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.