Tonight's victory over the Vikings was such a dramatic contrast versus the previous three weeks of Bears Football. The Bears looked especially sound in all three phases, as some familiar faces found themselves in new positions, and some new faces finally found themselves dressed and on the field. Let's commence lighting the victory cigar...
Offense : When he screws up, I need to call him out. When he does well, I must give him praise. Mike Martz has earned praise after tonight's game. Granted, the re-tooled offensive line helped a tremendous amount, but the key was Martz finally acquiescing to more 3 and 5 step drops for Cutler tonight to go along with the Double Tight End formations. Cutler did take some shots deep, specifically in the opening possession where he hit Devin Hester on a 48 yard TD strike on the Bears first possession.
Matt Forte continued to play very well both on the ground and catching the ball, on his way to 123 yards from scrimmage on the night. There were a couple of Roy Williams sightings as well, as Cutler found 8 different receivers for completions.
None of it's possible without the offensive line. Lance Louis played very adequately at right tackle, but considering he was replacing Frank "OMIGODISUCK" Omiyale, he looked like Damien Woody! Chris Williams received (just) praise from Chris Collinsworth. Chris Spencer played well at right guard, while J'Marcus Webb benefited from plenty of chip's from the backs and tight ends to help contain Jared "Meth-Face" Allen.
While this newest line arrangement played better than I expected, it remains to be seen if they can continue this success, particularly when Gabe Carimi returns and when they face teams that run a 3-4 based defensive scheme. The good news is that they at least played like they knew what the snap count was...
Defense : It's hard to assess or conclude how good this unit played tonight, considering Donovan McNabb looked like Daunte Culpepper post 2005. Julius Peppers played awesome considering he hadn't practiced and is practically playing on one leg at this point.
The surprise of the night was rookie Stephen Paea however. After not even dressing for the first 5 games, Paea busted out with a safety in the first quarter, to go along with 2 tackles and 1 sack on the night. If you want to feel good about Paea's performance go ahead, but keep in mind the Bears coaching staff concluded that he couldn't play before the season began, and Paea's success is a direct reflection of their inability to assess who can play, and who can't.
As far as the new starting safety tandem of Major Wright and Chris Conte go, again it's hard to say. Wright played better than I thought, particularly when lined up in the box, while Conte did his best to not look like Craig Steltz, in which case he was successful. Still, if this defense is going to do anything I believe Chris Harris will eventually need to be the starting Strong Safety.
Special Teams : I guess that Devin Hester guy is still pretty good. With a 98 yard kickoff return in the third quarter, Hester showed that the NFL remains an Ego over Common Sense league. You would think that after 5 years of unparralled success teams would stop kicking to him. Especially in light of the new kickoff rules which diminish Hester's chances of success. Nevertheless, the Vikings kicked to him, and Hester took advantage of the futile attempt to arm-tackle him.
Where Do We Go From Here? : A Foggy Day In London Town is the Bears next destination as they will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Forgive me for refusing to get caught up in the novelty of playing a game in London. I think it is completely silly that the NFL does this in the name of "marketing" or "prospecting" for the possibility of an NFL franchise being located in Great Britain someday. The NFL can't even get a friggin team in Los Angeles for goodness sake, yet they continue to beat the dead horse that is London.
Be that as it may, the Bears are at .500 again, after winning a game that was vital to their already slim chances of making the postseason. The Bears are still looking down the barrel of the Lions and Packers, but there's still plenty of football left.
Here's hoping they've finally found an offensive line combo, and a play-calling template that works, because if they have, they (gulp) still have a chance at the playoffs.
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