Aug 27, 2011; Nashville,TN, USA; Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman (33) breaks up a pass from Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (not pictured) intended for Tennessee Titans wide receiver Damian Williams (17) during the first half at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-US PRESSWIRE

In the 11th meeting in their history, the first place Chicago Bears (6-1 overall, 2-1 road) will visit the Tennessee Titans (3-5 overall, 2-2 home) at LP Field at noon on Sunday.  The all-time series is tied up at five games apiece with the Titans winning the last meeting 21-14 at Soldier Field in 2008.  The Bears offense has gross(man)ly changed since then, and Jay Cutler/Brandon Marshall should be salivating to feast on a Titans team that has given up 421.3 yards per game and 32.1 points per game this season.

The Bears defense will have its hands full with a resurgent Titans RB Chris Johnson, who has racked up 385 yards rushing in his last three games.  Henry Melton, Stephen Paea and the Bears defense should be up to the task.  On the season, they have allowed only one rushing touchdown and allow a league low 77.9 rushing yards per game.

The Titans will be without their second-year stud QB Jake Locker, but Matt Hasselbeck, who is familiar with the Bears from his days in Seattle (4-1 regular season, 0-2 playoffs), will continue to take over the reins.  The last time he faced the Bears was in the playoffs after the 2010 season.  He lost the game, but threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns (all in the fourth quarter).  Don’t expect him to shy away from the deep ball or to try to dink-and-dunk his way down the field.  The Titans have plenty of weapons in WR Nate Washington, WR Kendall Wright, TE Jared Cook and WR Kenny Britt (if he is healthy).

Let take a look at some more numbers you should be aware of before this Sunday’s game.

20:  Rushing yards by the Titans in their last meeting with the Bears in 2008. (RB Chris Johnson had 14 rushes for a total of 8 yards.)

21:  Number of games in Johnson’s career that he has had at least 100 rushing yards and at least one rushing touchdown.

2:  Number of rushing plays over 20 yards given up by the Bears defense this season.

59:  Number of combined punts (36), lost fumbles (7), and interceptions thrown (16) by Bears opponents this season; second highest total in the NFL. (Arizona Cardinals opponents have 61.)

35:  Number of combined punts (27), lost fumbles (2), and interceptions thrown (6) by Titans opponents this season; lowest total in the NFL.

139.3:  Average rushing yards per game given up by the Titans defense this season.

26.4:  Average starting yard line when Bears take possession of the ball this season (best in NFL).

19.6:  Average starting yard line when Bears opponents take possession of the ball this season (second best in NFL).

2:  Number of Bears wide receivers under head coach Lovie Smith who have caught more than 60 passes in a season (Muhsin Muhammad in 2005/Bernard Berrian in 2007).  Brandon Marshall currently has 50 receptions.

2006:  The last time that the Bears recorded at least one sack and one takeaway in each of their first seven games.  They have at least one sack and one takeaway in every game and at least four combined sacks/takeaways in each game this season.

274:  Consecutive extra points made (including playoffs) by Robbie Gould, dating back to Week 14 in 2005 (NFL record held by Matt Stover with 451).

74:  Bears point differential in the second half of games this season.  The Bears have scored 121 second half points while holding their opponents to 47 points.

72.2:  Bears third down conversion percentage (13-18) with three yards or less to go this season.

46.7:  Bears opponents third down conversion percentage (14-30) with three yards or less to go this season.

90:  Consecutive games played with at least one reception by Marshall (NFL record held by Jerry Rice with 274).

10:  Total points scored by the Bears offense on their first drive of the game through seven games this season.

63-16:  Bears record under Lovie Smith in games when they lead or are tied going into halftime.

14-42:  Bears record under Lovie Smith in games when they trail going into halftime.

393 and 17:  Number of minutes and seconds of Bears football that has been played since they last gave up a rushing touchdown (Donald Brown in the second quarter of Week 1 against the Colts).

The two most important things to look out for in this game are the Bears getting off to a fast start and the Bears defense stopping Chris Johnson.  The Titans defense is one of the most porous in the NFL and if the Bears offense can’t take advantage of that, they have bigger problems on their hands than we thought.  A few Bears scoring drives early in the game could seal the Titans fate.

We all know that Johnson can throw up a clunker every once in a while (45 total rushing yards in his first three games this season), but he can also take over a game.  Simply put, the Bears defense will need to control the run game, and they can control the Titans offense.

Aug 27, 2011; Nashville, TN, USA; Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte (22) surges through the line against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE

The Bears return to Tennessee to face the Titans for the first time since 2004.  I was reading the game recap of the Bears’ thrilling 19-17 OT win.  How do you win an overtime game by two points?  That’s right class, a safety!

Chicago defensive ends Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye laughed, arguing at their lockers, trying to figure out who deserved credit for the final play.

The way this Chicago defense is playing, there’s more than enough to go around.

Brown sacked Billy Volek in the end zone and knocked the ball loose, and Tennessee tackle Fred Miller recovered but was tackled by Ogunleye for a safety to give the Bears a 19-17 overtime win over the Titans on Sunday.

Talk about some blasts from the past?  You won’t even be able to guess the Bears’ starting quarterback in that game.  Craig Krenzel.  My how things have changed in 8 years.

So what are the keys to a Chicago Bears victory this time around?  Let’s see. (more…)

Guys I Like this Week

1. Aaron Rodgers @ Tampa Bay – What’s a good cure for sore feet for a QB?  How about facing a Tampa D that has allowed 9 plays of more than 40 yds or more through the air, 16 passing TDs and has only mustered 11 sacks.  Yeah, they are that bad and should be changing back to the old creamsicle uniforms for good.
2. Chad Ochocinco vs Baltimore – Ocho has been RED HOT and you gotta ride him.  The Balt D comes in ranked 19th against the pass and while I think they can contain Ced much better than the Bears did, I think they will manage about as well against Ocho as the Bears did or maybe worse.  Tweet, Tweet!!!
3. Julius Jones vs Detroit – The Edge is gone and Forsett isn’t ready to steal many carries and likely won’t be a factor at the goalline.  Seattle needs to keep Hasselbeck upright for the rest of the season, so expect a lot of Juice Jones to keep the Lions off balance.  Plus, we are talking about the Lions D, right?  Go with Juice!
4. Matt Schaub/Andre Johnson @ Indy - The Colts may be starting at least 1 and likely 2 rookies at their CB positions this week…that’s right…rookies…Schaub and AJ must be licking their chops.  Even if the starters play, they will be limited by injuries and, ”Houston, we could have takeoff!!!”  (more…)

On to week 6…the Bears are back and I hope my GOOD picks are too…

Stone Tablet Locks – chisel these guys in stone as MUST PLAYS this week. (more…)

Of course, last week did not go well for the Bears.  When I picked Jay Cutler as one of my Bent Over the Altar picks in Week 1, I in no way intended for THAT to happen. 

The great thing about week 1 in the NFL is we still have 15 weeks to go to make amends and to figure out how the Bears Defense can adjust to life without # 54.  I am going to remain optimistic with a small side dish of your typical Chicago fan pessimism.

I hope your fantasy football teams did better than mine last week.  I suffered the dreaded DIEfecta…Bears lost and so did both of my fantasy teams…alas, week 2 is here and it is time for The DeCon to Preach from the Pulpit.

Stone Tablet Locks – chisel these guys in stone as MUST PLAYS this week. (more…)