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. Beanie Wells @ St. Louis – I have never been a huge fan of Beanie, dating back to his days at THE Ohio State University, but he is quickly taking over the load in the AZ and when AZ is up 3 TDs at the end of the 1st Q, I expect them to sit on it and run Beanie for what he’s worth to see if they can rely on him in the playoffs.
2. Bernard Scott @ Oakland – Surprisingly, Scott is still available in some leagues.  Maybe people thought Ced Benson would man up and play, but it looks likely that he won’t and if he doesn’t, Scott is the next in line.  This is a juicy match-up and I like Scott to run all day.  Hell, even Jamal Charles put 100 yds on the Raiders and the Cincy O-line is WAAAAYYY better than the Chiefs O-line.
3. LaDanian Tomlinson @ Denver - I think LT is making one last push to show he isn’t washed up just yet.  Perhaps the fact that his significant other recently told him, she is expecting his child has added some extra mojo for him.  Whatever it is, the Denver D has begun to break down and LT is starting to peak.
4. Matt Hasselbeck @ Minnesota - I know this might seem like a reach, but Hasselbeck has thrown for over 300 yds in his last 2 games and Minnesota’s D ranks 23rd against the pass.  I expect the ViQueens to beat the Hawks up pretty soundly, but I would also expect Hasselbeck to chuck it up close to 50 times.

Guys I Don’t Like this Week

1. Jay Cutler vs Philadelphia – Perhaps this will be the kick in the pants JC needs, but he is starting to really make me angry and you won’t like me when I’m angry!!!  Further, 11 of JC’s league leading INTs have come under the lights of prime time and JC is 4-9 in his career under the bright lights.  And here I thought Jim McMahon was the Bears QB who stuck a fork in his eye and couldn’t stand the bright lights???
2. Frank Gore @ GB – Hard to sit Gore and you prbably can’t, but the GB defense has looked decent against the run as of late and they completely dismantled the Cowboys running game (and team in general) last week.  Expect Gore to struggle in Lambeau.
3. Randy Moss vs NY Jets - Another player that is hard to ever bench, but Moss has 72 yds receiving in his last 3 games against the Jets…that is 72 yds in 3 GAMES.  Apparently he doesn’t like facing Darelle Revis and this week might not be any different, so beware an un-Mosslike performance this week.
4. Brandon Marshall vs San Diego - B-Marsh will probably suffer the most if Ole Neckbeard doesn’t play this week and it is looking more and more like he won’t so look another way if you have a viable WR option on your bench.  Could be tough sledding for B-Marsh until Orton returns.

Other Nuggets

With only 3 weeks until most of your fantasy playoffs, this is not the time to make bold moves with your lineups if you are a bubble team.  You have to use your head and maximize your points.  It always pains me to leave points on my bench and I would rather lose knowing I played the best lineup possible as opposed to knowing I sat a stud, because I “had a feeling.”  Use your brains, not your heart or gut as you come down the stretch.  And if you can make a trade for the 2 best guys off of someone’s roster who’s playoff future might not be so bright…well, that never hurts either…

GOOD LUCK THIS WEEK!!!

Can I get an “Amen?”

The DeCon has spoken…so let it be written, so let it be done…

I’ll hear your fantasy football confessions at beargoggles.decon@gmail.com.

The only team left with a dominant running game is the San Diego Chargers due mostly to the ability of LaDainian Tomlinson to take over a game by himself.  Even the Seattle Seahawks with ex-NFL MVP Shaun Alexander has developed into a pass first offense and put the ball in the hands of Matt Hasselbeck when the game is on the line.  I thought the Jacksonville Jaguars would lose this weekend due to their one-trick pony running offense.  Ironically, they won because of a run play…..by their quarterback.  When the Steelers defense dropped back to defend the pass they left a bowling ball lane for David Gerrard to run through and burn them. 

So where does this leave the Bears?  With an offense that is struggling in every aspect they need to figure out in a hurry how they are going to identify themselves.  Lovie Smith talks about getting off the bus running on opponents, but the trend in the NFL is to get off the bus passing.  When you look at all of those teams they have a few things in common.  They all have quarterbacks that stand confident in the pocket and are ready to make big throws and lots of them.  They all also have runnings backs that are very opportunistic and make plays when they do get the ball.  So far the Bears are 0-2 on the list. 

Last year at this time we were all riding on the highs and lows of the Rex Grossman adventure ride through the playoffs.  He is amazing at times and frustrating at others.  It sounds like the Bears are willing to give Grossman another shot and it may be the Bears best chances of winning.  As much as Grossman is frustrating to watch, there is not much else out there.  The cries for Donovan McNabb are only pushing up his value and could require giving up massive talent to bring to Chicago.  It doesn’t help that word is coming out of Minnesota that the Vikings are going to try to put together a package to convince the Eagles to trade them McNabb.  Just as the Bears are not willing to commit too much to Briggs, it could cost the Bears too much as a team to obtain an often injuried McNabb.

The Bears best option this off season may be letting go Lance Briggs and putting the franchise tag on Bernard Berrian to save money and keep one of their top receiver threats.  Re-signing Grossman will likely include an incentive heavy deal if he can perform.  That would leave money to shore up three positions that are more important to building a winning team, running back, offensive tackle, and safety.

Say what you will about Rex Grossman but the biggest reason for the Bears lack of offense is Cedric Benson.  He shows no burst coming out of the backfield, no ability to shed tackles, and no big play ability.  He is best suited as a back up running back.  That means the Bears need to solve their problems through draft or free agency.  Depending on how the first round plays out, the Bears should try to grab one of the offensive tackles coming out this year.  It is a good looking crop and could make an immediate impact.  The second round will be open for either a running back or safety, again depending on the level of talent left on the table.  As we have seen, draft day can leave big suprises open in the second round and maybe the Bears can get lucky. 

I think the best option would be taking tackle and safety in the draft and signing a running back.  After watching the Chargers game I’m loving the thought of Michael Turner in a Bears jersey.  His hard running style would suit the Bears offense well and can pick up where Thomas Jones left off. 

There has been a lot of talk of bringing Pittsburgh guard Alan Faneca to Chicago.  I’m actually indifferent towards this one.  As you can tell I love lineman and they are the core of every team.  However, I also understand this is a business.  Faneca is an amazing guard and would be a big boost for the Bears, but their need is at tackle, not guard.  Roberto Garza and Ruben Brown are great veterans.  Brown had a rough year and tried to play out the season with essentially one arm due to hiding an injury.  When fully healthy he is a great lineman and leader.  He basically told the Bears he will come back and play for any offer they want to give him.  The only problem is Brown is already old and would be a short term fix as opposed to Faneca that is four years younger.  This one comes down to money.  Signing Faneca would be a great long term fixture, but signing Brown would give room to make a bigger free agent splash.  We’ll have to wait and see what the Bears decide.

The Bears did everything you could expect to gain the advantage. They created turnovers in the form of interceptions at key situations when the Giants were about to score and generated fumbles. The Bears offense looked like it found it’s identity with Rex reaching a quarterback epiphany and understanding how to cut through a defense and Adrian Peterson becoming an all-purpose back. I told a friend that I predicted Peterson would have 120 all purpose yards and he exceeded even my expectations by producing 149 on 67 yard rushing and 82 yards receiving. Rex couldn’t get Olsen involved as much as I would have liked, but that’s more due to the great performance put in by Desmond Clark who is quietly putting together another good season.

The Giants gave the Bears about a dozen opportunities to win the game. There is far too much blame being put on the drop by Hester, which he doesn’t deserve given the heroics he has supplied for the team in the past. The Hester drop was disappointing but I look more critically towards the play of Berrian who saw several deep throws go his way only to see them sail over his head or through his hands. If a receiver misses a pass you can blame the quarterback, but when a receiver has several opportunities to come up with a big play and just can’t get to the ball, I question the route running and ball handling skills of the receiver. I witnessed a couple passes that had an opportunity to become big plays if a receiver was willing to stretch out and make a diving catch. Apparently the Bears receivers a more worried about keeping their pants clean.

Adrian Peterson had a couple chances to break open some highlight reel plays but there always seemed to be a Giants defender ready to make a shoestring tackle. I’m not going to question the break away ability of Peterson who is as tough of a runner as you will find in the NFL. The Giants came in with a game plan to stop Peterson, who they considered to be the Bears biggest threat in this game. Afterwards, Michael Strahan openly questioned the Bears move not to use Peterson more in the 4th quarter. The Giants spent all week preparing for Peterson of all people, who they deemed to be a quality running back that could give them trouble. Really makes you think about all those weeks of Benson’s running troubles when our real threat was riding the bench.

Honorable mentions for blowing the game can be made for the complete breakdown of the Bears defense in the 4th quarter and some down right terrible calls made by the officiating crew. I have had season tickets for the Bears for many years and have watched a variety of quarterbacks come and go. You have to acknowledge when you are going against a clearly superior quarterback like the Seattle game. Matt Hasselbeck cut through the Bears defense with precision passing that I think has left a lasting effect on Rex Grossman. Last week Rex made several attempts to dump the ball down in the flats for small gains that produced big plays for the Seahawks. Yesterday we saw Rex make precision passes with high efficiency in another Hasselbeck-like effort. You wonder if Rex has finally found a mold to follow to develop his quarterback skills. Hasselbeck is a dominant quarterback for his precision pass capability. Eli Manning is none of the above.

After spending an afternoon watching Eli Manning work the Giants offense I can safely say he is an average quarterback at best. The only thing that separates Eli from by being compared and treated more like Josh McCown or Joey Harrington is his last name. You have to wonder how long he can run on his family name before it all comes crashing down. Eli will go down for bringing his team to a 4th quarter comeback and will be heralded in New York, but make no mistake about it, he is not a good quarterback. Rex is an uncontrollable force at quarterback that can light up a scoreboard with scoring, for his team or the other team depending on his play. Eli hasn’t shown that kind of capability and is more of a product for amazing talent at receiver and tight end. Rex may still develop into a great quarterback, but Eli may be hitting the end of his road.

The officiating crew made me want to puke. I’m not going to say much more out of fear for keeping my lunch down, but they should be ashamed of themselves. The NFL should sit all of them down and make them watch Sunday’s game.

Make no mistake, the Bears were the better team on the field on Sunday. Despite being sacked 6 times, Rex kept himself composed in the pocket. Adrian Peterson delivered as promised by producing yards all over the field. The rest of the offense couldn’t step up to the challenge. The defense put in 3 quarters of solid work but let the offense down in the end, something Bears fans are not used to seeing. Lovie Smith’s coaching staff made some questionable decisions down the stretch that gave the Giants opportunities. When the Bears had the ball with about 5 minutes left in the game why didn’t they make more of an effort to run the clock down??

Most of all, please stopping blaming Hester, who is the last person that deserves any blame for a lost season. I put more blame on a coaching staff that can’t seem to get younger defense players prepared to play and can’t execute a simple offensive game plan.