YOUR LINES FOR THE WEEK:

BENGALS -2.5 49ers / Pats -8.5 BILLS / SAINTS -4 Texans / BROWNS  -2.5 Dolphins / TITANS -7 Broncos / Lions -3 VIKINGS / PANTHERS -3.5 Jags / CHARGERS -14.5 Chiefs / Jets -3 RAIDERS / Ravens -4 RAMS / BUCS -1.5 Falcons / CARDINALS -3.5 Seahawks / Packers -3.5 BEARS / Steelers -10 COLTS / COWBOYS -4.5 Redskins / EAGLES -9 Giants

CURRENTLY ON THE BOARD:

The Brothers:  Jon (4-1-1), Jeff (3-3), Chris (3-3)

The Commenter Perfect Weeks: Big Daddy (1), DYLbears23 (1), New Bear in Town (1), BossBear90 (1)

I don’t believe in litmus test or turning point games this early in the season but I’m starting to sense that’s exactly what faces the Chicago Bears this week at Soldier Field.  The Super Bowl champions are coming to town having been handed a blueprint for scrambling the Mind of Martz by Gregg Williams and the defensive coaches down on the bayou.  I can see this game going two ways: (1) The Bears stabilize their issues and deliver an inspired effort on the lakefront or (2) Injuries, flaws, coaching issues compound and the Bears are watching Matt Flynn throw passes in the fourth quarter.

WHY DO I LIKE THE CHICAGO BEARS THIS WEEK?

• I always like the Chicago Bears.
• I have to believe the Bears are going to play angry this week because if they don’t play angry this week there isn’t much to them.  Their coaches looked like fools in New Orleans.  Their offensive linemen looked like amateurs.  Their quarterback looked like he was ready to shoot someone in the face with a gun.  What better remedy than your oldest rivals in front of your fans?
• This rivalry of late is as balanced as it gets.  Including the postseason, Lovie Smith is 8-7 against the Packers.  Mike McCarthy is 6-5 against the Bears.  Throw the records out.
• Three things scare me about the Packers: (1) Their ability to bring linebacker pressure off the edges. (2)  The ability of their corners to muscle the Bears wide receivers off their routes at the line of scrimmage.  (3) Jermichael Finley.
• (1) The Bears have to design protection schemes that border on max-protect.  Two tights on occasion.  Use the fullback Clutts as a blocker.  But perhaps most importantly, the Bears need to be less willing to release Matt Forte over the middle and keep him at home to protect the quarterback.
• (2) The Bears HAVE TO take shots deep.  The absence of Nick Collins for the Pack leaves them more vulnerable to the deep ball and the only way you can get corner to play off receivers is by threatening them with long-range passes.  With the amount of speed at the position for Chicago, it will only require a three second pocket.
• (3) Jimmy Graham had 6 catches for 79 yards but more important than the stats were the situations wherein he made the catches: big third downs late.  Tony Gonzalez had 5 catches for 72 and the same can be said.  At this stage in all their respective careers, Jermichael Finley is the best of the three and he’s capable of taking over Sunday afternoon.  The Bears need to hit him off the line of scrimmage and defend him with anything but a linebacker (and preferably a cover corner).  To be fair, I don’t think this will happen.
• I’m starting to think Matt Forte might be a great player and I expect the Bears to rely heavily on him Sunday.  Both the Saints and Panthers had success running the ball against the Packers but both decided to put the game on the arm of their star quarterback.  (Yes it’s fair to call Cam Newton a star.)  24 carries, 121 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Robbie Gould has been consistently knocking the ball through the end zone.  Mason Crosby has not.  Devin Hester has been a shoestring tackle away from breaking a touchdown in both of the first two games.  I think he makes a big play on specials.
• Chris Harris will stabilize the safety position.  Roy Williams will stabilize the wideouts and win a big one-on-one battle on a crucial third down.
• I like the Bears of this era when they’re angry and feeling unloved.

Bears 27, Packers 26 

Late this Sunday afternoon the Super Bowl champions will come to the Lakefront and take on the Chicago Bears.  It is Packer Week and those are only guaranteed twice a year.  Listening to Chicagoland radio Monday morning it became more than apparent the Bears faithful were not only willing but downright giddy to trash everything (and I mean everything) involving the organization.  Suddenly 30-12 was the dream and 30-13 was the reality.  The fans I listened to seemed more excited to say “I told you so” than they would have been to say “Yeehaw!  We’re 2-0!”  It is the most consistently disappointing component of doing what I do: having to deal with the inherent negativity of those supposedly pulling for the same club and those reporting on the club for the city’s dailies.

Enough.

Sunday has the opportunity to be a pivotal moment of the 2011 Chicago Bears season and a true home field advantage must be created at Soldier Field.  Chicago. Rome. Soldier. Coliseum.  Force Aaron Rodgers to burn timeouts when he can’t communicate audibles at the line of scrimmage. Get on the refs when you don’t agree with a bullshit pass interference call on Tim Jennings.  When Roy Williams makes the formerly obnoxious first down gesture after a big third down catch, shake the damn building.

But don’t boo.  Especially not early in the game.  I understand the cost of ticket prices for the ballpark.  But if J’Marcus Webb lets a rusher around him on the left side early, don’t turn on him.  If Cutler throws a pick in a bad spot, calm down.  If they lose, if they get embarrassed at home, you’ll have six more games to unleash your wrath on all things Bears.  Sunday all that fourth phase bullshit matters.  Don’t disappoint.

We were lucky on this end to have been sent a promotional copy of Amazing Tales From the Chicago Bears.  It’s not exactly George Plimpton’s seminal football text Paper Lion or even Sal Paolantonio’s terribly underrated How Football Explains America but it is a fun book full of stories just about every Bears fan I know would enjoy.

So I figured I’d give a copy of the book to one of you rubes.  Since it is tales of the Chicago Bears, I’m going to give the book to the commenter who tells the best Bears watching story down below.  It has to involve you either watching the game on TV, attending the game live or listening to it on the radio.  No random Chicago Bears tales.  This has to involve a ballgame.

Once the comments total gets to 100, I’m choosing.  So get your story in.

Full disclosure: I am not a Lovie Smith fan.  I have stated many times I believe he disguises an unearned, stubborn arrogance with a premeditated, fraudulent “aw shucks” presentation to the media and fans.  I think his defensive strategies lack aggression, lack excitement and will always lose out to the elite quarterback in the big spot.  I think his offensive strategy amounts to allowing Jerry Angelo to pick the players as he subsequently complains when the coordinator he hires (Shea/Turner/Martz)  refuses to call enough runs to meet his liking.  He has won games, I know, but I will continue to argue that there are many coaches around this country who could have won more with this talent he’s possessed during his tenure.

But Lovie Smith is the head coach of the Chicago Bears and every Sunday I root for him to become the greatest coach this organization has seen since Halas.  Every Sunday I hope Smith will suddenly out-scheme the guy wearing the headset on the other sideline.  Every Sunday I pray the Bears will come out of the halftime locker room a better team than went into the halftime locker room.  Then a game like Sunday happens.

Don’t blame Mike Martz for calling too many pass plays.  That is the equivalent of blaming a raging drunk for pounding too many shots of Bushmills on a Thursday afternoon.  Someone has to pour those shots.  Someone has to take his money and say, “Go right ahead, Pal.  Keep drinking.”  Lovie is wearing a headset and hears the words leaving the mouth of Martz as they enter the ears of Jay Cutler.  Martz wants the whiskey.  He orders the whiskey.  But Lovie doesn’t bother pouring the booze out.  He just hands him the bottle.  And then in the postgame presser (once the drunk has pissed on the floor) and to the Bears media the following day (after he has woken up in the local drunk tank), Lovie complains Martz didn’t mix in enough water to keep hydrated.

Bill Belichick is the league’s best coach and arguably the greatest to ever coach the sport and one thing is clear with Belichich: every detail of the New England Patriots bears his stamp. (That’s why most people can’t even name his coordinators.)  The head coach is an NFL team is unlike the head coach in any other sport.  He is the identity of the team on game day.  If these are truly Lovie Smith’s Chicago Bears, events like Sunday can no longer take place.  He must be fully responsible, fully in control.  He must be ready to turn Martz off and take over the playcalling duties himself.  If that’s not his thing, he must have someone on that sideline ready to relay what he wants to the quarterback.

Lovie’s not going to get the opportunity to hire another coordinator on either side of the ball unless he wins big.  He’s not going to get the opportunity to coach the next generation of Chicago Bears defenders unless he wins big.  And right now we’re reading an awful lot about Rod Marinelli’s impact on Henry Melton, Mike Tice’s grooming of a young offensive and Mike Martz creating offensive approaches on the fly.  But what the hell are we hearing about the man in charge?  Nothing.  Where does he fit into all of this?  Nowhere, apparently.  He’s barely even allowed to toss the red hanky any longer when he inaccurately reacts to a referee’s call.

But make no mistake about it.  This is Lovie Smith’s career on the line.  His legacy.  One would think he’d like some say on the matter.  I know I would.

TIME HAS COME FOR ANGRY JAY CUTLER

He was pissed off, standing by himself down from the remainder of the Chicago Bears roster.  The quarterback was tired of getting shellacked every time he dropped back to pass and rightly so.  But he wasn’t pouting, no sir.  He was standing by himself watching the action on the field and hoping for another opportunity to throw the football and score some points.  He had already hollered at every coach, every lineman, every trainer, every Bears fan within an ear shot.  One thing was very, very clear.  Jay Cutler was done.

Now is his moment.  Now is his time.  Cutler has an opportunity to show the Chicago Bears media and faithful that he is bigger than the general manager and coaching staff.  Bigger than the protection schemes that refuse to protect him.  Bigger than all the mistakes being made in and around Halas Hall.  Jay Cutler is the franchise quarterback.  His silence and calm demeanor are no longer required.

HESTER SAYS SOMETHING TELLING, SILVER WRITES IT

The quote: “They sent more than we were expecting.  And as a unit we didn’t adjust to it.”  If this is the case, it is grounds for firing multiple individuals.  When a playwright/blogger knows what the opponent’s game plan is going to be, and writes about it every day for a week, yet the offensive coordinator doesn’t, we have a problem.  For christ sake, I know every lyric to West Side Story!  I’m not supposed to be better prepared for football games than the Bears offense!

From Mike Silver’s piece:

Finally, after two consecutive embarrassing performances, the Saints’ defense came up huge in a 30-13 victory over the Bears. In a clear sign that New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams got the best of Chicago offensive coordinator Mike Martz (and both are very, very shrewd strategists), Bears quarterback Jay Cutler(notes) was hit repeatedly and sacked six times. “We kicked their ass,” said one Saints defender. “They refuse to block blitzes. It was unbelievable how much we hit Cutler.”

SPEAKING OF WIDE RECEIVERS

Look at the statistics from Sunday’s loss to the Saints and you’ll notice something: outside the Devery Henderson bomb TD, the Saints wide receivers had about 60 yards of total output.  The Bears corners played a good game.  But the defense could not defend Jimmy Graham – as also predicted on this site every day for the entire week.

PICKS CONTEST

After a thrilling Week One performance by you boys below, not a single individual had a perfect Week Two.  The reason why is simple.  The Bears beat about 90% of you and the failure of Cowboys receiver Jessie Holley to gain one more yard in overtime cost the other 10%.

After the second week of the NFL season, the Bears are even.  They won 30-12.  They lost 30-13.  One at home.  One on the road.  A push if you ask me.  And not a bad two-game stretch to push.  But Sunday’s loss in New Orleans was an eye opener that should put elements of this ballclub on notice.  I will now complain about three areas of the football team we’ve all been complaining about forever and try to offer solutions.

OFFENSIVE LINE

I’m sure many people out there want to crucify the Bears o-line after the 6 sack, 378 hit performance Sunday but I’m not going there.  How does a Bears team in a close game for three quarters only rush the ball 11 times?  How does a Bears team knowing (and we ALL knew!) the Saints would blitz heavily not compensate for that blitz by loading up the line and protecting?  You might want to crucify them but from watching the game I wouldn’t be sure whom to actually crucify.  Webb was outgunned a few times but for the most part the defender in the backfield beat no one at all and rushed unabated to #6.

It seems to me that once Martz gets some offensive success he assumes every one of his players is a Pro Bowler and subsequently the Bears are harassed by an opponent with an actual game plan.

Solution: PROTECT THE QUARTERBACK!  It really is not that hard.  Line up with two tights.  That means using only two receivers but if your entire passing game is dumping the ball off to the back, who cares?  This offense does nothing, achieves nothing, goes nowhere if the quarterback does not have time to throw the ball.  Run the ball more than 11 times.  Establish the damn run.  And when you’re asking the quarterback to throw, protect him.

WIDE RECEIVER

Is it possible the absence of Roy Williams and Earl Bennett leaves this receiving corps looking, well, like this?  Is Devin Hester really ineffective if he doesn’t catch the ball behind the line of scrimmage?  Are we really in the place where we’re relying on Dane Sanzenbacher to catch big third down tosses late?  Can no wide receiver run a crossing route anymore?

Solution: A lot of this goes back to point one.  If you don’t block for the quarterback, you can’t connect passes to wide receivers.  But didn’t we go through this every-route-more-than-ten-yards thing last year?  Didn’t the Bears start having a major of their success a year ago when the routes were reduced and the quarterback’s drops were shortened?  Didn’t we f’n do this already?

 SAFETY

Nope.  The Bears will not win football games anytime Chris Conte and Major Wright are paired together at the back of the defense.  Ditto if Craig Steltz is in there for either.

Solution: There isn’t one.  Just get Chris Harris healthy.  We’ve all known for months the Bears had no depth at safety and Sunday they paid for it.  CH and Meriweather need to be the starters.  And they need to be out there.  Jerry can draft all the shitty white safeties he wants it doesn’t mean any of them can play professional football.

OVERALL: Bad game.  And when you play this poorly against a good team, you’re going to lose.  Get it fixed and get ready.  Because goddamnit, it’s Packer Week.

Maybe I’m getting older.  Drifting further into that maturity thing folks keep talking about.  But today’s loss to the New Orleans Saints – a grotesque affair if there ever was one – did not upset me the way it would have upset me in recent past.  Or rather did not upset me the way it might in a pivotal December ballgame.  Perhaps it is that maturity thing.  Or perhaps it’s because we’ve seen this show before.

I was there a year ago.  The 3-0 Chicago Bears were on top of the world and folks were starting to dream of the Super Bowl in the Windy City.  Then Justin Tuck happened.  Osi Umenyiora happened.  And suddenly the Super Bowl dreams became Meadowlands nightmares.  The Bears were forced to stare into the large Halas Hall funhouse mirror that constantly reflects Cade McNown and re-design the entirety of the offense.  They did.  And they managed to take a lackluster (at best) offensive line to the NFC Championship Game.

This game was not on the players.  Yes the Bears allowed a lot of sacks but many of those sacks were by defenders entirely unblocked by the line at all.  Yes the Saints had success moving the ball down the field but why wouldn’t they when you are covering one of the most explosive tight ends in the game with mediocre safeties and (gulp) linebackers?  Yes Drew Brees struck the Bears with an 80 yard touchdown pass but if Conte and Major are playing safety together why wouldn’t he do that?  The Bears coaching staff – Lovie, Rod, Martz, Tice – were embarrassed on the bayou today by better coaches.

Now comes the reckoning.  We fans have a week to digest all the mistakes made in the dome this afternoon.  We’ll discuss the well-placed rage Cutler showed on the sideline.  (And I’ll have a full piece on that tomorrow.)  We’ll discuss Lance Briggs one-on-one with a wideout on the pivotal third quarter touchdown pass.  We’ll discuss the allowing of unblocked blitzers from the blindside of the franchise repeatedly throughout the second half.  But the coaching staff has a home date with the best team in football Sunday.

And make no mistake about it.  For the Chicago Bears organization, next Sunday will feel like that Super Bowl they dreamt of a year ago.  Next Sunday is everything.  And the Bears have a month’s worth of work to do before then.

Final thoughts:

1. Be ready for the blitz and counter with the quick out and screen.  The Saints secondary is full of shoddy tacklers and I love the matchup of ours against theirs in space.  Do not take the chance of five and seven-step drops.
2. Don’t be surprised if the Saints come at you with a heavy dose of the cutback run game.  They know they can’t beat us throwing it 50+ times.  The Saints drafted Mark Ingram in the first round for occasions like this.
3. Emotion is dangerous.  The building will be intense.  The Bears defense will be defense, especially coming off the funeral of Brian’s mother.  Keep it together.  Play intense.  But play smart.  (I’m looking at you, Meriweather.)
4. Bear the hell down.

Bear down!