Noots

INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8) at Chicago Bears (6-6) By Michael Nudo ________________________________________________________________________________ ____ Injuries on the offensive line have severely limited the Jaguars’ offense (Getty images/Streeter Lecka). BEARS OFFENSE vs. JAGUARS DEFENSE Kyle Orton has struggled (41-83-417 3 TD, 3 INT) in the three games since his return from a high ankle sprain. He appeared to be moving around in the pocket better last week, but had a difficult time with both accuracy and decision making. Fullback Jason McKie (quadriceps) missed last week’s game. He was replaced by Jason Davis. Wide receiver Marty Booker (knee) is expected to be ready to return. The Bears haven’t gotten much production out of any of their wide receivers since before Orton’s injury. Defensive tackle John Henderson has missed a few games recently with a knee injury. To make matters worse, he missed practice time this week shaking off an illness. Cornerback Rashean Mathis was lost for the season after Monday night’s game with a knee injury. Drayton Florence will step into the starting role for Mathis. The Jaguars have been very average on defense this year. One of the keys has been their lack of pass rush (22 sacks). Jacksonville invested heavily in draft picks Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves, who have only 4 combined sacks. After several down offensive weeks, this should be the optimal time for the Bears to get their passing offense back on track against a Jaguar team that’s struggling to retain its focus after dropping 4 of their last 6 games. JAGUARS OFFENSE vs. BEARS DEFENSE The Jaguars have lost offensive linemen Vince Manuwai, Chris Naeole and Maurice Williams for the year. They’re in the unenviable position of not being able to protect quarterback David Garrard (33 sacks). Further, they haven’t been able to run consistently with Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor (111 yards per game after 149 a season ago). The single brightest spot on their offense is the long-awaited emergence of fourth-year receiver Matt Jones (62-727, 2 TD), who is on track to come close to 1,000 receiving yards. The Bears have lost a starter each of the last two weeks in cornerback Nathan Vasher (hand) and defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek (biceps). Corey Graham replaced Vasher last week against Minnesota. The loss of Dvoracek will mean more time for tackles Anthony Adams (foot), Israel Idonije and rookie Marcus Harrison. It might even mean Matt Toeaina has an opportunity to dress on game day. Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye shows up on the report this week with a shoulder injury. Ogunleye and Adams are both expected to play. Mark Anderson will see more time if Ogunleye is limited. Anderson hasn’t been a consistent pass rushing factor since his rookie season two years ago. His run defense is a serious liability. The Jaguars have been trying to keep a balanced attack this season. It would be wise to lean heavier to the run again the Bears, to protect the rib injury Garrard has been recovering from. Look for the Bears to tighten up their run defense to ensure Taylor and Jones-Drew don’t break free for long runs like the one Peterson had last week. The Bears’ pass rush has shown more teeth in recent weeks. In the last two weeks, opposing quarterbacks have been sacked 7 times against the last 61 attempts. This is an excellent matchup for the Bears, especially for interior linemen like Tommie Harris and Marcus Harrison. ________________________________________________________________________________ _______

Thanks Pix, much appreciated. BTW, I'm using BBcode now for my reports (icky) and it appears my photo didn't make it. Can you tell me what I need to do there by looking at the underlying code of my post?

Noots’ Notes-Game 12: 34-14 Loss at Minnesota By Michael Nudo ______________________________________________________________________________ Up 7-3, the Chicago Bears (6-6) were stone walled in a goal line stand. Moments later Gus Frerotte connected with former Bear Bernard Berrian for a 99-yard touchdown strike. The Bears were never in the game after that huge sequence. The Vikings now hold sole possession of first place in the NFC North. ______________________________________________________________________________ Trailing (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid). ______________________________________________________________________________ OFFENSE Quarterback Kyle Orton (11-29-153, 2 TD, 3 INT) had his worst game of the season. Orton threw 3 awful interceptions and was fortunate to not finish with 3 more. He was grossly inaccurate. Numerous passes were under thrown, resulting in incompletions, deflections and interceptions. He threw poorly to Hester up the right sideline on a fade route. If the pass was there, Hester would have been gone. The highlight of his day was a 65-yard touchdown pass on an adjustment he made at the line to hit Devin Hester on a hook route. Hester did the rest. Orton got little help, and we’ll discuss that further in a moment. GRADE: D- Running Backs Matt Forte (22/96, 4-29, TD) continues to be the lone bright spot on an offense that could only muster 228 yards. Forte’s big play was a 26-yard scamper around left end that came up just short of the end zone. Adrian Peterson (1/5) gave Forte a breather for a series and dropped a third down pass up the left sideline that would have been an easy conversion. With Jason McKie out, Jason Davis started at fullback. Davis and Forte took turns getting swallowed up by the Vikings’ stout defensive front on the fateful goal line stand. GRADE: B Receivers These guys only hurt Orton’s cause. Let’s start with the highlight first. Devin Hester (3-67, TD) slipped a tackle and faked another player onto the turf en route to his 65-yard touchdown. The rest of his day was so bad I was shocked he wasn’t pulled from all phases of the game. Hester notched a false start, a third down drop and had a ball bounce off his arm because he didn’t have his head turned around at the quarterback. The icing on his cake was his complete lack of effort in chasing down a linebacker who had intercepted a Kyle Orton pass. There is no way that anyone else should have beaten him to the ball, yet a Vikings linebacker and two Bear players did. One of them was 300-pounder John Tait. Greg Olsen (1-7) forced a fumble on the play. It was one of few contributions he made. He was clearly interfered with early in the game, having his arm hooked on a short pass. There was no call to bail them out. Rashied Davis (1-17) dropped a slant and had another deeper pass go just beyond what would have been a spectacular fingertip catch. Brandon Lloyd made a key 24-yard reception on third and long. Desmond Clark (1-9) played but wasn’t much of a factor, either. There were too many drops from this group. GRADE: D- Offensive Line Jared Allen had his way with John St. Clair. Allen beat St. Clair to the tune of 8 tackles, 3 sacks and 3 tackles for a loss. He was constantly harassing Kyle Orton. St. Clair was beaten to the inside and the outside. Allen went past St. Clair like he was running around a statue. On the goal-line stand, Pat Williams (5 tackles, PD) demolished perennial Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz, disrupting two of the Bears’ plays. Josh Beekman made a key block to seal the edge as he pulled around left tackle for Forte’s 26-yard run. Beekman kept Kevin Williams (5 tackles, TFL) off Orton, but wasn’t as impressive in straight ahead blocking. Roberto Garza joined Kreutz in getting manhandled at the goal line by Pat Williams. John Tait was flagged for being lined up too far off the ball. Rookie Chris Williams saw some goal line action as well. There was nothing there to get excited about. Run blocking was good, except when it counted most. Pass blocking was below par, mostly with relation to blocking Allen. GRADE: C- ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ DEFENSE Defensive Line Alex Brown (5 tackles, sack, 2 TFL) had a good game. He had a sack and several pressures, and made several big plays against the run. Adewale Ogunleye had a pass deflection to stop a third down conversion and some early pressure. He got away with a hit on Gus Frerotte (16-25-210, TD, INT) after the ball was gone. Frerotte seemed to back up into Ogunleye, and he decked him. Looking at the replay and how hard he was hit, Frerotte seemed to be playing opossum, laying motionless on the turf but returning for the next series. Tommie Harris (5 tackles, sack, TFL) had an early sack and then disappeared for a big stretch. He was more effective way from the point of attack, chasing down screens and plays to the outside. Dusty Dvoracek suffered a severe arm injury early in the game and did not return. Anthony Adams replaced Dvoracek and was one of the few stout players on the defense. Mark Anderson played quite a bit and was again gashed by the run. He was holding and clinching as he fell to the turf like a boxer who has taken too many hits and is trying not to go down. Israel Idonije (3 tackles, 2 TFL) made a few nice plays against the run late. Rookie Marcus Harrison had 4 tackles but was not a factor rushing the quarterback. Apart from Adrian Peterson’s (28/131, TD) 59-yard run, these guys played the run fairly well. Wait, we can’t throw that run out, can we? Well, I think we have just cause to do so this time. To get 2 sacks in 25 attempts is about right, as well. GRADE: B- Linebackers Brian Urlacher (6 tackles, 2 TFL, PD) had a decent game. He was all over the field, using his speed to stop Peterson from picking up cutback yardage on the edge. He provided blitz pressure that drove Frerotte into Alex Brown. Urlacher also made a sweet tackle for a loss on a screen to Peterson. Of the linebackers and secondary, Urlacher was consistently the most sure tackler of the bunch. Oh, and we’ll get to them, too. Nick Roach made a nice tripping tackle on Peterson. Lance Briggs (8 tackles, TFL) made some decent plays against the screens and run plays as well. However, he joins a list of others who fail to wrap up, leading Peterson to picking up extra yardage. Hunter Hillenmeyer allowed a 20-yard pass to the goal line to the sloth-footed Jim Kleinsasser at the end of the first half. GRADE: C- Secondary Charles Tillman (5 tackles, 1 slice of bread, burnt) was completely smoked on Berrian’s 99-yard touchdown reception. It appeared as if Tillman was either expecting deep help or bit on something that clearly was not there. He later added a horse collar tackle to the misery. Oh look, Corey Graham (9 tackles, TFL, PD) led the Bears in tackles. He joins the hit brigade of knuckleheads who failed to wrap up on Peterson. He was the chief culprit on Peterson’s big run. In fact, his non-wrap may have actually knocked the also non-wrapping Briggs and Kevin Payne off the play. Payne (5 tackles, INT, 2 PD) was late getting over to help Hillenmeyer against Kleinsasser. He did make a key pass deflection to stop a third and goal pass in the end zone. Payne had the big highlight in the secondary, hauling in a Danieal Manning (3 tackles, PD) pass deflection for an interception and returning it 36 yards. Mike Brown (2 tackles, TFL) was not a factor apart from a couple of big hits. GRADE: D- Special Teams Robbie Gould continues to have very good kickoff depth. But the Bears suffered another coverage lapse, and had to be again saved by a Garrett Wolfe tackle. Gould didn’t have any field goal attempts. Brad Maynard had a 29-yard clunker that went out of bounds at the 50-yard line. Overall he had a better game, with 5 of his 9 kicks inside the 20-yard line. Devin Hester is ridiculous. Relatively speaking, of course. He is the only punt returner I have seen that can catch a low line drive on a dead run and then stop and turn around and run the other way. If the Bears can get Hester to run sideways, it will be a marked improvement. Sideways, after all, is positive when compared to running backwards. Relatively speaking, of course. Oh wait, almost forgot—it was also especially excruciating to watch Hester call for a fair catch, at the 5-yard line. Danieal Manning averaged 27.6 yards on five strong kickoff returns. Rookie Earl Bennett had a 17-yard punt return. GRADE: C Coaching Ron Turner and his offense had a putrid day. It was hard for Turner to get anything going with Kyle Orton throwing precision passes to Viking defenders and Jared Allen making John St. Clair look like an orange cone. Why not give him some help? But Turner needs to be called into question for the goal-line stand. Why bother running between the tackles against the enormous Viking defense, let alone with a fullback who hasn’t yet carried the ball as a Bear this season? Some might question the pass on first down. I would question why they didn’t try at least one more against one of the NFL’s best rush defenses. On defense, the Vikings waited for the Bears to play soft on the corners at the end of the first half and took advantage of it for an easy scoring drive. Bob Babich’s defense couldn’t stop Adrian Peterson even when they had 12 players on the field. Listening to the interview with Lovie Smith at halftime, you would have thought the Bears had this game in hand. I guess some people think it’s ok to go through life being blissfully ignorant. GRADE: F Noots’ Nut Crackers Mike Brown on Adrian Peterson Mike Brown on Visanthe Shiancoe Vinny Ciurciu on Danieal Manning Nudo’s Kudos Matt Forte Brian Urlacher Alex Brown Horns Kyle Orton John St. Clair Devin Hester ________________________________________________________________________________ _

Yup, they signed FB Jason Davis from the PS and put Vasher on IR

INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Chicago Bears (6-5) at Minnesota Vikings (6-5) By Michael Nudo Napoleon Harris has taken over for E.J. Henderson at middle linebacker (AP Photo/Phil Coale). BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. VIKINGS DEFENSEcolor> Quarterback Kyle Orton (ankle) is gradually getting back to full health. He had a decent game last week and should be peaking again in time for this matchup in the Metrodome. Tight end Desmond Clark left last week’s game against the Rams with a knee injury. If he misses time, Greg Olsen will get all the reps with some time added for rookie Kellen Davis in double tight end situations. Marty Booker has been trying to recover from a mild knee injury to get back on the field. Brandon Lloyd has been quiet since his return from a knee injury. This might be his game to break out. With E.J. Henderson (foot) out for the year, the Vikings turned back to Napoleon Harris. Harris and the Vikings’ linebackers have had trouble stopping opposing tight ends recently. It will be interesting to see how they handle Olsen. Chad Greenway leads the Vikings in tackles and has 4 sacks. He has stabilized as a playmaking force on the Vikings’ defense after losing his rookie season (2006) to injury. Defensive end Jared Allen (shoulder) is tied for the team lead with defensive tackle Kevin Williams with 8 sacks. They’ll match up with the left side of the Bears line of John St. Clair and Josh Beekman. Safety Madieu Williams returned to action after the bye week. The Vikings are 3-1 since his return, allowing only 18.25 points per game. The Bears ran extremely well last week. They might find tougher sledding against Minnesota’s Williams Wall. They’re second in the league against the run. Look for the Bears to use the no huddle offense and to stretch the field horizontally and vertically, to make the Vikings’ line run. It will be interesting to see how well Kyle Orton can run his checks at the line in the Metrodome. This should be a week to see Greg Olsen shine, as well as getting all facets of the passing attack in play, including the running backs on screens. VIKINGS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> Former Bears Bobby Wade (thigh) and Bernard Berrian are Minnesota’s leading receivers in terms of reception and yardage, respectively. Tight end Garrett Mills (ankle) has had a tough time staying healthy as a member of the Vikings. Visanthe Shiancoe has been a pleasant surprise (26-353, 4 TD) and should be paid special attention in the red zone. Right tackle Artis Hicks (elbow) might have to give the job back to Ryan Cook if he isn’t ready. Either way, Adewale Ogunleye (2 sacks last week) might have a matchup to exploit. Last week against the Rams, cornerback Nathan Vasher fractured the surgically repaired thumb/wrist that had him out of action just a few weeks ago. He’s expected to miss a significant amount of time—perhaps even wind up on Injured Reserve. Corey Graham will take over. Graham’s coverage skills aren’t quite the same as Vasher’s, but he more than makes up for it in run support. Safety Mike Brown left last week’s game with a lower leg injury. If he’s not ready to return, Craig Steltz is likely to take his place. Linebacker and special teams standout Darrell McClover was placed on Injured Reserve this week. In the four games since the bye week, The Vikings are running 61 percent of the time. Gus Frerotte is only averaging 21.5 passing attempts. The reason might be pass protection. Frerotte has been sacked 13 times in that span against only 86 attempts. On the season, they’ve allowed 31 sacks. Expect the Vikings to give the Bears a heavy dose of Adrian Peterson with a sprinkle of Chester Taylor. The Bears’ defense played great against the running attacks of Tennessee and St. Louis but was embarrassed against Green Bay. The Bears’ defense turned up the heat with 5 sacks and 4 interceptions last week after a dismal stretch through the middle of the season. Look for the Bears to feed off of the things that worked last week and for the Vikings to try to utilize cutbacks to pit the Bears’ own speed against them.

I'd have loved to see Hanie too. Remember though, he was an inactive/emergency third qb. THey're only able to bring him in if Orton and Grossman get hurt, so we're sunk there until they decide to make a spot open for him or he passes Grossman on the depth chart.

Noots’ Notes-Game 11: 27-3 Win over St. Louis By Michael Nudo The Chicago Bears (6-5) dominated the St. Louis Rams (2-9) with 5 sacks, 4 interceptions and over 200 rushing yards. They kept pace with the Vikings atop the NFC North, and will face them next Sunday night. A break out performance (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson). OFFENSE Quarterback Kyle Orton (18-29-139, TD) had a better game than last week, but still isn’t quite right. He moved around in the pocket better but struggled with his accuracy at times. He was sacked once, but it was more of him tripping as he got out from center. Orton’s prettiest pass was a 27-yard lob up the right sideline to Devin Hester against a Rams blitz. He set a Bears record for the most consecutive attempts without an interception. That said, he nearly was picked off on a pass he threw from his own end zone. GRADE: B- Running Backs Matt Forte (20/132, 2 TD, fumble, 2-14) had his best rushing performance of the season. Forte ripped off touchdown runs of 13 and 47 yards. He consistently was slipping tackles and finding holes to run through behind an offensive line that was nothing short of dominating. Forte lost a fumble in a tackle pile that was reviewed by the officials and upheld. Television replays only showed one view. The angle didn’t show anything that could be discerned. Adrian Peterson (5/35) gave Forte a breather and didn’t take the foot off the pedal. Peterson had a 16-yard gain and was consistently slamming the Rams backward. Fullback Jason McKie (3-16, TD fumble) caught a sweet play action pass in the left flat for a 6-yard touchdown. McKie lost a fumble deep in Rams territory and was also flagged for a false start. Garrett Wolfe (3/5) got in some carries at the end. Devin Hester was utilized in the Wildcat formation several times as well. Hester (2/32, 5-57) opened the game with a well-executed reverse for 20 yards. GRADE: A- Receivers Apart from Hester, Desmond Clark (5-40) was the main recipient of Orton’s passes. He shook a defender on a short pass and picked up 15 yards. Unfortunately, Clark left with an apparent knee injury in the second half. Tight end Greg Olsen nearly came up with a big catch up the sideline. Brandon Lloyd (1-3) and Rashied Davis (1-10) were not factors in the pass offense. Tight end Kellen Davis and Brandon Rideau dressed but did not make an impact. GRADE: C- Offensive Line Week after week, the left side of the line is considered a question mark by many of the media experts. People need to understand that linemen do not need to be 320 plus pounds to be effective. It should be recognized that the Bears are trading off some of the road-grating behemoths in size for mobile linemen that can block in space. Left tackle John St. Clair pulled to lead the counter on Forte’s 47-yard touchdown run over right guard. Left guard Josh Beekman led the way on Forte’s 13-yard touchdown as well as an 18-yard gain off right tackle. Center Olin Kreutz and Right guard Roberto Garza pulled on sweeps, powers and screens. Right tackle John Tait held up the point of attack to allow Forte’s runs both inside and outside. Chris Williams played left tackle at the end of the game. Dan Buenning played some center. This was an amazing performance against talented defensive linemen like La’Roi Glover, Adam Carriker, Chris Long and James Hall. Kyle Orton had plenty of time to pass. GRADE: A DEFENSE Defensive Line I remember these guys. Adewale Ogunleye (2 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL) twisted back inside to sack Marc Bulger in the early going to knock him out of the game. That might have been the single biggest difference-making play. But he wasn’t finished. He also sacked Trent Green (16-30-219, 4 INT). Alex Brown had two tackles, a sack and two tackles for a loss. Both ends were consistently getting pressure. Even Mark Anderson had some pressure and made a play against a run outside of him. Dusty Dvoracek (2 tackles, 2 TFL) returned to form, bottling up numerous run attempts. Tommie Harris (4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL) had a more consistent effort, getting one of his two sacks on a play where he never gave up. Rookie Marcus Harrison (4 tackles, TFL) had a couple of nice tackles in run support for very short gains. Israel Idonije and Anthony Adams saw action but weren’t major factors. It was a great day for the line. Five sacks and they held St. Louis to 14 rushing yards on 19 carries. GRADE: A+ Linebackers I remember these guys. Lance Briggs (4 tackles, TFL, 2 INT, 3 PD) and Brian Urlacher (4 tackles, 2 TFL, INT, 3 PD) fed off each other’s play like a pack of wild dogs. Urlacher and Briggs were consistently getting into the Rams’ passing lanes. They each deflected a pass that resulted in their counterpart picking up an interception. Nick Roach (5 tackles, TFL) finally showed his great speed tracking a run play down from the backside and registering a tackle for a loss. The linebackers had an excellent game, in spite of a few minor missed tackles (one each for Urlacher and Briggs). Linebackers were utilized in numerous blitz packages. Although they didn’t get sacks, they helped open the way for the line to get single blocking. GRADE: A Secondary I remember these guys. Charles Tillman made an outstanding interception on a deep ball up the right sideline. He showed great control in getting both feet down in bounds. Tillman, Nathan Vasher and Corey Graham finally were put in position to play tight coverage underneath. Vasher was beaten for a 38-yard gain up the left sideline by Tory Holt (4-84) and later left the game, appearing to re-injure his surgically repaired thumb. Safety Mike Brown (3 tackles, PD) had an early tackle for a loss and then things went downhill from there. He failed to come up with an interception on a pass that hit him in the hands. Then he was beaten over the middle by tight end Daniel Fells for 26 yards. He was held out of the second half with a leg injury. Craig Steltz replaced him. Kevin Payne (6 tackles) was much better at wrapping up than in previous weeks. Overall, the secondary played just well enough to make life difficult for Rams quarterbacks. They had a miserable time completing only 19 of 36 passes and were 3 of 13 in third down conversions. GRADE: B Special Teams Robbie Gould connected on both of his field goal attempts (43, 38). His kickoff depth was excellent. Kickoff coverage wasn’t so hot. The Bears allowed a 75-yard return that went just left of center. Adrian Peterson missed a tackle there but in all fairness was coming from his lane on the other side of the field. Danieal Manning could not disengage from his man on the play side. Garrett Wolfe chased it down to prevent what might have been the Rams’ only touchdown. Brad Maynard had a better day punting. He had only one head-scratching returnable 39-yarder. Danieal Manning got the Bears off on the right foot by returning the opening kickoff 50 yards. Devin Hester had 4 punt returns for 26 yards. Two of those returns began with him running away from the defense. Corey Graham made a heads up play to prevent a pass on a punt fake. Anthony Adams was a factor in the middle of the Bears’ kickoff return wedge. GRADE: B- Coaching Ron Turner’s offense showed a few good wrinkles. The opening reverse to Hester and the Wildcat formation were excellent. More impressive were the number of running plays and finally mixing in some carries for Peterson and Wolfe to keep Forte fresh. The icing on the cake was the way he showed great imagination in running the ball from the shotgun and mixing in runs that attacked the entire field and took advantage of the offensive line’s true strength. Bob Babich’s defense pulled off their best performance of the year. The pass rush was fixed. The secondary played tough. Urlacher and Briggs were making plays. It was downright infectious. Dave Toub’s special teams came up with a key play to prevent a fake punt. Overall, it was complete domination against a team they should have beaten handily. But the Bears’ defense has played so poorly over the last month, nothing should be taken for granted. GRADE: A Noots’ Nut Crackers Adewale Ogunleye on Marc Bulger Nudo’s Kudos Matt Forte The entire starting offense line The entire starting defensive line Brian Urlacher Lance Briggs Horns None

INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Chicago Bears (5-5) at St. Louis Rams (2-8) By Michael Nudo The Rams MASH unit is teeming with injured players. They will be without Steven Jackson again (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images). BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. RAMS DEFENSEcolor> Quarterback Kyle Orton (ankle) should be a little closer to full strength. He was very limited in last week’s game in Green Bay. Wide receiver Marty Booker’s knee has kept him out of practices this week. Brandon Lloyd returned to action after a knee injury for last week’s contest and should be more in synch with Orton for the Rams. Wide receiver Brandon Rideau is expected to be signed from the practice squad to add depth. Guard Terrence Metcalf will be eligible to return from a 4-game suspension shortly, which is likely to signal a roster move. Former Bear Ricky Manning Jr. is one of many Rams on injured reserve (broken ankle). Cornerback Tye Hill (knee) hasn’t played in over a month and is unlikely to play this week as well. Ronald Bartell has been starting for Hill. The Rams have invested heavily in the defensive line through the last two drafts. Top picks Adam Carriker and Chris Long represent first-round picks that have yet to have made a significant impact as starters. Long-forgotten Bear linebacker Chris Draft missed last week’s game with a foot injury. Quinton Culbertson started at outside linebacker for him. If there was ever a time for the Bears’ offense to get back on track, this would be that time. The Rams are near or at the bottom of the league in allowing points, rushing yards and passing yards. Look for the Bears to remember their running attack this week to give Kyle Orton more time to recover. The worst thing they could do is give pass rushers like Leonard Little and James Hall an opportunity to tee off. RAMS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> The once-vaunted Rams offense is languishing at 14.4 points per game. They’re a team lacking continuity. Some of their key players have moved on, while those who’ve remained have had a difficult time staying healthy. Wide receivers Drew Bennett (foot) and Dante Hall (ankle) were recently placed on injured reserve. Tight end Randy McMichael (broken tibia) and running back Brian Leonard (shoulder) are there as well. Guard Mark Setterstrom (knee) has had another season shortened by injury. Richie Incognito has started for him. Incognito left last week’s game with a shoulder injury but is expected to play against the Bears. Left tackle Orlando Pace suffered a knee injury last week and is expected to miss a few games. Adam Goldberg is expected to hold the position until Pace returns. The Rams added depth this week by signing the versatile Anthony Davis, who can play both guard and tackle. Antonio Pittman (57/224, 3.9 yards per carry) has been starting at running back for Steven Jackson (quadriceps). The Rams’ lone bright spot on offense has been rookie wide receiver Donnie Avery (34-485, 2 TD). Reserve linebacker Darrell McClover injured his hamstring against the Packers and is likely to miss a significant amount of time. He could be placed on injured reserve to make room for other roster moves. The bumps and bruises in the Bears’ secondary should be behind them. Injuries to Mike Brown (calf), Charles Tillman (shoulder), Nathan Vasher (thumb/wrist) and Danieal Manning (hamstring) should all be at points in recovery where they are no longer factors that significantly hinder their play. The unit currently facing a bit of attrition is linebacker. Hunter Hillenmeyer should be getting close to full recovery after a thumb injury several weeks ago. Nick Roach took over his spot but is now recovering from an ankle injury of his own. Next up would be Jamar Williams. Williams is recovering from a neck injury but is making good progress. Rookie defensive tackle Marcus Harrison (ankle) hasn’t impressed since early in the season. His injury might provide an opportunity for Anthony Adams or Matt Toeaina to be taken out of the mothballs to provide a stout plug in the middle of the defense. Marc Bulger has had scant opportunities to display the talent that had many project him as a top five quarterback after the 2006 season. The offensive line has allowed 31 sacks thus far. The Bears’ defensive line has been causing problems for local laundering economies. Recent opposing quarterbacks have not had to send out for their jerseys to be cleaned. Something’s gotta give. With Pace out, this would be a great time for Alex Brown to win his match with Goldberg. If the Rams are without Steven Jackson, the Bears should be able to resurrect a pass rush and pass defense that has been nothing short of a welcome mat. All that said, the Bears’ defense over the last month has shown no indication that they’ll be able to prevent Marc Bulger from connecting with Tory Holt and Donnie Avery up and down the field.

Unless I'm mistaken, Hanie was "inactive" and the third qb. I believe that means he gets to dress but can only enter the game if both #1 and #2 leave due to injury.

Noots’ Notes-Game 10: 37-3 Loss to Green Bay By Michael Nudo The Green Bay Packers (5-5) beat the Chicago Bears in every aspect of the game on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field. The loss forced a three-way tie atop the NFC North as the Vikings were beaten by Tampa Bay. Green Bay Grants their fans a Lambeau Lambasting (AP Photo/Morry Gash). OFFENSE Quarterback A hobbled Kyle Orton (13-26-133, Fumble), got the start for the Bears. His foot was heavily bandaged. It didn’t matter. One highlight was an excellent pass to Forte to defeat a blitz on third down in Packer territory. His lowlight was a fumbled shotgun snap that was scooped up by Jason Hunter and returned 54 yards for a touchdown. Rex Grossman (4-7-26) relieved Orton with the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. There weren’t many open receivers and some of the throws were poorly timed. Against the Packers’ secondary, it usually spells trouble. The Bears were fortunate an interception by Orton was nullified by a penalty. GRADE: D Running Backs Matt Forte (14/64, 6-40) had a decent game. Unfortunately, the Bears were never in this contest, so the run was abandoned. He had an 11-yard pickup on a beautiful sweep early in the contest get nullified by a questionable holding call against Rashied Davis. Forte’s receiving was about the only passing offense the Bears had for most of the game. Garrett Wolfe (2/12) and Adrian Peterson (1/7, 2-10) had some token carries at the end. Peterson had a 21-yard run nullified by a penalty as well. Jason McKie was not a factor. Greg Olsen lined up at fullback and made a block from the I formation. GRADE: B Receivers Greg Olsen (4-45) made a sweet juggling catch up the right sideline for an early first down. He lined up at fullback as well as split out as a wide receiver. Olsen missed his assignment on a blitz off the edge by Charles Woodson (4 tackles, sack, TFL) to allow the Bears’ only sack. Rashied Davis had the lone highlight among wide receivers, albeit in garbage time. He hauled in a short pass in the right seam and made two Packers miss en route to a 36-yard gain. Brandon Lloyd (2-17) returned to action but his timing with Orton was lacking. The Bears forced the ball into Devin Hester (1-7) repeatedly and came up short on nearly every occasion. The most promising was a deep pass up the left sideline that Hester hauled in. He was penalized for pass interference because he pushed off the defender. GRADE: D Offensive Line The Bears had an opportunity to play old-fashioned smash mouth football in the cold against a poor run defense. Although they ran for 4.2 yards per carry, it was the yardage they didn’t get that added up. Penalties by Josh Beekman, John Tait and John St. Clair all either negated big gains or put the Bears in tough down and distance situations. Pass protection was good with one exception. During garbage time, rookie Chris Williams was inserted at left tackle with St. Clair sliding over to left guard. Defensive end Aaron Kampman welcomed Williams to the NFL by blowing his doors off en route to a near sack of Rex Grossman. St. Clair made a nice block pulling from guard to open up a hole against a defense clearly looking for the pass. Beekman and Garza made good blocks on a sweep around right end on the Bears’ first drive but it came off the board because of a holding penalty on Rashied Davis. Tait and Kreutz made big blocks to allow it to happen. Overall, mental mistakes erased the good things the line was able to accomplish. The margin for error on offense was very small, because the Bears’ defense is a waste of talent that cannot prevent anyone from scoring. GRADE: C- DEFENSE Defensive Line Embarrassing. There are no more excuses to be made for anyone. Green Bay made punching bags out of the Bears’ defense in every aspect. They ran 38 times for 200 yards. They threw 30 times and were never harassed. Tommie Harris (5 tackles, TFL) looked like he was wearing roller skates. Mark Anderson is a terror. He’s terrorizing his teammates by getting knocked headlong into the legs of his neighboring linemen. He was the salve Ryan Grant (25/145, TD, (1-6) needed to get his season back on track after averaging only 3.6 yards per carry going into Sunday. Ends Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown looked like they were Krazy Glued to the Packers’ offensive tackles. Israel Idonije, Dusty Dvoracek and Marcus Harrison took turns getting steamrolled. No excuses, just a whole bunch of uninspired play. GRADE: F Linebackers Missed tackles. Brian Urlacher (8 tackles, INT, PD) had one of the lone highlights on defense, dropping deep over the middle and intercepting an Aaron Rodgers (23-30-227, 2 TD, INT) pass. It was the first time in who knows how long that a Bear linebacker was anywhere near a passing lane. He also had a late pressure that forced one of the few incomplete passes in Rodgers’ ridiculously easy afternoon. Lance Briggs (10 tackles) had plenty of tackles but far too few of them were at or behind the line of scrimmage. Nick Roach started at linebacker but had only one tackle. The Packers ran and threw all over the Bears. The majority of it was short. These guys have to make more than one play. GRADE: D- Secondary Ryan Grant’s long run of the day was on a 35-yard draw. The key gaffe on the run was a missed open field tackle by Kevin Payne (8 tackles). Charles Tillman shocked the world when he played close enough to a receiver to get flagged for pass interference on a short slant. I imagine that should be enough for the coaches to make sure it never happens again. Mike Brown put a huge hit to knock Grant from the game in the first half. Grant returned and made the Bears pay back threefold. There were plenty of gaffes to go around. Nathan “too much cushion” Vasher allowed Donald Driver to shake him for about 15 yards up the left sideline. He also allowed Greg Jennings to catch a 16-yard pass in front of him. How much cushion is enough? In some spots, Corey Graham subbed in for Vasher. Graham was held and driven back 20 yards on a 22-yard run by Grant to the Bears’ one-yard line. He later topped off his day by literally getting run over by Grant. That play was one of many statement plays the Packers made. You could sum the football game up right there. GRADE: F Special Teams Robbie Gould connected on his lone field goal attempt from 35 yards. His kickoff distance was good. Unfortunately, he was rarely called upon to kick. Brad Maynard had a better day than in recent weeks, but that’s not saying much in going to average from abysmal. His 30-yard punt to the Bears’ 40 at the end of the half was another lowlight. Craig Steltz added a holding penalty at the end of the first half. Devin Hester (KR: 5/114) had a big kickoff return erased by a penalty on Hunter Hillenmeyer for an illegal block in the back. Danieal Manning (KR: 3/82) was given a few opportunities to return kicks and showed great burst. Coverage on punts and kicks was good, highlighted by a tackle by Steltz at the 19 on a kickoff. There were too many penalties and not enough plays to change field position. GRADE: D Coaching There are no more excuses to be made. The Bears mishandled the clock on offense at the end of the first half. Good move to see what rookie Chris Williams had when the game was out of reach. Bad move to not have either Caleb Hanie or Earl Bennett active. There was nothing to learn from seeing Grossman on the field at the end. There is nobody at Halas Hall I will believe that can tell me Earl Bennett doesn’t deserve to see as many snaps as Marty Booker. Nobody. Don’t insult our intelligence anymore. The Packers are yet another team that was able to chew up healthy chunks of yardage against the soft coverage the Bears continue to provide. Kerry Collins completed 73 percent of his passes last week. Aaron Rodgers completed 77 percent of his throws this week. Is anybody paying attention to what’s happening out there? The line between stubbornness and stupidity was crossed several weeks ago. What’s it going to take to make a change? The atrocious defensive play is a waste of talent. Charles Tillman is a big, physical cornerback. Playing him 7 yards off the line is a waste. Other teams will put more bodies on one side of the line than there are blockers to free someone up on a blitz. It’s math, Mr. Babich. On this day, there was no saving grace. No crutch to lean on saying the run defense held (Tennessee). No raft of interceptions to bail out the porous secondary (Minnesota). This thing is broken. On this day, the special teams weren’t that special. The offense was offensive. It was time for the defense to man up. Yet another letdown. There is still time. They have six games to play and are tied with two other teams atop the NFC North at 5-5. The time to make a change was this week. He who hesitates is lost. GRADE: F Noots’ Nut Crackers Mike Brown on Ryan Grant Kevin Payne on Ryan Grant Ryan Grant on Corey Graham Nudo’s Kudos Matt Forte Horns Lovie Smith and his entire coaching staff

INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Chicago Bears (5-4) at Green Bay Packers (4-5) By Michael Nudo The loss of Nick Barnett will likely force A.J. Hawk to the middle (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey). BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. PACKERS DEFENSEcolor> Quarterback Kyle Orton (ankle) is hoping to return after missing last week’s match with the Titans. Rex Grossman started against the Titans. Grossman struggled with his accuracy throughout the contest. Orton returned to practice this week and the signs are looking good for him to play. Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd has missed over a month with a knee injury. He returned to full participation in practice last week and is expected to finally return to game day action. Middle linebacker Nick Barnett was lost for the season when he blew out his knee against the Vikings last week. A.J. Hawk is likely to slide over to the middle with Brandon Chillar taking Hawk’s spot. The Packers lost the big body of end Cullen Jenkins earlier in the year, but recently got back defensive tackle Justin Harrell. Cornerback Charles Woodson (toe) is expected to play. Woodson has five interceptions, with two returned for touchdowns. Return specialist Will Blackmon is making progress from a quadriceps injury and is expected to play. The Packers have not been able to defend the run (154.6 yards per game). They have excelled against the pass, where they have a mind-boggling 16 interceptions with 6 returned for a touchdown. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, look for the Bears to run as much as possible against Green Bay’s 28th ranked rush defense. Expect the Packers to load up the box on early downs to force the Bears into predictable passing situations, and then to sit on the short routes to add to their interception totals. PACKERS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> The Packers’ offense is in relatively good health. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (shoulder) and tackle Chad Clifton (knee) have the usual assortment of aches and pains but are not expected to miss time. They’re scoring better than 26 points per game, in spite of running back Ryan Grant only averaging 3.6 yards per carry with just two touchdowns. Cornerbacks Charles Tillman (shoulder) and Nathan Vasher (thumb) have missed time this year to injuries. Although they’ve returned to action, opposing offenses have been carving up the Bears’ secondary on short and intermediate routes. Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer (thumb) should be ready to get back on the field. He was losing snaps to Nick Roach, and it will be interesting to see how playing time is divided. Nickel back Danieal Manning (hamstring) was active last week but didn’t see action. His playing time should increase. Having said all that, cornerback Corey Graham has played well over the last month subbing for injured members of the secondary. He should continue to see plenty of action against the Packers’ deep receiver corps. The Bears will need to do all they can to disrupt the timing of Rodgers and his receivers. Rodgers has had an impressive season thus far. The Bears will need to contain Rodgers, who will occasionally leave the pocket to run for a first down. The Bears have not been successful in shutting down opposing quarterbacks. Green Bay is their biggest challenge since week one (Indianapolis) in terms of quarterback and receivers.

Noots’ Notes-Game 9: 21-14 Loss to Tennessee By Michael Nudo The Bears (5-4) fell to the Titans at Soldier Field 21-14 to keep Tennessee undefeated. After the Bears took their opening drive for a touchdown, the Titans responded with 21 unanswered points before the Bears scored again in the fourth quarter. Another game, another 7 on 7 drill by an opposing quarterback (AP Photo/David Banks). OFFENSE Quarterback With Kyle Orton sidelined by an ankle injury, the Bears turned to Rex Grossman (20-37-173, TD, INT, 1/1 TD). Although he led the team on a touchdown drive to open the Bears’ possessions, he was downright brutal for most of the rest of play. His passes were to open receivers that were well wide, long, high or behind the mark. Lowlights included missing Rashied Davis on an out pattern on third and 8 and overthrowing Devin Hester on a bomb. His interception came on a lofted pass up the left sideline to Marty Booker that was deflected from one defender to another. There were several other passes that were nearly picked off. Grossman was rarely hurried, and was only sacked twice. The majority of Grossman’s passing yards (102) came in the fourth quarter. GRADE: D Running Backs With an ineffective passing game, Matt Forte (20/72, 7-54, TD) was all the offense the Bears had. He caught a 5-yard touchdown pass on the Bears’ first drive. Forte saved Grossman from a potential interception when he alertly hauled in a pass deflected at the line. He also broke a tackle on a brilliant 18-yard reception up the right sideline in the fourth quarter. Jason McKie (2/5) made a few nice blocks. Kevin Jones was not a factor. GRADE: B- Receivers Devin Hester (4-54) made a brilliant catch along the right sideline, getting both feet in bounds to pick up a conversion on third and 9. He also caught a 29-yard floater over the middle from Grossman to set up the Bears’ second scoring drive. Tight end Greg Olsen (5-40) had a strong game, breaking several tackles. Rashied Davis picked up 15 yards early in the contest but could not synch up with Grossman for the rest of day. Marty Booker was held without a reception, although numerous passes went his way. Desmond Clark caught three passes for short yardage. Brandon Lloyd was inactive. GRADE: C- Offensive Line This was the biggest challenge of the year for the interior line, facing Albert Haynesworth. He was limited to just three tackles. Rex Grossman had plenty of time to pass. Matt Forte had plenty of holes to run through, especially considering the compete futility of the Bears’ passing game. John Tait and Roberto Garza had big blocks to spring Forte on a run inside of Tait. Josh Beekman held his own and then some against Haynesworth. He pulled right to pick off the linebacker off right tackle to open the alley for Forte on the Bears’ first play. Olin Kreutz played well with the exception of getting knocked headlong into the backfield in the fourth quarter on a negative running play. John St. Clair had an up and down performance. GRADE: B- DEFENSE Defensive Line The Titans’ running back tandem of Lendale White and Chris Johnson were reduced to rubble (24 carries for 32 yards) by the Bears’ front. Adewale Ogunleye led the way with 5 tackles, a sack and a tackle for a loss. Ogunleye’s sack was the Bears’ only real shot on Kerry Collins (30-41-289, 2 TD), who had all day to throw. Tommie Harris had big stop early and was quiet until late in the contest. Tackles Dusty Dvoracek (2 tackles) and Marcus Harrison (tackle, PD, TFL) turned in big stops and helped plug up the middle. Alex Brown had a tackle for a loss late in the contest. Collins had only been sacked three times prior to Sunday. The Bears only got to him once, in spite of numerous blitz attempts. GRADE: C- Linebackers Lance Briggs (13 tackles, 2 TFL) again stood out. The majority of his tackles were along the line of scrimmage. He also put a big hit on fullback Ahmard Hall. Brian Urlacher (5 tackles, 2 TFL) was more active, tracking down plays from sideline to sideline. Nick Roach (3 tackles) was not a factor. Run fits were excellent. Pass coverage was decent, although tight end Bo Scaife (10-78, TD) had a banner day in the soft underbelly of the Bears’ secondary. GRADE: B Secondary Safety Mike Brown (8 tackles, 2 TFL) played much of the game up near the line of scrimmage. He terrorized the Titans’ ground game, at one point nearly taking the handoff en route to a 7-yard tackle for a loss. Kevin Payne (6 tackles) had more coverage responsibility and was a part of the soft coverage over the middle. Corey Graham didn’t start but was in on quite a few plays. He recovered an unforced fumble at the goal line and made several big stops along the sideline on attempted screens and hitches. Charles Tillman (7 tackles, PD) had a near interception that the receiver broke up, drawing interference. He had a deflection later as well. Nathan Vasher (3 tackles, 2 PD) allowed former Bear Justin Gage to catch a slant inside him for a 12-yard touchdown. Danieal Manning played but was not a factor. The Bears allowed Collins to complete 73 percent of his passes. He only had three touchdown passes prior to picking up two more in this contest. The secondary needed to make a play in coverage and failed to do so. GRADE: D+ Special Teams Robbie Gould had a 48-yard field goal blocked (low kick). Brad Maynard had numerous attempts to kick the Bears out of trouble and did little to help the situation. He punted 8 times and his long was 45 yards, with only one kick inside the 20. Devin Hester showed signs of life, returning a late kickoff 41 yards. Garrett Wolfe committed a holding penalty on the kickoff return at the beginning of the third quarter. Darrell McLover was flagged for running into the kicker and lining up in the neutral zone. This was the kind of game where a big special teams performance could have made the difference. It went the other way. Penalties and poor kicks as well as weak return coverage cost the Bears precious field position. GRADE: D Coaching It’s interesting that run blitzes were able to break through for big stops, but pass blitzes are all picked up. The Bears have no pass rush and cannot prevent opposing offenses from exploiting the middle of the field. The few times when Collins was hurried, he could flick the ball out to pick up a short gain. Just once, if the Bears could combine a blitz with press coverage, they might be able to get a sack. That must be outside the playbook. On offense, the fade routes up the sidelines are murder. They finally had one of these ducks intercepted today. I’m convinced it will take more than that to learn their lesson. Kudos to the coaches for deciding to start Orton at the beginning of the season. Many were not convinced this was the right decision. It’s clear they knew what they were doing. Only 20 carries today for Forte. Seeing this offense under Grossman, they should get Jones and Peterson ready to share the load next week. Why they didn’t run 40 times against the Titans this week is a disgrace. If Orton can’t play next week, they should be prepared to run 40 times. GRADE: D Noots’ Nut Crackers Lance Briggs on Ahmard Hall Brian Urlacher on Bo Scaife Nudo’s Kudos Matt Forte Mike Brown Lance Briggs Horns Rex Grossman

INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Tennessee Titans (8-0) at Chicago Bears (5-3) By Michael Nudo Former Bear Jeff Fisher brings his undefeated Titans to Soldier Field on Sunday (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey). BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. TITANS DEFENSEcolor> Rex Grossman is poised for his first start of the season after Kyle Orton sustained an ankle injury against Detroit. Orton has been making progress this week but it would be a big surprise if he plays. The height-challenged Grossman will need to find passing lanes and avoid having passes knocked down by the Titans’ interior line, which includes 6’6”defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth (6 sacks). First-year starter Josh Beekman has the unenviable assignment of matching up with Haynesworth. Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd has missed over a month with a knee injury. He returned to full participation in practice this week. Linebacker Keith Bullock (chest) was injured against the Packers. Since Colin Allred (groin) is also banged up, Ryan Fowler may need to be in the mix for Bullock if he cannot play. Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch’s (groin) status is also in question. Dave Ball would likely see more reps if Vanden Bosch is limited. Bullock and Vanden Bosch will be huge losses if they cannot play. Return specialist Chris Carr (shoulder) has been a big contributor (28 yards per kickoff return). The Titans will miss him badly if he cannot play. Opposing teams have moved the ball against the Titans’ defense. The problem has been scoring. The Bears will need to execute, especially in the red zone. Tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen will be keys in run blocking situations as well as serving as a safety valve for Grossman. Turnovers have been a problem for Grossman in the past. The Titans have an opportunistic defense (plus 10 turnover ratio) that prides itself on taking away the football. TITANS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> Kerry Collins took over for Vince Young at the beginning of the season and has not relinquished the job. His magic number is 3. This represents the number of touchdowns and interceptions he has thrown, as well as the number of times he has been sacked. Safety Mike Brown left last week’s game with a calf injury. Rookie Craig Steltz replaced Brown and made a key interception at the goal line. Brown is showing progress and the Bears are hopeful for his return this Sunday. Linebacker Nick Roach started last week for Hunter Hillenmeyer (thumb) and held up well. Hillenmeyer returned to practice this week but might be eased back into the lineup. Nickel defender Danieal Manning returned to full practice. His health is important for depth at safety and also as a return specialist, where Devin Hester has had a disappointing season. The Titans are the third ranked rushing team in the league (149.1). Backs Lendale White (10 touchdowns) and Chris Johnson (715 rushing yards) are sharing over 30 carries per game. They represent the biggest two-headed rushing challenge the Bears have faced since the Falcons’ Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood. Look for the Titans to see what they can get against the Bears’ 6th ranked rush defense before finding out what holes remain in their 30th ranked pass defense. Expect the Bears to load up against the run and dare Kerry Collins to find former Bear wide receiver Justin Gage to beat them.

Noots’ Notes-Game 8: 27-23 Win over Detroit By Michael Nudo The Bears (5-3) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and the loss of quarterback Kyle Orton to defeat the Detroit Lions 27-23 at Soldier Field. The Lions remain winless. The Bears stand alone at the top of the NFC North after the Packers were beaten 19-16 by the undefeated Titans in overtime. The Bears take on Tennessee next week. A costly win (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh). OFFENSE QuarterbackKyle Orton (8-14-108, 2/7, TD) was off to another strong start. Although he had a misfire he’d like to have back on a throw to Greg Olsen at the goal line, he made some good adjustments. One of his best plays was stepping through a blitz to find Rashied Davis over the middle for 16 yards. Although Orton didn’t throw a touchdown pass, he ran one in from the five. He was later injured on a scramble around right end. As he tumbled out of bounds onto his back, a Lions player landed on his foot, which rotated under the impact. Rex Grossman (9-19-58, TD, INT, 2/3, TD) took over. He was not sharp, but hit on enough passes to lead the offense back to victory. His pocket presence cost him as he had several passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage. One of those deflections was ruled an interception (Dewayne White), in spite of a replay review that appeared to show the ball hitting the ground. Grossman hit Rashied Davis for a 6-yard touchdown strike. He also scored a touchdown on a keeper up the middle. GRADE: C+ Running BacksMatt Forte (22/126, 1-5) had his best game in over a month. He continually found big chunks of yardage both up the middle and off tackle. It was Forte’s running that led the Bears to victory after Orton went down. He ran with good power up the middle. Kevin Jones had a carry for a short loss. He had a tackle pile in front of him off tackle and he was not able to either outrun the edge or cut back with authority. Jason McKie (2/8, 1-9) had a good game delivering blocks for Forte. GRADE: A ReceiversRashied Davis (5-64, TD) was a force catching passes over the middle to pick up first downs. Tight end Desmond Clark (4-36) was instrumental in keeping several second half drives alive. He did have a bobble and drop on a third and 3 that was costly. Devin Hester (4-42, 1/11) was a factor. Tight end Greg Olsen was kept in check (2-9). Kellen Davis had a false start. Marty Booker played but did not have an impact. Brandon Lloyd again did not play. GRADE: C Offensive LineThe offensive line had their best overall game of the season. They only allowed one sack and opened huge holes for Matt Forte. Josh Beekman had an early false start. He and tackle John St. Clair messed up an early combination block. From that point on, line play was excellent. Beekman was especially active, pulling around both ends to lead the way for Forte. Even John Tait got in the act. He pulled and led the way for Forte around right end as well. Beekman and St. Clair later atoned with a big combo block. Everyone was finding a body to block and Forte was able to get free. Pass protection was excellent. Orton had tons of time to throw. On his touchdown scramble he was able to survey the field and then take off on his own. GRADE: A- DEFENSE Defensive LineThe line had another big day stopping the run. The Lions ran more than usual. They were held to 53 yards on 26 carries. Tommie Harris (2 tackles, sack) had a handful of pressures to force bad throws. One of them led to a Mike Brown interception. Adewale Ogunleye (5 tackles, 2 TFL) had a big stop on an end around for a 6-yard loss. He drew an unnecessary roughness penalty for retaliating against a cheap shot by the Lions. Israel Idonije turned in a hit on the quarterback and a pass deflection to stop two third down conversions. Alex Brown had a tackle for a loss from the back side of a play. Rookie Marcus Harrison had a tackle for a loss and a pressure. Dusty Dvoracek (3 tackles) is the rock in the middle of the line. Mark Anderson played. He’s not getting to the passer and is a welcome mat against the run. Overall, pressure was better, but not quite good enough. GRADE: C- LinebackersLance Briggs (10 tackles, FF, FR) was all over the field. He turned in a pivotal play in the fourth quarter when he put his helmet on the football to force a fumble on tight end Michael Gaines (6-64, fumble). Brian Urlacher’s (3 tackles, PD) blitz pressure forced an errant throw and intentional grounding. Nick Roach (5 tackles) started for Hunter Hillenmeyer and was solid if unspectacular. Run fits were good. Pass coverage was fair. GRADE: C+ SecondaryWell, the corners are healthy. Now the safeties are hurt. Mike Brown left before halftime with a calf injury and did not return. Brown had 5 tackles and a huge interception in the first half. He returned the pick for a touchdown but was ruled down by contact after a replay review. Craig Steltz (2 tackles, PD, INT) took over for Brown and had a pick of his own at the goal line in the fourth quarter that he took back 44 yards. Kevin Payne had 4 tackles. He knocked down the final pass at the goal line. Charles Tillman (6 tackles) and Nathan Vasher (3 tackles) were each beaten in the end zone for single coverage touchdown passes by Dan Orlovsky (28-47-292, 2 TD, 2 INT). Corey Graham saw plenty of action (7 tackles). GRADE: C- Special Teams After a rainy night in Chicago, the Soldier Field turf was less than firm. Lions place kicker Jason Hanson lost his footing and had an extra point blocked by Alex Brown. Robbie Gould hit on field goals from 36 and 41 yards. His kickoff depth was excellent. Coverage teams were highlighted by a Jamar Williams tackle on a kickoff at the 14-yard line in the early going and Corey Graham downing a punt at the 1-yard line later. Punter Brad Maynard didn’t have a good game. He had opportunities to change field position that he squandered. With plenty of room to kick the Lions deep into their territory, he delivered a returnable 41-yarder and followed it up with a miserable 14-yard abomination. Devin Hester fumbled away a kickoff return to set up the Lions for an easy score. He has been hurting more than helping in both kickoff and punt returns this season. GRADE: C- Coaching On the plus side, the defense finally utilized some imaginative ways to rush the quarterback in terms of mixing up blitzes and line stunts. On the negative side, coverage schemes are so easy to exploit, it continues to look like a preseason passing drill as Dan Orlovsky completed 14 pf 18 first half passes for 140 yards. Ron Turner needed Kyle Orton to go down to injury before he showed a more creative rushing attack, capitalizing on the athleticism of his offensive line to get them and Matt Forte off tackle and end. In spite of the Lions’ winless record, this was a character game. The Bears could have stayed down and felt sorry for themselves with Orton and Brown out at halftime. They rose up above the fray and showed they deserve to be at the top of the NFC North Division. GRADE: C+ Noots’ Nut Crackers Lance Briggs on Shaun McDonald Mike Brown on Rudi Johnson Kevin Payne on Charles Tillman Brian Urlacher on Rudi Johnson Lance Briggs on Michael Gaines Nudo’s Kudos The entire offensive line Matt Forte Rashied Davis Lance Briggs Tommie Harris Mike Brown Craig Steltz Horns Brad Maynard Devin Hester

INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Detroit Lions (0-7) at Chicago Bears (4-3) By Michael Nudo The numbers for Orlovsky have been good (AP Photo/David J. Phillip). BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. LIONS DEFENSEcolor> The Bears are hoping to have wide receiver Brandon Lloyd (knee) back in the lineup after the bye week. Lloyd was establishing himself as Kyle Orton’s number one option before he injured his knee. Rookie offensive tackle Chris Williams (back surgery) should have enough practice reps under his belt to be ready to contribute. If they slide him in at all, he’ll face the one player having a decent season for the Lions in Dewayne White (5.5 sacks). The Bears might be hesitant to break up any continuity that exists on the line. Running back Matt Forte had a thumb injury that should be fully healed. When the teams last played, it was at Detroit after they had a bye week break. They have a few injuries on defense this time that may affect their play. Safety Dwight Smith (foot) missed last week’s contest with Washington. Kalvin Pearson received the start for Smith. Starting defensive tackles Cory Redding (groin) and Chartric Darby (calf) are banged up as well. Shaun Cody and Langston Moore figure to see plenty of reps regardless. Defensive guru turned head coach Rod Marinelli oversees a squad of defenders ranked either last or second to last in points allowed, total yardage, passing yardage and rushing yardage. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? The Bears were unable to run in their first match. Instead, Kyle Orton picked apart the Lions’ secondary. Look for the Bears to continue trying Matt Forte and the ground attack. If the Lions sell out to stop the run, there should be opportunities to seize through the air. LIONS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> Since the Bears and Lions played last, receiver Roy Williams was shipped off to Dallas for draft picks. Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald will take those opportunities. Calvin Johnson (29/588, 5 TD) is developing into a number one receiver. The back injury that bothered Jon Kitna in the first contest has landed him on injured reserve. Dan Orlovsky took over at quarterback and has three touchdowns and no interceptions in his last three games, with 488 passing yards in his last two. The Lions are inching closer to the point where they’ll want to see what Drew Stanton can accomplish. Rookie fullback Jerome Felton (ankle) may need to give way to Moran Norris. Assorted injuries at tight end to Casey FitzSimmons and Michael Gaines forced former Bear John Owens into the starting lineup last week. The bye week should allow the wounded Bears’ secondary the necessary time to heal. Charles Tillman (shoulder) and Nathan Vasher (thumb/wrist) are expected to return. Cornerback Corey Graham has played well enough that some believe he may supplant Vasher as a starter. Vasher’s injury had complications with an infection. Nickel back Danieal Manning (hamstring) has shown progress and might be ready to go as well. Speedy linebacker Nick Roach (shoulder) has been pushing Hunter Hillenmeyer for playing time and is expected to be ready for action. He’ll need to be ready. Hillenmeyer had surgery on his thumb last week and is expected to miss some time. Jamar Williams is also waiting in the wings. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) should be as healthy as he has been all year for this contest. The Bears desperately need for him to ignite their pass rush. It has been dormant for most of the season. I thought Mike Martz was in San Francisco. The Lions have allowed 25 sacks in 7 games. They’re only averaging 17.7 rushes per game, which is last in the league and a far cry from the 31st ranked team (21.4). If there was ever a time for the Bears’ pass rush to get well, this would be the time. They should be able to pin their ears back and go for Orlovsky, knowing how averse the Lions are to running the football.

Yes, I'm being generous. Not all that's related to QB pressure is about coaching. It'd have been nice if Wale could have gotten some pressure on his own against the OT he was matched up with. He should have. It's not coaching that's at fault when Mark Anderson gets knocked three gaps over to create a huge running lane. I gave them an A because they finished the game instead of getting torched yet again. Babich, who is getting bbq'd across the MBs today, got 4 ints outta his secondary, which had guys in it who were just signed this week (Bowman), etc. I thought he could have done more as well to help create some blitzes to create pressure. But the overall heights we got from the O and the ST still had me well into the A, even with a few setbacks on Babich's D, which again, I wasn't as displeased with as many, because they had four picks. I understand your sentiment, but I don't necessarily agree with. If Frerotte threw for the same 300 yds but had 4 tds versus 2 picks (the opposite of what he had), then I'd have a much tougher time with the Secondary grade, as well as the coaching, provided I was seeing the same picking apart we were seeing of guys continually getting open breaking from the outside in on slants, hooks and ins. This week, the passing lanes were disrupted with a few DL PDs, the LBs weren't always up front and Briggs forced a pick with his PD, and our CBs, bless them, they stepped up and broke on the ball instead of letting everything get completed in front of them all the way down the field. That's change. That's coaching. That's a key to why we're looking at 4-3 division leaders, my Bear Brothers!

Noots’ Notes-Game 7: 48-41 Win over Minnesota By Michael Nudo The Bears (4-3) treated their home crowd to an exciting 48-41 shootout with the Vikings on Sunday. Yet again, the offense put up big numbers while the defense held on as much as they could. This time, the defense was able to force a few turnovers. A few fortuitous bounces the special teams capitalized upon helped the cause as well. The Bears go into the bye week with a share of first place in the NFC North, and have an opportunity to get some of their injured players back on the field. Zack Bowman puts the game on ice (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green). OFFENSE QuarterbackKyle Orton (21-32-283, 2 TD, Fumble) had a marvelous game. After the Vikings scored on their opening drive, Orton led the Bears down the field and connected over the middle with tight end Greg Olsen for an 18-yard touchdown. Orton placed the ball perfectly between defenders. He also hit Marty Booker perfectly on a slant in the end zone, but the pass was dropped. Booker later atoned by taking a short pass up the left seam and cut against the grain for a 51-yard touchdown. Orton would have had another touchdown when he found Desmond Clark for a 35-yard pass over the middle, but the ball was punched out as he crossed the goal line. Rashied Davis alertly pounced on it for a touchdown. Orton led the offense expertly in no huddle situations and checked to a pitchout to Forte for a nice gain off left tackle when he saw vulnerability in the Viking defense’s left side. He had couple of passes dropped and also had a few that were nearly intercepted. Overall, it was an excellent performance. GRADE: A- Running BacksMatt Forte (20-56, TD, 2/8) picked up another touchdown. The bye week comes at a good time for Forte. Although he was facing a stout run defense, he didn’t seem to be hitting the point of attack with gusto when he had the opportunity. Forte made a nice cut to score his touchdown from the 1-yard line. Fullback Jason McKie made a good block on the touchdown to seal off the edge. Kevin Jones did not receive any carries. GRADE: C- ReceiversWith wide receiver Brandon Lloyd out the past few weeks, Rashied Davis (3/24, FR touchdown) and Devin Hester (2/22) had stepped up. This week, it was time for Marty Booker and tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen. Booker (3/79, TD) looked like a running back when he took a short pass from Orton and burst through the Viking secondary for a 51-yard touchdown. He had a drop as well as a near touchdown on a tough pass over his head. He was open most of the day. Desmond Clark (3/59, Fumble) exploited the middle of the Viking defense for key pickups. He also had a drop. Greg Olsen (6/74, TD) led the Bears in receiving, and was a factor in the red zone with an 18-yard touchdown reception. With Hester getting banged up, he even split out wide to catch the ball. An honorary mention goes to Rashied Davis for being at the right place at the right time to pick up Clark’s fumble for a score. It might have been the difference in the game. GRADE: B Offensive LineKyle Orton was sacked twice, but both sacks were more coverage related than jailbreaks. Even when the Vikings blitzed, he had time to step up and deliver the football. The majority of the pressure came from Jared Allen matched up with John St. Clair. The interior line of Josh Beekman, Olin Kreutz and Roberto Garza did an excellent job keeping Kevin Williams from getting to Orton. Beekman made several excellent blocks pulling around end to open up running room for Forte. He had a false start in the red zone. Garza did well to break up a near interception. There was an excellent blitz pickup on Booker’s touchdown. This was another game where pass protection was above average and run blocking was below average. The Vikings’ defensive line is a huge challenge. The Bears’ line was just a little bit better, and it was a key to the victory. GRADE: C DEFENSE Defensive LineTommie Harris is showing signs of improvement. He’s getting more and more pressure. Harris registered a sack in the final moments of action, and had several hits on Gus Frerotte (25-40-298, 2 TD, 4 INT). Tackles Dusty Dvoracek (4 tackles) and Israel Idonije (PD) made key contributions. Defensive end Alex Brown (3 tackles, TFL) made a few big stops against the run. He and Mark Anderson were abused by the Vikings’ tackles for big gains. Brown slanted down hard on Adrian Peterson’s big run outside him. Anderson was knocked three gaps sideways on one sequence. Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye (2 tackles, PD, neutral zone infraction) is playing the run well, but is rarely getting so much as a whiff of the quarterback. Tackles Marcus Harrison and Anthony Adams saw action but didn’t make major contributions. The Vikings picked up 155 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns and didn’t face nearly enough pressure attributable to the line. GRADE: D LinebackersThe linebackers were nowhere to be found on Adrian Peterson’s (22-121, 2 TD, 1/9) 54-yard touchdown run over left tackle. Brian Urlacher (8 tackles, TFL) has gone eons since his last big play. He took a bad angle on Peterson’s touchdown. Lance Briggs only had five tackles, but managed to get into a passing lane to deflect the ball to Corey Graham, who came up with the interception. Hunter Hillenmeyer had six tackles in spite of missing a few plays with an injury. Tight ends and running backs were able to pick up big chunks of yardage, although much of it fell short of the first down mark. GRADE: C- SecondaryWith Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher and Danieal Manning out, it was up to Trumaine McBride and Corey Graham to start at the cornerback position. They both were huge factors in the win. Graham (8 tackles, 2 PD, INT) has been quite a tackling machine since he has been inserted into the starting lineup. Although Bernard Berrian (6/81, TD) broke one of his tackles and he committed a pass interference penalty, Graham also made a great interception. He stepped in front of the receiver to pick off the pass. McBride allowed Berrian to shake him loose at the end of the half. He made up for it with a leaping interception. He would later lay out to deflect a pass up the left sideline in the fourth quarter. Safety Kevin Payne had a tremendous all-around performance (9 tackles, Sack, TFL, PD, INT). He shook off giving up a 24-yard touchdown to Shiancoe. Payne ran his interception back 50 yards. Mike Brown (6 tackles) delivered several key shots, including stopping Chester Taylor short of the goal line on a pass early in the contest. How do you spell team victory? The cut, re-signed, and recently activated Zackary Bowman intercepted Frerotte on the Vikings’ final drive to ice the game. Bowman’s interception prevented the Bears from having another fourth quarter meltdown. He came off the bench after a biceps injury. They were able to finish. GRADE: A- Special Teams The special teams were a major factor in the victory, producing two touchdowns. Rookie Craig Steltz blocked a punt that Garrett Wolfe returned 17 yards for a score. Lady luck shined on the Bears as well. Rookie Zackary Bowman scored a touchdown on a muffed punt return. Charles Gordon called for a fair catch and let the ball bounce behind him. It bounced back into him and rolled into the end zone, where Bowman recovered it. Robbie Gould connected on field goals from 26 and 48. He had a 42-yarder blocked up the middle that appeared to be a low kick. Devin Hester didn’t have many opportunities to return kicks, and then left with an apparent quadriceps bruise. Short kicks to Wolfe, McKie and Peterson resulted in excellent field position. Gould and Maynard had good distance on their kicks. Coverage was good. GRADE: A Coaching On defense, the line finally put their hands up to block a few passes. The linebackers disrupted passing lanes. Defensive backs stepped in front of the seemingly endless barrage of slants and hooks to make interceptions. Although the time of possession and yardage were heavily tilted toward the Vikings, it was misleading. The Bears won the turnover battle 5 to 1, including two special teams touchdowns. Ron Turner is not falling in love with the pass. He’s still running the ball enough to force defenses to respect Forte. The Bears are doing a great job of attacking all areas of the field. It was great to see the Bears use the no huddle, screens and pitchouts to keep the Vikings off balanced and to tire out their linemen. A big thumbs up to Dave Toub, who was working with a bunch of new faces on special teams. They turned in one of their best performances of the year. GRADE: A Noots’ Nut Crackers Mike Brown on Chester Taylor Mike Brown on Visanthe Shiancoe Kevin Payne on Chester Taylor Nudo’s Kudos Kyle Orton Greg Olsen Zackary Bowman Kevin Payne Trumaine McBride Corey Graham Garrett Wolfe Tommie Harris Ron Turner and Dave Toub Horns Mark Anderson

INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Minnesota Vikings (3-3) at Chicago Bears (3-3) By Michael Nudo Minnesota is 3-1 since Gus Frerotte took over at quarterback (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt). BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. VIKINGS DEFENSEcolor> Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd has missed the last two games with a knee injury. The Bears are not optimistic about Lloyd’s return for this week’s game, either. Devin Hester (11/153, TD) and Rashied Davis (10/138, TD) have played well during Lloyd’s missed time. Marty Booker has also made some big contributions. Running back Matt Forte has a mild thumb injury but isn’t expected to miss any time. Reserve guard Terrence Metcalf has been suspended for violation of the league’s policy on anabolic steroids and related substances. His absence could mean either rookie offensive tackle Chris Williams or recently acquired guard Dan Buenning are active on game day. Punter Brad Maynard (hamstring) is on the report this week as well. Tyrell Johnson has been starting at free safety all season. Madieu Williams (neck) is starting to make progress, but might not be ready in time for this week’s game. Defensive tackle Kevin Williams had double digit sacks in his first two years as a pro. After three subsequent down seasons, he has returned to the upper echelon of pass rushing interior linemen, with six sacks in six games. The acquisition of speed rusher Jared Allen (3 sacks) has no doubt had a trickle-down effect. Center Olin Kreutz will renew acquaintances with mammoth tackle Pat Williams. The battle between these titans will be worth the price of admission on its own. This will be one of the biggest challenges for the offensive line in both run blocking and pass protection. The Vikings are 4th in the NFL allowing just 73.7 rushing yards per game. However, opponents are averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Kyle Orton will need another consistent performance, mixing up short and intermediate routes to all of his receivers. He’ll need to get rid of the ball quickly. VIKINGS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> Quarterback Gus Frerotte twisted his ankle last week against Detroit but didn’t miss any time. Former Bears Bobby Wade (25/287) and Bernard Berrian (22/436, 2 TD) are Minnesota’s leading receivers. Berrian has had some aches and bruises but has played through them. Sidney Rice (knee) has been injured and ineffective this season. Run blocking tight end Jim Kleinsasser (foot) usually saves his best for the Bears. Defensive ends Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown need to be prepared to take on blocks at the point of attack from the tackle, tight end and fullback. Bear cornerbacks were dropping like flies last week against Atlanta. Charles Tillman landed badly on an already sore shoulder. It would come as a big surprise if he’s ready to return this week. Tillman’s backup, Trumaine McBride, injured a shoulder as well. Corey Graham started at corner the last two weeks for Nathan Vasher, who missed because of a thumb/wrist injury. The Bears are hopeful for Vasher’s return this week. If he can play, Graham is expected to start for Tillman. Marcus Hamilton (heel) saw quite a bit of action last week in the loss as well. Practice squad player Zackary Bowman was placed on the active roster this week to add depth. Nickel back Danieal Manning tweaked a hamstring and is likely to miss some time. The Bears play their nickel defender up in the box, which requires a physical player who can also turn and cover (Brandon McGowan, Danieal Manning). It will be interesting to see who gets that assignment this week if Manning cannot play, or if the personnel will dictate a change in philosophy. Perhaps rookie safety Craig Steltz will be pressed into action or even speedy linebacker Nick Roach, who is recovering from a shoulder injury suffered a few games ago. Defensive tackles Marcus Harrison (ankle), Israel Idonije (ankle) and Tommie Harris (knee) are all on the report. It might be a good week to have Anthony Adams dressed and ready for action. The mission last week was to stop Michael Turner to put Matt Ryan into predictable situations. It didn’t work because of coverage breakdowns and a lack of pass rush. This week the challenge is similar with superstar running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson has lost three fumbles this year. The Bears will look to sell out to stop Peterson. They’ll need better coverage, schemes and pass rush to bottle up Berrian and Wade. Detroit was able to get to Gus Frerotte with a variety of blitz packages. It will be interesting to see if the Bears can contain Peterson, who ran wild on them last season, as well as generate a pass rush, which has been missing much the year. Look for Bobby Wade to exploit the inside routes against a defense that has struggled in pass coverage for a majority of the season. If the Bears stack their linebackers in the A gaps against the Vikings, expect them to run power plays off tackle, where they’ll seek to challenge the edges of the Bears’ defense.

Noots’ Notes-Game 6: 22-20 Loss at Atlanta By Michael Nudo The Bears (3-3) somehow managed to get into a game they had no business to be in with just a few minutes remaining. They then managed to lose a game they had no business losing with only seconds to go. This game was clearly mismanaged. Bear defenders helped build a Canton bust for Matt Ryan on Sunday (AP Photo/Dave Martin). OFFENSE QuarterbackKyle Orton (26-43-286, TD) did all he could do to put the Bears in position to win the game. He led the Bears on an excellent touchdown scoring drive at the end of the fourth quarter to put the Bears ahead with only 11 seconds to go. He threw a perfect 17-yard touchdown pass to Rashied Davis in the left corner of the end zone. He continues to spread the ball around evenly to all of his receiving options and is attacking all areas of the field. Orton took one sack because he held the ball too long and had a delay of game penalty. However, Orton did an excellent job of limiting mistakes and keeping things under control in a road game where he had very few first half opportunities to move the offense. GRADE: B+ Running BacksMatt Forte had a respectable day carrying (20-76, TD) and receiving (5/34). Forte made a great hesitation move on his 4-yard touchdown run. He was stopped for no gain on a second and 1 carry where he didn’t make a good decision with the ball. Forte was stopped on a fourth and goal carry at the 1-yard line. Kevin Jones had a few carries and was flagged for holding. Jason McKie was also stopped on a third and goal carry at the one. McKie’s run blocking was average at best. GRADE: C+ ReceiversIn the offensive play of the game, Rashied Davis (4/41, TD) ran a beautiful route to the left flag that split the defenders. He alertly slowed up in the end zone when he knew he was running out of room, leaped, made a great catch and came down with possession, both feet and one knee in bounds. Devin Hester continues to make strides as a receiver. He had several key grabs in the second half on his way to being the Bears’ leading receiver (6/87). He also drew a pass interference penalty. Hester had an unforced fumble on a third and 8 reception that resulted in the play coming up a yard short. Marty Booker (3/33) had a few key third down receptions to keep drives alive. Tight ends Greg Olsen (3/41) and Desmond Clark (5/50) had big contributions late in the contest. Clark made a few excellent blocks off the edge to help Forte. Unfortunately, Olsen missed badly on several of his assignments on running downs. GRADE: B Offensive LineKyle Orton had ample time to throw for most of the contest. He only took one sack, which was more due to coverage than pressure. The Bears limited John Abraham to just two tackles and no sacks. Forte’s long run of 20 yards was a run over right guard Roberto Garza. Garza released his man for a pulling Josh Beekman to trap. Forte ran inside Beekman’s block and followed Garza’s block upfield. Garza was flagged for holding on a short run. Beekman allowed a pressure on a third and 8 that led to an early throw that fell incomplete. Garza was flagged for two holding penalties. Overall, run blocking was fair and pass protection was above average. The line could have done a little more on the short yardage plays. GRADE: B- DEFENSE Defensive LineTommie Harris returned to action, seeing most of his snaps in nickel packages. Harris was in his best condition both physically and spiritually all year. He supplied a few of the rare pressures that rookie Matt Ryan saw. Unfortunately, Harris didn’t show up mentally on a crucial turnover. In the second quarter, Harris jumped on a forced fumble, deep in Bears’ territory. Instead of staying on the ball until the whistle or returning it, he flicked the ball away. The Falcons alertly recovered and since there was a change of possession, they were granted a fresh set of downs and a Brian Urlacher unsportsmanlike penalty to set up an easy field goal. The line played a great game against run, only allowing one big play for Michael Turner (25-54). Dusty Dvoracek (5 tackles, 3 TFL, PD), Adewale Ogunleye (6 tackles) and Alex Brown (3 tackles, TFL) all made key stops on Turner. Israel Idonije was not a factor. Unfortunately, there was almost no pass rush against Matt Ryan, and there were excellent passing lanes. GRADE: C LinebackersBrian Urlacher finally made a few run stops behind the line of scrimmage. Hunter Hillenmeyer provided one of the few pressures on Ryan (22-30-301, TD) on a blitz. Lance Briggs had a few plays in run support. Briggs and Urlacher were rarely in position to make a play in coverage. Opposing teams have figured out how to defeat the Bears’ defensive look that puts the linebackers in the gaps and then backs them off. Ryan probably faced more difficulty completing passes in the 7 on 7 drills in the week leading up to the game. GRADE: C SecondaryThe Falcons picked apart the Bears’ secondary all game long. Injuries decimated the cornerback position. With Nathan Vasher not dressing, Charles Tillman (7 tackle, PD) aggravated his shoulder injury and was gone before halftime. Trumaine McBride suffered a minor injury on special teams and missed a chunk of action as well. Even Marcus Hamilton was pressed into action. In the meantime, Corey Graham did all he could to prove he belonged. He led the Bears with ten tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Even nickel back Danieal Manning left with an injury. Safeties Mike Brown and Kevin Payne allowed back breaking plays. Payne allowed a 47-yard pass over the deep middle to Douglas on third and 10. With only one play to work with, the Falcons completed a 26-yard pass in front of Brown’s coverage to set up Jason Elam for the game-winning 48-yard field goal. It’s not like these were the only bad plays. The Falcons repeatedly converted third and long passes inside the Bears’ coverage. GRADE: D- Special Teams Robbie Gould connected from 36 and 32 yards. His kickoffs were deep except for his last. The Bears tried a squib kick at the end of the game, but the ball was fielded at the 34 and returned 10 yards. The Bears might have been better off kicking it out of bounds. Punter Brad Maynard only had three punts but had one of his better kicks, a 57-yarder that was only returned 6 yards. Devin Hester looked tentative on kickoffs again. Danieal Manning returned one kick but left due to injury. Garrett Wolfe fielded two short kicks. His second return set up the Bears’ offense at midfield. Coverage teams were not up to par. Rashied Davis was whistled for fair catch interference. He nearly committed the same foul on successive punts. Coverage teams allowed Jerious Norwood 4 kickoff returns for 178 yards, including an 85-yarder. GRADE: D Coaching The Bears have won the coin flip five weeks in a row and have deferred the kickoff each time. The offense played reasonably well for being on the road. A few play calls were questionable. Someone needs to break it to Ron Turner that the fade route isn’t a good choice on third down. It’s a low percentage play and can easily be intercepted. Third and goal at the one-yard line is not the time to give the ball to Jason McKie. Bob Babich’s defense had a miserable game. No pass rush pressure on the rookie. He averaged 10 yards per pass attempt. They failed to prevent a big pass at the end of the game to lose the contest. Countless third and long conversions allowed. Outside in coverage has dictated routes that break inside. Nobody has their hands in the air at the line and the linebackers are not in position to cut the angles because they’re up in the gaps. They failed to get off the field in the first half, allowing long, time-consuming drives that led roughly a two to one time of possession differential. Dave Toub’s special team units didn’t help matters when it mattered most. GRADE: D Hardest Hits Mike Brown on Roddy White Game Balls Kyle Orton Rashied Davis Matt Forte Dusty Dvoracek Horns Entire Coaching StaffRoberto GarzaMike BrownKevin PayneTommie Harris

INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Chicago Bears (3-2) at Atlanta Falcons (3-2) By Michael Nudo Michael Turner presents a big challenge to the Bears defense (AP Photo/Rick Havner). BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. FALCONS DEFENSEcolor> The Bears are pleased with the progress of rookie offensive tackle Chris Williams’ recovery from a back injury. John St. Clair has started at the left tackle position Williams was penciled in at before he got hurt. St. Clair has played just well enough to not be a problem. He draws John Abraham this week, who leads the league with 7 sacks. Devin Hester (ribs) should be at a point where his injury should be a minor factor in his play. Brandon Lloyd (knee) missed last week’s game. In his stead, Rashied Davis had a big day. Lloyd might need another week to be ready. Rookie running back Matt Forte’s rushing yardage has dropped every game. He hasn’t broken off a run longer than 11 yards since the second week of the season. The Bears are facing a team that has the same record (3-2) and shares losses to the same two teams (Tampa Bay and Carolina). Atlanta’s defense has been equally challenged by both run (21st) and pass 22nd). Starting defensive tackle Grady Jackson (knee) and backup Jason Jefferson (ankle) are playing through minor aches and pains. Atlanta’s defensive line poses a huge challenge for the left side of the Bears’ offense. Look for the Falcons to create mismatches from the center to the left side of the line, where Abraham can work against St. Clair and mammoth tackle Grady Jackson (345 pounds) can match up with undersized left guard Josh Beekman and center Olin Kreutz. Beekman took a few steps back last week in his performance against the Lions. The Bears have done a great job of taking what the defense is giving them. It’s clear they’d prefer to run first. This might be the week for Forte to break out. FALCONS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> The Falcons offense is led by the explosive running of Michael Turner. He’s the thunder. Jerious Norwood is the lightning. The two backs combine to give the Falcons the second ranked rushing attack in the NFL (180.6 yards per game). Center Todd McClure (calf) has not been playing at full strength for the last few games. Stopping the run this week will be the biggest challenge of the year for the Bears’ defensive front seven. Roddy White (26/454, 2 TD) suffered a head injury from a collision in practice early this week. His status bears close watching. White has been far and away Matt Ryan’s favorite receiver and is off to a great start to the season. Tommie Harris (knee/suspension) returns after missing the last two games. It will be interesting to see what level of performance he can provide. Harris was a non factor early in the season. Anthony Adams was active the last two weeks while Harris was out. Adams will likely be inactive again this week to make room for Harris, and to rest an ankle that he tweaked against the Lions. Cornerback Corey Graham had a strong performance subbing for Nathan Vasher (thumb/wrist) last week against Detroit. Vasher might be ready to return, but given Graham’s play, the Bears might be able to give him another week to more fully heal. Charles Tillman (shoulder) was able to play against the Lions. He still isn’t at full strength but is expected to play. With the rookie Matt Ryan at quarterback, it might seem easy to make life difficult for him. However, the Falcons have done a good job putting the ball in the hands of their difference makers. Running back Michael Turner and wide receiver Roddy White have combined to average over 200 yards per game. Ryan hasn’t put up gaudy numbers, but has picked up the offense quickly. He’s already running the no huddle and could be giving the Bears a dose of it to keep them from rotating players in. Look for the Bears to bring a safety up to stop Turner and to leave single coverage on the receiver opposite White as well as the tight end (remember, Crumpler is gone). Stopping Turner will require gang tackling and good form. At times, the Bears have not wrapped up well. Turner can pose problems with his ability to break tackles. If White is out, selling out to stop the run will be that much easier. Keep an eye on rookie left tackle Sam Baker. He has been a pleasant surprise and will likely be challenged by the Bears’ schemes. Atlanta has only allowed 7 sacks. On third down, the Bears will need to get to Ryan and stop the Falcons from sustaining drives.

Noots’ Notes-Game 5: 34-7 Win at Detroit By Michael Nudo The Bears (3-2) were led by an unexpected aerial attack from Kyle Orton to defeat the Detroit Lions. The Bears got out to an early lead and never let up against Detroit, who swept the Bears a year ago. The Orton-led Bears held a huge time of possession advantage over the Lions (38:15-21:45). Motown Masterpiece (AP Photo/Paul Sancya). OFFENSE QuarterbackKyle Orton (24-34-334, 2 TD) had his finest game as a professional. He only left a couple of plays on the field, but more than made up for it with the others he hit. He took one sack on a play he probably should have seen coming (see offensive line notes). Orton showed great awareness hitting Greg Olsen on a play action pass for 52 yards to take the Bears out of poor field position. He found Matt Forte for a 9-yard touchdown pass in the left seam. Orton also connected on 30-plus yard completions to Marty Booker, Rashied Davis and Devin Hester. Perhaps his best pass was a 34-yarder up the right sideline to Davis where he placed the ball perfectly between the coverage. He also connected with Hester for a 12-yard touchdown in the right seam. With leading receiver Brandon Lloyd out, Orton spread his completions well across wide receivers, tight ends and running backs. Rex Grossman handed off a few times at the very end. After a very slow start to the season, Kyle Orton is on fire. Don’t look now, but he just might be developing right before our eyes. On second thought, I guess you CAN look now. GRADE: A Running BacksMatt Forte (15-36, TD, 4/25, TD) found the end zone by land and by air. He didn’t have his best game running the ball. Although the blocking could have been better, there were a few times when he could have followed his leads to the point of attack instead of cutting back to the pursuit. Kevin Jones (10-36, 2/5) wisely saw an unbalanced line to the planned point of attack on one play and cut it back away from the bodies, gaining 16 yards off left tackle. Jason McKie had a below average game blocking. He was a target on a medium range incompletion on third down. Garrett Wolfe (8-15) saw some action in the fourth quarter. GRADE: B- ReceiversThis was step up day for the receiving corps. With Brandon Lloyd out, the receivers continually got open and made big plays. Marty Booker (2/37) made one the great catches of the season. With a defender draped on him (it was a called penalty), Booker reached around the coverage to grab the football with one hand and take control as he hit the ground. It was ruled an incompletion but later over turned after a replay challenge from Lovie Smith. Rashied Davis (6/97) had a consistently good performance. Orton continually found Davis open in the Lions’ secondary. Devin Hester (5/66, TD) made two big catches at the end of the first half. He picked up 32 yards on one play and then ran a little hook inside the 5-yard line and immediately cut back outside to race into the end zone for a score. Tight ends Greg Olsen (3/87) and Desmond Clark (2/17) had their fair share of contributions as well. GRADE: A Offensive LineThe Bears only allowed one sack and gave Kyle Orton ample time to find his receivers. On that sack, defensive end Jared DeVries lined up over tight end Desmond Clark on the right edge of the line. Right tackle John Tait was also covered. Clark released into his route without accounting for DeVries, who went untouched to clobber Orton. Run blocking was a disappointment against a defense that had been getting carved up heading into this contest. Left guard Josh Beekman was flagged for holding. Backups Terrence Metcalf and Fred Miller got into the game in the fourth quarter. GRADE: B- DEFENSE Defensive LineWith Tommie Harris suspended, the rest of the line stepped up with big performances. Alex Brown picked up a sack and forced a fumble. He also sniffed out a draw for a short gain. Adewale Ogunleye had a sack and applied constant pressure on Lions quarterbacks. Rookie Marcus Harrison had a sack. Tackles Israel Idonije and Dusty Dvoracek each deflected a pass at the line. Dvoracek was flagged for encroachment. Anthony Adams made a few plays in the backfield in the second half. Overall, there was good pressure and run stopping was decent considering the Lions had to go away from the run relatively early because of the large deficit. GRADE: A LinebackersLance Briggs led all tacklers with 8 tackles and a sack. He made a key stop on Rudi Johnson on a short pass over the middle. Brian Urlacher had a quiet game, collecting four tackles and stopping Kevin Smith for no gain early in the contest. Hunter Hillenmeyer had a pass deflection and near interception on a second half pass. Nick Roach saw some action but left with a shoulder injury. GRADE: B SecondaryCharles Tillman played through pain (shoulder) and turned in another excellent performance. He broke up several short passes with perfectly timed hits. Tillman later collected a deflection for an interception that he took back 26 yards for a touchdown. With Nathan Vasher sitting this one out (thumb/wrist), Corey Graham received the start. He collected 7 tackles and had a strong game in both coverage and run defense. Trumaine McBride saw some action late to spell Tillman and was called for holding. Safety Kevin Payne had a quiet game but wasn’t beaten. He did get whistled for a face mask penalty. Mike Brown put a crunching hit on receiver Mike Furrey. GRADE: A- Special Teams Robbie Gould connected from 37 and 45 yards out. He had one bad kickoff (it was so bad, it may have been a planned squib kick). Devin Hester had a bad day returning the ball. I guess the 5 yard line is the new 10. He called for a fair catch inside the 10. He appeared to shy from contact on some of his returns. A Hester fumble of a punt return at the Bears’ 22-yard line set up the Lions for their lone score. Brad Maynard put 4 of his 5 punts down inside the 20 to pin the Lions deep in their territory. Kick and punt coverage was good. Jamar Williams led the way with 3 special teams tackles. GRADE: B Coaching The Bears have won the coin flip four weeks in a row and have deferred the kickoff each time. Ron Turner had an excellent game. The Bears had perfect run to pass balance. Bob Babich’s defense held Detroit to -4 yards in the first quarter and 185 total yards for the game. Detroit was 3 of 14 on third down conversion attempts. Penalties were limited, which can be very difficult for an offense on the road. Special Teams coach Dave Toub needs to recognize when Hester isn’t playing well and take measures to either correct his play or let someone else return kicks. The Bears played well without starters Tommie Harris, Nathan Vasher and Brandon Lloyd. This was a game they should have won going away and they didn’t disappoint. GRADE: A Hardest Hits Mike Brown on Mike Furrey Ernie Sims on Devin Hester Game Balls Kyle Orton Rashied Davis Matt Forte Charles Tillman Lance Briggs Alex Brown Horns None!

INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Chicago Bears (2-2) at Detroit Lions (0-3) By Michael Nudo The Bears are likely going to be missing leading receiver Brandon Lloyd (AP Photo/Nam Y.Huh). BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. LIONS DEFENSEcolor> The Bears were pleased wide receiver/return specialist Devin Hester (rib) returned to action last week. He arrived in the nick of time, as leading receiver Brandon Lloyd left the game with a knee injury. Lloyd’s injury didn’t look season ending. He didn’t seem to suffer a stability related injury. It looked more like his knee hit the turf pretty hard. Marty Booker (knee) is also banged up. The Bears brought back receiver Mike Hass to the practice squad on Tuesday. Hester and Rashied Davis will be relied on heavily. Rookie left tackle Chris Williams is back in pads for the third week since back surgery in training camp. Detroit is coming off the bye week, so they have had an opportunity to lick any early wounds. Cornerback Travis Fisher (groin) is the only player who might be slowed down by injury. The Lions’ defense only has 3 sacks through 3 games. Right defensive end DeWayne White, who will match up with John St. Clair, has 2 of them. Matt Forte has seen his rushing yardage and yards per carry fall each week since the opening game against the Colts. The Lions are dead last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (207.7) and yards per carry (5.6). It stands to reason the Bears will get back to pounding the ball against the Lions. This would be a great time to give former Lion Kevin Jones a good number of complementary carries as well. LIONS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> Apart from firing GM and President Matt Millen during the bye week break, the Lions also named former Bengal Rudi Johnson the starting running back. Rookie Kevin Smith is likely to see plenty of action as well. Michael Gaines starts at tight end since Dan Campbell was placed on injured reserve after an injury in the first week of the season. Right tackle George Foster is trying to get his knee ready but is also in the process of losing his starting position to rookie Gosder Cherilus. Cherilus started for the injured Foster against the 49ers in week three. Right guard Stephen Peterman is recovering from a hand injury. Manny Ramirez is the backup (not the one who is hitting homers for the Dodgers). With Jim Colletto taking over the Offensive Coordinator position from Mike Martz, the Lions are much more run to pass balanced. In spite of this, Jon Kitna still hasn’t found a way to remain upright (12 sacks in 3 games). Wide receiver Roy Williams (knee) showed up on the injury report on Thursday. Tommie Harris (knee) was held out of last week’s game. It was finally determined the team is better without him if he is hurt. On Thursday it was announced that he would be suspended for this week’s game for breaking an unspecified team rule. The Bears have great depth at defensive tackle. Anthony Adams, Dusty Dvoracek, Israel Idonije and rookie Marcus Harrison combine to provide a strong inside presence for the defensive line. Cornerbacks Charles Tillman (shoulder) and Nathan Vasher (thumb/wrist) were also shaken up last week. Vasher had surgery earlier this week and is expected to miss the contest. The Bears are more hopeful for Tillman’s return. However, his likelihood to play is very much in doubt. Corey Graham and Trumaine McBride are the reserves. McBride was pressed into a starting role last season and was a pleasant surprise. Graham has passed him by on the depth chart in the off season. The Bears might need both of them on Sunday. The Bears should know better than to take lightly a Detroit Lions team that beat them twice last season. They were victimized by offensive turnovers and catastrophic defensive meltdowns in their losses. They’ll need to establish an early lead, force turnovers and keep the Lions in predictable down and distance situations. To do this, they must put pressure on Kitna. If it can’t get done with the line alone, they’ll need to blitz. Given Detroit’s situation at tight end, the old standard of the cover 2 is a good fit. It will be interesting to see what wrinkles they employ from that base as long time friends Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli match wits.

I think the shot angle had a lot to do with it. If you look closely, you see Wale's head on the left of the RB as he's underneath. You also see Izzy standing people up. You also see Briggs at the POA. It was a heck of a team effort, and kudos to Alex for hog tying the runner to make the key play.

Never mind...I have sorted out the problem with my HTML in this forum. The top portions of my articles are all centered. For some reason, in this forum, I need to have an open and closed centering tag for each line of text as opposed to the beginning of the section and the end of the section. I just went back in to my injury report from last week, added the centered statements and did a test/preview and it cleaned up nicely. mischief managed!

Is that what also helped make it so the caption under the image actually shows up there instead of next to it?