Forte and Cutler steal the show as Bears defeat Giants 17-3
WOW! I saw things on Saturday night that I never thought I’d see as the Bears defeated the Giants 17-3. Check out the highlights, courtesy of NFL.com here. The Bears amassed nearly 300 yards of offense – IN THE FIRST HALF! The first team offense looked sharp, scoring on their first three possessions to open up 17-0 lead and the Bears would never look back. The second half was pretty much a taffy pull without much action of note, but offered plenty of opportunities for the backups and bubble guys to make a case for a precious roster spot.
Matt Forte looked really sharp, showing great moves and elusiveness, capping off the Bears first touchdown drive with a 32-yard scamper. The next time the Bears got the ball, Jay Cutler led a 92-yard touchdown drive that included multiple third down conversions and was highlighted by a 38-yard reception by up-and-comer Devin Aromashodu. Speaking of a Devin, that other one [Hester] had a sure 91-yard TD reception on a great bomb from Jay Cutler. The only problem was that he seemed to turn around too soon and couldn’t track the ball. He must’ve had flashbacks to when old neckbeard Kyle Orton was throwing that ball last season. Keep running Devin, you’re a go-get-it kind of guy!!! Jay Cutler looked like a professional quarterback, showing great mobility in the pocket and running a few bootlegs to create wide open throwing lanes. I was really impressed with his ability to throw on the move. It’s another nice dimension that we haven’t seen in recent years. We saw some chemistry between he and former Vandy teammate Earl Bennett, who hooked up a couple of times, including one throw into coverage between Giants defenders that quarterbacks of Bears past could never have zipped in. Greg Olsen also made his preseason debut and got his feet wet, although it was fellow tight end Desmond Clark who hauled in Cutler’s lone TD pass.
If there was an area for some concern, it was Brandon Jacobs running over the Bears. I made a little note in my Fantasy Draft yellow pad – Brandon Jacobs is a BEAST. He gave Brian Urlacher and rookie Al Afalava the business on one run in particular. But the Bears D was up to their old tricks, in true bend but don’t break fashion.
It appeared that the pass defense showed some signs of improvement. I guess it had nowhere to go but up after last week. It was nice to see Nathan Vasher make a couple of tackles in the first half. Also saw what some pressure from the defensive line can do to alleviate some deficiencies in the secondary.
Next up for the Bears is Jay Cutler’s return to Denver. It’s a national game on NBC next Sunday night and has all the makings of a classic battle. Somehow I don’t think the Broncos will have the hospitality suite open for JC, especially after his comments comparing Broncos fans to Bears fans. Bear Goggles On hopes to open up a Live Chat to get Bears and Broncos fans to clear the air and talk some preseason smack.
BEAR DOWN!!!
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