McGraw: Bears can be happy Rodgers is gone, but he's not only reason for lopsided rivalry
The city of Chicago must be planning something really special to celebrate Aaron Rodgers' departure from Green Bay, since it hasn't even been announced yet.
Would imagine it's either a parade down Michigan Avenue or a rally in Grant Park. Maybe Arlington Heights can get involved by entering a float.
Keep in mind, though, Brett Favre moved from the Packers to Jets in 2008, then was back in the NFC Central (or was it the North?) a year later with the Vikings. And the Bears were even less competitive against Green Bay after the changeover. Favre went 22-10 against the Bears, while Rodgers was 24-5.
So now all eyes are on Jordan Love, Green Bay's third starting quarterback in 31 years. Yes, Favre took over in 1992.
Like Rodgers, Love spent three years as a backup to start his pro career and actually got more snaps than Rodgers did as an apprentice. Love's performance wasn't awe-inspiring, but he did OK - 60% completion rate, 79.7 rating, 3 touchdowns, 3 interceptions.
Love hasn't thrown a pass against the Bears. Rodgers wasn't about to give up that choice assignment.
Back in the Andy Dalton vs. Justin Fields days, we took a look at the success rate of quarterbacks who don't become starters right away and have time to learn their craft by watching. There's a nice list of QBs who didn't play right away, like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, but also some like Peyton Manning and Joe Burrow who played right away and turned out fine.
In other words, it's hard to tell if Love will be any good. One interesting note, Tom Clements - starting QB of Notre Dame's 1973 national championship team - was Green Bay's quarterbacks coach early in Rodgers' career. He moved on to the Cardinals in 2019, but returned to the Packers last year. So unless a change is made before camp, Love will have the same position coach Rodgers did.
And Green Bay is no juggernaut, missing the playoffs last season for just the fourth time in Rodgers' 15 years as a starter. He clearly missed top target Davante Adams, who was traded to the Raiders to help make room for Rodgers' new contract.
But Green Bay still has three of the better defenders the Bears faced last season - DT Kenny Clark, LB Quay Walker and CB Jaire Alexander. On offense, the Packers have solid running backs in Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, and always seem to fare well on the offensive line.
Rather than focus on what's happening in Brown County, Bears fans should be wishing GM Ryan Poles the best in this week's NFL Draft. For pretty much the entire Favre-Rodgers era, the Packers have drafted and developed players better than the Bears. That's been as much of a factor in this lopsided rivalry as the quarterbacks.
For a more hopeful scenario, try this: When Fran Tarkenton retired after the 1978 season, the Vikings had won the NFC Central 10 times in 11 years. Not all of those were with Tarkenton as QB, since he was rerouted to New York earlier in his career.
Minnesota won the division two years later with Tommy Kramer, then fell on hard times while a new division powerhouse emerged. Yes, it was the Bears. Thanks to some of the best drafts in franchise history, the Bears won the Central five years in a row from 1984-88. They've won it five times in 30 years since the day Mike Ditka was fired.
Matt Eberflus will not remind anyone of Ditka. He doesn't have a restaurant or TV show. But it's possible Poles can emulate Bill Tobin. So keep your fingers crossed this weekend.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports