Noots' Notes Game 8: 27-23 Win over Detroit

[Noots]

Noots’ Notes-Game 8: 27-23 Win over Detroit

By

Michael Nudo

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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.

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A costly win (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh).

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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-

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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+

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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

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[Connorbear]

Graham's downing the punt on the 1 was a huge play. This changed the field position in the second half and led to a TD.

 

Peace

[selection7]

Any D thoughts on the difference between halves Noots? I've seen some collapses, but excluding game-changing injuries, I'm not sure I've ever seen our D go from totally useless to shutout perfect in the course of one halftime.

[selection7]

Also, anyone realise the Bears have won 4 out their last 5 games, and their only loss was by 2 points with 6 seconds left? The problems with this team are many, but as Lovie says "Every team has the same salary cap" and somehow we keep winning anyway.