The Bears Grind Out A Win

Matt Forte made life miserable for the Lions defense

After playing six games, the Bears have solidified themselves as one of the best teams in the NFC and a Super Bowl contender by doing what they have a long and storied history of doing: playing stingy and dominating defense.

In a 13-7 win against the Lions that wasn't ever really close, the Bears defense dominated a Lions offense that contained a top tier quarterback and wide receiver in Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, respectively. The defensive line once again dominated, keeping the Lions running game in check while disrupting Stafford from ever really getting a rhythm. Cornerback Charles Tillman kept all-pro receiver Johnson in check, allowing only three catches to one of the best receivers in the game right now. In all, the Bears defense were a garbage time touchdown score away from shutting out the Lions, something they haven't done in half a century.

On offense, they did just enough to win the game. The Bears scored on their opening possession, helping to alleviate concerns about the offense being able to score in the first quarter, but the offense was relatively quiet after that. But, this isn't a team that needs to score multiple touchdowns to win on any given week. With a defense as dominating as this one, there's no need for the offense to take risks and score fast and often. This offense focused on ball control, with 34 minutes of possession compared to Detroit's 25 minutes. 

The Bears face Carolina this weekend and then Tennessee in two games they're expected to win, but their real test comes when they face two tough teams in Houston and San Francisco in back to back road games. That will be when we see what this team is truly capable of. 

What We've Learned Post-Bye Week

The Bears this week had their bye week, coming off an impressive first month of the season with convincing wins against the Colts, Rams, Cowboys, and Jaguars. 

With the bye week, the team has a chance to rest, players who are battling injuries have a week to recover, and the team is preparing to come out strong against the Lions a week from now on Monday Night Football. But what does this first month say about this team? 

The Good

The Bears defense has looked every bit as dominant as any other great season that Lovie Smith has been a coach. But, unlike previous years, there's no clear weakness to this team. The defensive line has been dominant, with the Bears hosting one of the best defensive tackles of the first month of the season in Henry Melton. Peppers has continued to cause headaches for offensive lines, and this has opened up opportunities for everyone else on defense. The linebacking corps has been solid, with Lance Briggs coming up with a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns in back to back weeks. Brian Urlacher is slowly but surely getting better, and the knee injury that has plagued him throughout the season appears to be getting better. At cornerback, Charles Tillman also had two interceptions returned for touchdowns in back to back weeks, and Tim Jennings continues to have the best season of his career. At safety, Major Wright and Chris Conte are clearly the best safeties that Lovie Smith has seen during his tenure, especially at a position that's had a revolving door of starters the last few years.

The Bad

Jay Cutler and the Bears offense has consistently gotten off to a slow start in most games this year. It hasn't proven to be a problem except in the loss against Green Bay, but a lot of that is because of the defense's strong showings this season. Some of the blame can be attributed to Offensive Coordinator and first time play caller Mike Tice, who is having some problems coming out with a balanced offense that makes opponents fear both the run and the pass, but for this team to do well, they have to be able to play from behind when the circumstances call for it. The true tests for this team come after the bye, with games against the Texans, 49'ers and a rematch with the Packers. For the team to win, the offense is going to have to be able to carry the team.

Question Marks

It's still to be seen if this team can win against contenders. The Colts, Rams and Jaguars were among the worst teams last year, and the Cowboys have had a history this season of not coming out strong against teams of varying skill. Still, there's a lot to like about this team, and I fully expect this Bears team to be competitive if not dominant heading out of the bye week. 

Week 1 of the NFL Season

Colts at Bears

After watching the first game of the season against the Colts, all I can say is wow.

After a disappointing first quarter in which Jay Cutler completed only one of his 10 attempted passes and threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, the Bears offense settled down and put on a display that I haven't as a Bears fan seen very much of, winning 41-21. They seemed downright unstoppable on some of their drives, moving the ball at will both in the air and on the ground. Brandon Marshall proved why we worked hard to get him as he kept plays alive when Cutler threw to him in duress. Scariest of all, the offense proved on one drive that they can run the ball with Forte, throw to a big target like Marshall and get the ball to a guy in Hester who's a threat to score whenever he's in space. If this offense continues improving and shows these results against playoff caliber teams, any defense is going to have a scary time covering all these offensive weapons.

While there were less questions about the defense coming into the season, it was good to see them perform at a high level. The defensive line consistently rushed the Colts offense with a four man line, which is important when you want to have a complete defense that doesn't need to take someone out of pass protection to put pressure on the quarterback. Julius Peppers as expected gave the offensive line of the Colts problems on every play, but I was most impressed with Henry Melton. He had a couple big plays, and I look forward to seeing him grow into the defensive player this coaching staff seems to think he can be. Tim Jennings had a great game, intercepting two passes and batting a third that was intercepted by another player. With number one cornerback Charles Tillman knocked out of the game, Jennings stepped up and gave Andrew Luck and the Colts offense headaches. This team's biggest perceived weakness on defense coming into this season was the play of its secondary, but you wouldn't think that watching this team's cornerbacks and safeties play this week.

There's still some questions this team is going to have to answer down the road. Their performance this week came against the team with the worst record in the league last year, and we may see a different team emerge when we play opponents that are favored to go the playoffs this year. At the same time, Brian Urlacher didn't finish the game because of his knee injury that has been problematic. I'm not saying that this team can't do well without Urlacher, but this team is going to badly want their best defensive player of the last decade out there every play. While the offensive line has been praised for their pass protection this week, there's still questions to be answered. They played better after the first quarter, but that was when the Colts' best defensive player, Dwight Freeney, was knocked out of the game. They're going to need to prove that they can pass protect against better teams. 

Regardless of the Colts' record last year, this is a league where the worst teams can beat the best teams in any given week, so it's good to see the Bears dominate a team they were expected to beat. They're going to have a real test Thursday night against the Packers in a division game they have to win. If they come out Thursday and win an away game against the team many think will win the division, they will have proved to a lot of doubters that this Bears team is for real.

Welcome to the Bears Uncaged

Football is back.

After months of anticipation and weeks of enduring the teasing that is preseason games, the NFL season officially kicked off Wednesday night.

With the first game of the 2012 Chicago Bears season coming tomorrow against the Indianapolis Colts, I can't wait to see what kind of team the Bears will be. I can't wait to see how Jay Cutler performs with a "go up and get it" type receiver in Brandon Marshall this year. I can't wait to see what role Matt Forte plays as a running back that can run and catch the ball in an offense that is poised to have a much stronger passing game this year. I can't wait to see Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers and Charles Tillman operate a brutal defense on a team that can all of a sudden win in every facet of the game.

I'll be following the team all year as they start the season. Here's a little bit about me: I'm a journalism student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. I've been a lifelong Chicago sports fan, but football has always been a sport I've passionately followed.

Expect to see regular updates after every Bears game, with my insights on the team and the NFL in general. I'll also be posting my thoughts on other sports as events transpire in the coming weeks and months. I look forward to writing this, and feel free to share your thoughts at any time. Thanks!