The Bears and Cowboys take center stage on Monday Night Football in Jerry Jones’ football megamall.  Both teams come in with 2-1 records, but neither is really happy about their team.  The Cowboys had an impressive Week 1 win over the Giants to kick off the season but followed it up with a clunker against the Seahawks.  They managed to edge the Bucs in a another offensive struggle.

The Bears came out guns blazing in Week 1 over the Colts, but have struggled to get their offense going ever since vs the Packers and the Rams.  While the offenses for both the Bears and the Cowboys have struggled but the defenses have more than made up for it.  The Cowboys are ranked #1 overall defensively while the Bears come is ranked #6 overall.  Expect both enigmatic quarterbacks Tony Romo and Jay Cutler to have challenging nights as their offensive lines have underachieved while the opposing pass rushes have flourished.

Not His First Rodeo

It seems like every week, we’re highlighting the matchup that Bears offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb will face and this week is no difference.  DeMarcus Ware is a flat-out beast and should give Webb, Carimi and the Bears offense all that they can handle.  In order to prevent another Primetime meltdown by Cutler, the Bears need to be aware of where Ware is (say that 5 times really fast) at all times.  They need to run some screens at him and roll Cutler away from him to keep his ferocious pass rush at bay.

 OK Corral

The Bears defensive line has exceeded expectations so far this season, helping the Bears to a league-leading 14 sacks.  Cowboys quarterabck Tony Romo is elusive and can extend plays by sliding around in the pocket.  The Bears need to corral that Cowpoke and keep him uncomfortably in the pocket.

Play it Close to the Vest

This game is going to be about defenses.  The Cowboys’ defense enters Week 4 ranked #1 overall while the Bears are #6.  It’s up to the Bears to play this one close to the vest.  Do the little things – limit penalties, secure the ball, avoid mental errors – and they could hang around in a close defensively oriented game to come out of Big D with a W.

Stampede

There’s no better way to slow down a pass rush than by running the ball.   It’s still unclear which Bears running back(s) will be healthy enough to go against the Cowboys.  Matt Forte seems like he’s ready to go after missing a week with a bum ankle while reports indicate Michael Bush is going to try to give it a go with a bum shoulder.  Who knows, it could end up being Kahlil Bell getting some carries.  Regardless of who’s in, the Bears running backs need to get it going to take some heat off Jay Cutler and the passing game.

What do you think?  What do the Bears need to do to come out of Dallas with a win?  Share your thought in the Comments.

BEAR DOWN!!!

If you think the arrow is pointing up for the Bears’ offense, the once-heralded defense is another story.  Long gone is the defense that carried the Bears to Super Bowl XLI.   The defense that ranked 5th overall in the NFL in 2006 has been in steady decline in the two seasons since.  The team that ranked 3rd in scoring defense in 2006, slid down to 16th the last two seasons.  In fact, last year the team’s average PPG was 21.8 compared to 21.9 this season.  That’s a far cry from the 15.9 PPG in the Super Bowl season of 2006.  Many will point to schemes and coaching.  I’ll dedicate a separate post just to address those issues.  In the meantime, let’s break it down: (more…)