First off, this was my first Bears game in Boston. Luckily, I found a bar around the corner that plays every NFL game. It was actually kinda exciting being in a bar with so many people watching different games. You'd hear cheers and shouts randomly and glance over to see the Redskins, Colts or Bills make good on a play. It made me wonder if how much excitement is happening across the country at any one moment as a reaction to a play. Its incredible to stop and think of millions of fans watching in separate homes and cities having the same emotional, shared response at the same time. Now onto the game.
There were no huge moments in this game compared to the other games around the NFL this week. (Packers, Lions) The Bears won this game the old-fashioned way or at least the old-fashioned Lovie Smith way; with great defensive play and a serviceable offense. The Bears defense kept them in this game while the offense did just enough not to lose. This is a familiar storyline that was not supposed to be replayed again this season. But after two below average to dismal games for the Bears passing attack, its a replay of the Lovie Smith Bears. The excitement is now gone, but the potential is still there. We are hanging for dear life on to that offensive attack the Colts which produced 314 yards and 2 TDs through the air.
Bears Defense
Let's start with the good. The defense won this game for the Bears. In the 1st half, they played according to plan. The Bears let up small gains and closed out the Rams on 3rd downs. The Rams were 3 for 13 on 3rd Down. They were also able to get consistent pressure on Bradford. Particularly, Okoye had a nice sack in the 1st quarter where he clearly beat his man on a four-man rush. Besides Okoye, its seemed like the rotation of D-Linemen got the job done from Peppers to Paea to the rookie McClellin to Idonije. By the way, I could have sworn a I saw a play were McClellin played standing up in a more linebacker position at the end of the half, but I could be wrong. Briggs had another solid game, including a play where he shed a lineman's block to make a stop.I'm also launching my official Tim Jennings Pro Bowl campaign. By my count he has 4 interceptions and 2 deflections for interceptions. Obviously there's still a lot of football to be played, but he gets my pick for Pro Bowl right now. On an odd note, Peppers had an uncharacteristic personal foul penalty which extended the drive. If it wasn't Peppers I'd be angry, but Peppers has been so good its hard to remember he's a Bear. I guess I just have an assumption that all-star free agent pickups are supposed to fail for the Bears.
Bears Offense
Again, lets start with the good. I thought Michael Bush and the offensive line played well when rushing the ball. It seemed like they had early success running the ball, but went away from it. Early in the game the Bears seemed to barely string together drives and were able to put up a less than inspiring 3 points. It seemed like the Bears realized that they should have been running the ball more and finally ran the ball and used screens in a 7 minute drive in the 2nd quarter. This helped them when the time of possession game in the first half. It's hard to believe Bush only had 55 yards on 18 carries, because the running game seemed much more effective. The Bears also made good use of a couple screens and rookie Evan Rodriguez seemed to make some key blocks like he did Week 1.That leaves the bad which is pretty much the passing game. Both Cutler and the receivers deserve blame here. Cutler was off the mark all day and the receivers dropped ball when the should have been caught.
Game Thoughts
This game seemed closer than it should have been against a sub par opponent. So who is this team after three games. Well, better than average, but not elite yet. The Dallas game will tell us more.
As for this week, the team relied too much on the defense. It looked as though the Rams could win the game by defensive attrition when they were down 10-6, but the defense was able to seal the victory with a couple late interceptions and sacks. Like they had all game, the defense gave up some small gains, but in the end were able to make the key plays when it mattered.
