That Was Um.....Better?

Only the Chicago Bears can make winning feel really complicated and conflicted. We hear the mantra all the time from Lovie Smith, "Anytime you win in the National Football League, it's a good thing". Obviously he's got a lot of truth on his side in that statement. I suppose the most realistic way to look at it, is while winning is always the goal, it does not erase ongoing issues/problems. With that in mind, here are my observations:

Offense : You heard that they would be more balance with the play calling, and they followed through with it. The Bears ran 31 times, and passed 30 times. It should not go unnoticed that Cutler was the Bears second leading rusher with 39 yards today. As for the rest of Cutler's play, it was better. He's still double clutching some throws, throwing off his back foot, and making questionable decisions, but overall Jay did what he needed to do with 2 TD's and ZERO picks. The offensive line still didn't look like a competent unit, let alone a playoff unit. They couldn't blow the worst run defense in the league in your Buffalo Bills off the ball. 105 running yards as a team with a 3.4 yards per carry, isn't exactly impressive. They did protect Cutler enough though. Whether that continues next week remains to be seen. For the record the Bears finally figured out that Chester Taylor is a better back near the goal line as they ended both the 0 for 10 streak at the 1 yard line, and the scoreless 3rd quarter streak with a rushing TD in the third quarter.

Defense : The unit played like a mixed bag. Some good things, some bad things, some weird things, and some not bad but not good enough things. Good things included a sack from Izzy Idonije, a forced fumble by (who else) Charles Tillman and allowing only 46 rushing yards. Bad things included, not enough pressure from the front four, Ryan Fitzpatrick picking the Tampa 2 apart, and being woefully inept on third down as the Bills converted 10-16 third downs. Some weird things included a key interception from Tim Jennings late in the 4th on an under thrown pass by Ryan Fitzpatrick. That play turned the game around for the Bears so kudos to Jennings for taking advantage. As for the rest it all comes down to scheme. I tell anyone who wants to listen, that in order for the Tampa 2 to work, you need pressure from the front four. If you don't get pressure, a competent QB like Fitzpatrick knows exactly where the holes in the zone are and will pick you apart as he did.

Special Teams : Really a non-factor. Maynard was Maynard, Gould was 0 for 1 from a very makeable range, and the Hester only fielded two punts.

Where do we go from here : Hard to say really. The Bears won a game that they should win and needed to win. They didn't exactly dominate, or really play like they were in control of the game since they were down in the 4th quarter. The offense, while hardly Martz-ian despite playing in a dome on turf, looked better especially in the redzone, and got the points they needed to get when it mattered most.

Can they beat the Vikings next Sunday? I actually believe they can but I have no idea if they will? The Bears strong run defense will be put the test as Adrian Peterson with his career numbers against the Bears (5.27 yards per carry, 122.2 average yards a game and 11 career rushing touchdowns in 6 games) coming to town.

With all that said though, in this version of the NFL, anything is realistic. Whether the playoffs expectaions for the Bears are still realistic will take more than just smoke and mirrors...