Chicago Bears Vs. Green Bay Packers: NFL Week 15 Pre-Party Livestream and Open Thread

Good morning. The Bears are 3-10 and now welcome Green Bay to Chicago to take on the Packers in what would be the coldest game of the year to this point. Not sure about you guys, but I’m happy to watch this one from the cozy comforts of a recliner at home.

Unfortunately, Matt Barkley doesn’t get the luxury of playing indoors, but he’s already played through a pretty wet snowfall (and really, it’s been quite the adventure in his first three starts) so at this point, what’s the Packers in (to borrow Sam’s least favorite phrase) “Bear Weather”?

The Packers haven’t had it easy this year; however, they’ve finally nudged their way back above .500 with a six-takeaway defensive beatdown of the Seahawks and even through Aaron Rodgers suffered a calf injury late in that game, all indications are that the “questionable”-labeled quarterback will play, as is Randall Cobb. They’ve won their last three to get back to 7-6 and with the Lions sitting on that two-game cushion in the division, the Packers need every win they can get to make the playoffs.

As for the Navy and Orange, with the playoffs officially out of reach, a Bears win and a Lions non-loss eliminates the Packers from the division crown. Not sure how much that matters to some fans (especially with the Lions being the beneficiary of such a win), but a win over the Bears’ biggest rival (or, more accurately, triumphing over the bully who’s easily stuffed the Bears into a locker for the last several seasons) would certainly be a huge morale booster heading into the final stretch of the year.

Kind of makes you wish it were the final game of the year, right?

Your gameday linkage for today:

Game Previews: Game Preview (Sam) | Packers on Verge of Tying Series (Sam) | History of Arctic Games (Zerg)

Bears on Injury: Jeffery Activated, Wilson on IR (Ken) | Wilson Broke His Foot... Again (Les)

To The Future!: Barkley’s Not The Answer (Josh) | Mocking Mocks: Jabrill Peppers (Les) | The Alshon Jeffery Question (Zerg) | The Best Rookie Class Since... (Les) | Josh Bellamy is not THE Problem (Jack)

Around the League: NFC North Roundup (Zerg) | WCG Power Rankings (Ken)

So, your propers for today; again, it’s a noon game, so the first thread will show up a little before noon with subsequent threads popping up as the game moves on. After the game, we’ll have our quick recap as well as our late slate open threads. In the morning then, we’ll have the morning Den as well as Notes to break down the game.

All that being said, with the propers out of the way... Bear Down.

This week’s WCG Sunday Livestream reunites the duo for what could be the final time this year. Next week, things are off as I’m out of town in the morning (but I’ll be watching the game and will have the regularly scheduled Notes!), and then we have to find a way to work around New Years’, but for today, we have a lot to talk about, including how the Bears let Matt Stafford run over them for the game winning touchdown.

There are, of course, several ways you can reach us if you want to comment on today’s stream:

• Here in the comment thread. Just down there in the normal comment section. Join in!
• Over on the Twitch page at /sjs_illini.
• And over at the Twitter. I’m at @SJS_illini. Sam’s at @SamHouseholder. We tweet. Sometimes frequently. Sometimes at eachother. And sometimes, at you.

9:30 AM CT is the time. Here’s the place. Join us, won’t you?