Nov. 25--The assignment: Slowing Packers receiver James Jones
Jones' measurables: 6-foot-1, 208 pounds
Assigned: Bears cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Kyle Fuller
Notable numbers: Jones has a team-best 592 receiving yards and seven touchdowns this season, including two scores in Week 1 against the Bears. ... Porter and Fuller have combined for 20 pass break-ups and one interception.
Scouting report: The 31-year-old receiver scored four touchdowns in September, then broke out of a November funk with six catches for 109 yards in last week's victory over the Vikings. That came after Jones managed just three grabs for 59 yards during the Packers' three-game losing streak. With the Bears needing first to devote attention to slowing Packers receivers Randall Cobb and Davante Adams, Jones will have big-play opportunities. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has reminded his cornerbacks this week of Jones' catch radius, body control and sure hands. On top of that, Jones' rapport with quarterback Aaron Rodgers is uncanny. "He knows where Rodgers is going to put the ball and he's ready for it," Fangio said. Eleven of Jones' 30 catches this season have gone for at least 25 yards.
Word from within: "You can sense that chemistry. When two guys have been working together as long as he and Rodgers have been, both guys know exactly what the other one wants to do. That chemistry naturally develops. And when Aaron's in trouble, (Jones) knows where he needs to be on the field." -- Porter
