The Bears travelled north to the frozen tundra... nah, it was something like 80 degrees at kickoff. Lovie ran his Lambeau record to 4-0 as the Bears beat the Packers 27-20 on Football Night in America.
From the get-go, it looked like a long night in Beardom. But look who was back on the field...
Charles Tillman made his return felt in a big way by forcing two fumbles in the first half. Lest the Green Bay faithful pull a Denny Green "we let them off the hook" rant, it should be noted that on a defense that prides itself on taking away the football, Tillman is widely regarded as the best on the team in that department.
Another big contributor was Lance Briggs, who unofficially had something like 600 tackles. OK, maybe it was 16. Both of these guys missed last game - both were hurt, as a matter of fact two weeks ago vs. Dallas (as was Nathan Vasher, who sat out last night's contest).
The first half ended with the Pack throwing up some huge yardage, and a 17-7 lead. The Bears would come back, capitalizing on Urlacher's pick of Favre and the Bears finding Greg Olsen for the score. More stops and a little more offense, and McGowan gets that last pick, we kneel for the last :01 and that's that.
Good news: we're getting healthy again. Tillman and Briggs were back, hopefully we'll get Vasher in a week or two. The offense showed signs of life. Benson ran the ball hard, if not spectacularly, and held on to it. Our two tight ends showed what we all thought was possible at the beginning of the season. We've moved to 2-3 and beat the Packers.
Bad news: Darwin Walker was injured. We looked bad in the first half, and could have been down 3 scores. Archuleta still seemed like he was out of position on a couple of plays.
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2 comments:
Nice recap Mike. A couple follow-ups:
Peanut kept us in this game in the first half...he definitely deserved the game ball.
Briggs also looked excellent, as he has all year. I think the time may have come for Jerry Angelo to re-evaluate the Bears finances and see if there's a way to get this guy locked up for the long term. Rex isn't gonna get the big contract they thought he would, every week Berrian does nothing his price is gonna come down a little, and Moose Muhammad's dead weight & high salary should be gone after this season, so we may have mroe money than he anticipated. My money is on nothing happening & Briggs walking, but it would be worth exploring.
Walker doesn't seme to be seriously hurt, but let's hope he's back next week. He's a big part of our defense and we're a much better team with him on the field.
I'm excited for the returns of Vasher & Tait. St. Clair is serviceable here & there, but overall he's a mediocre player. Tait coming back will be a big upgrade in the run & pass games. Also, I think if Vasher was in that GB game, Favre's 1st half isn't quite as dominant as it was. Vasher's always played tough against the Pack. I don't want Vasher to play this week...Minny has a weak passing offense, and he needs to rest until he's 100%, so we have him ready to go after the bye week, and for the stretch run to secure a playoff spot.
Overall, this was a HUGE win for the Bears. Losing this game would've put us in a practically un-conquerable hole, but winning it has us just 2 games out in a weak division. While we need to respect Minnesota, as their run game & run defense are both good, they will not be a major player in this conference or division.
Detroit proved on Sunday that it is a fraud. They got a TON of lucky breaks against the Bears. With our D healthier, Griese more in sync, and the home crowd rocking in 3 weeks, I think the tables will be turned. Like MN, they will not be a major player come December.
I think the Bears gave everyone the formula to beat GB...get heat on Favre, keep the WRs in front of the DBs, pound the rock, and pass off play action. GB got a lot of pub for winning shootouts against mnediocre teams. Their defense is good but not great, their running game stinks, and the lack of offensive talent at skill position will catch up to them and even things uot over the course of 16 games.
What does this all mean? That the NFCN is wide open, and I think a victory against MN on Sunday will put us in excellent position to compete for that spot. IF we are going to be legitimate contenders to win our division & make the playoffs, we MUST be 4-4 or 5-3 heading into the bye. With home games against MN & Detroit, and a road game against Philly, the Bears should be able to win 2 or 3 of these games, if they keep playing smart offense & getting helthy on D.
I know they're 2-3, but I'm going to predict today (October 10) that the Bears will win the divison. For all the reasons you mentioned, and one more: they're better than their record indicates.
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