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Green Bay --- The Green Bay Packers' defense would like to flush away Sunday's performance ASAP. Yes, they forced two third-quarter turnovers and, yes, they did get the win.

But in defeating the Chicago Bears, 38-17, the Packers also allowed 496 yards, including 235 on the ground. Matt Forte and rookie Ka'Deem Carey took it right to the Green Bay defense up the middle. Coordinators were not available on Green Bay's short week, but coach Mike McCarthy noted that the Bears surprised the Packers schematically in the ground game.

One young player who might be called upon to help Green Bay fix things said that behind the scenes nobody is too worried about the state of the defense.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day," Pennel said. "We’ll take the positives from the game, and we’ll take the negatives and we’ll fix everything. But once again, the most important thing is the win.”

They got the win and yet were, as Mike Neal noted, "utterly (expletive) pathetic" against the run. The Bears' 235 count wasn't inflated by one or two home runs, either. The longest Chicago run of the day was a 19-yarder by Forte . The Packers emphasized longer, more athletic defensive linemen over the off-season. And on Sunday, the Bears took it to the B.J. Raji-less Packers on a series of trap and draw plays.

There won't be any calls placed to nose tackle, Ryan Pickett. He signed with the Houston Texans last week and played 20 snaps in their win over the Buffalo Bills. The pendulum did begin to swing from a veteran to a rookie up front, however.

Nose tackle Letroy Guion saw 28 snaps, as Pennel was in for 22. Pennel did take down Carey on gains of four and five yards. Possibly, his role continues to expand Thursday night against the Minnesota Vikings, a team that suddenly boasts a 1-2 punch itself in the backfield. Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon combined for 213 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 38 attempts in an upset win over Atlanta.

“I feel like now it’s starting to come," Pennel said of his game. "Coach (Mike Trgovac) is talking about getting me going more, getting me more involved. So I just have to take advantage of it.

“Just practice. Fixing little things that the coaches want me to. Getting into my playbook and not messing up simple things.”

Turning the defense around, turning the page on 235, Pennel said, doesn't boil down to one specific thing.

"But I’m sure we’ll figure out something," he said. “Some little things we could have looked at with their tendencies. Of course, in that game there are things we could have done better. But all we’re focused on is the win. So now we’re moving forward and I’m sure we’ll come out ahead.”

The Packers can't turn back from their philosophical move to athleticism up front, and Datone Jones and Mike Daniels have certainly had their moments. Daniels' hit on Geno Smith completely changed the momentum of Green Bay's Week 2 win over the New York Jets. And on Sunday, Jones had his first sack of the season. They bring more disruption than D-linemen past.

Yet in Raji, the Packers were assured at least one proven wide body up front.... until Raji suffered a season-ending bicep injury.

Pennel, the undrafted rookie, said he has "full confidence" that he can contribute.

"If my snaps increase," Pennel said, "then obviously they feel like I can help. But personally, I feel like I can help if I’m out there. ...“I’m getting better every day. But with Trgo, you can never be perfect. He’s a hard coach. I take his coaching very well. So anything he has to tell me, he’s been in the game 20-plus years, so I’m going to take advantage of it. Every day he gives me little nuggets and I just try to follow those.”

As for Trgovac's message to players, Pennel said it's “Just keep playing. Focus on the win. Keep moving on to next week.”

Scheme-wise, the Packers are counting on the Vikings doing exactly what the Bears did in bringing double-team blocks, in running straight ahead.

Only Green Bay would like much different results this time.

Said Pennel, "We’ll plan for it and hopefully the outcome will be different than Chicago.”

(Journal Sentinel photo by Mark Hoffman)