Noots Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 Noots’ Notes-Game Two: 20-17 Loss at CarolinaBy Michael Nudo The Bears fell to 1-1 after blowing a 17-3 third quarter lead at Carolina on Sunday. The Panthers used an opportunistic defense and the hard running of Jonathan Stewart to get the job done. They let this one slip away (AP Photo/Chuck Burton). OFFENSE QuarterbackKyle Orton’s performance (19-32-149) reflected the overall Bears effort. He got off to an accurate and efficient start hitting on nine of his first thirteen passes in the first half. Orton found Brandon Lloyd for 32 yards while backed up inside his own ten yard-line. He hit Desmond Clark for 15 yards on a 2nd and long. Orton nearly had his first touchdown pass when he connected with Lloyd early in the third quarter to set up a Jason McKie 1-yard touchdown plunge. Things fell apart from there. Several second half passes were thrown into coverage and nearly picked off. He missed a streaking Marty Booker, who had broken several steps beyond his defender. Orton also threw errantly to Rashied Davis on a critical third down, as well as missing Davis completely as he had worked between the zone coverage. It rained like heck back in Chicago on Saturday and Sunday. Orton will bring a two game touchdown pass drought back to Chicago. GRADE: D Running BacksMatt Forte (23-92, 3/21)) had another good game. He continually broke free into the second level of the Panther defense. Unfortunately, the Bears left a few good chunks of yardage on the field because of penalties. Running mate Jason McKie (3-7, Td, 2/13) was a major culprit. McKie committed a false start and a holding penalty on successive plays to kill a drive at the end of the first half. McKie scored a touchdown but also was stopped short on fourth and one at the end of the game. Kevin Jones was given one carry. GRADE: B- ReceiversGreg Olsen (2/7, 2 fumbles) had a game he’ll want to put behind him as soon as possible. He coughed up the ball to the Panthers twice. One of them was punched out by former Bear Chris Harris. Brandon Lloyd (5/66, Td) stood out with a big game. He made several key grabs. Lloyd and Orton seem to have a good chemistry, especially on passes to the back shoulder. Rashied Davis (3/11) dropped two passes that should have been caught. He also picked up 17 yards and a big first down on an end around. Davis dropped a slant and was also called for a questionable holding penalty to wipe out a solid gain for Forte. Marty Booker was not a factor, although his breaking into the clear is a good sign that he has more than a few miles left. Rookie Kellen Davis let a linebacker blow him up to stop Jason McKie on the Bears final offensive play. GRADE: D Offensive LineCenter Olin Kreutz had one of his better games. He was able to get to the second level on several occasions. Left tackle John St. Clair had an early false start and then later allowed Julius Peppers to pressure Orton into a sack. Overall, the run blocking was solid against a very large Panther defensive line (115 rushing yards and a 4.0 average per carry). Pass protection was average. Orton took some heat from the unblocked blitzing edge rusher, but also took some pressure from the line’s responsibilities on a few plays as well. GRADE: B- DEFENSE Defensive LineAdewale Ogunleye had a key tackle for a loss. He tormented rookie Jeff Otah into several false starts. Otah would later get the better of Ogunleye run blocking for Jonathan Stewart (14-77, 2 Td). Alex Brown collected his second sack and had a tackle for a loss in the fourth quarter. Brown failed to wrap up Stewart on one of his many tackle breaking carries up the middle. Israel Idonije stunted to pick up a sack as well. Dusty Dvoracek made a few key stops against the run. Tommie Harris played sparingly and was not a factor. Mark Anderson and Marcus Harrison were not factors. Pressure was decent, but run defense was lacking as the game wore on. GRADE: B- LinebackersLance Briggs came up big with a tackle for a loss on a third down and four carry late in the contest. He also deflected a pass while blitzing. Hunter Hillenmeyer was beaten for 23 yards by tight end Jeff King to set up Carolina’s go ahead touchdown. Brian Urlacher (3 tackles) had a very quiet game. GRADE: C SecondarySafeties Mike Brown and Kevin Payne (6 tackles, TFL) had standout performances. Brown blitzed for an early knockdown on Delhomme (12-21-128, Int). He later made it all the way in for a sack. Kevin Payne was making tackles from sideline to sideline at the line of scrimmage against the run. He also broke up a pass that Charles Tillman (6 tackles, Int) turned into an interception. Brandon McGowan dropped his head while isolated with a receiver in the flat. The receiver hurdled over McGowan and picked up additional yardage. Nate Vasher had a quiet day in coverage. Overall, the defensive backs had a solid performance. Run support was good. They made some plays when given the opportunity. GRADE: B Special Teams Darrell McClover blocked Carolina’s first punt attempt. Brandon Lloyd scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown. Penalties plagued the special teams. Illegal blocks by McGowan, Danieal Manning and Kellen Davis robbed the Bears’ offense of critical field position. Field position was also hurt by Brad Maynard, who continually made weak punts while the Bears were pinned deep near their own goal. Devin Hester didn’t flash with any of his returns. He left with a rib injury after a return that didn’t appear to include any contact. Robbie Gould hit on his one field goal attempt and kicked off with good distance. GRADE: B Coaching The Bears won the coin flip and elected to defer the kickoff return. It paid off when McClover blocked Carolina’s opening punt and Brandon Lloyd returned it for a 9-yard touchdown. Ron Turner’s end around call to Rashied Davis was well timed and executed. Not converting second, third and fourth and one late in the fourth quarter was a major disappointment. The third and one quick hitch was too predictable and was predictably nearly picked off. The fourth and one handoff was given to McKie. If they wanted one yard, why not let the quarterback keep it? Why not bring in the fresh legs of battering ram Kevin Jones (who only received one carry)? Where was he Sunday? Bob Babich’s defense was solid all day, but couldn’t stop Stewart as the game wore on. Dusty Dvoracek appears to be the only defensive lineman who can stop the run. Some of the big guys who aren’t dressing might need to be wearing equipment next week. They missed Tommie Harris. Maybe they should not dress Harris for a week to give him the rest he appears to be needing? GRADE: C- Hardest Hits Briggs on Williams Game Balls Charles Tillman Kevin Payne Darrell McClover Brandon Lloyd Horns Greg Olsen Brandon McGowan Jason McKie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradjock Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Great stuff Noots! I missed reading Noots' Notes. I do have to disagree when you said that Chris Harris knocked the ball out from Olsen. Heck it just looked like a regular tackle to me. Our punters name should be Brad "Wobbler" Maynard. Wow he sucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABEARSDABOMB Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Great stuff as always. I agree with bradjock though and felt it was a pretty routine tackle made by Harris. In no way shape or form was it the type of tackle or move that youd' expect to see a fumble on. On a sidenote, in case people are interested, Noots recaps are also being posted on this news site: http://www.chisport.com/index/?p=55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 Great stuff Noots! I'm in nearly complete agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bears4Ever_34 Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Great stuff as always. I agree with bradjock though and felt it was a pretty routine tackle made by Harris. In no way shape or form was it the type of tackle or move that youd' expect to see a fumble on. On a sidenote, in case people are interested, Noots recaps are also being posted on this news site: http://www.chisport.com/index/?p=55 Hmm, that link doesn't seem to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixote Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Hmm, that link doesn't seem to work. Strange, it worked when he first posted it, I checked it out at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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