Week 6: Bears at Falcons, noon central on Fox

[jersey cubs fan]

If the Bears want to go into the Vikings game as the undisputed leader of the NFC North, they can't look past this matchup. The offense should be able to move the ball and score, as Atlanta's defense has been nothing special. It's all going to come down to shutting down the Atlanta running game, and then trying to take advantage of a rookie QB and his propensity to throw picks (at least in college). Atlanta doesn't stop the run or pass all that well, and they've given up sizable point totals (21-24) in most of their games.

 

Bears were favored by 2.5 this morning, and the latest line I've seen is now 3. They are 5-0 against the spread this year, Atlanta is 3-2. I expect the Bears to do to them what Tampa and Carolina both did.

[UMFan83]

I was just about to make this thread.

 

Should be a good test for our run D, who everyone is praising right now.

[jersey cubs fan]

I was just about to make this thread.

 

Should be a good test for our run D, who everyone is praising right now.

 

It's Dusty's time to shine, and it would be nice if Harris could play, and make an impact for the first time all year.

[minnesotacubsfan]

I see the bears having a tough time with Turner (Dusty not impressing, Harris as well, but Idonje (sp) and Harrison playing well lately), but if the offense can continue to grow with orton/olsen/forte we should be able to do enough to win

 

27-24 bears

[YearofDaCubs]

The Bears win this one. Probably will be tougher than expected but they should win.

[Soul]

So here's the question I have. Tommie hasn't been very good this year. He's probably slated to come back this week.

 

Play him? Izzy's been pretty good. Maybe there's a better game to plug Tommie back in other than this one, against one of the better rushing teams.

[minnesotacubsfan]

So here's the question I have. Tommie hasn't been very good this year. He's probably slated to come back this week.

 

Play him? Izzy's been pretty good. Maybe there's a better game to plug Tommie back in other than this one, against one of the better rushing teams.

 

i think if Harris is healthy, you play him, period. Maybe no start, maybe not a majority of plays, but you def play him. he still is our best DL

[Butterscup1679666578]

So here's the question I have. Tommie hasn't been very good this year. He's probably slated to come back this week.

 

Play him? Izzy's been pretty good. Maybe there's a better game to plug Tommie back in other than this one, against one of the better rushing teams.

 

I don't see how sitting him would help. You can get a very solid rotation going with Idonije, Dusty, and Tommie. You wouldn't have to play Harris constantly, but you'd still get him some solid PT so he doesn't get rusty from 2+ weeks off.

[jersey cubs fan]

So here's the question I have. Tommie hasn't been very good this year. He's probably slated to come back this week.

 

Play him? Izzy's been pretty good. Maybe there's a better game to plug Tommie back in other than this one, against one of the better rushing teams.

 

I don't see how sitting him would help. You can get a very solid rotation going with Idonije, Dusty, and Tommie. You wouldn't have to play Harris constantly, but you'd still get him some solid PT so he doesn't get rusty from 2+ weeks off.

 

If he's not 100% healthy, sitting him could help him get back to dominance in the 2nd half. And with a dome game on carpet, this may not be the best week to bring him back. If he's more or less healthy, I think you should get him some playing time in this game. He should be hungry and refocused after a bad start, but the longer he stays away from the team, you may risk an increased likelihood of "losing him" with all the personal distractions.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

finally, the one game I don't care which team wins. I know I swore off the Falcons, but I'm finding it hard to completely let them go.

[Butterscup1679666578]

So here's the question I have. Tommie hasn't been very good this year. He's probably slated to come back this week.

 

Play him? Izzy's been pretty good. Maybe there's a better game to plug Tommie back in other than this one, against one of the better rushing teams.

 

I don't see how sitting him would help. You can get a very solid rotation going with Idonije, Dusty, and Tommie. You wouldn't have to play Harris constantly, but you'd still get him some solid PT so he doesn't get rusty from 2+ weeks off.

 

If he's not 100% healthy, sitting him could help him get back to dominance in the 2nd half. And with a dome game on carpet, this may not be the best week to bring him back. If he's more or less healthy, I think you should get him some playing time in this game. He should be hungry and refocused after a bad start, but the longer he stays away from the team, you may risk an increased likelihood of "losing him" with all the personal distractions.

 

Well right, I agree if there is a major risk of re-injury, you shouldn't play him. However, if he thinks he can go and the medical staff thinks he can go, they should at least get some PT.

[jersey cubs fan]

So here's the question I have. Tommie hasn't been very good this year. He's probably slated to come back this week.

 

Play him? Izzy's been pretty good. Maybe there's a better game to plug Tommie back in other than this one, against one of the better rushing teams.

 

I don't see how sitting him would help. You can get a very solid rotation going with Idonije, Dusty, and Tommie. You wouldn't have to play Harris constantly, but you'd still get him some solid PT so he doesn't get rusty from 2+ weeks off.

 

If he's not 100% healthy, sitting him could help him get back to dominance in the 2nd half. And with a dome game on carpet, this may not be the best week to bring him back. If he's more or less healthy, I think you should get him some playing time in this game. He should be hungry and refocused after a bad start, but the longer he stays away from the team, you may risk an increased likelihood of "losing him" with all the personal distractions.

 

Well right, I agree if there is a major risk of re-injury, you shouldn't play him. However, if he thinks he can go and the medical staff thinks he can go, they should at least get some PT.

 

It's football, every play is a major risk of injury. He might be healthy enough to play a game on grass, but maybe not on the carpet. I could see the justification of holding him back even if he's "good enough to go".

[jersey cubs fan]

From the other thread:

 

Norwood and Turner arent going to do enough to beat this defense. Offenses need to have more than one dimension to beat this defense. If they march up and down the field running the ball then the falcons are bad ass. Ryan is going to be put in positions of 2nd and 3rd and long. Thats where the Bears D has a huge advantage.

 

The Bears have been vulnerable to solid passing games, and typically shut down the run, allowing only 74 YPG on the ground this year. However, this defense does occasionally get beat by runners. Peterson last year, Bettis in 2005. They couldn't stop Stewart in the 2nd half against Carolina. Barber and Ward hurt them last year. Taylor and Brown hurt them in the super bowl season, and Indy ran on them as well. I wouldn't say it's a sure thing they shut them down. But the Bears should be able to focus enough on that running game to get the job done.

[Soul]

finally, the one game I don't care which team wins. I know I swore off the Falcons, but I'm finding it hard to completely let them go.

They really aren't all that bad. This year is a development year for Ryan, but if they continue down the path they are on right now, I could see them being a pretty solid ballclub next year. Last year was abysmal, but they've rebounded quite nicely IMHO. It's hard to say if they'll continue up or head back down though. But I suppose you could say that with most NFL teams.

[Soul]

Yeah I wouldn't take it for granted that we will automatically stop Atlanta's run game just because we have been good against the run early. Atlanta's got a better ground attack than the likes of Philly without Westbrook, and the woeful Lions.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

you'd be a fool to think that Atlanta's running game is going to be easily stopped. Ryan isn't exactly a slouch either

[SpongeWorthy]

Ryan's propensity to throw picks in college was mainly a function of having little skill talent around him and not much of a running game. If he's going to throw picks now it's because he's a rookie in the NFL.

 

I couldn't believe some people were so down on him and saying that Flacco, Henne, Woodson, types were better.

 

I think he ends up being a top 3 or so QB in the NFL and definitely the best one drafted in the last 5 years or so. He's that good.

[rchap24]

I thought this game was our easy win before the season started....Now that I've seen them play we could beat them badly or Turner could run all over us

[Andy]

Just stopping in to say Go Bears! I think you guys will get it done this weekend, and hopefully you do, it would help us out.

[wekse]

i might actually get this game down here since the titans are off...if that's the case i hope you're all prepared to watch the bears lose....although they have won the 2 games i've gotten to watch thanks to sunday nite football.

[Vanilla Ice]

Let's go Falcons

 

from the other thread...

 

The falcons have been weird in that no one aspect of the offense can be pointed to as the reason we lost or won the games. The passing game has been pretty good in our three wins but atrocious in our two losses. Turner and Norwood have been excellent in the wins but not good in the losses. I would realistically expect something like we saw last week against the Packers. Matt Ryan might go around 16 for 26 for 194 yards, 1 TDs, and 1 INT. I would guess that Turner ends somewhere in the 70-80 yard range with two TDS, with Norwood going for about 50.

 

I would add to that that im going to predict about a 20-17 win for the Falcons

[rawaction]

Atlanta's a really young team. I really like the defensive talent on the team, though they haven't amounted to much yet.

 

I'm really looking forward to the Tillman v. Roddy White matchup. Could see a lot of them 1-on-1, as I expect the Bears to put 8 in the box on run downs and bring extra blitzers on 2nd and 3rd and long. For a team everyone knows will run and has a rookie QB, the Falcons have the league's leading rusher and have only allowed 7 sacks. So, the gameplan is going to be alot easier said than done.

 

On offense, the Falcons have 9 sacks. SEVEN of them from John Abraham, who will be matched up with John St. Clair. I expect a ton of help all day from Dez Clark. Abraham is in a position to disrupt the entire Bears offense, and is the only player on that defense that can beat you.

 

This is not going to be an easy game on the road.

[Vanilla Ice]

he also has a blocked punt

[Soul]

Atlanta's a really young team. I really like the defensive talent on the team, though they haven't amounted to much yet.

 

I'm really looking forward to the Tillman v. Roddy White matchup. Could see a lot of them 1-on-1, as I expect the Bears to put 8 in the box on run downs and bring extra blitzers on 2nd and 3rd and long. For a team everyone knows will run and has a rookie QB, the Falcons have the league's leading rusher and have only allowed 7 sacks. So, the gameplan is going to be alot easier said than done.

 

On offense, the Falcons have 9 sacks. SEVEN of them from John Abraham, who will be matched up with John St. Clair. I expect a ton of help all day from Dez Clark. Abraham is in a position to disrupt the entire Bears offense, and is the only player on that defense that can beat you.

 

This is not going to be an easy game on the road.

I don't think this one will be nearly as easy as I originally thought when I first saw the schedule. I'm under no illusions -- it's a road game, in a dome, Atlanta's much better than Detroit.

 

Probably a very close game. Hopefully the Bears come out on top.

[Balsa]

I can't see the Bears losing to Matt Ryan. Our defense is too good for that.