Just a taste for you guys.
QB - Cutler, regardless of your feelings about him, has been very good. He is playing behind and OL that is struggling to put it mildly. He tends to make real boneheaded mistakes but it is easy to forgive them when you see just how good the kid is.
RB - Forte is having an off year. He is playing hurt from preseason but that has not been discussed alot. He is a patient runner and behind this OL that is not a good thing. Getting him involved in the passing game is important and the Bears finally seem to have figured that part out.
OL - Bad news. The seem to get no push on running plays and are uneven on passing plays. This is a problem area and one that the Cardinals can exploit depending on which Cards team shows up.
WR - The oft-reported weakness of the team actually isn't nearly as bad as anyone thinks. Hester and Knox are homerun threats and Bennett is a possession WR. Knox and Hester could run better routes but they are improving.
TE - A strength with Olsen and Clark. Two solid TEs who are not the best blockers in the world but Olsen has gotten better at that. These guys are Cutlers safety net as opposed to the RB.
DL - Uneven to say the least. Sometimes Brown and Ogunleye are beasts other times invisible. DT is a problem and if Whisenhunt is smart he will provide a healthy dose of Wells running. This could cause alot of problems for the Bears.
LB - MASH unit to be sure. Briggs is the best of the bunch. Roach is learning the MLB position and has made some big errors (one that was huge in the ATL game). He seems to be coming around. Hillenmeyer is an OK LB...nothing special.
DB - Tillman is very good but after that, uneven is a good word again. Bowman is fair, Vasher is nickel back and given the injuries to Boldin and breston, that makes things alot easier for those two. Obviously shutting down Fitz will be the game plan.
ST - Excellent kicker in Gould. Excellent P in Maynard. Coverage teams can be a bit iffy at times. Return teams can be explosive
Coaching - I tend to be more forgiving than most but there have been some real coaching issues this year...being woefully unprepared for the game against CIN.
Weather is looking pretty mild actually so unless there is rain, it shouldn't be an issue.
This is really a defining game for the Bears season (I believe it is a defining game for the Cards but for a much different reason). The Bears need to decide if they are going to provide any challenge to the Vikings or not and it starts with this game. There are some real problematic matchups for the Bears this week. We shall see if they can minimize those matchup problems.
JMHO on all this.
best of luck this week.
QB - Cutler, regardless of your feelings about him, has been very good. He is playing behind and OL that is struggling to put it mildly. He tends to make real boneheaded mistakes but it is easy to forgive them when you see just how good the kid is.
RB - Forte is having an off year. He is playing hurt from preseason but that has not been discussed alot. He is a patient runner and behind this OL that is not a good thing. Getting him involved in the passing game is important and the Bears finally seem to have figured that part out.
OL - Bad news. The seem to get no push on running plays and are uneven on passing plays. This is a problem area and one that the Cardinals can exploit depending on which Cards team shows up.
WR - The oft-reported weakness of the team actually isn't nearly as bad as anyone thinks. Hester and Knox are homerun threats and Bennett is a possession WR. Knox and Hester could run better routes but they are improving.
TE - A strength with Olsen and Clark. Two solid TEs who are not the best blockers in the world but Olsen has gotten better at that. These guys are Cutlers safety net as opposed to the RB.
DL - Uneven to say the least. Sometimes Brown and Ogunleye are beasts other times invisible. DT is a problem and if Whisenhunt is smart he will provide a healthy dose of Wells running. This could cause alot of problems for the Bears.
LB - MASH unit to be sure. Briggs is the best of the bunch. Roach is learning the MLB position and has made some big errors (one that was huge in the ATL game). He seems to be coming around. Hillenmeyer is an OK LB...nothing special.
DB - Tillman is very good but after that, uneven is a good word again. Bowman is fair, Vasher is nickel back and given the injuries to Boldin and breston, that makes things alot easier for those two. Obviously shutting down Fitz will be the game plan.
ST - Excellent kicker in Gould. Excellent P in Maynard. Coverage teams can be a bit iffy at times. Return teams can be explosive
Coaching - I tend to be more forgiving than most but there have been some real coaching issues this year...being woefully unprepared for the game against CIN.
Weather is looking pretty mild actually so unless there is rain, it shouldn't be an issue.
This is really a defining game for the Bears season (I believe it is a defining game for the Cards but for a much different reason). The Bears need to decide if they are going to provide any challenge to the Vikings or not and it starts with this game. There are some real problematic matchups for the Bears this week. We shall see if they can minimize those matchup problems.
JMHO on all this.
best of luck this week.
