Chicago defeats Arizona, prepares for Green Bay

The Bears won in convincing fashion this past Sunday, beating the Arizona Cardinals 28-3. There were many positive things to come out of this game for the Bears and it appeared as if they showed signs of greatness. Still, the Bears had their difficulties on the day and there are a couple of questions about individual performances following the big win.

Game Review

The first half of the game was pretty close as the team scored only ten points. The Bears drives stalled out in the first half and they were only able to get seven points. Those seven points, however, did come on a 96-yard drive, which ate up a lot of time on the clock and became the Bears longest scoring drive of the season. That was very impressive.

The third quarter went the same way as the first half, no scoring and stalled out drives on both sides. It wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Bears scored again en route to a 21-point run and a rout of the Cardinals.

So who were the stars of the game for the Bears and who was the player game? Who made the big plays? Who didn't make the big plays? How did the Bears come away with this victory?

Offense

The offense had a really good game against the Cardinals, perhaps their best game of the season so far. Kordell Stewart, subbing for an injured Chris Chandler, had is best game in a Bears uniform, throwing for a total of 284 yards on 22 out of 37 pass attempts and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Stewart also ran for 26 yards on five carries and scored on an eight-yard touchdown run. Stewart ended the day with an exceptional 101.6 passer rating; the highest for a Bears quarterback so far this season. This is clearly what the Bears expected from Stewart when they signed him this past spring and it is just now starting to pay off.

Anthony Thomas was sidelined due to viral pneumonia so the Bears rookie running back Brock Forsey, making his second start, started in Thomas' place. Forsey did not disappoint anyone on this day as he ran for 134 yards on 27 carries and scored on a nine-yard run. Forsey also caught two passes for 27 yards. What is most important about Forsey's play in this game is that the Bears were able to run the ball so effectively, that they kept it out of ball out of the Cardinals hands and ate up the clock in the process. Something else about the Bears rushing attack is that the Bears did an outstanding job running the ball against a tough Cardinals defense (ranked 12th in the league at the time allowing just 105 yards rushing a game) running for a total of 154 yards.

The Bears receivers had their biggest day in a long time against the Cardinals. Rookie Justin Gage caught four passes for 100 yards, including a spectacular 57-yard grab. Marty Booker and Dez White each caught a touchdown pass in the game and the Bears receivers made critical catches when they had to in this game. Tight end Desmond Clark wasn't as big of a factor as he had been in previous games but he still did his part.

The offensive line played pretty well during the game but there were a couple injuries of note. Aaron Gibson sprained his right knee during the game and there is no word as of yet just how serious the injury might be. Chris Villarrial hurt his side during the first quarter and did return. It appeared as if the line didn't miss a beat after the loss of Gibson and Villarrial and the Bears line continued to block well for Forsey and protect their quarterback. Stewart was sacked three times on the day buy it could be seen that Stewart had a big hand in contributing to at least two of the three sacks that he had during the game.

Defense

Chicago's defensive line played very well during this game. First off, they helped stop a Cardinals running attack that had done pretty well in recent games. All told, the Bears held the Cardinals to just 46 yards on the ground. Another positive play for the defensive line happened when Michael Haynes forced a fumble as Jeff Blake scrambling around and Phillip Brown recovered the fumble, which set the Bears up for a score.

The Bears linebackers had a pretty solid game as well. Brian Urlacher recorded tackles on the day, leading the team in tackles. Warrick Holman followed up with five tackles on afternoon having a pretty solid game. Coupled with solid play from the defensive line, the Bears linebackers did an outstanding job of stopping the run and keeping the Cardinals at bay throughout the game.

The secondary also played a good game against the Cardinals this past Sunday. They managed to hold the Cardinals standout rookie receiver Anquan Boldin to just 33 yards on four catches which was a good effort against the 1000-yard receiver. The secondary made no huge mistakes in the penalty department, which really helped the Bears, contain Arizona's passing game. Sensational rookie Charles Tillman had a quiet game, perhaps because the Cardinals didn't throw in his direction too often, which is a huge credit to Tillman and his capabilities as a cornerback. R.W. McQuarters and Jerry Azumah both had interceptions that helped set the Bears up for scores. Both Mike Brown and Bobby Gray had one pass defended a piece as well. The secondary played a great game and kept great containment on the Cardinals receivers.

The Bears did have one unit on their team that didn't perform too well against the Cardinals and that was their special teams. Kicker Paul Edinger, the same Paul Edinger who kicked four field goals to bring the Bears to a victory against the Denver Broncos just a week before, missed on both his attempts (44 and 43 yards) against the Cardinals at Soldier Field. Edinger has struggled in his past two games at Soldier Field and once again has the coaching staff, and the fans, wondering what is wrong with him. There was a wind on Sunday, but Edinger still could have easily made those field goals. It is always a big concern when your kicker has trouble kicking in the home field. Hopefully, Edinger can get over these problems, as the Bears will need him to help them win their next four games and make a run at the playoffs.

One other thing that needs to be mentioned when looking at the performance of the Bear's special teams is the attempted fake field goal they tried. You have to give the Bears coaching staff a lot of credit as they got a little creative and tried to make something happen. It's too bad that the play didn't work. It was a good idea at the time and it shows just how creative the Bears coaching staff might be.

Player of the Game

This was a tough one, because there were many outstanding players in the Bears' victory this Sunday. However, when it comes right down to it, there were two players that stood out -- Stewart and Forsey.

Stewart came in, after being benched since mid-October, and played a near flawless game in relief for an injured Chandler. Stewart played a very good game, the stats show that, but what was most important is that he didn't make the mistakes that he had made in the past. Stewart also showed a better feel for the offense and he made plays when there were breakdowns and he played, what I call, a pretty spectacular game.

Forsey, with hardly any notice whatsoever, stepped in for an ailing Thomas and had the best game of his young career. I think that he really surprised a lot of people, especially the Cardinals, who had the 12th ranked defense in the lead allowing only just 105 yards on the ground per game. Forsey did an outstanding job and was a huge part of the reason why the Bears beat the Cardinals on Sunday.

Due of the Game

Unfortunately, I have to hand out the Dud of the Game to kicker Edinger, who missed two field goals at home. Although the kicks weren't critical to winning the game (like the kicks that he missed against Detroit and St. Louis) it still is a concern. What happens, when or if the Bears are close to making the playoffs and it's an Edinger missed field goal or PAT that costs them that opportunity. Hopefully Edinger's slump is over

Other News and Notes

The sprained knee that offensive lineman Aaron suffered this past Sunday may be a little more serious than first thought. He will be re-evaluated later on this week. Gibson will not play this Sunday against Green Bay.

Guard Villarrial injured his side on the first series of the game this Sunday and has been diagnosed with torn oblique muscles and may not play against the Packers this Sunday. He is day to day right now.

Thomas will be under evaluations this week after suffering from viral pneumonia, but he is slated to start this Sunday in Green Bay.

Dick Jauron is making an effort to throw the Packers off track for their game against them this Sunday by not telling anyone outside the organization who he will start at quarterback. The method behind this is so that the Packers don't know who to prepare for, which might just throw them off a little for Sunday's game.

Rookie cornerback Tillman was selected as the NFL Pepsi Rookie of the Week for Week 12, the week the Bears beat the Broncos 19-10. Tillman had an outstanding game and his honor is very well deserved.

Preview: Bears vs. PACKERS

The Bears meet the Packers this Sunday for their second meeting this year. The two met back in Week 4 at Solider Field and the Packers manhandled the Bears winning by a score of 38-23. In that game, Packers running back Ahman Green rushed for 176 yards on just 19 carries as well as scoring two touchdowns. Thomas did run for 110 yards on the night, as well as one touchdown, and Stewart had 71 yards on the ground as well. The Bears did mount a comeback but it was too little too late.

The Bears are better than they were that week and Green Bay has been struggling somewhat as of late so the time could be right for the Bears to hand them an upset. What is wrong with Green Bay? The first thing is Brett Favre. Favre has been suffering from a broken thumb and has not been throwing the ball consistently since. He had a pretty rough game at Detroit on Thanksgiving and just hasn't been able to adequately overcome the broken thumb. In lieu of Favre's incapacitation, the Packers have been pounding the ball on the ground, using Green to get the job done. Green is an outstanding rusher, leading the NFL in rushing yardage, and is the most dangerous player that the Packers have on their team.

Keys to the Game

The first thing the Bears have to be able to do in order to win this game is stop Green. If the Bears cannot stop Green they will not win the game, it's a simple as that. This means that the Bears defense will have to shut down the Packer's running game, which is no easy task. The Packers offensive line is outstanding, having opened up a lot of holes for Green to run through and the Bears defensive line will have to contend working through their Packer's blocking to try to keep Green from gaining a lot of yards. The defense needs to stop Green within two or three yards of the line or else it could be another long day in Green Bay for the Bears.

If the Bears stop Green, they still have Favre to contend with. As mentioned, Favre has a broken thumb on his throwing hand and hasn't been all too effective as of late, although he is still dangerous. The game will be outside, in weather that is expected to be around 35 degrees at game time but it could be even colder, around 28 degrees, by kickoff. In weather like that, the aches and pains that one has seem to become worse and that kind of cold can really cause some problems. If Favre had problems throwing the ball in the warmth of the Lion's dome imagine what might happen in the cold air at Lambeau Field.

At any rate, Favre is still dangerous even though he is ailing. The Bears defense, along with trying to stop Green, will also need to put some pressure on Favre. Putting pressure on the quarterback is something that the Bears haven't been able to do too well so far this season. They also need to ensure that the Green Bay receivers are covered well and that they don't allow them to get past them where they can break for big gains. This will be a big game, as well as a big test Tillman and, hopefully, he is up for the task.

On offense, the Bears need to control the clock and eat up as much time as possible. They will have to do this on the ground, against a Green Bay rushing defense that is allowing 113.03 yards per game. That's pretty good defense but the Bears have had some success over teams with good rushing defenses (Denver and Arizona). The Bears can pound the ball with a one-two-three punch from Thomas, Brock Forsey and Stewart (if he starts) and that should be pretty effective gaining some good yardage on the ground. Another factor that might affect the Bears running game is the status of their offensive line. Right now the line is racked by injuries and there are at least two starters that might not play in Sunday's game. Hopefully, those left on the offensive line will step up it up and play well until the line is once again at full strength.

With the starting quarterback yet to be announced (although I could almost bet it would be Stewart) it might make it just a little tough for the Packers to prepare their game plan. If Stewart starts, the Packers will have to look out for both the run and the pass, as Stewart is highly capable of beating a team both ways. Chandler, on the other hand, is a pure pocket passer and doesn't like to run too much. If he gets flushed out of the pocket, he often hurries his passes and that results in incompletions and interceptions. Stewart offers the best opportunity for the Bears to get a victory against Green Bay because he will keep the defense off balance with his athletic abilities.

Another unit that needs to step up in this game is the wide receivers. They will be a crucial part of this game and they will need to make the catches especially at the right time. This means that White needs to catch the ball and David Terrell needs to run the right routes and make the right plays when it counts. Whoever gets the nod at quarterback for the Bears will have a fairly decent time against the Packers pass defense which allows an average of 221.3 yards per game so the Bears may have to rely a little more on the pass as opposed to the run but they can't give up on the run at all.

In order to beat the Packers, the Bears will have to play a near perfect game which means no turnovers, scoring early and often and plenty of good defense. Stopping Green will be the biggest key of the game. The Bears should take a look at what the Detroit Lions did to hold Green to just 57 yards rendering him pretty much ineffective. They should then apply that to their game plan against the Packers this Sunday.

One final key to this game for Chicago is that Edinger had better come through on his field goal attempts, because this game might be close enough to where a field goal might win it for the Bears. The game will be outside, in possibly windy weather, and so Edinger had better prepare properly and make it so that he doesn't miss those field goal attempts. If he does, he will disappoint a lot of people.

Conclusion

When it comes right down to it, the Bears are going to have to play their best game of the year, to date, to win. They need to play a near perfect game in order to beat the Packers and if they can perform like they did against the Cardinals (a team that, incidentally beat the Packers at the beginning of the season) they should come out ahead of the Packers. This will be a close game, but a good one providing the Bears perform to the level that they have played with these past two weeks. There is no reason why the Bears can't beat the Packers and continue to their run at the playoffs. Let's just hope that they can play that near perfect game.