than expected, displaying a booming leg. The kick and punt coverage was quite good considering the man they had to cover, Devin Hester, is a nightmare to corral. Everyone stayed in their lanes and contained the slippery Hester. The normal returner, Will Blackmon, missed the game with an injury but replacement Jordy Nelson provided a little pop, advancing the opening kickoff 46 yards. Special shout-out to Brett Swain, the fifth wideout who made the squad based on special teams performance and helped make the critical tackle on the Bears’ fake punt.

6. Better to have won late than not at all: Packers followers had to be cringing after a late Chicago field goal put them up 15-13 with a little over two minutes to play. We had seen this roughly 500 times last season. Rodgers would possibly scrap together a first down or two but it’d inevitably end with an interception into double coverage or a fourth down pass batted away. At least it was unlikely we’d get to overtime and then lose there. But lo and behold, this wasn’t 2008 Aaron Rodgers. This was the new and improved model! His pedestrian statistics aside, one has to be quite impressed with the way Rodgers delivered the victory with a soft flick of the wrist, a 50-yard beauty to Greg Jennings down the near sideline. It was the kind of no-doubt-about-it play that the Packers never had last season, yet it was anything but automatic. Down two with a minute to play and facing third-and-one from midfield, most teams would have attempted a power rush up the gut or perhaps a quick slant to pick up the first and work the field. Mike McCarthy instead drew up a play-action fake that made cornerback Nathan Vasher hesitate long enough for Jennings to blow right by him for the winning score. It looked simple enough, but that kind of aggressive yet intelligent playcalling is the panacea to the Packers’ late-game woes.

Elsewhere around the NFL on an exciting week 1:
So I bombed my Upset Special this week. I truly thought Stephen Jackson was going to wear away Seattle’s defense and that the lack of a run game by the Seahawks would eventually do them in. Initially, it looked like I was spot on, as Matt Hasselbeck heaved an interception on the very first series of the game. Then, I imagine, the Rams looked down at their jerseys and realized they were playing too well for what fans expected. Not wanting to be accused of running a bait-and-switch scheme, they promptly played down to the level we have grown accustomed to when watching the St. Louis Rams.

What clearly happened is I meant to pick the other NFC West intra-division matchup. San Francisco punched Arizona right in the mouth and pulled out the second-most surprising outcome of week 1, a 20-16 road victory. A lackadaisical preseason may have caught up to Arizona as their offense looked listless and discombobulated. Kurt Warner looked particularly disheveled. His arm level fluctuated from pass to pass and I saw far too many throws being released in a side-arm fashion. I know Kurt Warner is a Super Bowl winning QB and has set all sorts of aerial records, but when he starts slinging passes like David Carr, something is up. Keep your eye on the Cards, as their post-Super Bowl hangover might have hit harder than anyone expected. Larry Fitzgerald for one looked none too pleased after the clocks showed all-zeroes, racing down the tunnel to the locker room even before the coaches could meet for the midfield handshake.

I was also way off on the Bengals/Broncos game. I assumed when two bad teams met, the result would be a track meet. I forgot that to play the game of football, teams need to orchestrate certain fundamentals, like catching passes, snapping balls, and of course, knocking the ball down at the end of games. At least Leon Hall can take solace in the fact that Gus Johnson’s impeccable call was likely heard by no more than the twenty or thirty combined Broncos and Bengals fans in America.

For the most part, the games played out as expected. The Steelers started their title defense with an ugly win (but a win nonetheless), Tom Brady is to Jake Delhomme what Meryl Streep is to Heidi Montag and the Texans continued to fool me with offseason glitz. I suppose the only real surprise is the Lions defense. Imagine looking at the box score and seeing Drew Brees’ line: 26/34 for 368 yards and 6 touchdowns. I know. We all expected Drew to have at least 8 touchdowns. Well done, Lions secondary. You’ve raised the bar yet again.

Meet the Lions’ starting cornerbacks!

Thumbs up this week to: retro fads! First, Quentin Tarantino remakes the defining Nazi-scalping movie of our century, then we’re treated to the release of the Beatles Rock Band, and finally? Beautiful retro jerseys to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the inception of the AFL.

Thumbs down this week to: Eric Wright, defensive back of the Cleveland Browns. Watch this clip and tell me that Adrian Peterson didn’t just emasculate him. Arm tackles and All Day AP go together like oil and water, my friends.

What I’m watching next week: You better believe I’m tuning into Saints/Eagles to see Drew Brees square off against that opportunistic Eagles defense. Also, it’s always fun to listen to Philadelphia fans talk themselves into Kevin Kolb. For the late games, check out Pittsburgh at Chicago. There’s no way Jay Cutler can be that bad two weeks in a row, and Polamalu’s injury might leave Pittsburgh a little more susceptible. I don’t personally believe either of the previous two things, but if you say them enough, maybe it’ll come true. The Giants visit the Cowboys in primetime this week for the first regular season game in Jerry Jones’ new Xanadu stadium. I expect a great game but I’m also a little worried. What if Jerry Jones is caught on television cameras staring at himself on the gargantuan new scoreboard? That could lead to an infinite regression so horrendous that it would threaten to rip the space-time continuum in twain. At least it’ll be in hi-def.

The horror; the horror.

Team/Player Photos: Green Bay Packers Team / Player Photos on Jul 25, 2010

Last week’s picks: 12-4