By Jim Owczarski Sports Editor Published Sep 29, 2014 at 11:06 AM

It seemed like Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers were listening, doesn’t it?

Where is the tight end in this offense, specifically third round pick Richard Rodgers?

Rodgers then caught his first two passes of the year on the Green Bay Packers first two plays in Sunday’s 38-17 win over the Chicago Bears.

Where is the ball distribution on offense?

Five different receivers caught passes.

Why not attack, go after the opponent’s weakness in the secondary?

Rodgers began Sunday with five straight passes, and went 9 for 12 on the Packers’ first two possessions.

Why this insistence on the no-huddle?

Of Green Bay’s first 16 plays, only four were run out without a huddle.

Now, the Bears defense did not present the challenges that Seattle, New York or Detroit’s did. Pass rusher Jared Allen missed the game with pneumonia. Defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff missed the game with a concussion. While Bears fans may argue his effectiveness, starting linebacker Shea McClellin also missed the game with an injured hand.

Then there is the secondary, without cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Sherrick McManus.

It’s a long way of saying that while the Jets and Lions secondaries were depleted, those teams had the front seven to make up for it. Chicago did not, and Rodgers looked as much like an MVP quarterback Sunday as he did a pedestrian one the first three weeks.

Rodgers was sacked just once, for no loss, and really only sustained one major hit – which wound up being a touchdown to Davante Adams that was negated due to a Packers holding penalty.

Rodgers was 22 of 28 for 302 yards and connected with Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb for two touchdowns apiece.

Richard Rodgers only caught those two passes, so it seemed like the mission to get him the ball on their first two plays was for the fans and media’s benefit more than the offense.
Adams caught two passes officially, and Eddie Lacy was targeted a few times out of the backfield.

It looked like the "good ‘ol" Packers offense, which was needed as the team was in danger of falling into a precarious hole in both the NFC North division and the conference.

Now that they’re 2-2 and hosting the Minnesota Vikings on a short week, things will look better, and quickly. That can happen when you play inferior defenses.

There are still concerns however. The only part of the offense that didn’t truly click in Chicago was on the ground as Eddie Lacy still couldn’t get untracked, failing to crack 50 yards rushing for the fourth straight week.

As for the ball distribution – five receivers caught passes, but 21 of Rodgers’ 28 targets still went to Cobb or Nelson.

The defense spent a lot of time on the field again Sunday, but managed to keep the Bears out of the end zone in the second half thanks to interceptions by Clay Matthews (with an assist to Tramon Wililams) and Sam Shields.

And unlike the week before, Rodgers and the offense was able to capitalize on the extra possessions with touchdowns.

When you win by 21 points, it’s a blowout, but if the Packers failed to score off those Bears turnovers, it’s a one-score game and more questions are being asked this week.

Jay Cutler (22 of 34, 256 yards, 2 TD) was only sacked only once and faced little pressure from the Packers, and running back Matt Forte gashed the Green Bay front seven for 122 yards on the ground. Worse yet, the Bears rushed for a whopping 235 yards as a team.

If anything, the Packers benefitted by having Cutler on the other side of the field. Not only did he turn the ball over twice, but he misfired to a wide open Alshon Jeffrey in the end zone that led to a Robbie Gould field goal.

There’s a difference between being 14-7 down, as opposed to 10-7 down – especially when the Packers went into the half leading, 21-17, rather than trailing.

The Vikings, surprisingly, put a beatdown on Atlanta, 41-28, in Minnesota in Teddy Bridgewater’s first NFL start, but the rookie quarterback was carted off the field with an ankle injury. With only three days to heal, he may not be ready to go on Thursday. And Adrian Peterson remains sidelined due to his off-field issues.

The Packers answered some questions Sunday. Another win, and keeping pace with the front-running Lions on a short week will do a lot to quell even more.

Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.

A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.

To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.

Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.

In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.

Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.