Bears game 1: Sunday Sep. 12 vs DET on Fox

[Wilson A2000]

Well you did say they felt robbed. That could be taken to mean that the kids could begin to hate football. I don't particularly like things that robbed me.

[Wilson A2000]

Could the Bears somehow swing a deal for Mankins from the Pats?

[SouthSideRyan]

You ALWAYS go for it from the 1 on 4th down. I can't believe people are still arguing against it this long after the game.

[Wilson A2000]

You ALWAYS go for it from the 1 on 4th down. I can't believe people are still arguing against it this long after the game.

 

Not when you are losing and could kick a field goal to take the lead and you were unsuccessful three times in a row before that. Lovie's call was bad in my opinion, but you can't let the offense off the hook either. They shouldn't have had to put Lovie in that position. 3 tries from the 6 inch line should get it done.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Wilson A2000

[EhDubya]

Well you did say they felt robbed. That could be taken to mean that the kids could begin to hate football.

 

Wow, that's a stretch. The kids were excited they thought they saw a game winning catch in the final seconds. Then the refs said it wasn't a catch, and every explanation we gave them made no sense to them. So, their excitement died down a bit and went from joy to confusion. That's all, I never insinuated otherwise.

[sneakypower]

Lions fans have a lot of pent up rage:

 

 

(not at all SFW)

you're really [expletive] weird

[Wilson A2000]

Mike Mulligan points out that "Remarkably, Bowman confirmed the Bears were playing Cover-3 on that play, which effectively meant that Bowman was alone covering Johnson."

 

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/2701102,chicago-bears-victory-detroit-lions-mulligan-12.article

[Soul]

Oh and BTW, I take back most of my argument about Cutler's performance. For some reason I thought I saw he had 44 attempts today. He only had 35. Statistically, that is a very good game. Still infuriates me when he misses wide open WRs when hes standing in the pocket.

 

every qb misses wide open receivers. don't take a couple of throws a game and let them tell the story.

Truth. Cutler misses a lot fewer than other Bear QBs I've seen that's for sure.

 

He played very, very well today IMO given all the circumstances. Great throw at the end to win it.

 

Forte -- I'm very excited about him again. Watching him blow past people down the sidelines & not get caught from behind was freaking awesome.

[UMFan83]

Lions fans have a lot of pent up rage:

 

 

(not at all SFW)

you're really [expletive] weird

 

I didn't make the video...just passing it along for my fellow Bears fans.

[UMFan83]

You ALWAYS go for it from the 1 on 4th down. I can't believe people are still arguing against it this long after the game.

 

I'll have to disagree, and I am usually for being aggressive in those situations. But with 8 minutes left in the 4th, down by 2, and a shaky offensive line that struggled immensely in those situations all last season, I think you gotta take the points. I understand the thing about the Lions being pinned on the 1 if they don't get it. And I get that the Lions sucked all game offensively without Stafford. It's not as much of a clear cut decision as I probably made it seem when it happened. But I think the better decision in this situation is to take the lead because you never know if you are going to get another shot in FG range.

[rawaction]

HA. CBS Sportsline gives the Lions a C- grade for the game....and the Bears (who won the game and gained 300 more yards than the Lions)........get a D-

 

The Bears moved the ball despite poor pass blocking, but committed four turnovers and three critical penalties. They outgained Detroit 464-110 yards until 1:32 remained, knocked out QB Matt Stafford and couldn't seize the lead for good until the final two minutes.

[Old Style]

This team is going to be lucky to win 6 games.

[rawaction]

Speaking of penalties, as bad as the fumbles were....penalties really hurt the Bears.

 

-Garza holding call takes away big 18-yard run from Cutler, which took the Bears from Detroit 28 (FG range) back to their own 44. Potentially took 3 points off the board.

 

-Peppers hit to the head took the Lions out of a 4th and 2, and a 51 yard FG attempt to what eventually became a TD. Penalty added 4-7 points to Detroit.

 

-Rashied Davis personal foul on a punt took the Bears from the Detroit 48 back to their own 31. Not including the play Forte fumbled on in the ensuing drive, the Bears moved the ball 36 yards (52 including Forte's yardage). Possibly took at least a FG off the board.

 

-Urlacher late hit on the play Stafford got injured on. Took ball from Det 22 to Det 37. Bears moved the ball 24 yards before settling for a FG. Potentially could have been 4 more points.

 

-Block below waist on punt. Moves ball from DET 46 to CHI 38. Bears got 24 yards before punting. Potentially a FG w/o penalty.

 

Basically what I'm saying is the Bears were dangerously close to putting up 40 on them.

[rawaction]

This team is going to be lucky to win 6 games.

 

Agreed. Because it's totally impossible for them to even remotely improve over the next 4 months. And everyone else will obviously get better.

 

Let's see. Teams on the Bears schedule who actually played worse games this week.

 

Minnesota- play them twice

Detroit- play them again

Carolina- 3 INTs, 3 fumbles (2 lost), 4 sacks allowed

Eagles (w/ Kolb who will start if he's healthy)

Buffalo-

 

 

Packers, Dolphins, Redskins, and Cowboys are debateable at best right now. Bears moved the ball much better than all of them, but turned it over.

[UMFan83]

I don't think we can judge a full season on 1 game's performance. I think we can learn a little more about the team after a quality opponent on the road next week (Dallas). If Dallas loses this game tonight (and they are 2 minutes from doing so) we will see a really angry Cowboys team.

[Guest]

A couple of game notes:

 

Going into Monday's action, the Bears lead the league in offense with 463 yards (tied with the Colts).

 

They are second in yards allowed at 168 (Miami #1 at 166).

 

They obviously lead by a wide margin in yards differential.

[Magnetic Curses]

A couple of game notes:

 

Going into Monday's action, the Bears lead the league in offense with 463 yards (tied with the Colts).

 

They are second in yards allowed at 168 (Miami #1 at 166).

 

They obviously lead by a wide margin in yards differential.

 

like i said, the bears played well, the defense played well, the offense played well, the coaching wasn't great, but this is a team that could make the playoffs.

[UMFan83]

Apparently, the offense had the most total yards in a game since 1997. That's crazy.

[Chisoxillini]

You ALWAYS go for it from the 1 on 4th down. I can't believe people are still arguing against it this long after the game.

 

I agree on the call to go for it, but not on the decision to run Forte to the left. It always seems like he gets stuffed when the Bears need him to punch it in or convert on a 3rd and short. The Vikings goal-line stand in the Metrodome in 2008 comes to mind. He takes too much time getting to the line of scrimmage and doesn't run aggressively. Putting in Chester Taylor on that 4th down would have been the better move and in my opinion, he would have scored the touchdown.

 

I think we'll see Taylor in on 3rd/4th and short more often.

[Guest]

You ALWAYS go for it from the 1 on 4th down. I can't believe people are still arguing against it this long after the game.

 

I agree on the call to go for it, but not on the decision to run Forte to the left. It always seems like he gets stuffed when the Bears need him to punch it in or convert on a 3rd and short. The Vikings goal-line stand in the Metrodome in 2008 comes to mind. He takes too much time getting to the line of scrimmage and doesn't run aggressively. Putting in Chester Taylor on that 4th down would have been the better move and in my opinion, he would have scored the touchdown.

 

I think we'll see Taylor in on 3rd/4th and short more often.

watch the film again - there was nowhere to run. Maybe a big hammer like Bettis in his prime could have made it in, but no regular back was making it. There was no push, no hole.

[jersey cubs fan]

You ALWAYS go for it from the 1 on 4th down. I can't believe people are still arguing against it this long after the game.

 

I agree on the call to go for it, but not on the decision to run Forte to the left. It always seems like he gets stuffed when the Bears need him to punch it in or convert on a 3rd and short. The Vikings goal-line stand in the Metrodome in 2008 comes to mind. He takes too much time getting to the line of scrimmage and doesn't run aggressively. Putting in Chester Taylor on that 4th down would have been the better move and in my opinion, he would have scored the touchdown.

 

I think we'll see Taylor in on 3rd/4th and short more often.

the bears have a bad line and routinely get stuffed. You don't run there unless you are meathead who thinks his team is tougher than it is

[Wilson A2000]

Mully from 670 pointed out that on the goal line play, the Bears carry 4 TEs and don't have a true FB. That made it hard to push it in. Clark is technically the FB.

[rawaction]

Mully from 670 pointed out that on the goal line play, the Bears carry 4 TEs and don't have a true FB. That made it hard to push it in. Clark is technically the FB.

 

Manumaleuna was the FB on 4th down. He had a great lead block, actually. It was just too bad he couldn't block the other 10, because there were at least 3 people who got through on that side. I also thought it might have been a hole for Forte to run up Manu's back on that play. Push the lead blocker and fall on his back.

[Old Style]

It was 1st and goal from inside the 1. Why do you call anything other than a QB sneak in that situation? If you can't pick up a 1/2 yard against the Lions in four tries, then Kreutz, Garza, and Louis need to be cut. They don't deserve to be in the NFL.

[Banedon]

Mully from 670 pointed out that on the goal line play, the Bears carry 4 TEs and don't have a true FB. That made it hard to push it in. Clark is technically the FB.

 

Manumaleuna was the FB on 4th down. He had a great lead block, actually. It was just too bad he couldn't block the other 10, because there were at least 3 people who got through on that side. I also thought it might have been a hole for Forte to run up Manu's back on that play. Push the lead blocker and fall on his back.

 

We don't have a guy that's really built for goaline rushing. Like Biggs mentioned this morning, Forte is an upright rusher, and he's not going to change at this point (nor would you really want to change that).

 

In one of the mailbags I read this week (I think it was Pompei's Q&A), someone mentioned the idea of using Henry Melton in a situation like that. He's played FB before, and could be used like the Fridge in that kind of situation.

 

I was actually encouraged by a lot this week...with the caveat that it's the Lions. But man, our linebackers looked like studs. Urlacher was all over the place, and Briggs' strip of Hill was just perfect timing.