Chicago-Seattle: Bears Quiet Qwest Field

Winning in Qwest Field is no easy feat—especially with the lime green uniforms—but the Bears pull it off against the scrappy Seahawks.

The once-deep line backing corps of the Bears is looking a little thin now after Hunter Hillenmeyer was taken out of the game with sore ribs.

Not only were the Seahawks able to run on the Bears defense, they were able to make completions down the field. Seahawks quarterback Seneca Wallace was able to avoid pressure most of the game and was only sacked three times.

The pressure was there but the inability to finish with a sack almost cost them the game.

I think the war of words between T.J. Houshmandzadeh and the Bears defense ended in kind of a draw. T.J. was held to four catches for 35 yards but also fumbled the ball.

None of that talking stopped Nate Burleson from torching the Bears secondary for 109 yards, but he wasn’t given the chance to get into the end zone.

The Bears offense tried to establish the run against a banged up Seahawks team but couldn’t manage much than short gains.

The offensive line spent most of the game back-pedaling instead of opening up holes for Matt Forte. Zone blitzes and stunts disrupted the Bears offense at key moments leading to tackles for losses and stripping Jay Cutler late in the game.

After a lackluster start to the game, Jay Cutler settled down and was efficient with the ball—going 21 for 27 passing for a shade under 250 yards.

The Good: Jay Cutler. Threw a tipped interception early, but came back with three touchdown passes and led the team down the field in the final minutes to take the lead.

The Bad: Running game. Matt Forte averaged just over three yards on 21 carries. The offensive line looked out-matched most of the game.

The Ugly: Run defense. Julius Jones ran at will against the Bears defense. We should be thankful the Seahawks didn’t run the ball even more.

The Difference: Running after the catch. Both Johnny Knox and Devin Hester made the catch and had the awareness and concentration to run it into the end zone.

Five Questions

Is it time to call Derrick Brooks?

Is Al Afalava the next Mike Brown?

Does Jay Cutler show too much fire?

Why all the hitch passes behind the line of scrimmage?

If Cutler wins a Super Bowl for the Bears can we name a lake after him?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Bears Fall to The Pack

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Baptism by fire, Cutler and the Bears struggle against Green Bay.

Going into the season two of the biggest concerns with the Bears were their inexperience at the wide receiver position and the secondary and both were exploited against the Pack.

With pressure in his face the entire first half Cutler never got into a rhythm with any of his receivers. Being forced out of the pocket Cutler made some questionable throws on the run and even across his body to the other side of the field.

It looked like the Bears receivers and tight ends hadn’t practiced with Cutler all season. Routes were stopped when they looked like they should have run through them, not coming back to the ball when Cutler was scrambling and even a few drops plagued the passing game.

It looked like there were adjustments made at half time and Cutler was able to stand up in the pocket and make solid throws.

Hooking up with Devin Hester for a 35 yard touchdown and rookie Knox down the field for a huge first down was a promising sight as was the Bears commitment to running the ball even if it did face a stiff Packer defense.

Matt Forte couldn’t get going and only mustered 55 yards on 25 carries but never stopped running hard. Garrett Wolfe showed promise as the change of pace back if only for a moment.

The commitment to the running game was clear, even though they didn’t start the game that way. A healthy dose of Forte and Wolfe probably would have eased the pressure from the Packers new defensive scheme.

The Bears front 4 looked like they were getting a constant push and disrupting the timing of Aaron Rodgers and the passing game.

The aggressive defensive play calling of Lovie Smith paid dividends for most of the game and even resulted in points when Daniel Manning caught Aaron Rodgers for a safety.

Adewle Ogunleye looked like a man possessed in the first half shaking two blockers at times on his way to recording two sacks.

With injuries to Urlacher and Tinoisamoa the Bears were forced to dip into their deep line backing corps and didn’t seem to lose too much of a step until the Packers final scoring drive which could mostly be attributed to a bad play by Nathan Vasher.

The last thing that stood out was the challenges by Lovie Smith. To the naked eye they looked like solid challenges but someone in the booth has to be in Lovies ear telling him to keep the flag in his back pocket.

 

The Good: Bears Pass rush. Ogunluye got the ball rolling with constant pressure on Aaron Rodgers. 

The Bad: Injuries. Two starting line backers, Frank Omiyale and Desmond Clark were unable to finish the game.  

The Ugly: Miscommunication. Between Cutler and his receivers, between Patrick Mannelly and Garret Wolfe (fault Wolfe for not seeing Mannelly blatantly pointing at him). Every instance of miscommunication helped stop any momentum the Bears might have had.   

The Difference: Experienced wide receivers. Even though Aaron Rodgers was under fire most of the game his receivers kept with the game plan and made plays when they had to.

 

What was most frustrating about this game, specifically the Bears offense, is that there were glimpses of what the Bears could and hopefully will be with Cutler under center. Some extra work in practice will hopefully clear up all the miscues.

 

 

Five Questions

After seeing the Bears receivers struggle will Jerry Angelo go out and get Bobby Wade or even Marvin Harrison?

Was I the only person who cringed when Rasheid Davis lined up on offense?

Will Urlacher play hurt or sit out until he’s 100%?

Did Aaron Kampman play in this game?

Do you miss John Madden on color commentary as much as I do?

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Bears NFC North Opponents

With the preseason over, teams are itching to hit the ground running. Step one in being successful in the NFL is winning the division. Here’s a breakdown on what the Bears will face this season.

 

Detroit Lions

Defense: Lions management has committed itself to rebuilding the defense from the ground up and drafted lots of young talent.

There are several veterans on defense that are probably going to be in charge of teaching these young kids. Guys like Larry Foote and Anthony Henry come in with experience and from teams that have a recent of history of winning. Some of the older guys on this defense can still play

A steady diet of Forte between the tackles should be more than enough to wear them out and put points on the board.

Offense: Foot injury aside, I don’t see Daunte Culpepper being the opening day starter. He can be more valuable mentoring Matthew Stafford from the sidelines. They have a talented young running back in Kevin Smith and a big tall receiver in Calvin Johnson, so they’re not without weapons.

They drafted a big tight end in Brandon Pettigrew and if he can stay healthy, apparently he’s had ankle problems in college, he’ll be a big contributor in the blocking schemes.

I’m not exactly sure what kind of pressure is on this new coaching staff and players. Certainly expectations can’t be too high for them which may be the best thing they have going for them. With no real strength on offense it can be difficult to game plan against them.

Player to contain: Matthew Stafford. When facing a rookie QB it’s important to shake his confidence early and force him to second guess his decisions. The NFC North will be a tough place for this guy to mature.

Favorable match up: Matt Forte against the second level of the Lions defense. If the offensive line can open up holes Forte should have big games against Detroit. 

 

Green Bay Packers

Defense: The switch to the 3-4 defense could pose some problems with some of the older members so the offensive line. Protecting the edges of the pocket is going to be paramount to keep the pressure off Cutler. Orlando Pace was a little exposed in the preseason game against the Broncos and I’m sure the Packers defense was taking notice.

The strength of the Packers is the physical play of their corner backs, Al Harris and Charles Woodson. They will jam, press, and disrupt receivers with little regard to being flagged. Over the years the risk has justified the reward.

Pump fakes and double moves are the way to beat the Packers secondary. Make them over commit and bite on the first move and catch them out of position. The inexperience of the Bears receiving corps could be exposed if they can’t handle being jammed off the line.

Offense: The offense will succeed or fail based on the performance/health of Aaron Rodgers. There’s a reason he replaced Favre and since taking over the starting he hasn’t really started rolling with the offense.

Last season Rodgers never had the chance to let his sprained shoulder heal which hurt his productivity in close games. There were several games last season, including the second game against the Bears, where the Pack were close to sealing victory. Getting pressure on Rodgers is the key to keeping them out of the end zone.

Player to contain: Rodgers is a given but keeping Aaron Kampan out of the pocket and running lanes should be priority #1 for the Bears.

Favorable match up: Greg Olsen against the DB’s. They play physical but that’s hard to do against Olsen.

 

Minnesota Vikings

Defense: The Viking front four is probably tops in the league. They are big, strong, and surprisingly fast. Trying to run against them is an uphill battle. Anchored by the Williams twins, they plug up the gaps and have ends physical and fast enough to pursue after the initial push.

The Bears will have to be creative with their play calling to create misdirection if they hope to have any success running against this team. Reverses, draws, screens, whatever it takes to get passed their defensive line.

Their weakness on defense is in the secondary. They ranked 18^th against the pass last season and spent their early draft picks upgrading their offense. The departure of Darren Sharper is a leadership and experience gap they’ll need to fill to stop teams from throwing on them.

Offense: The Vikings are loaded with tons of talented players from receivers (Berrian, Harvin), tight end (Shiancoe) and of course at running back (Peterson, Taylor).  Stack up against the run they can stretch the field with the pass. Drop back in coverage they’ll run downhill on you.

Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin, to me, are similar receivers; they’re fast and can run the post. Shiancoe is the guy to keep an eye on as he runs crossing routes well and also line up wide.

What impresses me about the Vikings offense is their ability to line up two running backs behind the quarterback. The obvious choice to run the ball is Peterson but Chester Taylor is a very good back in his own right and could be the starting back on quite a few NFL teams.

Finally, Brett Favre. Can he still play? Yes. Is he as durable as he once was? No. A few big hits should slow him down and maybe even take him out of the game. Tavaris Jackson has talent but also hasn’t been able to get over that hump and be a consistent quarterback.

Player to contain: Like Barry Sanders in the 90’s, Adrian Peterson is a guy who no matter how hard the Bears work they can’t seem to limit his production. Doesn’t mean you stop trying.

Favorable match up: Urlacher over the middle taking away Favre’s check downs.

Bears Preseason Game Two

That’s a bit more like it.

Jay Cutler looked like a Pro Bowl quarterback against a solid Giants defense, spreading the ball around to all his weapons from Forte and Hester to Dez Clark and Aromashodu.

His ability to evade pressure and still make good throws is a skill not many NFL quarterbacks have. E

Evading pressure doesn’t mean you have to be as mobile as Vick or McNabb as long as you can sense the pressure and step away from it while still able to hit a target down field.

Speaking of hitting a receiver down-field, the arm of Cutler was on display showing distance, accuracy and even a little luck.  

Couple that with some good decision making such as running with the ball when there’s no one open and throwing the ball away to avoid a big loss, and few could argue he’s not starting to look comfortable in the Windy City.

Hester and Cutler still aren’t quite in rhythm, but there is no reason to panic as its still preseason.

When they do connect I think it’s clear that they have the ability to hook up for several long-ball touchdowns.

Matt Forte was back in the lineup after missing the first preseason game and looked like he hasn’t missed a beat since his incredible rookie season.

He ran the ball well and shook off a few tacklers in the few carries he got, No. 22 also broke one for a long TD run.

Watching the Giants defense bite on run fakes was a thing of beauty, Cutler may have had better receivers in Denver, but here he’s got a legit running game.

A pair of fumbles by Garrett Wolfe and Kevin Jones was a little unsettling but even they looked pretty good.

Jones has proven to be a good runner, when healthy and Wolfe seems hell-bent on being apart of the running game this season as the 3rd down back.

The competition along the offensive line looks like it has elevated each players game.

Open running lanes and a solid passing pocket gives Bears fans reason to hope.

The secondary looked pretty good, but the loss of Plaxico Burres means the Giants no longer have a go-to guy which makes it easier to cover the pass.

Still they seemed more aggressive this game with some nice tackles and even a batted ball.

However the lack of a few key starters means that we won’t know what to expect of the defensive backfield until the season begins.

The defensive line looked pretty good, but I believe they can push their games a little more. Eli Manning had some time to pass on a few occasions and Brandon Jacobs was hard to take down (though that’s a tough task for most NFL defenses) but it’s a step in the right direction.

Though I have to say the line looks better on the whole in the fundamental areas; push off the line and pursuit of the play.

This unit will have to play better to assist the banged up corners and safeties.

Another area which we can’t be too sure of until the regular season starts is Special Teams. Dave Toub has molded one of the best all-around units in the NFL the past few seasons and there really isn’t much reason to believe this year will be any different.

With Daniel Manning nursing injury and Hester focusing on creating chemistry with Cutler the Special Seams unit hasn’t really impressed in this preseason thus far.

All in all I think even the “shockiest” of shock jocks will have trouble feeling anything but positive about the Bears performance.

 

Chicago Bears Digest Vol. Two

News and Notes

Lance Briggs Cut While shaving that is. The Pro Bowl linebacker showed up to an public appearance with a heavily bandaged hand while shaving with a straight razor.

The extent of the injury looks minor and even the most cynical Chicago “journalists” couldn’t arouse some controversy for this incident. Some reporters even asking if Briggs was in violation of team policy by not reporting the incident, but rest assured there was no violation of team policy.

The only thing Briggs should worry about is the ribbing he’ll get from his teammates. The Bulls’ Derrick Rose can relate.

 

Nine Undrafted Free Agents Signed Most notably a couple of big offensive lineman in Johan Asiata and Dennis Conley. Both listed at 6’4” and 300+ lbs. Creating competition on the offensive line is probably a good thing as it helps to elevate everyone’s game.

In addition learning from Pro Bowlers Olin Kreutz and Orlando Pace will only benefit these young linemen.

Unless there’s a stellar standout most of these undrafted free agents will fight for back up positions and the practice squad.

 

Offseason Schedule

May 1-3 rookie mini camp

May 20-21, June 1-4, June 8-11, June 15-18 (OTAs)

Rookies will get the first taste of Halas Hall this weekend when they fill out all the necessary paper work and get their numbers.

Speaking of which, Earl Bennett changed his number from 85 to 80.

 

 

Perry Improving The Fridge was upgraded from “Serious” to “Fair” condition this week and is expected to make a full recovery from a bout with a nerve inflammation disorder.

 

Favre Retires…Again Bret Favre was released by the Jets this week from the reserved-retired list. This means that Favre can essentially sign with whom ever he wants. While many don’t see that happening, the same thing was said this time last year.

In what I’m sure is an unrelated note, the Vikings front office have chartered a jet to Mississippi.

 

Draft

The Bears had no picks on the first day (first two rounds) but made an effort to get more bang for their buck. Here are the picks.

           Round Three, Pick 4 (68) Jarron Gilbert DE 6’5″ 288 San Jose State

Round Three, Pick 35 (99) Juaquin Iglesias WR 6’1″ 210 Oklahoma

Round Four, Pick 5 (105) Henry Melton DE 6’3″ 260 Texas

Round Four, Pick 19 (119) D.J. Moore CB 5’9″ 192 Vanderbilt

Round Five, Pick 4 (140) Johnny Knox WR 6’0″ 185 Abilene Christian

Round Five, Pick 18 (154) Marcus Freeman LB 6’0″ 239 Ohio State

Round Six, Pick 17 (190) Al Afalava FS 5’11” 213

Round Seven, Pick 37 (246) Lance Louis OG 6’2″ 303 San Diego State

Round Seven, Pick 42 (251) Derek Kinder WR 6’0″ 202 Pittsburgh

 

Without a pick in the first two rounds the Bears weren’t in position to nab a big playmaking receiver. Instead they chose three smaller guys to compete for a roster spot. Juaquin Iglesias was a part of an explosive offense in a tough conference, that being said I expect him to dress and maybe start Week One.

Jarron Gilbert, despite his pool exiting ability, is a gamble due to his feast or famine style. Having the tools to be a good pass rusher Gilbert can potentially put the current defensive line starters on notice. We just have to see his work ethic and how much time he’s willing to put in to learning the NFL pass rush with Rod Marinelli.

The defensive backs chosen offer an interesting change of pace from the physical play of Charles Tillman and Kevin Payne. As was stated all last year the pass coverage starts with pressure up front, hence taking Gilbert in the third round.

 

Bears at Wrigley?

With the Chicago Blackhawks playing their “Winter Classic” this past New Years Day at the Friendly Confines talk has sparked regarding whether or not the Bears should turn back the clock and play a game in their old stomping grounds.

It’s an appealing option to have the Bears play a regular season game, most likely against a division rival, in one of the oldest stadiums in American Sports.

I have to admit that if this were before the Soldier Field renovations I’d be all for it but the work put into Soldier Field wasn’t for not and from what I’ve heard fans love the new interior of Soldier Field.

So while it sounds tempting I feel the Bears home is along the lake front.

 

Where Are They Now? Willie Gault

A standout track star at the University of Tennessee he also was a part of the American team that boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Willie was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1983 in the first round out of Tennessee. In his rookie season nabbed 40 receptions for 800+ yards. The highlight of his stint with the Bears was undoubtedly being a part of the 1985 championship team.

He finished his career with the Los Angeles Raiders and retired from football in 1993.

After stepping off the gridiron Gault stepped in front of the camera trying to make a living in Hollywood. Throughout the ’90s and into the 2000’s he guest starred on several T.V. shows such as In the Heat of the Night, Baywatch, and The West Wing.

He’s also set world records for 100m and 200m dash for his age bracket in 2006 and 2008.

 

Next Week

Roster Battles

Rookie Mini Camp report

 

Five Questions

Should the Bears defensive starters start to worry about their jobs?

What does Cutler have to do to lose the starting job?

Is Jay Mariotti aware of his own shock-jock status?

Are you also worn out by the NHL and NBA playoffs?

Which member of the current roster would like to have a beer with?

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