Martz finally found the missing section of his playbook that was labelled “GIVE THE BALL TO MATT FORTE!”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Bears run the ball that much since the day’s of Walter Payton. Jay Cutler only passed for 102 yards and one interception. Very unlike Mike Martz really. I was completely shocked with the way they ran the ball over and over again.

So basically is was the Matt Forte show on the offense. He ran the ball 25 times for a career high 205 yards and one touchdown. Marion Barber also had a touchdown, his first as a Bear.

Devin Hester was on fire in special teams yesterday. He almost ran back kick off but someone wasn’t fast enough to block in front of Devin. He did run back a punt for a touchdown though. It was beautiful and it pretty much saved the Bears behind. He broke the NFL record for most punt return touchdowns with 11. What’s amazing is that he did it so quickly.

The Bears defense made some good plays yesterday and extremely bad ones. They gave up waaay to many yards through the air and on the ground. Cam Newton looked like a veteran out there against the Bears defense. I was completely wrong when I said he wouldn’t translate into the NFL. Good for Cam. I don’t think teams will ever underestimate him again. I was very impressed with the way the Bears did force that turnover for a touchdown. It was a thing of beauty. I don’t think the Bears defense was even able to sack Cam. Don’t think the Bears blitzed often, which could of been one of the reasons why he wasn’t taken down. Another reason is that he’s very mobile and can elude defenders like a running back.

If the Bears defense rebounds then they have a chance to stop Stafford and Calvin Johnson from taking control of the game.

The Bears offensive line better be aware of Suh and the rest of the Lions defense that just destroyed the Cowboys offense as well. It could be a very rough Monday night for the Bears…

GammaBears

The Bears offense pretty much sputtered throughout the game. Having some signs of hope, then those were wiped away by stupid penalties. Looking at you Frank Omiyale. So far you are two for two this year with games that you have stupid penalties. Keep it up and I’m sure you’ll break some type of record. Martz sure as heck didn’t help the Bears by giving the ball to Forte nine times! Oh yeah we’ll definitely run the ball more this week! Get out of here with that nonsense. It was worse this week! Can’t tell you how upset I am for wasting Forte’s skills and talents. It’s almost like they want to depreciate his value so they don’t have to pay him at all when they resign him. Mike Martz is destroying Jay Cutler and Matt Forte’s career one play at a time. There’s no denying it. It’s pretty evident from the past two weeks. Only bright spot of the offense was Dane Sanzenbacher recording his second touchdown of his NFL career.

The defense started of sluggish, letting the Packers stomp down the field on their first possession. They were able to stop them for a while but later in the second half the Packers just continued to run the ball down the Bears throat. They did cause a few turnovers, one of the few bright spots of the day for the defense. I was truly hoping for a complete smack down on the Packers courtesy of the defense, but that didn’t really happen. Brian Urlacher looks like a second year player again. He’s flying all over the field. Hopefully people wake up and realize that he’s a tremendous player and deserves to be voted into the Pro-Bowl.

Oh.. and how about the special teams play where Knox ran it back for a TD… That would of been awesome if it wasn’t called back eh? Makes me sick to my stomach that it was called back.

GammaBears

I’ll make this short and sweet. The Packers have one of the best offenses in the NFL, the Bears have to do everything to stop them. They need to be physical, hard hitting and smart out on the field. To win this game, they need to sack Rodgers and just create havoc all across the offensive line and pressure. That’s basically what this game will come down to when the Bears defense is on the field. The Bears offense on the other hand..

The Bears offensive line was atrocious last week, and I’m not going to lie… I’m not looking forward to seeing the rest of the season if every defense in the NFL will continue to pretty much clobber Jay Cutler on almost every play. It’s too hard to watch! Jerry Angelo and the rest of the front office should be ashamed of themselves. They should take a snap and let the defense clobber them! I’m not to worried about Forte really. He always finds a way to contribute to the offense, as we saw last week after Martz decided to pretty much nix the run game.

The rest of the Bears weapons, I’m a little worried about. They need to catch everything that is thrown to them. There can’t be one wasted down in this game against the Packers. Everyone needs to be on their game, specially the offensive line. I’ve already told you what I thought about the Bears line in a number of my posts. It’s not pretty folks…

To sum all this up, this game will be pretty much all about revenge. I hope today Brian Urlacher and the Bears defense just destroys the Packers offense. Make them pay for every yard gained and every ball caught. I also hope Jay Cutler has one of the best games in his career. It truly would be a great day…

To quote a pretty good movie.. “Give them nothing! Take from them, everything!”

Bears 27
Packers 17

GammaBears

Probably didn’t help that the offense line gave up 5 sacks in the fourth and Jay Cutler was kicked in the throat in the third quarter. It was just a bad day for the offense period…

The defense clearly missed Chris Harris after Major Wright and Chris Conte were beat for a game changing long bomb from Brees. They gave up a lot of third down conversions which pretty much infuriated my dad and myself. Run defense was OK, certainly didn’t look to spectacular. The pass defense never really took control of the game away from Brees.

Really hope Jay, Wright, Carimi and Bennett is okay. Think those are the only ones who went down Sunday.

Oh… I would like to have a word with Martz and Lovie… Why in the heck did you keep Jay in the game with no chance of winning? You could of ended his season and possibly his career.

GammaBears

The Bears defense might be in some trouble with the absence of Safety Chris Harris on Sunday. He’s one of the players who always seem to make key plays and without him on the field I’m a bit worried. Especially since they will be going against one of the most potent offenses in the league. Every player on the Saints offense is a weapon really.

They have so much depth it’s scary. I’m not 100% sure who will be replacing Harris, but I have a guess. I have a feeling it’s going to be Craig Steltz. It could even be Brandon Meriweather, but I’m not sure if he the coaches are comfortable with him starting so soon. Other than that, I’m hoping a repeat performance by the only defense in the NFL in Week 1 that didn’t give up a touchdown. I’m pretty confident that Brian Urlacher will have one his best games tomorrow. Even better than last week! Have a feeling he will be playing for his Mom tomorrow.

Won’t go over the offense much except that I hope the Bears get off the bus running. Like always they need to establish the run so it sets up the play action and the pass game basically. The most simplest thing in football really. Could be a little difficult without Lance Louis and Marion Barber though. Just hope Bell is ready for another busy Sunday. They had themselves a nice little one-two punch with Forte and Bell last week.

Another part of the offense that needs to be the spot on is the route running and the smart decisions by Jay Cutler. He really needs to play smart out there. If the relievers and Cutler are on the same page, then it will be a great day for the Bears passing game. Oh, totally forgot about the offensive line. They really need to work on protecting Jay better. I have a feeling that the Saints D has taken a lot of flak for giving all those points up to the Packers last week and they are looking to rebound.

Time for the prediction!
Bears 24
Saints 17

GammaBears

Was wondering when the Bears would come out with their team captains this year. Today is that day! Jay Cutler, Roberto Garza, Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, and Patrick Mannelly were selected today as the team captains. I am not suprised with any of the choices. They all bring leadership to this team and I just hope they all stay healthy.

I’m very happy Patrick Mannelly was chosen as a team captain. Easily one of the most underrated players in the entire league. He was drafted in 1998! A sixth round pick from Duke University. Very happy the Bears still have him and I wish him a very healthy season.

-GammaBears

Not some joker who can’t catch a ball and does a little dance every time he gets a first down. Caleb Hanie had a rough outing, throwing an interception that was returned ninety yards for a touchdown, which gave the Titans the lead the Bears never regained back.

There are a few good things that came out of last night’s game. One was how good the defense played. They didn’t surrender more than one touchdown the entire game. That’s a huge improvement from Monday’s game against the Giants.

 Secondly was how well Matt Forte and Kahlil Bell ran the ball. Forte averaged 4.4 yards per carry and accounted for the Bears only touchdown. Forte’s looking for a contract extension and it’s looking like he might be able to get one. If not, then Jerry Angelo is just saving all that cap space for nothing. Forte has been the workhorse of the offense since the first game of his rookie year. Give him his due.

Lastly was the way the offensive line played, according to stats anyway. They allowed only one sack. That’s always an improvement. Maybe the Bears finally found their blocking scheme. I just hope they are able to hold their opponents to one or no sacks per game in regular season. I can’t bare to watch Cutler get tossed around like a rag doll last season and I’m sure he wouldn’t like that either.

Here’s hoping the Bears win their fourth preseason game against Cleveland.

Oh on a side note, Lance Briggs approached Jerry Angelo and asked him for a raise. Don’t think he’ll get it, but who knows what will come out of this. Also, Chester Taylor came out saying that he was unhappy that he didn’t receive one carry all game last night. I guess the Bears front office and coaching staff is unhappy with Taylor.

GammaBears

GammaBears

For the Bears offense to take control of this game, the line needs to block and Jay Cutler needs to make smart decisions. The wide receivers also need to play smart as well. If they don’t run the right route it will end badly. They also need to be extremely physical. Anyway, let’s start off with the offensive line. Ever since the bye week they have improved greatly. They’ve taken a few stumbles here and there, but for the most part they have been improving. You saw it a lot last Sunday against Seattle. It was a thing of beauty seeing the line giving so much time for Jay Cutler on numerous plays. They also opened up holes for Matt Forte and Chester Taylor. Something they’ll have to do again against the Packers. Last time they played them in week 17, Forte had 15 carries for 91 yards. If he’s able to do that plus get an extra 5 carries or so, he will have a field day against the Packers.  Now onto the wide outs. Everyone of those receivers need play their best football. It is key that they run the right routes and play physical. If they can’t do either of those things, then Cutler will have a long ugly day. Speaking of Jay, he needs to do a few things. Needs to stay focused, pressure free, make smart decisions and don’t let the Packers get to him. He needs to throw the ball away instead of taking a sack. Just chuck the ball out of bounds in the area of a eligible receiver. He also needs to throw the ball away if no one is open. It’s not worth the risk of throwing it in double or triple coverage, especially in the playoffs. If he’s able to stay away from bad decisions and sacks, he will have a great game.

Now it’s the defense’s turn. They played outstanding against Seattle last week and Green Bay in week 17. The score was a bit deceiving, they gave up a lot of garbage yards in the prevent defense. Not to mention Matt Forte threw an interception and a tip of the ball gave the Seahawks a touchdown. Other than that, it was a complete shut down of the Seahawks offense. The same offense that ripped the Saints apart. Unfortunately the Bears defense didn’t get a lot of credit because it was Seattle, but I swear if it went the other way we’d be hearing how that offense is one of the best in the league. That’s how it goes in the media, no respect for the Bears. I wonder if the Bears have a huge banner in their locker room that says “NO RESPECT!” Anyways, the key to this game on defense is forcing turnovers.They need to force fumbles and intercept Aaron Rodgers. Something the Bears are pretty good at. I”m really hoping they pick Rodgers off at least two times.

The only way that can happen is if they get pressure up front. Peppers, Harris, Idonije, Adams, Toeaina, Melton and Wootton need to get pressure from the start of the game and to the end. If they are able to pressure and contain Rodgers I have a great feeling that the Bears defensive backs and linebackers will be able cover Green Bay’s receivers if they are able to pressure Rodgers. Everyone on the defense needs to be on their game. They cannot give up the big plays. You saw what the Packers did to the Falcons last week. The Falcons defense gave up way too many big plays and now they’re out of the playoffs. It’s simple as that, but it necessarily won’t be an easy thing to stop. Another thing the Bears need to do is stop the Packers run game. Kuhn and Starks is a deadly combo. They can’t underestimate those two like the Eagles did. With that being said, the Bears need to pressure Aaron Rodgers, create turnovers, stop the run and don’t give up big plays. If they are able to do all of that, the Bears defense should dominate this game.

Special teams will play a big part in Sundays game. Field position is a key and I think the Bears will win that easily if the defense does their thing. I truly believe that Devin Hester will have a few chances to run one back and I think he will. This game has punt/kick return for a touchdown by Hester written all over it. Robbie Gould needs to be gold as usual and Brad Maynard needs to boot the ball. Can’t give the Packers good field position.

Alright folks here’s my prediction….

Final Score
BEARS 24
Packers 20

GammaBears

The Bears offense was completely out of sync and just looked awful. They were 0-12 on third downs and Jay Cutler was sacked six times. He also didn’t have any touchdowns in that game as well. It was just a bad day to be on offense for the Bears. Of course the Bears offense has improved greatly thanks to the bye week miracle. Since then they have been one of most balanced offenses in the NFL. Jay Cutler’s has had some ups and downs since then, but he did finish the season with more touchdowns than interceptions. The only thing that worries me about Jay Cutler coming into this game is that it will be his first playoff game of his career.  Odd as it sounds he has never been to the playoffs. If he’s able to overcome the playoff jitters he will be able to win this game. The Seahawks defense is shaky at best in my opinion and their key player on defense,  Lofa Tatupu is coming off a concussion he received in Saints game. The Bears offense is a completely different animal and they should be able to run the ball efficiently. Matt Forte has been on fire since the bye week, he’s averaging 4.9 yards per carry. If he’s able to continue that. he should be able to take it to the Seahawks. With that being said, if the offensive line blocks for Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, they should win this game.

The Bears defense is coming off a pretty solid outing against the Packers in the last week of the season. Even though the Bears lost that game, they looked solid on defense. Losing a game by just one touchdown is pretty good considering they had nothing to play for. I think they will have a great game against the Seahawks this Sunday. There should be nothing holding them back, playing all out Bears defense. I expect a lot of blitzes and hard hitting from Rod Marinelli’s defense. One thing they have watch out for is Seattle WR Mike Williams. He had 10 catches for 123 yards. He tore up the Bears defense last game, but things have changed. Bears are a better complete team on defense now. With the exception of the Patriots and Jets game, they have been rock solid since the bye week. Oh and I don’t expect another ‘Beast Mode’ play by Lynch against the Bears. I can’t think of any running back doing that against the Bears this season and it’s sure as heck is not going to be him. Julius Peppers already said that wouldn’t happen. I’m really hoping that the secondary just dominates and creates lots of turnovers for the Bears. Same goes for the front four, I want to see sacks and forced fumbles. Just a complete and utter domination by them would make me happy.

The Bears special teams should be pretty solid like usual. They have been kicking and taking names all year long and I expect that to continue Sunday. Robbie Gould, Brad Maynard and Devin Hester all have playoff experience and should play mistake free football. I would really like to see Hester run one back again. I don’t think it would count towards his record because it’s the playoffs but it sure would be nice.

Bears win this game and advance to the NFC Championship

Final Score
Bears 28
Seahawks 14