December 9, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace (17) runs with the ball after a pass reception against the San Diego Chargers during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Dolphins are next up on the clock.  The Dolphins have been very active this offseason, making a few big signings to address some needs.  They made the biggest splash with Mike Wallace, a vertical threat to stretch opposing defenses and Dustin Keller to give Ryan Tannehill some opportunities for big plays.  They also re-signed Brian Hartline and Matt Moore.  On the defensive side of the ball, they grabbed linebackers Dannell Ellerby and Phillip Wheeler and brought in Brent Grimes to help their secondary.

Where do they look in the draft?  Another cornerback could make a lot of sense.  A defensive end or defensive tackle would also help bolster an improving defense.  Do they double down and add another offensive weapon like another top wide receiver?

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Thursday night in Miami was a whoopin’ that Dolphins fans won’t soon forget. The Bears controlled the game from start to finish and ultimately won the game 16-0. It was the Bears first shutout since beating the New York Jets 10-0 in 2006 and the defense’s 5th shutout since 2001. This was a game where the numbers didn’t lie. Miami was beat in all phases of the game and the Bears may have sealed the fate of the injured plagued Dolphins. Let’s take a deeper look at the Bears-Dolphins box score: (more…)

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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BGO: With the Chads (Henne and Pennington) out this week, Tyler Thigpen gets the call against the Bears.  He’s not the usual clipboard holder that many #3 QB’s are.  What can the Bears expect from Thigpen?

PP: Your guess is as good as anyone else’s.  Thigpen has not taken practice snaps with the first team all season.  He is a very athletic QB but erratic as well.  One drive he will look like a superstar and the next two he is tossing INT’s.  Thigpen will only do what he is allowed to do by the coaches and I think that is where the problems could lie.  This offense is very conservative and Thigpen is not.  He can scramble and will not hesitate to use his feet if he sees an opportunity.  But he will also throw passes that his ego says he can make.  And can’t.

BGO: The Dolphins started a league-wide phenomenon a few years back with the Wildcat offense, but you don’t hear that much about it any more.  With the third string quarterback set to start, will the Dolphins bring more Wildcat than usual?

PP: Yes, there will be plenty of Wild Cat this week.  OC Dan Henning rolled it out the second Chad Pennington was in the game and used it again after Henne went down.  He will use it as often as possible this week against the Bears in an effort to keep Peppers out of the back field.

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Brandon Marshall is going to Miami

We can end the speculation Bears fans.  The dream of reuniting disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Marshall with Jay Cutler comes to an end as the Broncos are set to trade Marshall to the Miami Dolphins for a pair of second round draft picks.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Marshall will fly to Miami today to take a physical and sign “what will be one of the most lucrative wide receiver deals in NFL history, according to league sources.”  Not bad for the low, low price of a 2010 and 2011 second round draft picks.

Miami holds the 11th selection in the second round, one pick behind the pick which the Bears sent to the Bucs in the Gaines Adams trade (rest his soul).   Do you think Jerry Angelo wishes he had that one to do over again???

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Could Nolan suit up in the Orange and Blue?

Another possibility has emerged for the Bears in the Great Coordinator Search 2010.  Former Broncos defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is out on the street after “mutually agreeing to part ways” with Broncos boy genius head coach Josh McDaniels.  Nolan took the Broncos defense from 29th in 2008 to 7th in total yardage in 2009.

Nolan most recently ran a 3-4 scheme in Denver, but he’s also worked with 4-3 defense as well.  Normally, such a wide departure from the Bears’ Cover-2 wouldn’t be considered, but since the Bears lost out on top candidate Perry Fewell, Lovie and the Bears may have to be a little more flexible in their search.

Nolan is already drawing quite a bit of interest.  The Miami Herald reports that Nolan is expected to interview for the Dolphins‘ DC position no later than Wednesday.

I really doubt Nolan becomes a serious candidate, as he would represent a drastic departure from Lovie’s Cover-2, but at this point in the process the Bears need to keep their options open.

Guys I Like in This Game

1. DeAngelo Williams – Miami’s rush D is stingy about yards allowed, but they have also allowed 10 rushing TDs, which is the 4th highest total in the NFL.  D-Will is a stud and despite him not practicing yesterday, expect him to play as Carolina has very quietly crept up to the fringe of the bubble teams.  Plus, he will have 10 days to rest after this one.
2. Ricky Williams - My good friend’s know, I have always been a supporter of Ricky and I have never ever smoked dope.  Just always liked his attitude on the field to fight for yards and I think he will have a good game, especially since Ronnie Brown is now out for the season.
3. Steve Smith - Delhomme hasn’t thrown a INT in the last 3 games…as a Bears fan, I wish I could say that about our QB.  That said, Jake is limiting his mistakes and starting to find Steve Smith again, so I say ride the hot hand and get Smitty active tonight.  Also, it doesn’t hurt that the Miami D ranks 27th against the pass.

Guys I Don’t Like in this Game  (more…)

All I can say about last week is this: What the hell is going on with the Titans? Was Albert Haynesworth that much of a difference-maker? 0-4? Seriously? No, I was not panicking giving the points to the Lions last week when it was 21-21. I told you, 10 is not that much. Baltimore‘s defense, as good as it is, has been rather disappointing this first quarter; I bet they’ve messed up alot of people’s over/under betting, not to mention my fantasy football defensive points. Tack on their offense which has become quite the juggernaut and people aren’t quite sure which way to go. Lastly, San Fran was a no-brainer, so I’m not going to talk much about that.

On to Week 5, where the Bears are hibernating. I’ll take another pick to keep my 4 picks a week alive: (more…)