Noots Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Noots’ Notes-Game One: 29-13 Win at IndianapolisBy Michael Nudo The Bears shocked the Colts in the home opener at Lucas Oil Stadium. They were led by Matt Forte’s running on offense and an opportunistic defense. If you were wondering, the word Forte means strength (AP Photo). OFFENSE QuarterbackKyle Orton (13-21-150) won’t like being called a game manager, but he truly earned the title in this contest. Orton continually made adjustments at the line to put his team into good plays, especially for some of the Forte runs. Although he threw a few helicopters and ducks, he showed great poise and made a few key plays. Orton didn’t let the crowd become too great of a factor, took control of the team at the line, and overall showed great leadership qualities. He put the game on ice when he found Desmond Clark inside the five-yard line late in the game. His numbers might merit a C or C+, but everything else he did was an A. GRADE: B+ Running BacksMatt Forte (23-123, Td, 3/18) had an astonishing debut. He ran strong, but showed great vision to occasionally find cutback lanes to pick up big chunks of yardage. His fifty yard touchdown run tilted the momentum of the game for good. Forte was continually counted on to pick up first downs in short yardage situations and rarely disappointed. He also did a good job with his blitz pickups and caught the ball well. It’s a little early for the comparison, but he displayed a gliding slashing style reminiscent of Marcus Allen. Kevin Jones (13-45) was the second prong of the rushing attack. He spelled Forte at points to keep things moving in a positive direction. Jason McKie (2-5, Td) set the table for Jones and Forte. He improved after a weak preseason. GRADE: A ReceiversDesmond Clark (2/46) and Greg Olsen (2/36) were the two receivers who distinguished themselves. They both had 25-plus yard receptions down the stretch to set the table. There wasn’t much else to get excited about from the receivers. GRADE: C+ Offensive LineThe middle three of Beekman, Kreutz and Garza were keys to Forte’s success. Garza made a huge play side block on Forte’s touchdown. Beekman pulled and sealed off his man on the play as well. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis each got the better of St. Clair and Tait for sacks. They weren’t awful, and it could have been a real horror show given the competition. Kreutz was called for two holding penalties and an illegal snap to start the game (a fumble). It’s hard to argue with 183 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per carry. Overall, run blocking was very good. There are still a few growing pains this line will go through in protection, as evidenced by an untouched rusher splitting Beekman and Kreutz while neither was engaged. GRADE: B DEFENSE Defensive LineAdewale Ogunleye stood out. He had 3 tackles for a loss, none of them more key than a safety in the first half. He continually stopped Addai in the backfield. Although it wasn’t called, Ogunleye and Dusty Dvoracek were held repeatedly. Tommie Harris had an early tackle for a loss but was silent the rest of the way. Israel Idonije had a pass deflection. Mark Anderson put a good shot on Peyton Manning in the waning moments. Alex Brown deflected a pass and recorded a sack. Rookie Marcus Harrison had a sack and his penetration set up a key fourth down stop. GRADE: A Linebackers Lance Briggs made a key play when he scooped up a forced fumble and took it 21 yards for a score. He also starched Addai to stop a critical third down conversion. Urlacher and Briggs led the Bears with eight tackles each. Urlacher was flagged for a questionable roughing the quarterback penalty in the first half. Hunter Hillenmeyer was not a factor because the Bears ran quite a bit of nickel defense. The front seven were a key to holding Indianapolis to 53 yards rushing on 15 carries. GRADE: A SecondaryCharles Tillman was flagged for a questionable pass interference penalty. However, he was a key for the Bears. He set the tone with a crushing hit on Reggie Wayne to separate him from the ball. It was Tillman who punched the ball out of Marvin Harrison’s hands to force a fumble that Briggs returned for a touchdown. On the down side, safeties Mike Brown (3 tackles) and Kevin Payne (2 tackles) were not impressive. Brown looked slow to react on a number of plays. Payne went for the ball in a one on one in the hole, and came up with a big zero. GRADE: B Special TeamsDevin Hester made a critical error in judgment, fielding a kickoff deep in the end zone that he waited to take out. He was tackled inside the 5-yard line. Robbie Gould was perfect on field goals from 44 and 25 yards. His kickoffs were deep. Brad Maynard punted well. There was one coverage breakdown but it was called back due to a penalty. Corey Graham made a key coverage stop inside the 20 on a kickoff. GRADE: B CoachingThis was one of the most well-coached Bear victories in a long time. The Bears attacked the weakened front three of the Colts. They showed Urlacher and Briggs in the middle almost the entire game, although they picked their spots for blitzing. On offense, they finally decided the way to win was through the physicality of a tough running attack. No more being cute, just tough running. Screens and draws were utilized effectively. I checked myself for a pulse on numerous occasions to ensure I was still alive. GRADE: A Hardest Hits Adewale Ogunleye on Joseph Addai Charles Tillman on Reggie Wayne Bob Sanders on Matt Forte Lance Briggs on Joseph Addai Mike Brown on Reggie Wayne Game Balls Matt Forte Charles Tillman Lance Briggs Adewale Ogunleye Entire Coaching Staff Horns Kevin Payne Devin Hester NBC Production Team (how many plays were missed?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubbiesFan07 Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Great post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flea Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 nice to see this back noots. great game last night. god im tired today. forte looked great, orton was adequate and the D looked back to their best. would have liked to have seen a few more shots down the field though. can we get a horn for the refs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixote Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Great Article Noots. I can't remember the last time we had a game grade out this high. It certainly has been awhile. Maybe we should have given "Horns" to the female reporter who was interviewing Forte and Urlacher. She definitely blew it telling Urlacher that no one expected the Bears to beat the Colts and it could be argued with the look on Brian's face when she told him that and his response to her, I am sure he would have loved to put her in the "hardest hits" area as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixote Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 I am getting a bit concerned over some of the plays I see from Vasher. I love this guy and we all know how much his absence hurt our defense last year. However, my concern is, it seems like every time I turn around he is being made to look bad when trying to tackle. I know Addai made him "wiff" a tackle and look bad, and then another Colt had him spun around for another "wiff". he needs to start tackling better in the open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selection7 Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 I also noticed the two costly missed tackles by Vasher. In additon to the 1-on-1 missed tackle by Payne, Payne was the guy on the Colts reciver when their receiver caught that TD; I'm not sure if Payne was the primary guy responsible for him though. Also, didn't the NFL create a rule that some called "the Brian Urlacher rule" that expressly made it clear that flexing your arms into a QB does not warrant a roughing the QB penalty??? What more does the NFL have to do to get it through these ref's thick heads? I think last night's call was even more outrageous than the first time it happened. The announcer was kind to Forte when they showed him miserably failing to help out St. Clair on that one blitz where Orton was nearly sacked. But I think someone on these forums suggested in past weeks Forte was occassionaly getting in the way of the OL trying to do their job, so maybe he just needs to find that middle ground. Orton overthrew his receiver on what should have been a pick for the Colts. Was that just purely a case of inaccuracy or was there another factor? How about Forte pulling away from that Colts defender down the stretch on the 50yd TD? Nice to see he's got the speed to break the long ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bears4Ever_34 Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 The Good: Matt Forte Peanut Tillman Ogun The Bad: Nate Vasher The Okay: Kyle Orton Offensive Line Linebackers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balta1701-A Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 And when Vasher is on the list of things that went wrong...that's a pretty good place to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Point well made... And when Vasher is on the list of things that went wrong...that's a pretty good place to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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