Offense : The Bears certainly weren't going to break the scoreboard with their offensive performance today, but for a short week I'll give them some latitude. The Bears needed to run the ball well, and they did. Forte had a workman like effort with 97 yards on 25 carries. Cutler wasn't at his best, but he was good enough while mixing in some questionable decisions that have pretty much become accepted with him week after week. The O-Line pass protected OK, allowing only 3 sacks vs a Dolphin defense that was much more prone to blitz than the Vikings were 4 days ago.
The bottom line is this though. After having it brought to my attention from my astute cousin Joseph, it bears repeating once again. The main difference with the Bears offense has been one stat, and one stat only : Third Down Conversions. Tonight the Bears were 10 of 18 in that department, and it's not a coincidence that based on those third down conversions, the time of possession was laughably in the Bears favor 37:51 to 22:09. A quick review shows that ever since the off week, the third down conversions have been greatly improved with 7-12 at Buffalo, and 11-19 against the Vikings. That is a vast improvement versus the first seven games of the season.
The more the Bears convert third downs, the more they move into scoring range, and keep the defense off the field. Not bad huh? Some would call that winning football.
Defense : For as much as I've complained about the reliance on an antiquated scheme, I must admit that this unit continues to get better and better each week. Sure I just mentioned they're on the field less than they were earlier in the season, which I believe helps ANY defense, but it's more than that. They also get OFF the field in a hurry too, limiting the Dolphins to 1-11 in 3rd down conversions. Wow!
It's been brought up on a few occasions (myself included) that the Bears don't run a complicated scheme. While their Tampa 2 is by definition predictable, it still works when you have elite players running it. Julius Peppers finally got to pad his stats with 3 sacks against a Dolphins Offensive Line that Swiss Cheese actually feels sorry for. Peppers also is finally getting some help on the other end of the line with Israel Idonije (along with Henry Melton) finally doing what Mark Anderson, Alex Brown, Adewale Ogunleye and The Late Gaines Adams failed to do - be a dependable single blocking pass rusher. Matt Toeaina has been terrific at the 3 technique and in case you didn't notice the ghost of Tommie Harris has been seen a time or two in the backfield. Don't jinx him by talking about it though...
The Linebackers - despite Pisa Tinoisamoa being out - continued to flourish in this game as they have all season. Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs continue to make strong cases for trips to Hawaii this February. The secondary played well too, taking advantage of a puss-armed and ill-prepared Tyler Thigpen with key interceptions and a fabulous display of separating a receiver from the ball by safety Danieal Manning late in the 4th quarter.
If this unit continues to improve at the rate they are currently displaying, they might be ready to be even more dominant than they were in 2006 as Brian Urlacher suggested after the game.
Special Teams : Not much to really report here as Devin Hester was held in check. Robbie Gold kicked the hell out of the ball in both field goals and kickoffs. Gould seems to have a little more lead in his foot this year for whatever reason. It's been nice to watch.
Where Do We Go From Here : As I eluded to earlier, I'm not 100% convinced this team is for real, yet I cannot discount these wins. 7-3 is nothing to sneeze at, especially in this version of the NFL, where the dominant teams in the league change from week to week. They won a game they should have won, and have now put the pressure on Green Bay to beat Minnesota this weekend to keep pace.
More importantly, along with their health, the Bears seem to have figured out what will work and what won't offensively. Defensively and Special Teams wise, it appears they are ready to compete at a playoff level. The way I figure it, they'll need 3 more wins to get into the playoffs. The three wins I believe they can get are against the Eagles, Lions, and Vikings. The Patriots, Jets, and Packers will more than likely be too much for them to handle.
Then again this is the 2010 NFL where the one thing that is certain....is the uncertainty. Bear Down!
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