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It’s Bears versus Packers tonight and the whole NFL is watching. Oldest rivalry in pro football and both teams are 2-0. Can it get any better? Maybe, If I were to have guts and pick the Bears. Coward. Not after this week, though if they win. Honestly.
I was wrong with my prediction on the Cowboys game. Plain and simple. I thought the Cowboys would have been angry after their disappointing loss against the Redskins. They were angry and they didn’t play bad at all, but I made a mistake in underestimating the Bears. I thought Jay Cutler would succumb to old turnover habits against a good Cowboys defense and he played a mistake-free game. Through two weeks he is the highest rated passer in the NFL. That’s right, Jay Cutler, the same guy who threw 26 interceptions last year leads the league thus far in passer rating. Things are looking good in the CHI after only two games.
Yes some people are getting overly excited about the 2-0 start but after the preseason our Bears treated us to I think we are allowed to get a little bit giddy. If the Bears manage to beat the Packers tonight, then the national media will start believing what some of us already are beginning to believe. From the awful preseason to the great display against the Cowboys, the Bears sure know how to keep this city and their followers interested. Everyone was so disappointed in the preseason and bracing for the worst that this display against the Cowboys came as a bit of surprise. At least to me it was.
Now comes a whole new animal to town in the form of Green Bay Packers, their superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the defensive standout Clay Matthews. The Packers are the early pick to represent the NFC in the Superbowl and especially so after New Orleans lost yesterday at home to Atlanta. The Saints have some key injuries, thus more and more “experts” are believing that the Pack is the team to beat in the NFC. What seemed like a relatively comfortable W on the schedule for Green Bay early on, has since turned into a massive game for both them and the Bears.
So what are the keys to the game? In order to win tonight, the Bears will have to play mistake-free football and make the Packers one dimensional by eliminating the running game, already hurting without the injured Ryan Grant. Green Bay has a decent backup in the former Nebraska standout Brandon Jackson but I wouldn’t expect him to carry the load for more than 10-15 times tonight. Jackson shares the load with the fullback John Kuhn and is used a lot in the passing game as dump-off kind of a running back. Everyone knows that the Packers want and like to throw the ball to a bevy of receivers, and it’s hard to argue that they don’t have the best receiving options in the league. With Gregg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jermichael Finley at his disposal it’s easy to see why Aaron Rodgers was the early pick to win the MVP by many. No other team in the league has that many weapons in the passing game and the Bears will find it extremely hard to stop all of them. They will have a shot, though if they can neutralize the run and make Rodgers throw on most downs.
On defense, the Packers come into the game with the NFL’s sack leader in Clay Matthews and the reigning defensive MVP in Charles Woodson. Matthews is an absolute beast in the A-gap and Woodson is an absolute master at reading the QB or forcing fumbles from the opposing receivers. If the Bears are able to stop one of these two than the chances of winning are that much higher. The Packers do have a rookie in the secondary and also on the weak side linebacker slot and therefore let’s hope that Bears can exploit those positions.
For the Bears it all starts and ends with Jay Cutler. When he is turnover free the Bears win. Even if he keeps it to minimum the Bears still have a chance in this game. If he, however, turns it over more than twice it is hard to imagine the Bears coming away victorious. Cutler will have to take some shots down-field and test this Packers secondary and I believe that the slot position for the Bears could provide to be crucial tonight. If they can involve either Devin (Hester or Aromashodu) in the slot game, this would present a major problem for the Packers. A good running game would be very nice to have but the Packers do have a stout run defense so we’ll see if Forte can break a couple of good runs.
The Bears defense needs to get to Rodgers and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. If he has too much time in the pocket it could be a long night for Urlacher and the rest of the defense. Julius Peppers could have a big game against the inexperienced Brian Bulaga, who will most likely start for Chad Clifton. If Clifton starts Peppers should still have a good game because of the injury concern for Clifton. Stopping the run and making the Packers one dimensional is priority Number 1. for the Bears and if they can do so, they will have a great chance to win.
I was wrong on my last pick against the Cowboys. I had the Bears losing by 11. They made me into an almost-believer with that win. If they can somehow win this game tonight, I will driving the band-wagon train and will probably pick them the rest of they way. I do, however, have to go with my brain tonight and I do believe that Green Bay will win by a narrow margin. I hope I’m wrong like last time.
PREDICTION: Packers 28 – Bears 24
How many exhibits in the world allow a person to get a closer view at something we all grew up watching as kids and followed even into our adulthood? Only one that I know of and it is currently being displayed at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago – Jim Henson’s Fantastic World.
Jim Henson’s Fantastic World is an exhibit organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service chronicling the life of the great Jim Henson, that includes over 130 cartoons, drawings and storyboards. The exhibit is one big puppet party, where Jim Henson explains to the visitor either through text or audio how much puppetry meant to him, and how he came up with this two greatest inventions – Sesame Street and the Muppet Show.
Upon entering the MSI exhibit a visitor is greeted by Henson’s most famous of inventions – Kermit The Frog. The green icon is proudly displayed at the entrance in all its glory along with numerous photos of Henson and Kermit throughout the years they spent “working” together. In the same room there is a chronological display of Jim Henson’s life in the industry, all the magnificent things he accomplished in his life.
Once inside the exhibit, the walls are full of all the Henson-abilia, pictures of him and the puppets along with numerous drawings and sketches from his earlier days. As a fan of both Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, I enjoyed those drawings and sketches more than any picture because it gave me an insight into how things worked – something I didn’t know and or cared about when I was a youngster. I always thought it was all fun and games being on the set of the Muppet Show but being at the exhibit showed me it was a lot of years of hard work and determination.
Along with Kermit being displayed in a glass box there is also Miss Piggy in all her majesty wearing a white wedding dress, which she wore in the movie “The Muppets Take Manhattan.” Miss Piggy doesn’t make appearances with this exhibit but she agreed to be displayed in Chicago when MSI asked for her services. While she doesn’t have any direct ties to Henson (he neither designed or performed as her) the exhibit would not have been complete without Miss Piggy, who aside from Kermit is easily the most recognizable of all the puppets.
Inside the exhibit there are two separate rooms designed to encourage audience participation: a theater room – where visitors can literally play the role of Henson and perform with the puppets laid out in a box nearby; and a create a character wall – a wall that allows people to create their own puppet using Velcro-like material.
The latter has an outline of a puppet body attached to the wall, while all the clothes are removable along with a variety of hats, beards, sunglasses giving the audience a variety of ways to dress his/her own puppet. Both of these rooms require audience participation and should be a huge draw for all those who come and check out the exhibit.
More than anything else, the exhibit portrays the way Jim Henson viewed things, visually. The exhibit and in particular drawings and sketches portray how Henson would store so many of his ideas in his brain only for them to appear live and in costume at a later part in his magnificent career.
Bonnie Erickson, president of the Jim Henson Legacy Foundation and the original builder of Miss Piggy, hopes that those who come out and see the exhibit will learn to follow their dreams as well.
“I hope that this exhibit will inspire anyone who doesn’t know what to do with themselves to follow their dreams,” Erickson said. “Any one of us can and should follow our heart just the way Jim did.”
Jim’s love for his work and the puppets he created is visible in every one of the exhibit’s pictures and one has to wonder if the rest of us are lucky enough to have our work be our passion in life.
It certainly was just that for him.
Finally it is back to football for the Chicago Bears after a controversial week at Hallas Hall. From the turmoil that was the Calvin Johnson catch/dropped pass, to the off the field news regarding Jay Cutler’s new girlfriend and even the fresh news surrounding Matt Forte’s (pictured below) break up with his fiance on Tuesday, these Bears know how to keep our attention. 
This is all not good news during a week where the team should be focused on the upcoming game against an angry Cowboys team, looking to redeem themselves following a disappointing ending to the game against the Redskins.
The Bears offense looked good against the Lions minus the inability to score in the red zone. Jay Cutler threw the ball great aside from the interception, Matt Forte and the receivers had a good day and the Bears should have beaten the Lions by two touchdowns, at least. That of course did not happen as the same problems from last year resurfaced again, with the red zone looking more like the “no-land zone” for our beloved Bears.
The offense needs to correct this by Sunday because unlike Detroit, the Cowboys actually do play defense and red zone opportunities for the Bears will be few and far between. It is crucial to score on those chances come Sunday if the Bears are hoping to escape Dallas with a victory. Cutler has to stay away from those errand throws that get him in trouble and the receivers/tight ends have got to hang on to the football. The reason for the Bears low scoring output against the Lions last week was the inability to score in the red zone along with numerous fumbles. THE BEARS HAVE GOT TO HANG ON TO THE BALL!!!
The defense was impressive last week albeit against a team that lost their starting quarterback, however it was an impressive showing nevertheless. 
Julius Peppers (on the left) looked good in his first game as a Bear and the return of Brian Urlacher was a huge success. Urlacher was flying all over the field and looked good next to Lance Briggs as the two contained the Lions running game to a minimum, despite two rushing touchdowns by Jahvid Best. The secondary played okay except for the final drive of the game and they were aided by the fact that Matthew Stafford missed majority of the game with a separated shoulder. They will face a much sterner test on Sunday when they come across the likes of Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. Cowboys were the No.2 ranked offense last year and even though they didn’t perform like it last week, the potential is still there.
The key for the Bears will be containing the Cowboys rushing attack and the three-headed monster that is Marion Barber III, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Barber is a physical back that loves punishing the defense with his bruising runs, while Felix Jones provides pure speed as a backup to Barber. That combination is very difficult to defend and then there is Tashard Choice, who can run and catch the ball, as the third option and he will want to perform well following his costly mistake against the Redskins that resulted in a touchdown.
From a Cowboys perspective, they will want to blitz Jay Cutler (below) any chance they get and hope that he has some “Jay-like” throws where he gifts balls to the opposing defenses. 
If the Cowboys are able to control the Bears run they will pressure Chicago into throwing more and with that comes the possibility of Cutler making mistakes. Cutler only had one interception against the Lions and lost one fumble, albeit the interception was pretty bad as he threw the ball into quadruple coverage – shades of ‘09 Cutler. He did, however, throw for over 370 yards and the Cowboys defense will have their hands full against a Bears offense still learning the new offensive system implemented by Mike Martz.
As for the Bears on defense, lots will depend on how much pressure they can put on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Romo didn’t have a great game against the Redskins and will be looking to improve at the Cowboys home opener – in front of more than 100,000 fans. He is known as one of the more elusive quarterbacks in the league and has a knack for getting out of the pocket and making something happen out of nothing. This, I believe will be a huge deciding factor on Sunday.
The Bears will get to Romo and probably so on numerous occasions. The reason for that is the improved play of the defense along with the fact that the Cowboys have major issues on the offensive line. That proved to be one of the major weaknesses in their loss at Washington and could hurt them again versus the Bears. They are getting a couple of people back from injuries and that should solidify the line, at least to a respectable level.
This should be an interesting game to watch as it is going to present our Bears with the first major test of the 2010 season. I think the Bears will keep it close for a while but in the end Tony Romo’s elusiveness, the trio of running backs, impressive Cowboys defensive line and the rowdy home crowd will ensure that the Cowboys come away with a victory.
I would like to hope that I’m wrong with my prediction here but unfortunately I do not see Bears coming away from Texas with a victory.
PREDICTION: Bears 17 – Cowboys 28
If Sunday was an indication of how this Bears season will go this year, then all of us are going to have ulcers by the time season ends. The Bears left it late to overcome a Lions team playing majority of the game without their star quarterback. Oh, and there was also that play where a Lions receiver caught a touchdown with less than 30 seconds left in the game, only for it to be disallowed due to a weird rule in the NFL official rulebook. Basically, just another regular season opener for the Bears, as the game left fans debating of what it was and what could have been for both teams.
Aside from the controversial call in the last 30 seconds of the game, there was the other 59:30 to discuss here. Some feel as though Bears dominated the game (yardage wise) and deserved to win the game, especially after knocking out the Lions QB Matthew Stafford. Others, on the other hand, saw major similarities between this year and last year, in particular in the red zone – the inability to score on four attempts.
Let’s go with the good things first. Jay Cutler looked good and the first official game with the partnership of he and Mike Martz produced good results. Cutler threw for over 350 yards and had only one “Cutler like” interception. He did lose a fumble because he held on the ball for too long but overall his performance was above average.
Matt Forte had a career game with over 200 yards from scrimmage, of which 150 came through receptions including a 89-yard screen TD pass. Chester Taylor provided good backup for Forte and solidified the position even more than everyone originally thought.
The receivers/tight ends looked to be better than what most would think with Aromashodu, Knox and Olsen all contributing in their own ways. Devin Hester only had one reception and had a disappointing game in general while Matt Forte picked up the slack with over 150 yards receiving.
The offensive line was the weak link yet again as they allowed four sacks and were unable to gain six inches in the fourth quarter. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Lance Briggs sacked Shaun Hill, caused a fumble and recovered it himself to give the Bears four opportunities to score inside the one yard line. On the next four plays the Lions defensive front stuffed the Bears O-line and brought even more controversy to Lovie Smith and the offensive line in general. Everyone knew that this was the weak link on the team and it was proven yet again. The real test for the O-line comes this Sunday at the new Cowboys Stadium.
The defense played great at times, I thought, and it was good to see Brian Urlacher piloting the defense once again. Aside from the final drive of the game the defense shut down the talented Lions offense, albeit with the backup QB. Holding them to a little over 100 yards net was a major accomplishment for this defense, which was a major problem in the last couple of years. Yes, it was after all only the Detroit Lions minus their starting QB but if the Bears defense can shut down the Cowboys offense in Dallas, then we might have something to rave about. The only issue with the defense was the Lions’ last drive where they marched right down the field with a backup QB.
The biggest play of the game was the Calvin Johnson TD that wasn’t allowed. Look, everyone has seen the replays a hundred times by now. If you have seen the play then you know that the Lions got robbed. Not by the officials, but by the NFL rulebook. Calvin Johnson made the catch and landed in the end zone safely and as he was about to get up and celebrate the ball made contact with the ground and fell out of his hand.
Yes, the refs did the right thing.
Yes, he did have complete possession of the football, he was just to excited that he made such a great catch he forgot to secure the ball with both hands. It’s happened before and it will happen again. It’s a flaw within the NFL rulebook and it should be corrected but a similar play happened last year in Week 1 in a game between the Chargers and Raiders. Did that change anything? No. It should have been changed but it wasn’t and it will most likely not be changed after this controversial call.
It’s a rough way to lose for Detroit, who lose the game and their franchise quarterback for about 4-8 weeks. For our Bears it’s a sneaky win but a win nevertheless. It wasn’t pretty at times and there is a lot room for improvement especially with the trip to Dallas looming in five days time.
Instead of talking about the controversial call in the end zone, we in Chicago should be talking about the defensive mistake not to double team Calvin Johnson on the last play. In my opinion you double team the best player on the opposing team, yet the Bears didn’t do that. It didn’t cost us the game this time but it might next time around.
Agree or disagree?
Let me know if you guys would have gone for it on the fourth down or if you would have double teamed the 6′5″ Calvin Johnson.
The NFL is finally back this Sunday and with that so is officially the return of Bears football. After last year’s disappointing season, the Bears return for another season hoping to bring the Superbowl back to Chicago after a long 25-year hiatus.
The team should be better than last year’s based on the facts that Jay Cutler has had one year under his belt in Chicago, as well as the successful free agency period that saw Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor find their way to the “Spaceship on the Lake Front.” While everyone was excited following the free agency pickups of Peppers and Taylor it was this preseason that took most of that positive energy out of Chicago. An 0-4 record and no imagination while doing so, made people of Chicago very worried about this upcoming season and in particular the first game against the Detroit Lions.
The Bears players and coaches are all telling the same thing: It’s the preseason and they didn’t want to show anything to the opposition in the preseason. Sure that might be true to an extent but did they have to look so awful while “not showing anything?” They will tell you this was all by design, and that once the season officially kicks off on Sunday at noon things will turn for the better. Whether they believe that or are just blowing smoke up our rear ends remains to be seen, the bottom line is it’s pretty hard to turn the switch on/off anytime one wants to.
As for the game on Sunday there are numerous different things to focus on in regards to matchup against the Lions. When the schedule first came out this looked like a perfect game to start the season off on the right note – facing a 2-14 team from last year. After watching the Bears and Lions perform in the preseason, however, even the biggest of optimists have to be slightly worried about the game.
The Bears offense did not look good in the preseason. That’s a fact. Cutler didn’t appear to have great chemistry with his receivers and the running backs, Matt Forte and Chester Taylor, didn’t impress they way they should have. The offensive line was the scapegoat of the preseason and that for a good reason: Cutler got sacked repeatedly making most wonder how long before he suffers an injury due to lack of protection. Cutler will have to play better and so will the running backs and receivers and especially the O-line if the Bears want to start the season on a positive note.
Things looked slightly brighter on the defensive side of the football in the preseason as no first team opposition offense made the defense look silly. The defense didn’t look spectacular but it did enough to convince most it will improve on last year’s horrid performance, when they finished in the bottom ten in the NFL in total defense. A city that prides itself on having one of the best defenses year in and year out was a shadow of its former self in 2009. The defensive line looks to be solid and the linebackers should be back to reliable self with Brian Urlacher back from injury. The problem will be the secondary, in particular safety spots as Chris Harris hopes to stabilize that spot before rookie Major Wright becomes a household name in the near future – hopefully.
The special teams underperformed in the preseason – a surprise to many people as the Bears usually have one of the best special teams units in the entire NFL every year. This problem will be fixed most likely since the Bears are always extremely solid in that department.
On Sunday the Bears have to be pay close attention to two Lions rookies, who are making noise across the NFL in the preseason. They are Jahvid Best and Ndamukong Suh. Best is a great running back who can run and catch the ball and will present major problems for the Bears defenders. Suh is force on the defensive line and if the Bears fail to protect Cutler like they did in the preseason it could be long afternoon for the former Commodores star.
The Lions are definitely young and are getting better in a hurry. In my opinion they will present a big problem for the Bears on Sunday and it would not be shock if they came in and stole a victory from Soldier Field. The Bears should, however, have enough to overcome Detroit and come away with the first W of the season. I think Cutler steadies the ship in the first game and the running attack finds a way into the endzone. The Bears will have problems with the talented Lions offense but in the end it should be enough for a Bears victory.
PREDICTION: Bears 27 – Lions 21