Gabriel: Bears-Packers Review

By Greg Gabriel--

(CBS) Ahead of the Bears going into Sunday's opener against the Packers, I felt they'd be a much better team than there were both last year and even from what we saw in the preseason. I was correct in that they were much better, but what I didn't realize was in order to win they had to play just about a perfect game.

The main difference between what the Packers are and what the Bears want to be is continuity and Aaron Rodgers. Packers general manager Ted Thompson has led the Green Bay front office since 2005. Packers coach Mike McCarthy has been at the helm since 2006. They have developed a system and continuity that few teams in the NFL can match.

In Rodgers, the Packers have the best quarterback in the game right now. He was the difference in the game Sunday. His uncanny accuracy is what led to Green Bay keeping drives alive and scoring.

The Bears are in their first season under a veteran coach in John Fox and a rookie general manager in Ryan Pace after two seasons of awful coaching and mismanagement. They aren't going to get the job done overnight, but watching Sunday, I feel they are going in the right direction.

The Bears felt they had to be able to run the ball and control the clock. For the most part, they accomplished that goal. They won the time of possession battle 31:52 to 28:08, and they were able to run the ball for 189 yards. If you can run for that much yardage and control the clock, you'll win more often than not.

What doomed the Bears was that they didn't do a good enough job finishing drives on offense and were unable to stop the Packers on defense when it counted.

In the NFL, a club has only so many opportunities to score in each game. When you get in position to score, you have to come out with touchdowns not field goals. On the Bears' opening drive, they got down to the Packers' 8-yard line but took a sack on third down and had to settle for a field goal.

The Bears' opening drive of the third quarter was nearly seven minutes long but ended with only a field goal. A holding penalty stalled the drive. In the fourth quarter, the Bears got no points when the drove down to the Packers' 2-yard line. Jay Cutler had to hurry a throw on fourth down when Green Bay did a great job pressuring him with an inside blitz.

The next Bears drive -- when they were still in the game, down eight points -- ended with a Cutler interception. Cutler played well except for that play, when he did a poor job reading the linebacker on a seam pass. Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews broke quickly on the ball to take it away from Martellus Bennett.

On defense, the Bears gave up too many big plays and didn't do a good enough job rushing the passer. While the Bears did put pressure on Rodgers, they got no sacks and he was able to work his way out of trouble and make accurate throws down field. In many cases, the Bears' defensive backs had excellent positioning in coverage. It was the unbelievable throws by Rodgers that was the difference in the plays.

Going into the game, the Bears' offensive line was a huge concern. Would Kyle Long be moved to right tackle and how would he hold up given he had never played the position? All told, Long played well. The line had a couple of breakdowns in pass protection, but the overall play of the line was good enough to win. For the most part, the run blocking was excellent. As this unit gets more time together, it will show improvement in pass protection and blitz pickup.

Coming out of training camp, I felt the Bears were going to win eight or nine games. The reason for that optimism was the coaching staff and the team would play with much more intensity than they have the last two seasons. After one game, I still feel the same way.

I wrote last week that Cutler has to manage the game and not lose it. For the most part, that's exactly what he did Sunday. His accuracy was a little off, but not having his top receivers to work with for the last three weeks contributed to that average accuracy. As the unit gets more practice time together, its efficiency will improve.

On defense, the Bears have to create a better pass rush. Next week against Arizona, Chicago won't be facing a quarterback with the mobility of Rodgers, and the Cardinals' line won't be as cohesive a unit as the Packers. I expect the pass rush to improve.

The Bears are a much improved team. They aren't ready to compete for a playoff spot, but in reality they only need a few more key players and some continuity to be in that position. While it is hard to ask for patience, that exactly what Bears fans need right now. There's a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.

Greg Gabriel is a former NFL talent evaluator who is an on-air contributor for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @greggabe.