Dec 2, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) looks to hand off against the Chicago Bears during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

At the end of the first half, I wrote about missed opportunities.  Those missed opportunities turned into a loss as the scrappy Russell Wilson-led Seahawks prevailed 23-17 in overtime.  It was a crushing defeat as a Packers win over the Vikings means Green Bay goes back atop the NFC North.    (more…)

Dec 2, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Earl Bennett (80) flips into the end zone to score a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

The Bears trail the Seattle Seahawks 10-7 at the half at Soldier Field where missed opportunities cost the Bears at least 10 points.

The Bears opened the scoring, after they recovered a Marshawn Lynch fumble near midfield.  They cashed in with a beautiful play call on a bootleg pass to Earl Bennett.  Cutler spun around to his left to find a wide open Bennett who cartwheeled his way into the end zone.

On the Bears’ next drive, they marched the ball down inside the red zone but opted to go for it on 4th and 1 instead of taking a sure FG.  Michael Bush was stopped short and the Seahawks took over on downs.  I’m not disagreeing with going for it; that’s an easy armchair quarterback call. I’m questioning the play calling and calling on Michael Bush to keep his feet moving.  Bush clearly went airborne instead of dropping his shoulder and trying to pound it in for a yard.

The biggest disappointment of the half was a wide open Earl Bennett, who dropped a sure touchdown as he slipped behind the Seattle defender for what would have been a sure touchdown.  The sure handed Bennett, who is among the most sure handed receivers in the league, needs to bring that ball in.

In the meantime, Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall put on a clinic in the first half.  Marshall had 7 catches for 94 yards.

The Bears will need to come from behind to win this game, something they haven’t done well.

Lovie Smith and the Bears celebrate as Robbie Gould’s 41-yard field goal goes through the goal posts for a 23-22 victory over the Carolina Panthers. (Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

Talk about winning ugly.  As one of the 60,000+ faithful in attendance of Sunday’s 23-22 victory over the Panthers, I have to admit, it looked pretty bleak on a cold but sunny day.  I also have to say that it didn’t feel nearly as cold the second half of the fourth quarter as the Bears were mounting their comeback.

In case you missed it, I did my weekly Q&A with the Panthers site leading up to this game.  If you’re a frequent visitor to the site, you know I like block quoting myself, so here goes my prediction:

You didn’t ask, but I’ll give you a quick prediction. The Bears and Panthers play each other so often, it almost seems like they’re in the same division. There’s a lot of familiarity between the two teams, so there shouldn’t be a lot of surprises. The Panthers were shaken up with the firing of their GM, so the players will be playing with some added intensity. Besides that, the Bears are coming off a short week with an emotional win over the division rival Lions. The Bears could be set up for a letdown game, but they rally to keep rolling. Bears 23, Panthers 19

Not too shabby, eh?   (more…)

August 18, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte (22) during the second half against the Washington Redskins at Soldier Field. The Bears beat the Redskins 33-31. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts are set for a showdown at Soldier Field.  This will kick off the 93^rd season for our hometown franchise.  So, let’s play the numbers game, so that you can show off your big brain to all your friends at noon on Sunday.

The Bears have a history of starting out the season with a bang, racking up a 52-35-5 record on opening day and a 63-25-4 record in their home openers.  Under Lovie Smith, the Bears are 4-4 in their season openers and 6-2 in their home openers (winning their last three home openers).  This bodes well for the Bears who will be going up against a rookie coach in Chuck Pagano and a rookie starting QB in Andrew Luck.

Jay Cutler has also had success in home openers, going 5-0 in his career, including a win over Detroit in 2010 when he threw for 372 yards and 2 TDs.  With the additions of Marshall and Jeffery and an aging Colts defense that gave up a QB Rating of 103.9 to opposing quarterbacks last year, Cutler is set to have a big game.  Hailing from Santa Claus, IN, I’m sure he will have some extra incentive to crush his hometown team as well.

The guy to look for on opening day is our newly rich running back, Matt Forte.  In only four games, Forte has racked up 296 rushing yards, 259 receiving yards and 4 total TDs.  He has only played one career regular season game against the Colts.  Also his NFL debut, he dominated, rushing for 123 yards on 23 carries.  The addition of Michael Bush might put Forte on the bench a couple more times than he would like, but the rest will do him good.  I also expect Forte to catch a lot of balls out of the backfield.

The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts have had a long history, dating back to 1953 when the Colts were in Baltimore.  The Bears have fared well lately, winning five of the last six regular season matchups, but the Colts lead the series winning 23 of 41 matchups (including SB XLI in 2006).  The Bears won the last meeting at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008, 29-13, but the Colts won the last matchup at Soldier field in 2004, 41-10.

These two teams have a few player and coach connections as well.  Ex-Bear Mario Addison is a second string linebacker for Indianapolis and Colts Offensive Line Coach Harold Goodwin was the Bears assistant offensive line coach from 2004-2006.

Two Bears cornerbacks used to man the secondary in Indy.  Starter Tim Jennings played 53 games for the Colts from 2006-2009 and second string CB Kelvin Hayden brings his tainted Super Bowl ring to the Bears after spending 2005-2010 with the Colts.

Finally, keep your eye on the matchup of Bears WR Brandon Marshall and Colts CB Vontae Davis, who spent the last two seasons together in Miami.  Their turbulent relationship came to a head last November when Marshall did not appreciate Davis’ apparent disregard for practice.  The two men argued on the practice field and Marshall threw a football in Davis’ face, leading Davis to say that he wanted to “rip [Marshall’s] head off.”  Currently, Marshall claims to have no hard feelings for Davis, but knowing Marshall’s temper, who knows what could happen.  Hopefully, Marshall will be too busy dancing in the end zone all day.

So there you have it.  You should be adequately prepared for a day of drinking, eating and watching the first game of the 2012 season for our beloved Chicago Bears.  Let’s get this season started off with a victory.  I know I’m ready.  Are you?

Even the Saints cheerleaders were credited with a sack of Jay Cutler on Sunday.

The word of the day was pressure, and the man who felt it all day was Jay Cutler.  The New Orleans Saints sacked Cutler six times, including five times in the fourth quarter, en route to a 30-13 victory over the Chicago Bears.  The Bears offensive line looked terrible all day and there was no pocket for the Bears QB to get comfortable in throughout the game.  One bright spot was Matt Forte, who gained 49 yards on the ground and 117 yards receiving.

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Hope to have some pics from the game up later tonight.  If my phone isn’t frozen, I’ll try tweeting from the game.  Follow me @beargoggleson.

Stay warm and

BEAR DOWN!!!

Julius Peppers owned Dolphins QB Tyler Thigpen, sacking him 3 times Thursday night. (photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune)

The Miami Dolphins offense led by third string quarterback Tyler Thigpen was no match for Julius Peppers and the Chicago Bears top ranked defense Thursday night. Thigpen was sacked six times, threw one pick and pretty much looked awful all game. To make matters worse for him, his top threat, WR Brandon Marshall, left the game after injuring his leg in the first half and didn’t return. That pretty much sealed the Dolphins fate, who failed to score a point all night and only mustered 187 yards of total offense.

There were two things in the game that stood out, which allowed the Bears to dominate the Dolphins on Thursday night – third down conversions and time of possession. While the Bears offense was only able to score one touchdown on a 2-yard Matt Forte run in the third quarter, they were able to keep the Dolphins defense on the field, retaining possession of the ball for almost 38 minutes. Cutler was able to pick apart the Dolphins with screen passes and short slants all over the field and finished the day converting on 10 of 18 third downs. One the flip side, the Dolphins were only able to convert 1 of 10 third downs.

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