Da Bears are 3-1 at the quarter pole! Who would have thought that after the debacle by the Bay? Interestingly, even though they played so terribly, particularly Jay Cutler, they still should have won the game if not for a blown coverage by Nathan Vasher. Even then, they still had the ball with a chance to drive down the field and win the game. Then they turn it around on the defending champs in front of the home folks to even it up at 1-1. Ya, Jeff Reed missed two field goals allowing the Bears to win by 3, but even if Reed converts one of those kicks, I still think the Bears win the game. They were driving on the mighty Steelers on that final drive and only pulled up once they were in field goal range because that's all they needed. Had they needed a TD, Cutler would have taken them all the way in my opinion. On the road in the loudest NFL stadium is no easy place to win even without starting QB Hasselbeck and yet they escaped with another win to get to 2-1.
I have to say I was NOT at all happy at halftime on Sunday. To be even with the hapless Lions at home going into the break was not a comfortable feeling at all. Bowman had NO answer for Calvin Johnson who is one of the best receivers in the NFL right now so that's not to say Bowman is alone with his struggles to cover him.
What I REALLY like about this year's version of the Bears other than the obvious improvement behind center with Jay Cutler is the halftime adjustments this team has made week in and week out. That's just not something we've seen under Lovie in the past. Typically, they have a game plan coming into the game and that's it. This year's Bears go in at halftime and adjust and that's the sign of a real NFL team. Add some talent and now you have a contender that's going to hang around all the way to the end and that's just what the Bears are going to do.
Injuries have decimated the team starting with the guy in camp that seemed to be THE guy in the receiving corps - the "other" Devin - Devin Aromashodu. But what happens with good teams is that other guys step up when someone goes out with an injury. So what we've seen from the other piece of the Cutler trade; the 5th rounder that turned into Johnny Knox pick up the slack and has he ever - BIG TIME! Knox was the 19th receiver selected in the draft this year behind the infamous and yet-to-be-signed Michael Crabtree as well as the first receiver selected in Darrius Heyward-Bey. Bey was the only guy to clock in faster than Knox at the NFL Rookie Combine and yet he has a total of 2 catches for 36 yards while Knox has 14 catches for 190 yards and 2 TDs plus his kick return TD on Sunday. As usual, Jerry Angelo finds another diamond in the rough which is another reason I was excited about the Cutler trade as the Bears gave up 2 first round picks in the deal. Good riddance - Angelo can't pick a first rounder to save his life so let's save that money for other needs.
Oh ya, did I mention the Bears lost their defensive captain in that disastrous game at Green Bay? Yep - Brian Urlacher, healthy for the first time in years, had wrist surgery and is out for the year relegated to cheerleader on the sideline. Hey, the last time the Bears had cheerleaders was 1985...didn't they win a Super Bowl that year? Just kidding...I'm not comparing a Pro Bowl MLB with the 80s Honey Bears. Not only did they lose Urlacher, but they also lost brand new SAM Pisa Tinoisamoa in the same game. Then Hunter Hillenmayer went out in the middle of the second game and a once deep position was stretched pretty thin all of sudden with Nick Roach filling in along with Jamar Williams. There's a domino effect here folks as these guys were filling big roles on special teams and now had to be pulled off in order to focus and limit injury risk.
So now all of a sudden a lousy bye week in Week 5 turns into tremendous timing. Hester, Adrian Peterson, Knox, Alex Brown, and Bowman each get some much needed extra rest and all are supposed to be ready to go against the Falcons in their place. Why do we have to go down there AGAIN?
Is there any doubt whatsoever that Dave Toub is the best special teams coach EVER? This guy is losing players left and right and still managed to win all phases of special teams this past weekend. Ya, I know it was the Lions, but they were ranked #3 in special teams before the game and the Bears toasted them.
Anyway, the future of the Bears certainly looks as bright as it has in years. We may just have a REAL QB for the first time since Sid Luckman back in the 50s. The receivers have performed MUCH better than ANYONE imagined - even Angelo and the coaches as I don't believe they felt like these guys would be this good this quickly. I just look forward to watching them play week in and week out and that's the main thing, isn't it? To have an entertaining and competitive team on the field consistently...
GO BEARS!!!
