John Martinez Pavliga-flickr
After a messy start to the season the NFC North is like Bizarro World. The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears are starting from the bottom of the division after their respective losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, the beleaguered Minnesota Vikings decimated the St Louis Rams on Sunday, and the Detroit Lions look ready to finally make the jump to playoff contender after drubbing the New York Giants on Monday. Looking ahead at Week 2, Chicago has a tough match-up to assert themselves in against the San Francisco 49ers. Here’s a some key points Sunday night’s prime time battle.
Be Smart: There’s no dancing around it, Chicago must be smarter on offense. The Bears turned the ball over 3 times against Buffalo and gave the middling Bills offense 13-points in the process. One was an uncharacteristic fumble by Brandon Marshall and can probably be dismissed, but 2 of those came off ugly interceptions that fall on Jay Cutler. Cutler made a lot of progress last season; he took what defense gave him and stayed calm under pressure, but he regressed last week trying to force plays under pressure. He needs to be smarter with the football this week, especially since they will not only be without starting Offensive-linemen Matt Slauson and Roberto Garza, but both Alshon Jeffery and Marshall may possibly be out as well. The dynamic receiving duo is listed as probable this week and will be a game time decision. If Marshall, Jeffery, or both are out, expect to see a lot of Matt Forte and Martellus Bennett in the passing game. Both had very good games against the Bills and are surely ready to take charge.
Be Ready: On the defensive side of the ball things don’t look much better for the Bears. The reconstructed front-7 were steamrolled for 193-yards on the ground against the Bills and the pass rush was practically nonexistent. Actually, aside from Willie Young and Jerimiah Ratliff the entire line was invisible. Highly touted free-agent acquisitions Jared Allen and Lamarr Houston accounted for a single tackle each and the rest weren’t much better. Also, the Safety position looks just as weak as it did in years before. Chris Conte and Ryan Mundy piled up tackles to lead the team in that category, and Conte even came up with a crucial interception that kept the Bears in the game. Unfortunately, more often than not, Conte and Mundy were both beaten on the throws in their direction. This was all against a Bills unit that is middle of the road at best. This week they will have to stop a much better group featuring a consistently great Running Back in Frank Gore, a group of recievers lead by Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree, one of the best in the business in Tight End Vernon Davis, and the dual threat of Colin Kapernick under center. Failure by the defense to show up a second consecutive week will spell disaster for the Chicago faithful early on against an offense with this many weapons.
Come Together: Tradition is not on Chicago’s side in this one. The Bears haven’t won in San Francisco since 1985. Fortunately, this isn’t Candlestick or San Francisco anymore; it is a new stadium in the midst of a new era for the Bears. Chicago certainly has the tools to win this one but they all need to be functioning correctly for it to happen. First and foremost, the Old Jay that showed up against the Bills needs to go back to wherever he came from. In Marc Trestman and Aaron Kromer’s offense, Cutler can have great success regardless of his options at Receiver, but he needs to play smart and make good decisions with the football. The defense has to show up and play like they are capable of playing as well. They won’t be the monsters that we used to see in the Lovie Smith era, but they are more talented than their pathetic showing thus far indicates. The Bears need to force Kapernick in to making mistakes and keep Gore in check by getting good penetration and controlling the gaps. I see Chicago either getting blown out or in a shootout on Sunday. Which one largely depends on how much they have corrected this week. We’ll see this Sunday Night if that is the case and I will be back here with the aftermath on Monday.
Chris Kazmierczak is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on twitter or Facebook.
