The Greatest show on Grass?

Is this what we are gonna be calling the bears offense soon? Maybe if the last two weeks were an indication of what the Martz offense can do for the bears. Look, it was a great win yesterday against the Jets and the bears did it by leaning on the offense something that is entirely foreign to us Bears fans. The bears are in the driver's seat for a first round bye and have won 7 out of their last 8. Shaping up to be a great season. Positive, negatives and thoughts on yesterday's game below.

The Good

1. O-line. The much maligned O-line looked like studs vs. the Jets. Cutler had all day to complete throws and we saw what happens then with 3 tds in the 3rd quarter. Plus, Forte was the first 100 yd rusher against the Jets this year. A lot of that credit goes to the O-line for blocking up people. If the line can play like this then sky is the limit for this offense.

2. Matt Forte. As mentioned above, Forte is the 1st back to go over 100 yards against the Jets D this year. And only the 2nd back to do it in the last 2 years. Forte had some excellent blocking but he picked up a ton of yards after 1st contact and he looks like the back he was in his rookie year. He is the most dangerous weapon on the bears offense.

3. Jay Cutler/Devin Hester. Ask Jay how easy it is too look good when you usually only have to go half the field for a TD and you have a running game. The bears offense was clicking on all cylinders and Jay showed why he was brought into be the franchise QB. And not enough can be said about Hester and the advantage he gives the bears. The bears have the best average starting field position in the NFL and it is because of #23. Also, he has caught TDs in 2 consecutive games. Can he get the MVP?

The Bad

1. D-line. Did the bears D-line actually play yesterday? It was pretty hard to tell because im pretty sure Mark Dirty Sanchez was pretty much untouched besides some LB blitzes. I dont want to hear that this D-line has problem with their "get-off" on the soldier field grass. Arent there pills for that? Anyway, the bears know they play on turf and that they play in the cold so this just cant be an excuse for no pash rush. I was having flash backs to last season's defense. Not good.

2. Defensive play calling. Alright, I by now understand that Lovie's system doesnt work when you have to rush more than 4. But does that mean the defense just has to give up when its not working? In the 2nd quarter and really until the 4th quarter, it looked like the bears had no idea what to do when their front 4 couldnt get pressure. Finally, in the 4th, we saw urlacher and briggs coming on blitzes which were somewhat effective. Can I ask why it took till then for the blitz to become an option? That adjustment needed to be made a lot earlier given the way Sanchez was carving up the bears.

Random Bear Thoughts

Peanut Tillman has to be winding down his days as a cornerback. I mean we have all seen his inability to cover fast WRs anymore and he has pretty much become a liability in most man to man coverage situations. I personally love Peanut and proudly display his autograph in my room but I think realistically if he is still with the bears his future will be at safety. I mean he says on the field because of his ability to punch out fumbles and putting him at safety would mean he is around the ball more and he can use his size and strength against TEs and backs. It could re-invent his career much the way it did for rod woodson and charles woodson. Either way CB must be an offseason priority for the bears.

Why is the packers game important? Because if the packers win, it would likely mean that the bears get the #3 seed and would play the #6 seed who would be........the Packers. As great it would be to see a Bears-Pack playoff game, they will probably be the most dangerous NFC team in the playoffs.

Bears v. Tom Brady

I mean really can anyone name someone else on the patriots? They really have Tom Brady and a bunch of role players around him. When you look at their statistics they are just an average team but here they are at 9-2. Their offense is 13th in yards, 11th in passing, 13th in rushing but somehow they rank as the #1 scoring offense in the NFL at 31.6 pt/game. Their defense is average too ranking 19th in the NFL. So, this should be an easy win for the bears right?

Key Matchups

1. Jerod Mayo v. Jay Cutler. Cutler's improved play is really the reason for the offensive improvement since the bye week and I expect him to only be better against the Patriots. The Pats are ranked 31st against the pass and i think we may see the bears call more deep routes this game than the last 4 combined. But, I have the suspicion that Mayo, the Pats best LB, may be doing some spying/shadowing of Jay Culter given Jay's nimble feet of late. Mayo is really the one that drives the Pats defense and if Cutler can recognize what he where is on the field, it can negate his impact and make the Pats defense look pedestrian.

2. Urlacher v. Pats TEs. The Pats have two excellent rookie TEs in Hernandez and Gronkowski and the majority of their plays will involve both TEs. They love to run vertical down the seam and have the speed and hands to do so. Brady will spread the ball around but he definitely look to these guys for big plays down the center of the field. I suspect the bears will be playing a whole lot of cover 2 so Urlacher will have to get a good drop down the middle of the field in order to be in position to break up pass to these TEs.

3. Patriots v. Soldier Field turf. Hey, so the turf is crappy but what do I can when it neutralizes the opponents speed? It certainly worked against the eagles, maybe the fastest NFL team. And now we can hope it hurts the Patriots. Their offense is based around YAC or run after the catch so heres hoping on sunday its just falling after the catch.

Keys for the Bears

1. Tackling. Unfortunately this is probable the worst matchup for the bears defense in the NFL. The Pats are a patient, short passing team which absolutely kills cover 2 defenses. Maybe we will see some more blitzes and man 2 man from the bears but I heavily doubt it. So, in order for the bear's cover 2 to beat brady & co., they must tackle extremely well as the Pats are all about YAC, as stated above. The first guy must stop the ball carrier or at least slow him down.

2. DT pressure. Tom Brady is awesome in the pocket. He isnt very mobile but he slides/moves extremely well in the pocket. This allows him to side step a lot of pressure and step up on any pressure from the outsides. If the DTs can get pressure up the middle then Brady has no where to step up and we could see him take some sacks and it disrupt their passing game.

3. Big plays keep coming. The offense has been great the last couple weeks but not exactly what we expected from them. It has been consistently driving the ball and every once a while a big play will pop. But from the Martz offense, I was expecting a lot more big plays and quick scoring. I think this game will be higher scoring than most because the problems the Pats will present for our defense. With that said and the Pats D not having much of a pass rush, i think its time to start going deep early and often. Yep, this could turn into a disaster of inceptions and turnovers but this offense needs to show that it has that capability in order to be a playoff threat and probably to win this game.

Hero of the Day

Jay Cutler. Its the first time this year I have chosen Jay to have a big game. This probably as big of game in his career that he has played and he really needs to come out and show that he can perform against a good team. I think either he goes off for 3 or 4 tds and probably a int or he throws a real stinker and we start wondering if he can handle the big games/stage.

Prediction

I really want to take the bears. I know im that big of a homer but I just cant bring myself to do it. I wanted to take the Bears 31 to 27 on a last second season defining TD drive by Culter. But, i just cant. I think it will be a close game but Brady in the 4th quarter will hurt the bears and they will fall. Pats 27, Bears 24.