It was one of those Chicago winter nights that was perfect enough to inspire some words… for me, there’s nothing like a middling snowfall that ends about midnight. For all my neighbors, they’ve already given up on shoveling until the morning, leaving me the world all to myself… I put the iPod on shuffle and get to work, a great time to ponder something fantastic that may have happened earlier in the evening… and on this evening, that was the Chicago Bears clinching the NFC North crown with a 40-14 rout of the Minnesota Vikings along with some additional history that was made in the process.
To be honest, much of this season has been spent considering our Chicago Bears a team that wasn’t as good as their record might indicate. That vibe got started right off the bat in Week 1 when Detroit’s Calvin Johnson caught a game-winning touchdown as time expired only to have it nullified with the officials interpretation of some new wacky possession rule. There was also the fact that early on it looked like Jay Cutler wouldn’t survive until the bye week, our swiss cheese offensive line made it open season on the quarterback… but here at the conclusion of Week 15, offensive line coach Mike Tice might get the nod as team MVP as he figured out the right combination of personnel needed to get the job done, they’ve gotten better and better as the weeks have passed. The fact that they’re well-coached goes without saying…
Continuing to look for coaches that have risen to the occasion, what about Rod Marinelli? He’s got the vaunted monsters of the midway defense back to form. Sure, it doesn’t hurt when you have Julius Peppers on your side… but still, the defense is 18th against the pass, 2nd against the run and they’ve allowed only 242 points which is 3rd in the NFL. They bend but they don’t break… most of their opponents trips to the red zone end in field goals, which is the best indicator of defensive prowess. As the regular season nears its conclusion, the Bears are starting to look more and more like contenders as they grow ever closer to securing that 1st-round bye… but now we should get back to the magic that was Monday Night Football…
Last night’s victory over the Vikings left the Bears 5-0 within their division, who would have predicted that as the Bears stumbled through an 0-4 preseason? The Packers and their 3-2 division mark can’t catch up. If you’re into drama you’ve no doubt thought about the scenarios if the Packers had managed to hold on for a win in New England this past Sunday. This would have kept them within one game of the Bears with two games to play and set the stage for a potential Week 17 matchup at Lambeau for all the NFC North marbles… but for those of us not into drama, that’s happily a moot point now.
So consider the Bears… as it turns out, they’re a team that has a lot going for them as the playoffs draw near. They’re 6-1 on the road… they’ve been fortuitously immune from the injury bug… they have a phenomenal defense that is so well coached, it’s hard to prepare a solid offensive game plan to beat ‘em. Not to mention their mastery of the turnover… stripped balls, forced fumbles, tipped balls that they pick, pressure on the quarterback… they’ve been fun to watch… and as a possible historical side note, the Bears Corey Wooten may have delivered the final hit of Brett Favre’s illustrious career last night when he knocked him out of the game in the 2nd quarter… even though Favre has been the energizer bunny in recent seasons, all indications are that his tank is just about dry…
From there you look at the offense, which for the first time in years can be thought of as an actual offense, passing and running with equal effectiveness… how nice is that Bears fans? This all comes down to Jay Cutler. Admittedly, when he first arrived on the Bears roster I was skeptical of this cat. The way he interviews he struck me as aloof, sort of like he didn’t care as much as he should… but over time I’ve come to consider him the quintessential Chicago quarterback… Tough? No doubt… how many skull rattling hits has this guy taken as the o-line in front of him worked on getting their shit together? It takes a tough mutha to survive that, to come through it. He’s also great in inclement weather (New England game excluded), a few of the balls he threw last night on that slush frozen field would have been amazing if they’d happened on a sunny, breezy September day let alone in those conditions. Cutler possesses unusual arm strength and the ability to throw from strange angles that allow him to seriously thread some needles… The Bears have also vastly improved 3rd down conversions as Cutler has learned to spread the wealth amongst his rotation of receivers and tight ends. Earl Bennett and Greg Olsen have emerged as go to guys when you need that 1st down… and did you check out the leg drive on Matt Forte last night when he turned a 1-yard gain into an 11 yard 1st down run? He had 92 last night and with 865 for the season he’s inline for a 1000-yard season.
But where would we be without our special teams? Between Devin Hester and Danieal Manning, kicking to the Chicago Bears has to feel like the height of football anguish. These guys will hurt you, at least a little, almost every single time… and it’s all about field position… if you kick it in bounds, there’s a good chance that the guy who catches it is going to throw a huge return on you, perhaps even score… if you kick it out of bounds, the Bears start with decent field position anyway, which is the name of the game… and Devin Hester, what can you say about him? The main thing now I guess would be that he’s the most prolific kick returner in NFL history as he set an all-time record last night with his 14th punt return for a touchdown… and even though he didn’t do anything particularly spectacular last night… we can never forget about Robbie Gould in any Bears special teams conversation, 19-23 on the season and 3 for 4 from 50+.
Where are we heading? Who knows… but I love the Bears position in all this… they’re scrappy, they’re gamers and they’re well-coached… they’re nobodys pick as the team to fear… which is perhaps exactly where you want to be. Next come the Jets and then the Packers, two great opportunities to tuneup against formidable opponents who will both be playing for their playoff lives… also an opportunity to rest some players I suppose, but that seems unlikely as there’s still that 1st round bye to shoot for and you wouldn’t think the Bears would risk going into the playoffs on a losing streak… Any way you slice it though, it’s gonna be fun to watch.
