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Packers' defense has Jay Cutler's number

Sunday, December 13, 2009


A Packers defense that forced two Jay Cutler interceptions Sunday was disappointed it didn't come away with more.

There is something about the NFL's top-ranked defense that seems to make Cutler especially uncomfortable.

"There are a lot of things that are frustrating," Cutler said. "We have a whole list of them. When you boil it down, we aren't producing offensively and we're not winning games."

Cutler threw six interceptions in his two games against the Packers this season. The two picks in Sunday's 21-14 loss led to 10 points.

"You have to play your responsibilities and put pressure on (Cutler)," Packers linebacker Nick Barnett said. "You put pressure on him to step up or throw off the wrong foot. ... We did a good job. We left some turnovers out there, but we will just keep working and it will come to us."

Cutler threw his 21st interception of the season in the first half as Charles Woodson made the 44th of his career. The Packers took advantage of that turnover by moving into range for a 26-yard field goal by Mason Crosby for a 13-0 advantage.

Cutler had completed nine straight passes before tossing interception No. 22, intended for Johnny Knox, in the fourth quarter. Nick Collins made the interception, returning it 31 yards to the Bears' 11.

"Johnny Knox did well," Cutler said. "I just have to either throw it out of bounds or let it go sooner."

Following an interference call in the end zone on Zack Bowman that placed the ball on the 1, Ryan Grant rushed in for the touchdown. The two-point conversion was good as Aaron Rodgers passed to Greg Jennings and the Packers regained the lead at 21-14.

"(Cutler) is just a talented guy that you can't let get comfortable," Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers said. "You could see there for a stretch where he was comfortable and made some really nice throws on us."

Capers sent Tramon Williams on a corner blitz that forced Cutler's bad throw into the hands of Collins.

"On that corner blitz, when Tramon came free, ... that was the play that put the momentum back in our favor," Capers said.

Overheard: Packers rookie nose guard B.J. Raji created bulletin board material last week when he said he was not only bigger (6-2, 337) but stronger than Bears center Olin Kreutz (6-2, 292), who relies more on leverage and veteran guile. On the field Sunday, Kreutz let Raji hear about it.

"I was trying to execute the scheme. It was fun out there today," said Raji, who was credited with two tackles. "Kreutz is a good dude, but he's a vet. He was trying to get in my head. When I first got out there he was saying, 'World's strongest man!' Other than that, he was cool. He would do little things like (pretending to) switch up protections (at the line of scrimmage). He was messing with me. He would say, 'Hey, I've got him one-on-one.' Then the guard would come and take me. Other than that, he really had no effect."

Word on the street: Williams said the field was slick and footing was bad Sunday. "The last thing you want to do is go in there and be too aggressive and then lose your footing," he said. "I don't think we played as aggressive as we should have because the field was slippery." ... Cutler completed 23 of 36 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. He was sacked three times. Cutler has 3,023 passing yards this season to become the fifth Bears quarterback to eclipse 3,000 yards. He now ranks fifth on the franchise's single-season passing list after surpassing Kyle Orton (2,972, 2008) and Erik Kramer (3,011, 1997).

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