On Monday, Matt LaFleur hinted at some good news when asked about timelines for Jaire Alexander, David Bakhtiari, and Za’Darius Smith. The updates made Green Bay Packers fans a little more giddy about what the roster could look like for the stretch run. Let’s be honest, though; there’s no need to rush anyone back with a miserable Chicago Bears team coming to town on Sunday night.
LaFleur had this to say when asked if the trio of All-Pros could return to practice this week.
“Potentially. You know, certainly we hope so. Those guys are doing everything in their power, but we’ll see where we’re at on Wednesday and then obviously you guys will get updated then.
“It’s hard to put them all in the same box, they’re all recovering from different things. I trust that our medical staff has a great plan for these guys in terms of trying to incorporate them back into practice and then the whole ‘ready to play’ process for each individual.”
It’s quite the change from the last time LaFleur provided a substantive update on Alexander and Smith. In November, he said Jaire was “a long way out” and “check back in a few weeks” on Za’Darius. While the news now sounds far more encouraging, the slow game is still the best approach for Green Bay.
The Packers are coming off a bye, and with the Bears coming to town looking like a lost puppy wandering the streets, it feels like another bye week for the Packers. They certainly won’t take that approach, and they shouldn’t. But let’s call a spade a spade: The Bears are awful.
At 4-8, they started Andy Dalton on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, with Justin Fields tending to an injury. Dalton turned in a stellar performance in which he threw four interceptions. He reminded everyone why he should be labeled as one of the premier backup options in the NFL instead of a starter. All four interceptions set up the Cardinals with the ball inside Chicago’s 30-yard line to make matters worse. The Bears’ defense didn’t even have a puncher’s chance, and Arizona’s offense didn’t have to get fancy.
Chicago has lost six of their last seven. The first loss in this streak was at home to the Packers, a game in which Aaron Rodgers emasculated an entire Chicago sideline and reminded 61,000 people that he does indeed own them.
It’s not as if they needed the reminder, but Rodgers thought it would be polite to drop the message anyways. The losses have stacked up since then, and thank goodness it hasn’t affected Matt Nagy’s job status. As long as Nagy has a say in the play calling, it won’t worry Packers fans whether it’s Fields or Dalton jogging out onto Lambeau Field. Neither has been great, and many of the arrows point towards Nagy as the common denominator.
Thankfully, Chicago has been able to hang its hat on that one win during this pitiful stretch of games. It came against the Detroit Lions, and it took a field goal as time expired for the Bears to scratch out a victory against such a ferocious opponent.
While the idea of getting Bakhtiari, Alexander, and Smith back this week is super enticing, questions will need to be asked if Green Bay can’t continue its impressive stretch without that trio against the Bears.
Conversely, this matchup couldn’t be coming at a worse time for Chicago. They will come out fired up, wanting to play the role of spoiler. The last wild card spot feels like a sweepstakes giveaway in the NFC. But the Bears aren’t even on the “in the hunt” graphic at 4-8. So, spoiler role it is.
They’ll play with the fire early. Rodgers and the offense will quickly make sure to put them in check.
If it’s Dalton, the Green Bay secondary will have their chances to feast. If it’s Fields, the edge rushers will be crucial in making his life a living hell on Sunday evening.
Regardless of who slots in where for Chicago, the best course of action for Green Bay will be to hope they get their trio back at practice this week with a plan of bringing them about slowly. Would it be objectively cruel to deploy all three against the Bears when their confidence is at a season-low? Yes. However, this is a humble franchise that doesn’t dance on graves. They lend a helping hand to their fellow NFC North brethren. And that helping hand can be not bringing back Bakhtiari, Alexander, or Smith for this game.
Green Bay doesn’t need them this week, but they’ll undoubtedly need them down the road.
Sunday night feels like a charity case, and it’s shocking that the NFL didn’t flex this game out. Parents will shield the eyes of their young children as Green Bay lights up the scoreboard, all while knowing they didn’t need to rush back David Bakhtiari, Jaire Alexander, or Za’Darius Smith.
