Chicago Bears

It’s time to take a look at the All-NFC North team for 2011. As ever, we’e being a little creative with the formations to try and get the best possible players on the field and, in this instance, that leaves us with a truly destructive looking offense.

The “Black and Blue” division doesn’t let us down when it comes to defense either, with only safety being a notable weak point on a side stacked with stud players. No team in the division has fewer than five players selected to this team which shows that despite some teams struggling (well, the Vikings), there is talent all over, and no one team is in power all the way through.

So let’s take a look at the rundown. Read the rest of this entry »

The final regular season week of the 2011 season saw the Chicago Bears travel to face the Minnesota Vikings in a divisional game that meant…nothing. This was precisely the kind of game the NFL had hoped to avoid by moving divisional games to the end of the season, and in truth, it worked in this game.

Two teams with nothing more than draft position to play for found themselves fighting tooth and nail for the win, and characteristically it was the mistakes, rather than the impressive play, that wound up being decisive. The Vikings were in danger of landing a torpedo into the side of their draft position until the final drive ended with a badly overthrown pass from Joe Webb, in for the injured Christian Ponder once more.

For Chicago the game seemed to center around thrusting Jared Allen towards Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record, and then doing everything humanly possible to prevent him getting one more to break it. In the end he fell just a half sack short of the record.

Read the rest of this entry »

An NFC North encounter to round off the season features both sides finding themselves with nothing to play for. The Bears were firmly in the thick of the playoff hunt until an injury cost them their star quarterback, Jay Cutler, and since that point the injuries have only been mounting, with Matt Forte the latest major piece to go down for the year. Minnesota on the other hand was never at the races this season and languish with a 3-12 record heading into their final game.

The Vikings took themselves out of the running for the number one overall pick in the next draft last week when they beat Washington, and a final win this week could drop them to as far as the sixth overall pick, which would be little short of a disaster for a team with so many holes to fill. Losing Adrian Peterson forces them to lean on the shoulders of Toby Gerhart as their main bellcow in the run game, and their rookie quarterback Christian Ponder returns to the starting lineup this week, after being sidelined with concussion. Chicago are playing for pride and little else, but that may well be enough. Here are three matchups that will heavily influence the outcome.

Read the rest of this entry »

With Matt Forte breaking tackles and Jay Cutler slinging touchdown passes, eyes had turned to a Christmas Day encounter that promised as much excitement for football fans, as opening that first present from Santa Claus does for kids of all ages.

Unfortunately injuries meant that there was no Forte or Cutler, with their backups trying admirably to make a contest of things against the juggernaut that are the Green Bay Packers. Instead we got to see the Packers get back on track even if they had to wear down a stubborn NFC North divisional rival.

It means that there will be no playoffs in Chicago as they’re left to rue what may have been, but for injuries. Green Bay instead will turn their attention to the playoffs, with homefield advantage secured you have to wonder if, after the wakeup call that was Kansas City, can anyone stop them? Let’s take a look at some of the key performances.

Read the rest of this entry »

The only game on Christmas Day is an ancient rivalry as well as a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship and a close Week 3 battle. This game could have been a lot more interesting had Jay Cutler and Matt Forte not been injured earlier in the year, but the Chicago Bears, who are still fighting to keep their slim postseason hopes alive, will have to go on without them. In the midst of a four game losing streak, they are coming off a 38-14 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks, who they beat there last January in a playoff game.

The Green Bay Packers are coming off a much more shocking loss to the Kyle Orton-led Kansas City Chiefs, their first loss of the season. The injuries the defending champs have endured haven’t been as devastating as the Bears’ injuries (starting QB and starting RB), but they have made QB Aaron Rodgers’ health going forward a concern; they lost two right tackles just last week, are currently on a backup left tackle, and Rodgers suffered two concussions last season. So neither squad is anywhere near 100% healthy.

Read the rest of this entry »

The difference between these two teams was slim but all too obvious: one quarterback played mistake-free football for two halves, whereas a certain Caleb Hanie could only manage one. Bears fans must be wondering what they did to deserve such bad fortune. A month ago, Jay Cutler had just completed his best-ever game as a Bear, we were talking of Matt Forte as a legitimate MVP candidate, and the team was nailed on to a playoff berth. Unfortunately, the crowbar of fate has pried them away and they are now almost certain to miss out.

The Seahawks have an identical record–and as little chance of making it to January as the Bears–but for some reason, a more positive feel at the moment. Maybe it’s the fact they see themselves with a brighter future; they’re a young team who are a quarterback and a re-tooling of the offensive line away from being very good indeed. Is Tarvaris Jackson that player? Read the rest of this entry »

Soldier Field will host two sides with very contrasting fortunes in Week 15 as the Seattle Seahawks take on the Chicago Bears. The Seahawks (6-7) have won four of their previous five games; a run of form the likes of which they have not enjoyed since 2007. A key part of this success has been the re-invigorated presence of Marshawn Lynch, who, since Week 9 has amassed 706 rushing yards and six touchdowns. The Bears (7-6) will be attempting to halt a three game losing streak, with all three losses having occurred since the injury of franchise quarter back Jay Cutler.

The game has serious playoff implications for both sides. The Bears, who looked like a lock for a playoff spot just a few weeks ago, can put themselves back into the picture with a win here. The Seahawks know they must now run the table to have any chance of getting in. Their remaining schedule (at home against the 49ers and at the Cardinals) makes this a possible task, so we should see everything they’ve got in their attempt to beat Chicago on Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »

The world gasped once again as Tim Tebow led another late, game-winning drive over the shocked Chicago Bears, leaving them in sole possession of first place in the AFC West at 8-5. The Bears, despite not having star players Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, led 10-0 with a little over two minutes left in regulation but could not hang on, falling to 7-6 with their postseason hopes very much in doubt.

Caleb Hanie is no Jay Cutler, but he didn’t turn the ball over, helping his defense to keep Tebow and Denver’s strong running game in check. Marion Barber aided his team with over 100 yards rushing against a recently-revitalized defense, but his turnover in OT proved costly. Tebow had his own ball-security problems with his first multi-turnover game of the season, but without a running game he had to make plays with his arm, and he did. Take a look at some performances that shaped this overtime contest that turned into a thriller late and sends both teams in different directions going forward.

Read the rest of this entry »

As the Bears attempt to stay afloat in the NFC Wild Card race, they could learn a thing or two from their opponents here. The Broncos have set the bar for winning with an inexperienced young quarterback and they’ve done it in a way that’s not impossible for the Bears to emulate. The read-option attack notwithstanding, the Broncos run the ball well, play good defense, and protect the ball very well. Chicago is more than capable of the first two but Caleb Hanie (-4.9) has thrown six interceptions while completing less than half his passes since taking over at quarterback for Jay Cutler. The Bears’ recent AFC West tour has been a disaster. Now without the NFL’s leader in yards from scrimmage—Matt Forte (+17.8) could miss up to a month with a MCL sprain—Hanie will need to keep the ball out of the defense’s hands to have any chance. Read the rest of this entry »

Hail Mary, full of grace … one of these was the difference between a Kansas City Chiefs road win and what felt for much of the second half like it would have been an utterly inevitable tie between two teams putting forth some of the worst offensive football you will see this season. Both the Chiefs and the Chicago Bears struggled to establish anything with their backup quarterbacks at the helm. The running games had their moments and the defenses played their part in this game yielding only 13 points, but the over-arching theme of the game was woeful offense.

The poor performance of Chicago signal caller Caleb Hanie has sparked discussions over Donovan McNabb being brought in by Chicago, but how different might those have been had Roy Williams held on to a fine throw at the Kansas City 3-yard-line? Instead, he let it into his body, dropped it and after much bobbling, Jon McGraw came up with the pivotal interception. That single play was as close as the Bears got as the Chiefs did just enough to win courtesy of a trail player catching a ball off of another lucky bounce to pick up the decisive score. It could be said that this game was decided on two bounces of a football, so let’s take a look back at some noteworthy – and some forgettable – performances from this unremarkable game.

Read the rest of this entry »