After years of nearly inexplicable suckage, the Detroit Lions are on the verge of starting 5-0. In their way, Lovie Smith’s Chicago Bears, who are fighting to get back into the division hunt. Inconsistency has been the term du jour when describing these Bears, who finally got their running game going in week four… but managed to give up over 500 yards of offense to the Panthers. Can they put it all together tonight? Let’s break down the match-ups in this latest Gameday Preview.
(2-2) Chicago Bears at
(4-0) Detroit Lions
While Chicago pushed around the Carolina defensive line on their way to over 200 yards on the ground, they won’t get that lucky against the Lions. Ndamukong Suh is a terror in the middle of Detroit’s defense, and he’ll get some back-up this week thanks to Nick Fairley’s rookie debut. Center Roberto Garza will be tested on every single snap. Kyle Vanden Bosch and Cliff Avril are respectable pass-rushers from the outside. Mike Martz will need to get back into calling the screen play (but not ALL the time) and draw plays in order to take advantage of an aggressive Lion front four. Matt Forte will not be pounding it between the tackles, but Marion Barber will need to show up in short yardage. With Stephen Tulloch leading a dependable group of linebackers, the Bears will have a strenuous time on the ground. What could help a troubled pass protection is that the Lions likely won’t blitz as much as prior opponents, giving the Bears an easier time picking out their blocks.
As good as their front seven may be, the Detroit Lion secondary is just as weak. There’s a reason the Lions have had to come from behind the past few weeks in order to stay undefeated. They’re opportunistic, but their back four is often out of position and tend to miss tackles. Safety Louis Delmas is the only stand-out of the group, but his coverage skills aren’t exceptional. It the Bears are going to put up points, it’ll likely be through the air. But as Tony Romo showed us last week, Jay Cutler can’t afford to air-mail any balls to Lion defenders. His receivers should find separation in the soft zones between the linebackers and secondary.
From the defense’s perspective, it could be another rough outing. Matthew Stafford has a cannon for an arm and is finding his best weapons with regularity. Even though the Bears knocked him out of each game in which he faced them last season, don’t count on that trend continuing. Calvin “Megatron” Johnson has scored two touchdowns in EVERY game this season as Stafford’s most reliable and explosive red zone target. Expect Charles Tillman to get that assignment all day with safety help over the top. Just as big is tight end Brandon Pettigrew, who has 22 catches this year but has yet to find the end zone. After Jermichael Finley’s success, Stafford may try to get his tight end going. Julius Peppers should have the edge over right tackle Gosder Cherilus, but Jeff Backus is a dependable left tackle who could be left alone on occasion. Peppers HAS to win those battles. Jahvid Best is a danger out of the backfield, but the Lions are only averaging 3 yards a carry on the year. I’m not intimidated by their ground game.
Where the Bears could get a much-needed advantage is in special teams. Devin Hester could explode for another kick or punt return tonight against a Lion special teams unit that is still not reliable.
The Odds:Detroit is a seven point home favorite.
The Prediction:The Bears don’t fare well on Monday nights or national television. As much as everyone can “throw out the record books,” I haven’t seen enough from this Bear season that leads me to believe they can keep up with this year’s Lions. I’m feeling a double-digit loss, somewhere in the area of 31-20. The Lion offense is too good.
How many heart attacks will Joe suffer?Six plus. Calvin Johnson TD’s/Ndamukong Suh sacks will account for the majority.
Message to the Bears:This is the first of two consecutive nationally televised games. Don’t eff it up. Please.
Gear up and Bear Down Chicago fans!
