Whew!  After 10 days to mull over a Week 2 loss to the Packers, the Bears bounced back with a decent 23-6 win, due in large part to a dominant defensive performance.  You’ll notice a theme to the nominees for our Week 3 Game Ball.  Check out the choices and vote for your favorite.

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Bears fans can expect different jerseys but the same results on Sunday.

Julius Peppers racked up a cornucopia of sacks against the Miami Dolphins last Thursday and was rewarded for his efforts.  His three sack performance (8th three sack game of his career) earned him the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for the fourth time in his career.  It’s about time that he was recognized for his stellar play this season.  The NFL also announced that Peppers is currently the leading voting getter in the NFC among defensive ends.  A fitting ‘thank you’ from football fans around the country this time of year.

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It’s quite a difference from a year ago when Urlacher and Cutler were embroiled in Pussygate 2009.  Seeing the expression on the kids’ faces is priceless!

Another PR stunt after the jump.

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Until then, one Bear doesn’t seem to ever take a break, Israel Idonije is being honored today in New York as a Global Ambassador by the Jack Brewer Foundation…no, that is not the Jack BAUER Foundation for you 24 fans out there. 

According to the foundation’s website, The Jack Brewer Foundation strives to “Empower From Within” through our self-sustaining initiatives, offering educational opportunities and economic development in partnership with underprivileged people around the world. 

Izzy is being recognized for his humanitarian efforts by visiting his native Nigeria for the third straight year this past March.  Izzy distributed shoes, conducted sports camps and lead volunteer doctors on medical missions for those in Nigeria.  Izzy also received the Ed Block Courage Award in April which is given to one player on each of the 32 NFL teams to recognize the player who best exemplifies a commitment to sportsmanship and courage and serves as an inspiration in the locker room.

 I know the players get paid a hell of a lot of money for doing what they do and Warren Sapp years ago described it as, “I get paid a king’s ransom to play a kid’s game,” but Izzy needs to be recognized for his efforts and I wanted to do my small part to recognize him.  I know we banter a lot on our site about everything that is wrong with the Bears, but this is simply something that is RIGHT!  As I understand it, Izzy returned from Nigeria on the morning of the Bears first voluntary training sessions and he was there for the afternoon practice when other members of the squad weren’t.  Jetlag be damned, but for any of you who have travelled internationally, you know that when you return from an overseas trip, all you can think of is sleep, but Izzy decided it was too important to miss practice so he Man’d Up!!!

Izzy isn’t the only Bear to do his part.  There are lots of players who do, but this post is for Izzy and we will try to bring you the other examples of good deeds done by our Bears in the future.  Charles Tillman, Jay Cutler, Nick Roach, Greg Olsen and others quickly come to mind… 

If Izzy isn’t an example of some of the lessons I am trying to teach my kids, I don’t know what is.  I’d encourage you to check out Izzy’s Foundation, IZZYz KIDz on Facebook.  Until next time…

CAN I GET AN AMEN?!?!?!

DeCon

Hit me on beargoggles.decon@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @DeCon76.

First came a tweet from agent  Drew Rosenhaus about the contract extension for versatile defensive lineman Israel Idonije.  Izzy has been a valuable, jack-of-all-trades lineman who has been a key contributor for the Bears on Special Teams  and has served as a valuable backup along the defensive line in recent years.  The deal he inked keeps him in Chicago through 2011 with $3 million in guaranteed money on a contract that could total $7 million.

“My first priority was staying in Chicago,” Idonije said Friday afternoon. “This will be my seventh season as a Chicago Bears and my No. 1 priority was to stay here and conduct business as usual, get healthy and be ready. That was my focus from top to bottom.”

I like his attitude and tone of his quote.  He’s a good guy and a solid contributor whenever and wherever the Bears need someone to step up.  Good for you Izzy!

Next came a barrage of draft pick signings, with seven of the Bears nine selections coming to terms on 4-year rookie deals. D.J. Moore, Johnny Knox, Marcus Freeman, Al Afalava, Lance Louis and Derek Kinder and Henry Melton all agreed to terms.  Defensive tackle Jarron Gilbert and wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias still need to come to terms, but considering where they were drafted, it shouldn’t be long until they fall in line.  I think the key will be to get Iglesias inked and running routes to get his timing down with QB Jay Cutler.

Finally, the biggest and boldest move for last.  The Bears signed strong side linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa.  He was cut by the St. Louis Rams as a offseason move because presumably they didn’t feel he fit with their new defensive scheme.  He led the Rams in tackles in 4 of the last 6 seasons, including 135 last season.  The move heats up the competition at linebacker, where he appears to be the early front-runner for the starting spot.  The pressure is certainly on Hunter Hillenmayer, who was already set to be in an uphill battle with Nick Roach for the Sam linebacker spot.  Speed and the ability to contribute on special teams will be a key to make the opening day roster.

Tinoisamoa played for Lovie Smith in his rookie year, so he should only need a crash course to get back in the swing of things with Lovie’s defense.  Hopefully, this move works out better than the last Lovie Smith castoff brought back to Chicago.  Adam Archuletta, anyone?

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…)

While I’m doling out praise, let me tip my cap to Matt Forte, who surpassed Gale Sayers on Sunday for most total yards from scrimmage for a rookie running back with 106 total yards on Sunday to pass the Kansas Comet’s 1374 yards set back in 1965.  That’s some pretty rare air for the Bears rookie.  Nice going Matt! 

Another bright spot on Sunday was the play of the tight ends, as Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark combined for 60 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns.  It’s amazing how much better the offense seems to work when the TE’s are involved in the game.  Note to Ron Turner – DO MORE OF THIS!!!

Devin Hester led all receivers with 80 yards on 5 catches, but for me, the most exciting Hester moment was a punt return late in the second quarter.  Devin fielded the punt in Jags territory and showed a burst that I haven’t seen much this year.  It was as if he could smell the end zone.  While he did step out of bounds at the 23 yard line while trying to plant and sharply cut back to the inside, maybe it’s a sign that he’s getting his confidence back.  It could also be a sign that the Jags are just that bad.  All I know is that if the Bears are serious about making a playoff push, they will need the Ridiculous One to return to form.

On the defensive side of the ball, it was nice to see the D-line get some pressure on Garrard.  Coach Babich must’ve read my Pre-game thoughts.  Glad I could help, Bob.  It was nice for Mark Anderson finally to show up this season.  Besides his second half sack of Garrard, he really showed some impressive closing speed on a Garrard bootleg early in the game.  Anthony Adams and Israel Idonije also showed well for the defensive line, while Peanut Tillman and Mike Brown led the secondary with 8 tackles apiece.  I can’t overlook the Danieal Manning interception and fine return work that set the tone for the game. 

No time to celebrate with a quick turnaround this week with a Thursday night nationally televised game for the few dozen people that have the NFL Network.  More news and notes to come on Monday as we look ahead to the next opponent – the Drew Brees led New Orleans Saints.

It doesn’t matter what quarterback was on the field, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, or Caleb Hanie, the offense couldn’t get anything to work.  To give him some slack, Orton looked decent but was only in the game for a series of plays and found his spot on the bench still warm.  Coaches opted to give Grossman the majority of the first half and rookie Caleb Hanie the entire second half.  Grossman looked like typical Grossman despite all the reports of his work in the offseason.  I’ve never seen a player put in so much work to improve and make no actual improvement on the field. 

I’m starting to wonder if Rex Grossman has problems with teammates, more specifically the offensive line.  On any given play the line will give Grossman all the time in the world and on the next play they don’t even attempt to pick up blitzing linebackers and let him get floored.  It almost makes me wonder if some of his teammates really want him on the field.  Opposing defenses blitz Grossman constantly and the Seahawks followed suit.  Until he can learn to deal with a blitz and check down or evade the sack, it will be the same story of Grossman running for his life.

Fans began to wonder aloud if Caleb Hanie could progress but he failed to look spectacular in the second half.  His only flash of offense production came at the hands of same amazing plays by rookie tight end Kellen Davis.  Davis was so good he is sure to see some playing time when the regular season rolls around.  Starting tight end Desmond Clark went down with a knee injury but there has been no word on the severity.  If Clark misses time, Davis will see significant playing time and the fantasy value of Greg Olsen could go through the roof. 

The defense started the game in typical fashion by holding the Seahawks to field goals and keeping them in the game.  When the offense struggled to score they broke the game open with an interception return for a touchdown by Corey Graham.  The most impressive player was defensive tackle Israel Idonije, playing in place of Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek, who did not play.  Rookie defensive tackle Marcus Harrison also looked good but Idonije was constantly getting penetration and always seemed to be in the quarterbacks face.  Defensive tackle is a key position to allow the Bear defenders to make plays like they did tonight.  Having this kind of depth at the position gives the Bears the kind of rotation they need to keep the defense up-tempo and wear offensive lines down.

The special teams came through again with a safety recorded on a blocked punt by Darrell McClover, a punt return for a touchdown by rookie Earl Bennett, and another blocked punt by Mark Bradley that gave the Bears a chance to win the game.  The Bears opted to let the clock run down instead of trying to get more yardage and Robbie Gould missed the 47 yard field goal and put the game into overtime.  In overtime the defense just looked too tired and let the Seattle offense run the ball down the field and win the game.  At that point most of the players on the field were fighting for a roster spot so I don’t hold it against the defense as a whole. 

I will say the defense needs to work on finishing tackles.  There were a lot of crappy arm tackles that allowed Seattle ball carriers to pick up an extra 5 yards when they should have been taken down.  On a few occassions I saw players trying to make a big play to get a spot on the squad by going for a forced fumble instead of just tackling the ball carrier.  As time goes on and players get more game time practice, I’m sure the tackling will fix itself.  This defense has too much experience and leadership to allow sloppy tackles for the first down.

Overall, this looks like the exact same team of recent years.  The offense was clueless, the defense was in control, and the special teams almost scored more than the offense.