Chicago Bears: Up In Smoke...And Mirrors

It's been a rough month for Da Bears and their fans. Realistically, they were looking at a possible 11-5 season. Now, the best they can do is 8-8. They're not mathematically out of the playoffs as they still have a 2% chance, but it's over.

After the 38-14 loss to the Seahawks Sunday, I was surprised to see all of the "O boy, seasons over. Pack it up, go home, see you in 2012, on to the Bulls and Blackhawks" on social media networks. This is probably because I started packing it up after the loss to the Tyler Palko-led Chiefs. There's really no hope left after that, folks.

Should they have put themselves in position to win three of their last four games and make a playoff appearance with Forte and a rusty Cutler coming back, it would have been gravy for me. But with the declining play of the defense and that Hanie guy under center, as a realist, I packed it in weeks ago.

I guess most fan don't give up on their team until they're mathematically—or near mathmatically—eliminated, so if you want to blast me for my honesty regarding my Bears loyalty, you can find me on twitter or call the radio show on Mondays. Information is below, bring it. Or just leave your comments below, but I digress.

Da Bears were able to win seven of their first ten games with smoke and mirrors. I wrote in an earlier post that Jay Cutler makes his receivers better and he make the o-line LOOK better. The low-talent team that Jerry Angelo assembled has been EXPOSED with the injury to a single player. The injury came to the single most important position in sports, but you have to have better options than Caleb Hanie, Josh McCown and rookie Nathan Enderle.

Hey Jerry, the back up positions matter too. I know that's hard to believe since you struggle to grasp the concept that all of the starting positions actually matter.

This is why I've been pining for losing seasons from Da Bears for the last two season (see my posts on chicagosportsfix.blogspot.com). It's a BIG PICTURE dream. I want the McCaskey Crew to clean house. George McCaskey took over as the new Chairman on May 15th of this year. He's been quiet thus far, as well he should have been, but now is the time to take action, Georgie-boy.

It starts at the top. Team President Ted Phillips is a glorified accountant. He's made Da Bears organization a LOT of money during his tenure with Da Bears, which is a vital part of his job; however, in the NFL, bringing championships to the city is JUST as important as bringing bags of cash to the owners. George emphasized the importance of winning a Super Bowl for Chicago back in May. We'll see just how serious he was.

It starts with Phillips because he's the one who hired Angelo. Angelo, in turn, has not put together a team that can win the Super Bowl. Getting to the Super Bowl and WINNING the Super Bowl are two different things, people. And the window of chance to winning a championship is rapidly closing.

QB Jay Cutler will be a year older and he'll more than likely have to learn a new offense. A much less voluminous and dense playbook will be mailed to him this offseason since OC Mike Martz will be shown the door—much to his own volition. Articles were being written about the aging defense before this season started, so I expect more a groundswell there in 2012.

As much I like Lovie Smith as the head coach, if he has to be the undeserving casualty in that situation, then so be it. There are competent coaches in studios and press boxes every Sunday that have the ability to do the job just as well, if not better than Lovie.

This is a bottom line business.

The bottom line is winning the Super Bowl. The Phillips regime hasn't been able to get it done, so they ALL MUST GO.

Tune in to Chicago Sports Fix with Josh Catlow and me, Rob Zielinski, when we come back from break on Monday January 9th from 6 to 8pm only on Chicagoland Sports Radio. 

Share your thoughts with us by calling 312.564.7375 during show hours or email us at chicagosportsfix@gmail.com. 

Adam Oestmann, Managing Editor for Chicago Bears Huddle, will be joining us in the first hour. 

The Daily Herald's Barry Rozner, who also hosts WSCR 670-AM The Score's venerable baseball program Hit & Run, will be joining us any Monday now to TALK MORE HOCKEY! 

Follow me on Twitter: @robzielinski 

PREACH

Da Chicago Bears Were Sunday's Punch Line

What has 106 legs and can't beat the lowly Kansas City Chiefs? Da Chicago Bears.

Lame joke –I know –but so was the overall effort and execution from Da Bears on Sunday. Even with Caleb Hanie under center, it was THE last write-in win for the season –in my humble opinion –and they lost. They lost at Soldier Field to a team who had not scored a touchdown in their last 31 possessions , before scoring one on a "Hail Mary" to end the second half, led by Tyler "Every ball I throw has a hump" Palko.

To get to the other side.

Hanie had himself a day. A very BAD day. Again. It was hard, but he found a way to do it: Caleb Hanie regressed. Are you familiar with the term "O-for"? Well, Captain Caleb led his crew to a flawless 0-11 on third down conversions. That's a spotless 0% for the folks keeping track at home. By the numbers, Hanie was 11-24 for 133 pitiful yards, along with three picks for an abysmal 23.8 quarterback rating.

After you take a big Caleb, be sure to wipe your Hanie.

Okay, Hanie was truly only responsible for one of his three interceptions when he under-threw Johnny Knox on a deep pass. Granted, Knox didn't do him any favors by not becoming a defender on a pass he knew he wasn't going to catch, but what else do you expect from a guy who has trouble keeping his feet and is constantly rounding and breaking off his routes? As far as the other INT's go, one was on a –well it wasn't quite a "Hail Mary" so we'll call it a "Glory Be" –to end the game. The other was when Da Bears' "number one receiver" Roy Williams dropped a potential "big brown thing" touchdown pass that was bobbled by a few defenders before being snatched for a turnover.
Lovie on the Williams drop: “Next time he'll make that play.” Um, Lovie, it's too late for that. You shouldn't have let Martz convince Jerry Angelo that Williams should be on your team.

That's what she said.

The offensive line wasn't exactly stellar either. Hanie was consistently under duress. The combination of the pressure the o-line was allowing the Chiefs to bring and Hanie holding on to the ball too long while utilizing his only move in scrambling to his right was, well, a joke. Kansas City had 13 sacks on the season before coming in to Chicago. They left with 20. To top it off, a missed block possibly led to the injury of the only hope they had left on offense –Matt Forte.

Rectum?! Damn near killed him!

Forte has a sprained MCL and he'll be out for 2-6 weeks. A sprain is a tear for those of you who like to play doctor at home. I feel bad for Forte. I really do. There's not that many teams who like to hand out $17M guaranteed contracts to fifth-year running backs with knees troubles. That $14M guaranteed he passed on this year probably sounds pretty good right about now. He's been very professional in his desire for a contract extension from Da Bears and even a cynic like me can feel his pain. But he took that risk. I just hope it doesn't severely hurt his livelihood.

This, again, all falls on GM Jerry Angelo and the low talent level of Da Bears team that he has assembled. You take away TWO players on this offense and they can't even play with an injury-plagued Chiefs team. I know they were their two most talented players, but that's not an excuse to lose at home to Shane Falco, I mean, Tyler Palko.

I am serious, and don't call me Shirley!

But it does show us that Jay Cutler truly is a franchise quarterback and just how well he was playing before his thumb injury. He is phenomenal at alluding pressure by sliding or stepping up in the pocket. Do you have your notebook, Caleb? The Chiefs may have only had three sacks instead of the seven had Jay been the one escaping Mr. Houston –a bum who was on his way back to the Chiefs' practice squad before Sunday happened –and his three sacks. Cutler makes the receivers better and makes the o-line LOOK better.

So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

I was, again, foolishly expecting points from the special teams and/or defense. But Da Bears were out-Bear'd for a second week in a row. Devin Hester wasn't much of a factor. Has Dave Toub been telling him to actually catch the ball when he signals for a fair catch instead of letting it bounce and get downed inside the five and Devin has just been ignoring him? Probably. And the defense lost the turnover battle, again. (I'm starting to sound like Forrest Gump "And I went to see the Pres-i-dent of the U-nited States, a-Gain".)

Not only that, but before Palko lofted a pass to the end zone that fell into the arms of Dexter McCluster for their lone touchdown, that stout Bears defense allow him to conduct a 15 yard drive and score on the sixteenth. They gave up three third down conversions and a fourth down conversion on that possession. Tim Jennings dropped yet another interception that would have prevented the Chiefs' chance at a Hail Mary. (After every practice, the coaching staff needs to get out the JUGS machine and fire footballs at Jennings for 30 minutes to improve his hands. Then on the last one, hold his arms down for a free shot downstairs in the ol' engine room and let him know what it feels like to watch him give up take-aways every week.)

Everybody gets a clown nose.

THEN Palko drove down the field for another 15 plays, which led to a field goal in the third quarter. Ball game. Typical Bears defense as far as the bend but don't break goes, but it does them no good when they don't create enough turnovers. Keep in mind that this all happened AFTER Palko was yanked from the game by Todd Haley for Kyle "Neck-beard" Orton for his now infamous $2.5M snap.

Why the long face?

By the way, on the Hail Mary pass, sure it was a fluke for the Chiefs, but it was poor execution on the part of the Bears' defense too. Urlacher had the right idea by attempting to catch the ball at the highest point. But lurking behind him was Chris Conte who made a big no-no by swatting the ball back into the field of play. Knock it DOWN, not knock it back in, Chris. Then Craig Steltz was late on the play and didn't box-out McCluster. It was a stroke of luck, but Da Bears didn't have to stack the deck for them either.

The 10 points the Chiefs scored was the most points they've scored in five weeks. The three points Da Bears scored was the least amount of points they've scored in five weeks.

Bears fans, it's time to PANIC!

Orange ya glad I didn't say banana?

Tune in to Chicago Sports Fix with Josh Catlow and me, Rob Zielinski, this and every Monday from 6 to 8pm only on Chicagoland Sports Radio.

Share your thoughts with us by calling 312.564.7375 during show hours or email us at chicagosportsfix@gmail.com.

Adam Oestmann, Managing Editor for Chicago Bears Huddle, will be joining us in the first hour.
The Daily Herald's Barry Rozner, who also hosts WSCR 670-AM The Score's venerable baseball program Hit & Run, will be joining us any Monday now to TALK MORE HOCKEY!

Follow me on Twitter: @robzielinski

PREACH

Da Chicago Bears Got Out-Bear'd

Da Bears lost at the Black Hole on Sunday. They lost 25-20 to the Raiders mainly because the new starting quarterback Caleb Hanie was bad. His performance wasn't a complete abomination, but he was bad nonetheless. I heard this on the radio and in the office "I thought he did pretty good." That's because you don't know NFL football. He was bad.

Da Bears were out-Bear'd. They lost the turnover battle. The lost it because they didn't create enough turnovers on defense. And because -- you guessed it -- Caleb Hanie was bad.

However, Hanie's being bad was a good kind of bad -- if at all possible --. He was bad due to his inexperience. Before Sunday, Hanie only had 14 snaps under his belt in regular season games. He was amped for his first regular season start. Too amped, like a six year old meeting The Wiggles AFTER a trip to the candy store. Being that amped leads to poor decision making. And that's what happened on Hanie's first two interceptions.

After a play fake, Hanie rolled to the right as he was flushed out of the pocket and instead of throwing the ball out of bounds while under pressure, he did the ONE thing you cannot do -- he forced the issue and threw the ball into coverage. That's inexperience at its best -- or would that be worst? But I digress.

As if Hanie's bad play needed any help being even more bad, he got bad help from an inexcusable play call. There was 35 seconds left in the first half, second and short on the Oakland 7, and OC Mike Martz decided he wanted to get cute and call a back-screen instead of shoving it down the Raiders' proverbial throat. This back-screen was the one Martz called in the season opener. You know, the one where Cutler couldn't complete the pass. But here Martz asked his inexperienced QB to make the same play. Aaron Curry remembered that play call too because the linebackers sniffed it out and switched before the snap! Granted, Hanie should have thrown the ball into the turf, but Martz still cannot learn from his mistakes and refuses to put his players in a position to succeed.

But at least it led to one of the coolest plays of the year with big Lance Louis rumbling 80 yards downfield to make a "horse collar" tackle and save a touchdown. Hustle baby. Good old fashioned huffin- and puffin' tacklin' then collapsin' and air suckin' HUSTLE.

By the way, Martz is reportedly interested in the Arizona State head coach vacancy. I'd happily miss a relative's wedding to drive him to the airport and help him unpack to make sure he stays out of Chicago. Who could replace him? Anybody without a throbbing ego, but Mike Tice is a good in-house option too.

Hanie's second half was better, not much better, but still better. It couldn't get much worse so let me wrap up Hanie's first half with this 7-15 for 72 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions for a QB rating of -- are you ready? 43.6.

Da Bears lost the special teams battle. Da Bears got out-Bear'd, again. Gould and Podlesh were good. Knox's kick-returns were good (he had enough chances). But Oakland's punt coverage along with Janikowski and Lechler were downright outstanding.

Dynamic Devin Hester became Humbled Hester after he returned two punts for a total of seven yards.
Janikowski went 6-6 in field goal attempts hitting them from 40, 47, 42, 19, 37, and 44. Recap: that's four FG good from 40 or beyond. Polish stud.

Lechler averaged 49.2 net yards per punt. He booted an 80 yard BOMB sending Hester into a Willie Mays style turn and sprint, only he didn't have a chance at catching the ball. It went into the end-zone for a touchback and he still netted 60 yards. Coolest. Punt. Ever. Lechler had himself a day pinning Da Bears back deep with directional punts, as well.

Da Bears average starting field position was their own 20. The Raiders average starting field position was their own 40. Just Da Bears being out-Bear'd. Tough to win a road game with an inexperienced QB like that.

The defense did a nice job holding Oakland to all those field goals given their average starting field position, especially when they held the Raiders to a FG when they started at the Chicago six yard line after the Martz/Hanie mishap.

Raiders RB Michael Bush has been shredding NFL defenses since McFadden went down with an injury, but not Sunday. He was held to a meager 69 yards on 24 touches. So that's a plus. He wouldn't be denied the goal line from three yards out or on fourth and one, though. Minuses.

Da Bears learned a few things about themselves along the way:

Conte still likes to take bad angles to the ball and uncontrollably over-run a play.
When Peppers is being neutralized with chip blocks and double teams, nobody else on the front four can step up -- where was that first half pass rush in the second half?

Meriwether CAN make a football play that doesn't involve launching himself as a human torpedo.

Tillman is NOT a pro-bowl cornerback.

Jennings is tough, but he's susceptible to the double-move.

Major Wright is progressing nicely as an NFL safety.

The Raiders had three third down conversions. They all came on that last 74 yard drive for a touchdown. The defense was good, but you have to play all 60 minutes to be great.

You can't win games as Da Bears if you keep getting out-Bear'd.

Tune in to Chicago Sports Fix with Josh Catlow and me, Rob Zielinski, this and every Monday from 6 to 8pm only on Chicagoland Sports Radio.

Share your thoughts with us by calling 312.564.7375 during show hours or email us at chicagosportsfix@gmail.com.

Adam Oestmann, Managing Editor for Chicago Bears Huddle, will be joining us in the first hour.

The Daily Herald's Barry Rozner, who also hosts WSCR 670-AMThe Score's venerable baseball program Hit & Run, will be joining us any Monday now to TALK MORE HOCKEY!

Follow me on Twitter: @robzielinski

PREACH

Strange Days Have Found The Chicago Bears

It turned out to be a bitter-sweet 31-20 victory for da Bears over the reeling San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

They added one to the win column, but franchise quarterback--and that's exactly what he played like in the second half--Jay Cutler has a fractured thumb and will undergo surgery on Wednesday.
It was a strange game all around. There was no pressure on Chargers' QB Philip Rivers, Matt Forte couldn't get the run game going, and the defense had a tough time for a while until they made a few key plays in the second half.

How's this for strange...it was Jay Cutler and--I'm going to regret saying this and soon, I bet--Mad Mike Martz who carried da Bears on Sunday. (Big-ups to Adam Podlesh the special teams who were able to flip the field and provide good field position after da Bears were losing that battle early). Cutler was so good that there were a few Roy Williams sightings--no that wasn't a typographical error. In the third quarter, Cutler hit Williams for 11, 12 and 11--all on consecutive plays. Apparently, Williams sold his soul to the devil for a pair of new hands after a few early drops. Uncouth.

Even Johnny Knox stopped playing like Johnny Knoxville. He was running good double-move routes, getting open and adjusting to the ball like, well, like an actual NFL wideout. Look for Knox to be more involved in the coming weeks. Bizarre.

After Charles Tillman pretty much had the game of his life shutting down Megatron, he had a bad game on Sunday. He was unable to contain Vincent Jackson, who went for seven receptions on nine targets for 165 yards and a tuddy. Considering V-Jax is a good receiver, he isn't elite like Calvin Johnson is, so it was exasperating to watch Peanut get burned time after time. Odd.

Tillman did, however, make an amazing play when he punched the ball away from the Bolts' RB Ryan Mathews that led to a 24 yard touchdown pass to Knox. Cutler made a ridiculous throw on the run and Knox made an absurd catch in the back of the endzone by making sure he had two feet in after a nice adjustment to the ball. Since Tillman came into the league he is the best at creating a turnover as he has recorded 27 forced fumbled in his career.

Besides just having an overall bad game, Tillman didn't get ANY help from the front four. Da Bears have been mixing it up in recent weeks and playing a lot more "press" and man-free coverage. Life is a lot easier on your cornerbacks when the opposing quarterback has large, angry men trying to make Rivers-shaped indentations in the turf. Seems like that effort just wasn't there since Red-butt Rivers was only hit once and wasn't sacked at all.

Paging Mr. Peppers and his staff, where are you? Silence. The d-line should have had a day against a depleted San Diego o-line. Instead, they turtled and left it up to the other seven to stop the Bolts. Curious.

I haven't mentioned Matt Forte yet--until now--because I didn't want to. Here's why...59 yards on 21 carries for an 2.8 average. Puke. Abnormal. And just plain bad, especially for a guy pining for more guaranteed money and who has already surpassed the average shelf life for a running back in the NFL.

Da Bears will have to go AT LEAST 3-3 in the remaining six games on their schedule to make the playoffs. This will have to happen with back up quarterback Caleb Hanie under center. They don't know what they have in Hanie yet. And Martz wanted no part of the Hanie-experiment as he had him demoted to third string QB in training camp behind Nathan Enderle. Hanie doesn't have Cutler's hair-trigger release or arm strength, but he is athletic and he likes to move out of the pocket.
The biggest concern for Hanie will be his recognition at the line of scrimmage and how well will he make his progressions once the receivers run their routes.

Cutler is out for at least five weeks, but don't fret. Da Bears are well-coached and unlike most teams, they can play well in all three phases of the game. They have an advantage on most teams when it comes to defense and they definitely have the special teams advantage against the soft-schedule teams remaining in the regular season and it's not crazy to think they can take four of the last six.

With those favorable match ups, consider this...Carson Palmer may have a slight edge over Hanie. But I'll take Caleb over Tyler Palko, Tim Tebow, Tavaris Jackson and Christian Ponder. The Packers may be 14-0 when da Bears face them, which could mean it's Matt Flynn time to not risk an Aaron Rodgers injury. I'll take Hanie there too. Again, here's why...

Hanie has been carrying a clipboard with da Bears for four years, which means he's been around the two years Martz has been in Chicago. He knows the offense. He prepares for every game as if he were going to start every week and he'll be watching tape even more closely because he actually IS starting for at least the next five weeks. And most of all, because Caleb wants this. He wants to shine in the spotlight. He wants to lead da Bears to the playoffs.

He wants to win.


Tune in to Chicago Sports Fix with Josh Catlow and me, Rob Zielinski, this and every Monday from 6 to 8pm only onChicagoland Sports Radio.

Share your thoughts with us by calling 312.564.7375 during show hours or email us at chicagosportsfix@gmail.com.

Adam Oestmann, Managing Editor for Chicago Bears Huddle, will be joining us in the first hour.

The Daily Herald's Barry Rozner, who also hosts WSCR 670-AMThe Score's venerable baseball program Hit & Run, will be joining us any Monday now to TALK MORE HOCKEY! Unfortunately, due to his schedule, we cannot get a definitive date. So you'll have to be listening to catch our interview with him.

Follow me on twitter @robzielinski.

PREACH

Da Bears Are Handing Out Humblin' Butt Whoopins

The Detroit Lions escalated from little brother, to puffy-chested little brother, to chirpy, to dirty before they fell and hit every step in their dissension down Da Bears' "humblin' [butt] whoopin" staircase.


Julius Peppers unhinged his jaw and swallowed Megatron whole. Peppers spent the rest of the afternoon making plays. This was a--we'll call it a "clean" clothes-line--across the shoulder pads of Calvin Johnson, who then proceeded to cough up the football at the 12:18 mark of the first quarter, and that set the tone for the rest of the day. Urlacher tried the ol' scoop-and-score, but he was caught by Pettigrew after 17 yards. Stiff jab to the chin.

Matt Forte punched the ball into the end zone on two runs from the 12. The first was from a spread shotgun look and he continued to show his excellent field vision on the touchdown run from the I-formation. Da Bears were in a "Tank" personnel (1 WR, 2 TE, 2RB) look on a Lead Open run. Lead-blocker Clutts broke to the right out of his stance and Forte immediate recognized the read that the defense got from Clutts and he cut back against the over-pursuit of the Lions' defense. Touchdown, punch to the gut.

Nate Burleson beat Tim Jennings, twice. But "Tiny" Tim didn't give up. Jennings caught Burleson from behind, punched the ball out of his arm, and recovered his own forced fumble. Another quick jab.

The Lions had two turnovers and two 15-yard penalties in the first 10 minutes of the game. It was like they were looking in the mirror and punching THEMSELVES.

The Detroit defense did play well--when they weren't playing dirty--ya know, ripping off helmets, leg-whipping and pile driving. Bears QB Jay Cutler threw for a mere 123 yards and was 9-20 on pass attempts. The offense was held to only 3-13 on third conversions and 4.9 yards per catch. And besides the touchdown and one 40 yard scamper, they held Forte in check with 64 yards on 18 attempts. That's a 3.6 yard average for those of you with your calculator out.

But that was the only phase working for the Lions. For some reason, Detroit's recently signed, off the couch--and more recently, released--punter Malone, kept kicking the ball to the greatest punt returner off all time in Devin Hester. Hester returned his first punt for 29 yards before he was knocked out of bounds by Malone. That wasn't the case on the next Hester return as he took it to the House on an 82 yard return. 1-2 combo lands cleanly.

Hester is the greatest for a few reasons. He is able to "set up" the punting team's coverage because he isn't afraid to run laterally and force the coverage to adjust their lanes. Hester runs East and West, which forces the coverage to break their discipline. This is when #23 strikes. Hester has elite field vision, as well. It's just harder to tell because Hester will make his cut before a seem has been created, but he knows it'll be there. And it always is. He's a step ahead of everybody at all times and that's all he need to plant that foot and get up field for the score.

FYI: In Hester's five NFL seasons, he has 2516 receiving yards, 2502 punt return yards and 3156 kickoff return yards.

Mike Martz gaff of the week: third down and a foot, the offense lines up in the power-I formation. Cutler fakes the handoff to Clutts and tosses it left to Forte, who is dropped for a loss and they're forced to punt. Why must I ask where is Marion Barber every frickin' week?

The only thing Da Bears couldn't stop was themselves. Coming into the game, the Lions only turned the ball over five times. Da Bears matched that and then some with six take-aways on Sunday. Body shot, body shot, upper-cut, down for the count.

The defense stuck with what worked last week. Cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings were asked to play off-man coverage in Cover 1 and Cover 3 schemes, especially earlier in the game. The Lions got away with a few one-step slant routes, so coach Mari-Lovie went to more "press" coverage. This allowed the CBs to re-route the Lions' wide receivers at the line of scrimmage and not allow them to get the inside position for the quick slants with room to run after the catch.

Don't underestimate the phenomenal job Tillman did in shutting down Megatron, the best receiver in the NFL. Megatron was targeted 17 times by QB Matthew "Insert relevant excuse or cry-baby nick name here" Stafford through the first three quarters and he only had six receptions.

Again, a lot of credit goes to the front four. They were getting to Stafford early and often. They made him incredibly uncomfortable in the pocket, which allowed the CBs to only stay on their men as long as they needed to. The front four influencedStafford's accuracy and timing and the secondary reaped the benefits all afternoon.

I can't say enough about Peppers. He was disruptive off the edge and even more so when he lined up at the 3-technique. He consistently got pressure from the interior of the line and collapsed the pocket. He had a key sack and dropped Stafford for an 11 yard loss after he dominated the guard, fought through existing traffic in the backfield and was still able to bring down Stafford to force a field goal.

It was a great defensive effort all around. In the three games Chris Conte and Major Wright started as the safety tandem, da Bears' defense has allowed only one touchdown pass. Yeah, I can't believe it either.

Charles Tillman said that "hitting is the equalizer." This rang true on Sunday. The defense was laying the wood all afternoon. The hit Briggs put on Megatron in the second half will forever be in my mind's highlight reel. And to make it clear, even though he was called for an illegal hit, it was a legit clock-cleaner.

Da Bears played with a sense of purpose and it showed. Big credit to all the players, especially on defense and special teams, which trickles down to coach Lovie and his staff.

Barring any major injuries to key players, Da Bears are primed for a deep playoff run. In Lovie We Trust-ie.


Tune in to Chicago Sports Fix with Josh Catlow and me, Rob Zielinski, this and every Monday from 6 to 8pm only onChicagoland Sports Radio.

Share your thoughts with us by calling 312.564.7375 during show hours or email us at chicagosportsfix@gmail.com.

Adam Oestmann, Managing Editor for Chicago Bears Huddle, will be joining us in the first hour.

The Daily Herald's Barry Rozner, who also hosts WSCR 670-AMThe Score's venerable baseball program Hit & Run, will be joining us any Monday now to TALK MORE HOCKEY! Unfortunately, due to his schedule, we cannot get a definitive date. So you'll have to be listening to catch our interview with him.

Follow me on twitter @robzielinski.

PREACH

Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Preview

This is a different Chicago Bears team that played the Lion in Detroit back in Week-5.


It was being said at the beginning of the season, but it's finally becoming true ... the offense is familiar with Martz' scheme.

The confusion at the line of scrimmage has been minimized. A big part of that is due to Martz' evolution as a play caller. Not only has he decreased pre-snap motions, but he is using more spread-action plays and utilizing Cutler's ability to throw on the run. We actually saw a designed roll-out play to the right against the Eagles on Monday night. The Lions also employ the Wide-9 technique. If Avril and Vanden Bosch start giving the o-line fits, look for more designed plays to move Cutler outside of the pocket to buy time and throw down the field.

Again, the Wide-9 technique is inclined to create running lanes, especially off-tackle. So, look for Matt Forte to have yet another big game on the ground running behind Clutts; however, Detroit does have more athletic defensive linemen who play with a mean streak--unlike "Cry-baby" Babin who ran to daddy Godell because he got BLOWED-UP consistently at the line of scrimmage Monday night.

Javhid Best has been ruled out because he's still dealing with lingering concussion symptoms. This is a big blow to the Detroit ground-game because Best has the ability to hit a home run every time he touches the ball. Da Bears learned that when he snapped off an 88 yard scamper back in Week-5. Back-up RB Maurice Morris is formidable, though. He's averaging 4.1 yards per carry on 31 attempts.

The true test will come against trying to shut down Calvin "Megatron" Johnson. Megatron dominated Da Bears' defense in their last meeting with five receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. He's had hot hands all season. Johnson has scored in every week except one and he's on a four game streak of 100+ yards receiving.

CB Charles Tillman was outstanding last week, but I don't suspect coach Mari-Lovie will play much press or man coverage on Sunday. Megatron is much too physical and is a rear breed WR, unlike the gnats of Philadelphia. Look for Da Bears to change the game plan--as well they should--and get back to more of the Lovie-2 scheme. Da Bears defense will give the Lions different looks before the snap and then break off to their zones or land-marks.

Which leads us to take-aways. Detroit has the best turnover differential in the NFL with +13. The Detroit defense has taken the ball away from teams 18 times, but has only turned the ball over five times. Da Bears MUST win the turnover battle or they WILL lose this game.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford is deadly-accurate--when he has time in the pocket. Da Bears d-line needs to get consistent pressure on Stafford to make him uncomfortable and maybe bait him into throwing a few passes he'll wish he can have back.

Major Wright didn't have a particularly good game on Monday and he began to share time with Brandon "Head-shot" Merriwether. We'll see more of a time split this Sunday. This is Merriwether's chance to redeem himself after constantly doing the wrong thing in Lovie's scheme by free-lancing like an undisciplined high school hot-head.

Rookie safety Chris Conte still really hasn't been tested deep since he won the SP (starting position). I think that will change Sunday and Stafford will look to expose his inexperience.

WSCR's Bears beat reporter Zach Zaidman reported that Da Bears are more mad now after watching tape from Week-5 than they were after that game. They've recognized the silly mistakes they've made and they're itching at the chance to rectify the situation.

Da Bears have improved each week in the past month. They're not happy that their long time little brother in the Lions is all grown up. This game has playoff implications and I expect Da Bears to play the way a team would win a playoff game...by running the ball effectively, chewing the clock, and executing a few big plays.


Tune in to Chicago Sports Fix with Josh Catlow and me, Rob Zielinski, this and every Monday from 6 to 8pm only on Chicagoland Sports Radio.

Share your thoughts with us by calling 312.564.7375 during show hours or email us at chicagosportsfix@gmail.com.

Adam Oestmann, Managing Editor for Chicago Bears Huddle, will be joining us in the first hour.

The Daily Herald's Barry Rozner, who also hosts WSCR 670-AMThe Score's venerable baseball program Hit & Run, will be joining us any Monday now to TALK MORE HOCKEY! Unfortunately, due to his schedule, we cannot get a definitive date. So you'll have to be listening to catch our interview with him.

Follow me on twitter @robzielinski.

PREACH

Special Season for Special Bears?

I was expecting some team to emerge from the NFL Blob, but I never thought that it could possibly be Da Bears.


They're now 7-2 on Monday Night Football since Lovie Smith took over as their head coach in 2004. Are those just arbitrary numbers, or does Lovie know how to get his team ready for prime-time football?

I tend to think it's the latter as I'm thoroughly impressed with the way Da Bears were prepared to go into Philadelphia and beat the Eagles at The Linc.

They were disciplined in every facet of the game. Individuals did what was asked of them and they took care of their business. This was a staple win and it puts Da Bears in a great position for a playoff berth as they've beaten all three teams that they'll be up against for a Wild Card spot (Atlanta, Tampa and Philadelphia).

Da Bears opened the game by punching the Eagles square in the mouth. They did it with quick snaps at the line of scrimmage and by getting away from their familiar "window dressings" or pre-snap motions. It helped to neutralize the crowd noise and minimize their chances for any false starts.

The o-line came through in a BIG way. QB Jay Cutler had been sacked in 31 straight games but not on Monday night. This was the second time in 41 starts with Da Bears that Cutler wasn't sacked.

The Eagles defense didn't even record a QB Hit! Now that's stepping up in the clutch. We knew the o-line was improving at run blocking. They've been firing off the ball well for a few weeks now, but for Cutler to drop back 32 times and not be hit says a lot about the pass blocking improvement.

They took that Eagles "Wide 9,” chewed it up and spit it out. Sure, Cutler had to use his legs to escape pressure and elude those hits throughout the game, but overall it was a special effort from the men up front.

Cliché segue alert—speaking of special efforts—Jay Cutler's second half performance was the reason why GM Jerry Angelo traded two first round draft picks, a third round pick and Kyle "Neck Beard" Orton to obtain him. He was incredible.

One of my new favorite football plays occurred in the fourth quarter. Number 6 escaped pressure twice, fell down, got back up, alluded pressure from two more Eagles defensemen and tossed the rock to Barber for an eight-yard gain. Special.

The man was having fun and playing like he was in the school yard; except, he was being an NFL leader and drove his offense down the field in a world-class fashion multiple times.

Matt Forte's production was enormous. 133 yards on the ground with a 5.5 average per carry is—we’ll stay with the theme here—special. However, you can NOT fumble the ball twice. He knows that and I know he'll be more protective with the football.

And no, meatball Bearsss fans, he did not fumble on purpose. There was a lot of "Diz lousy Mark Forte guy's fumbling on purpose cuz he hasn’t got paid by dat Gary Angleman yet," among the twitterverse. He'll get paid sooner or later, but he won't be helping you to pay your bills, so relax der guy. Go grill another SAU-sage in da grach with the doors closed.

Earl "Safety Valve" Bennett gets the game ball offensively, though. He was targeted five times and he made five receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown. Every catch he made resulted in either a first down conversion or a touchdown. Special. He offers Cutler stability just by stepping onto the field. He's got great hands and knows how to run a route and find the soft area in zone defenses. Even the Philadelphia "Dream Team" couldn't stop this number three receiver.

Even Martz had a big night as he was able to show more flexibility in his play-calling. Forte carried the ball 24 times, and Barber was called on nine times. That often spells success for Bears Football.

I did have a couple of gripes, though—as always. Like empty sets on third and shorts when pounding the ball with Barber was working, the seven (corner) route to Kellen Davis on third and one and the Wildcat on third and long, which seemed like a sort of concession play call. I'm still waiting for the perfect game from Martz. I promise I won't hold my breath.

The Lovie-2 scheme often got lost in the shuffle. Coach Mari-Lovie devised a game plan for the explosive Philadelphia offense. They played a lot of "press" coverage along with Cover 1 to contain Michael Vick and his WMD. Cornerbacks Tillman and Jennings played with physicality and roughed up DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin all night.

So much so, that they put enough fear into them to alligator arm a few passes from Vick even when no one was around. They did a great job jamming them at the line of scrimmage and making good, hard tackles when they had the opportunity.

Tillman, in particular, played his best game as a Chicago Bear in a long time. And he didn't even have one of his patented strips for a fumble!

The pressure generated by the front four is what allowed Da Bears to be successful in their "man" coverage. They were consistently flushing Vick out of the pocket, which lowers his accuracy considerably. Vick has become a more polished pocket-passer (alliteration aside), but if he gets hurried almost constantly like he was, he won't be effective.

Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher played like true Monsters of the Midway. Urlacher led all Bears with 11 tackles and he was great in pass coverage. Briggs recorded 5 tackles of his own and tipped the pass that Major Wright picked off. They consistently put themselves in Vick's passing lanes and they cleaned up almost everything that reached the second level.

The only part of the game that wasn't special was, oddly enough, the special teams. Hester and Knox combined for only 51 kick return yards on five attempts. Da Bears got luckily when they chose not to cover either of the gunners on a punt return and the Eagles' rookie punter was unable to complete a the easiest pass he'll ever attempt. I will, however, give props to Adam Podlesh for his good punts. The hang time was a major factor on the muffed Jackson punt that led to a Bears TD.

I had a feeling Da Bears might split their games against the Eagles and the Lions, who they play next week, but I didn't think the victory would come from beating the Eagles at The Linc. And now they have a shot at sweeping this two game set.

If they do that, it'll take key injuries for them to not reach the playoffs and make a run for the Super Bowl.

Tune in to Chicago Sports Fix with Josh Catlow and me, Rob Zielinski, this and every Monday from 6 to 8pm only on Chicagoland Sports Radio.

Share your thoughts with us by calling 312.564.7375 during show hours or email us at chicagosportsfix@gmail.com.

Adam Oestmann, Managing Editor for Chicago Bears Huddle, will be joining us in the first hour.

The Daily Herald's Barry Rozner, who also hosts WSCR 670-AM The Score's venerable baseball program Hit & Run, will be joining us any Monday now to TALK MORE HOCKEY! Unfortunately, due to his schedule, we cannot get a definitive date. So you'll have to be listening to catch our interview with him.

Follow me on twitter @robzielinski.

PREACH