AZ54

We've got a bye week at what appears to be perfect timing to allow several key players to get healthy. After four games you have a good feel for what your team is so I'm putting my thoughts out there. Defense: CBs: Work in progress but I like the fact our corners are more aggressive at the LOS than they were last year. We still give up too many easy outs and comeback plays. With Bowman still learning on the job and Tillman still getting in game shape we should improve during Q2. Despite that we'll still going to be more of a bend but don't break style here. Depth behind these two from Vasher, Graham is not sound. Overall I'd say we're just average at CB....grade C+. S: I think DManning has played well but still is not a leading playmaker for us. Perhaps more importantly he seems to be out of his habit of making occasional critical errors. Manning also switches to nickel back and has played well there. Afalava, still learning on the job this kid looks to have a solid future. It's clear at times he still thinking a lot and hesitant but once he sees the play he arrives quickly. Payne is solid not spectular. Again overall grade is Average...grade C+. LB: Hit by lots of injuries the bench players have played very well. Briggs continues his knack for reading plays and blowing them up early. There have been lapses at times as backups came in but it seems as those players gain experience during the game, just like today, things settle down and defense gets better as the game goes on. I look forward to getting Pisa back on the field but even without him these guys don't seem to be a liability. Considering the rapid turnover I grade these guys above average and I"ll give them a B+. DT: Harris was non-existent the first couple games but slowly stepped up the last two. He's far from the playmaker he used to be but at least the arrow seems to pointing upward. I did some slow-motion replays keying on him today and he did draw some double teams and on one play had the double team and Raiola was keying on him as well while Izzy went around his man and got a sack. Beyond Harris nobody else has made a name for themselves. Adams has shown his usual solid play but nobody else has consistently shown up. Below average but improving. Grade C-. DE: Alex Brown,Ogunleye, and former disappearing act Mark Anderson clearly are seeing benefits from Marinelli's coaching. Ogunleye has 4.5 sacks, Brown 2.5, and Anderson 1. None of these guys are playing at an elite level but the trio is playing but the run and pass very well. Grade A. Defensive coaching: we've done enough to win games but aren't yet shutting teams down. I see improvement and overall the defensive play is much better than last year. Still need to see more consistency. Grade B-. OFFENSE: WR: Various players have gone from zero to hero over night, Bennett, especially Knox. Hester seems to be a more reliable target for Cutler and has made several key receptions to keep drives alive. How much is QB vs. WR, who knows but all three of them have made tough catches for us and drops seem to be lower than last year. Clearly the arrow is pointing up as these guys gain experience as well as familiarity with Cutler. Despite not having an elite #1 to draw attention they've been better than anyone expected and their numbers compare favorably aorund the league. Grade B. RB: Forte was playing tentative until today. AP actually was hitting the holes harder. Wolfe is starting to get more attempts but has yet to silence his critics (I believe he will but that can't factor into the grade). Today's game saved what was a below average to grade and brought the group up to a C. Oline: Pass protection has been improving but is not something this group can hang their hat on. That's unfortunate because the run blocking has just been bad. These guys need to come together for our offense to flourish as the weather gets colder. Grade D. TE: While Olsen hasn't shown to be an elite player like we hoped this group overall has been extremely effective in games. When Clark went out for a couple games Davis stepped in and played well. When you consider yards for the group they are average but on TDs they are at the head of the class. Overall grade B+. QB: Packer game was horrible but since then Cutler has controlled the offense and kept the team in the games. When a game-winning drive is needed he's answered the call except against Green Bay. There are still timing and route issues to work out with the WR and TE but the improvement shows up each week. Grade B+. Offensive coaching: I'll give Turner a B. He's had a lot of new players to deal with and clearly work still needs to be done but considering what he's had to work with he's done a good job. Yes, he has an outstanding QB to work with yet he also got Cutler to calm down after the Green Bay loss and play within the offense. Special Teams: There have been a few lapses on coverage but it doesn't seem to matter who returns kicks or punts we are getting big production. That credit has to go to the special teams coach. Gould and Maynard are playing very well. Gotta give Toub an A. Head coach. Lovie made a lot of changes during the offseason in the coaching staff and so far they appear to be paying off. I think he's also doing a better job of holding players accountable and hasn't been afraid to go with the best player even if he's a rookie. Everyone is looking for more consistency from both the offense and defense but given all the changes in personnel finishing the first quarter 3-1 with an offense and defense both showing slow but steady improvement is pretty good. Overall grade B.

At least they can figure it out. That's a far cry from the usual complaints where we've wondered why there were no adjustments made.

While I agree we won the special teams battle there is no way that was the sole difference in this game. Our offense played well, and in the second half the D played well too. IMO in the second half I think we managed to hit on all cylinders and it was something Detroit simply had no answer for.

I know Knox got an earful because right after everyone congratulated him a coach was in his ear jawing at him.

What is Bowman's injury? I thought he was just shaken up on the field.

They ran Wolfe up the middle again, a couple times.

Read it again: I said practice practice squad...meaning leave him at home on the sofa.

Nfol, Thanks for posting what I've been thinking the last few days. Everyone that complains that Wolfe shouldn't run up the middle never once complains about his previous 6 yard gain up the middle. It's amazing. In fact, Wolfe has been running with more power this year than last and it's been obvious on many plays. He worked on his lower body strength this offseason and it shows. While I find it totally acceptable to have Wolfe run up the middle I agree he is not a short yardage back and shouldn't have been in on that play call. What would be great to see once in awhile is our Oline open up a true hole in the middle for Wolfe to run through. He's got more than enough quickness to beat the second level and get to the third level and pick up some big gains. We just can't block for him, nor any RB.

I don't see how he makes this team better, in any way. Leave him on the practice practice squad and call him at home if we get desperate enough to need him.

You've got McClover coming down the middle on special teams coverage and that's going to help, hopefully a lot. To me it seems like that's where we are having the most trouble with our lane discipline and giving up extra yards on KR.

If you sign Brooks who are you going to cut?

Every team has these games. I can think of New England, Indy right off the bat in recent weeks. We are not an elite team, I think we're a good team better than .500 and possible playoff team. Oline struggles are nothing new for any team playing in Seattle. When the OTs have to be watching the ball at the snap it's tough to pick your blocking assignments and that showed all game long especially for Pace who is slow coming out of his stance. I'll take the win and keep hoping for progress on the Oline in the next few weeks.

I certainly agree on Forte being hesitant. He's ok on the plays where there is a hole but when the play is covered well he just doesn't pick his spot and hit it like he did last year. At least then he'd get a couple yards, this year he gets 0 or 1.

He got the wind knocked out of him. Apparently you've never played a physical sport and have no idea what it's like to not be able to breath.

We'll holla at him once he gets a pass thrown his way.

Here's what has to be the most impressive QB stat line I've ever seen for a Bears QB. This is just what he did against the blitz but this was against the Steelers in game 2 with Cutler still getting a feel for our playbook, with three new Olinemen, and Knox and Bennett in their second games. (I know Bennett saw the field a bit last year but no rec) **************************************************** Kudos to Don Pompei for analyzing the game film! http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...,3686467.column The tape shows the Steelers brought five or more pass rushers 11 times, and Cutler absolutely slew the blitz. He completed passes on nine of the blitzes for 106 yards. On those 11 blitzes, he had a 137.1 passer rating, a completion percentage of .810 and an average per completion of 11.7 yards. ******************************************************* We will be a totally different offense the next time we see the Packers versus what they saw in game one.

That one of the reasons Brady and Peyton Manning have been so great for so long. They will take what the defense gives you and still beat you.

Seattle has a lot to think about now. In game one GB used one of their top two CB to cover Olsen meaning they didn't respect our WR. It worked early yet as the game went on Cutler started to find Bennett for some good gains. IIRC Pittsburgh used either a S or LB to cover Olsen and Knox likely saw the 3rd CB or S. As per the Trib article today against Pittsburgh Hester received safety help over the top all game long. Until he lined up in Bennett's spot Knox likely saw the 3rd CB or safety and made them pay. On top of that Knox made that huge play against GB. The Bears passing game is clearly getting better but our running game has been poor. Are we about to see a team drop back and focus on defending the pass?

There are times when it's best to get your body on the ball quickly because a DB hit is imminent and this helps protect the ball from getting stripped. Just because a guy is catching against his body doesn't mean he's not using his hands to make the catch. For sure some WR use their body to stop the momentum of the ball and then wrap their hands around it. That I don't like. However, many elite WR will catch in close to their body in tight situations. Knox provides a good example of this on his TD catch. Instead of reaching up for the ball he jumped high and used his body to shield the defender. He wraps both hands on the ball as it arrives. He didn't grab the ball as cleanly as I'd like, I'm sure he'd say the same, but he pulled it in quickly where it couldn't get stripped away. IMO that's a good instinctive play for a rookie to make. I have no major problems with Olsen's two drops. On the first one he reached out for the ball and it got stripped away from him before he could tuck it away. Should he have made that catch, yes but he's made plenty of big time "hands" catches for us and he'll continue to do the same. On the second one he got speared the moment the ball arrived. I was amazed at how quickly he got back out on the field.

We were at home and our defense was playing well so overtime would have gone to our favor but it's still a bit of a crap shoot. That was what Lovie faced if we missed the FG. However, he relied on a Pro Bowl kicker to do his job. The only thing I wanted was another 10 yards before we kicked. After the first clock killin run I would have thrown another pass in there to try to get closer. I'm not going to argue because we won and Lovie was right.

Congrats. I think it's fair to say she knew the way to a Bears fan's heart.

Steelers have one of the best pass rushes in the league and considering all the blitzes they bring it wans't reasonable to wait on deep routes to develop. I know that as Cutler and these WR get more comfortable with hot reads the YAC potential these guys have will turn into big gains. I saw many more WR pointing out blitzes during the game so it's starting to happen and when it does it will make blitzing teams more hesitant to bring extra guys. Our Oline still has some work to do before they come together but I think there was good improvement from game 1 to game 2. If we get that same step up during game 3 Seattle is in trouble. In the meantime I absolutely love the fact that we can put together 10-12 play drives taking 5-6 minutes. We had a 97 yard drive covering 13 plays over almost 6min against the Steelers D. It's a far cry from recent years when we hoped for a short field to have a chance to score. Now we know we can do it against the best we just need to become more consistent in execution.

I"m pretty sure the hit on Olsen will generate a fine. They were very clear this offseason about protecting defenseless receivers from spearing hits. That was clearly a lead in with the crown of the helmet.

I was on board saying we needed to keep Knox on the roster. I too am surprised at how well he played against Pittsburgh. The way he played against Green Bay was how I expected him to look, a bit wide-eyed. His adjustment on inside routes from game 1 to game 2 is phenomenal especially knowing he went in there against one of the most physical defenses in the NFL. His confidence has to be soaring now. In game one Earl Bennett had a nice game for us. In game 2 it was Knox and most importantly for me were the key plays Hester made. It doesnt' show up big in the stats but it's those quick 5 yards catches on 3rd down that will make him a complete WR for us. None of these guys are a true #1 but it's starting to look like the combination of the 3 can be a solid threat. I still feel DA can be effective for us too.

I think this is only on a 3rd and very long play. Otherwise they'll just run him over. We've done this for years with Izzy but now it's good to see Anderson has gotten his strength and rushing skills up to a level where he can handle an occasional snap inside.