adam

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/53698 WTF?

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation...g?event_id=2481 All I could say is wow.

I agree 110%. If the Bears can score early and take the Bills out of their running game, our Defense will have ample opportunities to wreak havoc on Losman.

Game Info: 12:00 pm Central Sun Oct 8, 2006 TV: CBS TEAM STATS Bears Offense (29.0pts/g, 357.8 Total ypg, 259.8 Pass ypg, 98.0 Rush ypg) vs Buffalo Defense (16.3pts/g, 296.8 Total ypg, 193.8 Pass ypg, 103.0 Rush ypg) Buffalo Offense (17.5pts/g, 295.5 Total ypg, 178.5 Pass ypg, 117.0 Rush ypg) vs Bears Defense (7.3pts/g, 257 Total ypg, 176.3 Pass ypg, 80.8 Rush ypg) Things to look for: The Bears are coming off a huge win vs Seattle, so hopefully they will be up for this game. Buffalo has actually played fairly consistent football for the first 4 weeks. In Week 1 they were up 17-7 on New England at halftime and only lost by 2 pts (a safety) and in Week 3, their other loss, was by only 8 pts. Willis McGahee has been very strong for the Bills running game averaging almost 100 yds per game and 4 yds per rush. JP Losman has actually played pretty well with a 90.6 Passer Rating thru 4 weeks. The problem for the Bills Offense is pass protection, which could mean a field day for Bears pass rushers. Losman has been sacked 11 times in 4 weeks, so there will be numerous opportunities for the Bears to attack. The Bills also have a faily decent receiving corps featuring Lee Evans, Peerless Price, and Josh Reed, which cannot be overlooked. Terrence McGee on Kickoffs returns is another factor the Bears must not overlook. The Bears come off one of their most complete dominating victories in years. They crushed Seattle in every facet of the game going on to a 37-6 victory. One of the biggest factors after a big win like that is the letdown. The Bears need to get up for this game just as they did vs Seattle, because Buffalo is somewhat under-rated in my opinion. The Bears got their running game going last week with Thomas Jones and a little bit of Cedric Benson, and it really looked like it wore down the Seattle Defense late in the game. The Bears Passing game is still in fine sync with Grossman connecting with Moose, Berrian, and Clark at a regular interval. The Bears D is just dominating, there is not much else to say. They had pressure on Seattle's Hasselbeck all day, took away the run and played solid Pass D. Keys to the game: 1. Stopping McGahee 2. Staying motivated after big win 3. Constant QB pressure on Losman 4. Get running game going with Jones & Benson

Bears Power Rankings (after Week 4): ESPN - 1. BEARS (+3) 2. IND 3. BAL 4. PHI 5. NE CNNSI - 1. BEARS (+4) 2. IND 3. BAL 4. NE 5. CIN FOX Sports - 1. IND 2. BEARS (+2) 3. BAL 4. DEN 5. SEA CBS Sportsline - 1. IND 2. BEARS (+3) 3. BAL 4. DEN 5. NE Yahoo Sports - 1. BEARS (+4) 2. IND 3. BAL 4. PHI 5. SEA Average - 1.4 (+3.2) Links: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/powerranking...2006&week=5 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writ...eek4/index.html http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/powerRankings http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9702560 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-r...o&type=lgns

Payton definitely trumps Jones by a wide margin, but the 06 Bears have a better QB, WRs, TEs, backup QB, backup RB, with a comparable Offensive line. I also believe that the Kicking and Punting is slightly better this year.

The Offense has been a surprise, but the Defense has been dominant. They have only let up 22 points in 4 games (5.5 per game), and only 1 TD all year. They have not given up a TD in the last 9 quarters of play. The Defense.

There are now more and more comparisons with the 1985 team than ever. In 1985 the Bears beat Minnesota in a close game in Week 3, then clobbered Washington in Week 4 on their way to a 15-1 record and Super Bowl victory. This year they also beat Minnesota in a close game in Week 3 and dominated Seattle in Week 4. The Defense seems to be very similiar to the 85 team more than ever. The Front 4 is dominating on their own, then you add in two perennial Pro-Bowl LBs and a solid secondary with surprsising depth. The Offense seems to have the clear edge this year, IMO. No Walter, but Jones and Benson give the team more options. Moose and Berrian have been lighting it up, and others have filled in nicely (Clark, Davis). The O-Line is starting to make a name for themselves with very few sacks given up this year which is also very similar to 1985. I know all teams and eras are different, but this team seems built for a championship run.

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9698750

Great game all-around. I am still somewhat in shock because I thought it would be a closer game. That was domination on national tv.

I heard about that, but nothing replaces the real thing. Especially an away game with somewhat of a new passing game. Audibles will be a little more difficult at the line of scrimmage. Thanks, just tried to scour all the news outlets for snippets of info, then compile everything with my own thoughts and perceptions.

Too bad for him. At least Davis has stepped up and filled that void.

I agree that a healthy Rex Grossman is more important than Benson playing time, but I don't know how much worse he could do than Jones did vs Minnesota in pass protection.

Game Info: 7:15 pm Central, Sun Oct 1, 2006 Weather: 73 High / 57 Low, Sunny, Wind: SSE 6 mph TV: NBC TEAM STATS Bears Offense (26.3pts/g, 356.3 Total yds, 273.3 Pass yds, 83 Rush yds) vs Seattle Defense (15.3pts/g, 281.3 Total yds, 222.7 Pass yds, 58.7 Rush yds) Seattle Offense (24pts/g, 312.7 Total yds, 198.3 Pass yds, 114.3 Rush yds) vs Bears Defense (7.7pts/g, 266 Total yds, 184 Pass yds, 82 Rush yds) Things to look for: The lost of last year's MVP Shaun Alexander will definitely hurt Seattle's offense this week vs the Bears. Maurice Morris, who is averaging 3 yards a carry, will get the start. In his last game, Morris only had 15 carries for 18 yards, but can be a threat out of the backfield as a receiver. I don't see the Seattle running game being that big of a factor. With the addition of Deion Branch, Seattle will be employing more 4 Receiver Sets than they have in the past. This might actually play into the strength of the Bears Defense since majority of their pressure and sacks have come from their Front Four. I expect a lot of WR action around the line of scrimmage (WR Hitches, WR Screens, and probably some picks). The Bears DBs will have to do a good job of communicating on the switches so they do not get burned. The Bears will be facing two receivers they should know pretty well (Engram and Burleson). For the Bears, they will be going up against the 2nd best run defense in the league. The Seattle Defense has stopped some decent runners (K. Jones- 35 yds, E. James-64 yds, T. Barber-64 yds) this year, and will be facing a Bears running game that has started to sputter (averaging 83 yds/game). The good news for the Bears is that Grossman and the Bear's receivers are in sync and seem to be building steam. The Bears have three receivers with 12 or more catches (Muhammad 19, Berrian 12, Clark 12) and may have found another big play threat in Rashied Davis who is averaging 29 yds/rec. Seattle's Pass D is ranked 22nd in the league and can be exploited if the Bears can establish the run early. This will be key. Both teams came off big wins last week and this game will give the winner a nice edge in the NFC title race. Keys to the game: 1. Bears Secondary vs Seattle's Wideouts 2. Pressure with the Bears Front Four 3. Bears establish running game early 4. Crowd noise affecting Seattle's passing game

Seattle has the #2 ranked Run D in the league. Benson needs to get some carries so the offense can wear down that Seattle D. He did not get all those yards in college for nothing, he knows how to play. I really think Lovie has something against him. Jones won the job deservingly so, but our #2 RB has only 21 touches, and Peterson who could probably start on a few teams in the league has 1 touch all year. I can't even imagine how good this team would be if the running game got going. Defenses would have zero chance to stop them. My biggest concern is the amount of time our D has been on the field because our offense is pass oriented. I thought the Minnesota game showed that with all the missed tackles.

It's been a long time since we had one of these.

If we beat Seattle, we will be in the top 3, no doubt. Hell, if it is a convincing win and Indy or Cincy struggle, we could easily be on the top of some polls.

Bears Power Rankings (after Week 3): ESPN - 1. IND 2. CIN 3. SEA 4. BEARS (+2) 5. SD CNNSI - 1. CIN 2. SEA 3. IND 4. BAL 5. BEARS (+1) FOX Sports - 1. IND 2. CIN 3. SEA 4. BEARS (+1) 5. BAL CBS Sportsline - 1. IND 2. SEA 3. CIN 4. SD 5. BEARS (+3) Yahoo Sports - 1. SEA 2. IND 3. CIN 4. BAL 5. BEARS (+2) Average - 4.6 Links: http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9686723 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Anz6...o&type=lgns http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/powerranking...2006&week=4 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writ...nks1/index.html http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/powerRankings

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2605084

I don't mind Greenie and Golic, for the most part they are pretty fair. There is no way you can replace an MVP caliber RB with a guy like Morris. Most of the time, you can't even have a MVP caliber player go from one team to another and continue to put up numbers (E. James). The Bears have enough speed in their front 6/7 to contain a guy like Morris. I don't think the running game is going to be a big issue. No one on the Seahawks has done anything on the ground this year due to their O-Line. If the Bears can contain Jackson and take away the big play, Seattle will have a really hard time moving the ball.

Double post.

I truly believe the loss of Hutchinson on the O-Line has been huge loss for Seattle. Now without Alexander, they are really going to have to rely more on the passing game. Also, it looked like Alexander has been hurt all year. He was only averaging 2.9 yds/carry, with a long of only 14 yds and 2 fumbles. That is horrible. Morris is only averaging 3.0yds /carry. If the Bears can shut down Jackson, they should have a great chance.

I am glad I am not the only one with this mindset. Benson did not even get one carry, even after Jones struggled in the first half. I would like to see both of them in the backfield a few times a game as well. Did anyone else notice the wide open cutback lanes the entire game? Jones used them a few times, and that is when he had his best gains. It seemed like Minnesota was overpursuing everytime.

Where's he at? I didn't see him on the injury report. Is he in Lovie's doghouse? I thought there were times in the game that they could have used him to pound the ball more.