Glimpse of Greatness

Jay Cutler and company pulled out their crystal ball Monday night to show us what could have been by stunning the mighty Minnesota Vikings 36-30 in overtime. The offense was balanced and effective and the defense played better than anyone could expect considering the plague of injuries in the secondary. It was by far the best game Bears fans have seen all season and it showed what a terrible waste of talent this season has been.

Favre comes to town

Feels like the old days again with Favre visiting Chicago in the dead of winter. I don't think I'll hear much dissension if I say that Favre is the only thing giving the Bears a chance in this one. Everyone remembers the last time Favre played at Soldier Field: a 35-7 drubbing that lead to the unforgettable Favre quote, "It was cold as hell...I’m not going to lie to you. I haven’t thawed out yet." The forecast certainly looks promising.

We're Back

Apologies for my long silence, I've been busy with finals and holiday hoopla; I'm sure you understand. It's not like our Bears have been particularly inspiring anyway. So here's the plan, I'm gonna give a quick quip about each game I've missed covering.

New look on O-line

An injury to Orlando Pace helped usher in a change that some thought should have happened weeks ago; Chris Williams has taken over at left tackle. Kevin Shaffer will fill in on the right side, where is was originally brought in to play. With Omiyale reclaiming the left guard posisition, this line will look like many anticipated prior to the Pace signing. While there is not much left to be positive about this season, there is always hope that this new lineup shows some potential.

Eagles - Bears Recap and Looking Forward

By now you all know the outcome of last weeks game so I won't take to much time recapping. Here are a few thoughts and observations relating to the Eagles game and tomorrows matchup in Minnesota:

Update

I haven't posted in a while because the last Bears loss made me sick, literally. The minute I got out of the car after driving home from watching the game I fell ill and was practically bedridden for several days. I am currently in the process of recovering and trying to catch up with all my school work.

I will try to get a preview post up before I leave for fall break... and the Bears, Eagles game! I will be watching the game in person Sunday and then be out of town the rest of the week, so I can't make any promises about posting. Though I will do my best.

Cutler Throws the Game away

Five interceptions by Rex Grossman Jay Cutler, sealed the fate of the Chicago Bears and wasted a dominant defensive performance.

Both red zone attempts ended in interceptions, ridiculous interceptions. Despite triple coverage, Cutler refused to target anyone other than Greg Olsen in the red zone. On several of the picks, some of the blame could be shifted away from Cutler, but anytime you turn the ball over FIVE TIMES you are responsible for the loss. Cutler ended the game with a passer rating of 33.6 while completing 29 of 52 passes for just over 300 yards; that is a bad game by any standard. Turnovers weren't their only problem, Chicago also had ten penalties for 75 yards.

Bears Within a Point

Chicago stopped a 4th down attempt, leading to another Gould field goal. Chicago 6, San Fran 7.

The defense forced the 49ers to punt again, Bears have another chance to take the lead.

Chicago's defense has played very well so far, limiting San Fran to 135 yards.

Halftime

Chicago 3, San Francisco 7

Chicago outplayed the 9ers for most of the half, but San Fran took advantage of their mistakes, unlike the Bears.

Chicago had several major blunders:

1. Cutler's first INT was ridiculous and inexcusable. He tried to force a pass to Olsen who was triple-covered. It landed right in the arms of a defensive lineman.
2. Blame for the second INT rests solely on Hesters shoulders. Had he not fallen, it would have been a safe pass. He already has a holding penalty in the game.
3. The coaching staff almost costed the Bears a field goal when they failed to call a timeout to avoid the delay of game penalty. Inexcusable

Other Notes

• Forte has run the ball 13 times for 37 yards. Beekman has made notable blocks on several plays.
• Chicago has failed to take advantage of Clemens' absence.
• Screen passes have been very succesful. Forte has 5 catches for 57 yards, leading the team.
• Olsen has been a presence, though almost all of his catches came on one drive.
• The defense gave up after Cutler's 2nd INT. No one watching doubted the 9ers would get in the endzone after that play. Hopefully that doesn't continue.

Succesful (barely) 2 minute drill

Cutler lead the Bears into field goal range but ran out of time. Gould hit his first attempt, but it was nullified by a delay of game penalty. Gould was good again after the penalty. 7-3 San Francisco

Cutler's second INT of the game was caused by a big Hester blunder. He was on his face as the ball was coming his way; the pass hit the defender in the numbers and was returned deep into Bears territory. Frank Gore ran in the touchdown.

Defense Showing Up

Zack Bowman intercepted a deep pass from Alex Smith, Bears ball.

Marcus Harrison recorded a sack on the drive.

Another Red Zone TO

The Bears red zone woes continue. After driving the field, Cutler throws an INT from the 2 yard line.

The offense moved the ball very well on the drive, Greg Olsen was especially impressive with almost 50 yards on the drive.

Where's the Offense?

Another 3 and out by Chicago. They have 9 yards passing and 1 yard rushing on two possessions.

Harris shows up.

Harris gets a sack on 3rd down to force San Francisco to kick a field goal. Nedney missed the 39 yard attempt.

Walk the Walk

Vernon Davis made his first step to back up his talk from earlier this week, running through Nick Roach. Roach was injured on the play.

Bears Not off to a good start

The Bears received the kickoff and promptly punted.


But seriously, Cutler went 2 of three for four yards. Forte caught both passes.

Bears Must Win

With their only win in the last three games coming against the lowly Cleveland Browns, Chicago faces a must-win game in San Francisco on Thursday. The Bears defense is reeling after allowing Cincinnati to score on their first seven drives a few weeks ago and the Cardinals scored on their first six last week. Chicago is giving up an average of 43 points per game against opponents who aren't the Browns over the last three weeks. The scary part is that not only have the Bears been getting dominated in the passing game, but their normally solid run defense has been bad lately too.

Critical Stretch at Home

The Chicago Bears are 4-3. They have been frustratingly inconsistent. We have seen flashes of why Jerry Angelo went and got Jay Cutler; we have also seen why Josh McDaniels didn't consider him invaluable. The defense has had some brilliant stints despite major injuries; we have seen Lovie Smith field a defense that had no business being on an NFL field. What we haven't seen is the Chicago Bears play a solid game.

Cardinals Come to Town

The week 9 matchup between the Chicago Bears host the Arizona Cardinals game features two very inconsistent teams that still find themselves above .500 and in the playoff race halfway through the season. It all depends on which teams show up.

Walter Payton Highlights

A Walter Payton highlight video from chicagobears.com, commemorating the greatest football player to ever play the game. No matter how many highlights I watch, they never cease to amaze me. Enjoy.

Changes in Chicago? update

Check out Jeff Dickerson's blog for news that supports some of my predictions I made in my last post about tweaks in the roster for this week's matchup against the Browns.

• It seems promising that Josh Beekman will replace Frank Omiyale at left guard; he is getting practice reps with the first team offense.
• Nathan Vasher will continue to see more playing time as a safety.
• Hunter Hillenmeyer will take over at MLB, while Nick Roach will slide over to strong side linebacker.
• Adrian Peterson is healthy enough to practice and his return could help boost the running game, as well as special teams.

Changes in Chicago?

A loss like the Bears suffered in week 7 is the kind that can cause a shake-up in an organization, but don't hold your breath for major coaching changes. I agree with David Haugh's assessment of the coaching situation; Lovie Smith has earned himself some wiggle room with division titles a Superbowl appearance and his exceptional record. I would guess that if the Bears consider their recent antics, Lovie could be in trouble. Due to Smith's contract situation, it makes a lot of financial sense to keep him. Unless this team completely falls apart Smith will be back in 2010; even then, McCaskey may keep him around.

So, while this kind of embarrassment is probably not enough to get Lovie fired, it is certainly enough to worry him. Smith needs to shake things up this week because it already needed to be done, and to send his team a message. Here are a few areas where changes may be on the horizon.

Cincinnati throttled the Bears

Chad Ochocinco had 10 receptions against the Bears in week 7

45 to 10. This score tells the whole story of this game. The Bears were dismantled, humiliated. This is the worst football I've seen come out of Chicago in years.

Bears must correct sloppy play in Cincinnati

The Bears have shown us that they are not an elite unit, but with a solid matchup in Cincinnati, they can prove that they are still contenders. If Chicago plans on being a playoff team this is the type of game they simply must start winning; otherwise they are well on their way to another middling season.

Turnovers Killed Bears

The Bears lost to Atlanta. The Falcons didn't outplay Chicago, they just let the Bears give them the game. Red zone turnovers are the worst mistake a team can make in a game; when you give it away in the red zone, you are robbing yourself of points. It's easy to blame Ron Turner for offensive woes most of the time, "He calls bad plays that don't put the players in a position to succeed." For the record, I am not a strong supporter of Turner. But it simply isn't fair to use him as a scapegoat this time, he called plays that had the offense moving very well. The team played well, the game plan was good. That is why Chicago out-gained Atlanta by 120 yards.

Cutler's Contract Extended

Jay Cutler agreed to a two year contract extension, yesterday. Here are a few links on the story:
Official Bears Website
Kevin Seifert
Jeff Dickerson

As Seifert and Dickerson point out, the timing of the move likely was influenced by finances and the uncertainties involving the collective bargaining agreement. This move obviously means that the Bears are having no second thoughts about Cutler, and that both sides were willing to be flexible and getting a deal done. I don't consider myself an idealist, but I have to at least consider that Cutler made this deal so easy, in part, because he has always been a Bears fan. Just a thought for the optimists out there.

Bears trade for Gaines Adams

The Bears traded a 2010 second round pick for Tampa Bay defensive end, Gaines Adams. Here are some links on the story:

Brad Biggs
Jeff Dickerson

I don't feel qualified to comment to much on this story, so I will just give my quick two cents.

It looks like Angelo is being proactive at the DE position, which is a good idea considering Ogunleye and Anderson are both in the final year of their contracts.

I am worried about the lack of top draft picks. This will make two straight years without a first or second round pick; teams need to be able to build through the draft. On the other hand, untested top round picks are riskier than signing players who have seen NFL action. They are also aren't cheap. I feel that it is acceptable to trade away draft picks for YOUNG, quality players. Cutler and Adams fit that description.

One quick note, Adams sacked Matt Ryan twice in week 2 last season. Not sure he will even play Sunday.

Defense may struggle in Atlanta

As Kevin Seifert points out in his blog, the Atlanta Falcons will provide a formidable test for the defense. Atlanta put on quite a show last week, in their 45-10 victory against San Francisco. With Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, and Michael Turner, this offense has more dimensions that the Twilight Zone.  If you focus on containing White and Michael Jenkins, Gonzalez is likely to dominate the middle of the field; if you use bracket coverage on the tight end, White will abuse one on one coverage. If the defense tries to shut down the passing game with nickel coverage, Turner will do some damage. The Bears may be forced to pick their poison.

Bye Week Assessment: Disappointments

What has disappointed you the most?

Though the Bears have won their last three games, they have been far from flawless.

Bye Week Assessment: Highlights

Which has been the most surprising?

After four weeks there have been quite a few pleasant surprises that helped the Bears win three straight when many thought they would be hard pressed to enter the bye week at 2-2.

During the offseason, many within the Bears organization claimed to have complete confidence in this receiving corp. I assumed their claims were just to boost the confidence of the inexperienced group of pass-catchers, but it appears I was mistaken. Earl Bennet leads the team with 15 catches for 200 yards. The stats of Johnny Knox and Devin Hester are almost exactly the same. Knox has 14 for 190 yards and 2 TDs; Hester has 14 for 189 yards and 2 TDs. I think it's safe to say they have exceeded the expectations of most. After the Green Bay debacle, the receivers have really impressed me.

Learn to cover Calvin

As I watched the Bears defense get torn apart during the first half of their victory over the Lions, I was surprised at how often Zack Bowman was 'covering' Calvin Johnson. I had no idea why Lovie wasn't blanketing Johnson with Charles Tillman plus help. If you read my last post, you could tell I assumed it was a given that the defensive game plan would be to shut down what is obviously the Lions most dangerous weapon. Given the Bears strong run defense and weakness in coverage, it just seemed obvious. Yet, there I was, watching Johnson torch our defense to the tune of 119 yards in the first half.

May the best team lose.

A win to tonight is a win for the Bears, but who are the Bears pulling for in tonight's NFC North showdown on Monday Night Football? There are two (ignoring the chance of a tie) possible results of tonight's game between Green Bay and Minnesota. Either the Vikings can win and put the Chicago in second place in the division, or the Packers can upset Minnesota and force a three way tie for 1st place in the division. Green Bay would technically be in first place due to their division record (2-0), followed by the Bears (1-1), with the Vikings in 3rd (0-1).

Week 4 Preview

Cincinnati at Cleveland

Cleveland's D-line has actually looked decent at times this season. Derrick Anderson will be looking to spark this team and regain the 2007 magic. Unfortunately the upstart Bengals will outmatch the Browns in every phase of this game with Palmer back and Benson running well.

My pick: Cincinnati Bengals

Seattle at Indianapolis

Not only is Indy the better team, but the Seahawks are still beat up and on the road. Last week Seattle stayed in the game by bottling up the run and jumping to an early lead, I don't see that happening this week. Manning should be able to tear this defense up and the defense should be able to get pressure against a struggling line even if Freeney doesn't play.

My pick: Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants at Kansas City

Not much to write about this game. New york is thinking Superbowl while the Chiefs are thinking 1st round pick. By the way, the KC could be without its only offensive weapon for the second week.

My pick: New York Giants

Baltimore at New England

A Little Perspective

I have been noticing an interesting (though unsurprising) phenomena among NFL fans and experts. We tend to forget things...quickly. Many people aren't giving the Bears much credit for their road victory over the Seahawks. Forget that Quest Field widely considered to be one of the most difficult places to play with the vaunted '12th man'. What irks me is that everyone has already forgotten the Seahawks pre-2008. Last year was the first losing season in Seattle since 2002. It was a down year after winning the NFC West four years in a row. The 2008 season was the exception in Seattle.

It is a fair point that many of Seattle's best player were injured when they encountered the Bears, but their replacements proved to be more than capable. In place of Pro Bowl linebacker, Lofa Tatupu, David Hawthorne was impressive, to say the least. Hawthorne registered SIXTEEN tackles and an interception. If you watched the game, you know that Hawthorne's play was just as impressive as the box score suggests. Seneca Wallace is one of the better backup QBs in the league and he played well. Wallace brings a different dynamic than Matt Hasselbeck, the Pro Bowler he replaced. There were definitely a handful of passes where Hasselbeck's arm would have made a difference in the game, but the Bears would have registered in the neighborhood of 5-6 sacks against the veteran. While a healthy Matt Hasselbeck is obviously the better option, does anyone think he would have made this play? (starting at 2:40)

Moving on to next week, and our 'easy' matchup against the Lions. Yes, Detroit had a 19 game losing streak. Yes, their defense has looked awful. But they are still a division rival who has given us trouble in the past. It really wasn't that long ago that the Bears were swept by Detroit in 2007; even last year Chicago barely eked out a comeback victory. It is obviously a very different Detroit squad this year, with new scheme, personnel, and coaches. The biggest change to come to Detroit this season is that they have won a game. This is not a gimme game, this is a rivalry against a team that is only one game back in the division race. It's possible that after this week there will be a three way tie for second place in the division. Don't overlook Detroit.

Maiden Post - LBs after Week 3

This is my first ever post on my first ever blog and I'm just gonna get right into it. Here are my thoughts on the Chicago Bears linebacking corp after their come-back victory over the Seahawks in week 3:

The Bears are dealing with the loss of Brian Urlacher just fine. I can only think of about half a dozen plays since his season ending wrist injury where his presence was noticeably missed. Many were predicting that the Bears would miss him dearly a la the Steelers and Troy Polamalu. This LB corp has really stepped up to the occasion.

On a similar note, some have noted that the defense actually looked improved after Hunter Hillenmeyer went down with a rib injury. It's hard for me to argue against that stance despite my opinion of Hillenmeyer as one of the most underrated players on the team. Nick Roach played very well and was involved in many key plays including good coverage to clinch the game. As you can see in the plays starting at 2:20 and 4:10 in this video.

The question that now arises is, "who starts at middle linebacker next week against Detroit?" Assuming Hillenmeyer is ready to go (questionable) this will be a difficult decision for Head Coach, Lovie Smith. This is a wonderful 'problem' to have and, I believe, is a testament to both Bob Babich and the tremendous talent Chicago has boasted at the position for years in Urlacher and Lance Briggs; it goes to show what can happen when you learn from the best. In my opinion, even if Hillenmeyer is able to suit up, Roach should start at MLB under the pretense that they want to rest Hillenmeyers ribs heading into the bye week. This will give the coaching staff a chance to see what Roach can do as a starter without upsetting anyone and allow the coaches to make a decision in the off week. At this point it seems that the best possible scenario would be to have Briggs, Roach, and Pisa Tinoisamoa starting coming off the bye week; this group puts the most gifted, aggressive players on the field. We'll have to wait and see if the coaches agree.

Edit: Just read in Kevin Seifert's blog that the Bears signed LB Darrell McClover.

By the way I am (obviously) in no way affiliated with the NFL or the Chicago Bears.