Bears fans rejoice, for the winless Detroit Lions are coming to town. After week five’s utter domination of the Lions at Ford Field, Kyle Orton and the Bears are hoping for a repeat performance here in week nine. It’s a huge game for Chicago, as they’re tied with Green Bay atop the NFC North at 4-3. Since the Packers are going to be in a fight for their lives against the unbeaten Tennessee Titans, the Bears are staring at a perfect opportunity to regain sole possession of first place.
The offense expects to continue its surprising improvement versus a porous Lion defensive unit that ranks 31st against both the run and pass. Orton had a career day against the Lions last time, and has never suffered a loss at their hands. His play has been the reason the Bears have survived this season, persevering even when the defense offers no assistance. Knowing how difficult it is to shut down a team in two straight meetings, coordinator Ron Turner should prepare the offense accordingly. The running game needs to make its return to the Bears offensive game plan, as it has been missing for some time. Matt Forte is tenth in the league in rushing, but his production has been hampered by stingy defenses trying to make the Bears one-dimensional. The Bears have won in spite of those successful attempts, but will need Forte and the ground game in this stretch of the season.
Defensively, the Bears once vaunted squad should be embarrassed after giving up 41 points to the Minnesota Vikings, even while securing four Gus Frerotte interceptions. Chicago may rank sixth in the NFL in rush defense, but their 29th ranked pass defense is what’s given up leads late in games. From this writer’s point of view, it’s the defensive schemes in the secondary and the awful pass rush that’s contributing to this defense’s decline. Highly paid as they are, the defensive line hasn’t put pressure on any quarterback this season. Their problems force defensive coordinator Bob Babich to call more blitzes, leaving more open gaps in coverage for opposing receivers to find. The other related issue I have is with all of the zone coverage by the cornerbacks. I maintain the Bears have a very talented secondary that features the personnel required to play man coverage against almost any team in the NFL. Unfortunately, they’re stuck in zone most of the time which doesn’t allow them to follow receivers on their routes. Instead, the defense calls for them to give them up to a linebacker or a safety who are often out of position or not fast enough to keep up with the wide-out. It’s a problem which seems to have an easy fix, but Lovie Smith and his staff hasn’t figured it out yet. I guess I won’t tell them. If I help them, they’ll never learn.
Even after a bye week, some lingering injuries have not dissipated. On the injury report, fans can expect to see the familiar faces from the past few weeks. Cornerbacks Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman, along with receiver Marty Booker are listed as probable, as they were limited in mid-week practices. Devin Hester also left that game with a quad injury, but appears to be fine, as he doesn’t even appear on the injury report. Tommie Harris was the only active Bear to sit out of Wednesday’s proceedings, which is aggravatingly status quo for this season. I know players are going to get hurt and play hurt during a season, but Harris has been playing hurt for his entire career it seems. It significantly detracts from his on-field production, as has been the case in 2008. He’s also listed as probable for Sunday, but obviously won’t be at 100%. Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer is recovering from the thumb surgery he had after the Minnesota game and is questionable, with back-up Nick Roach prepared to fill-in. Wide-out Brandon Lloyd and corner Danieal Manning join Hillenmeyer as questionable, as each will most likely be a game-time decision.
As much of a push-over as the Lions have been this season, the Bears know not to take them lightly. Just last year they were swept by Detroit in their two meetings, so nothing is avenged yet. However, with no Roy Williams at receiver, the Bears can focus most of their attention on Calvin Johnson and Mike Furrey, leaving few options for QB Dan Orlovsky. Detroit hasn’t run the ball effectively all season, and there’s no reason to think they’ll right the ship on Sunday. If the Bears play to their potential, this one could be over quickly. If they lose however, they’ll be known as the team who gave the Lions their first win of the season. That’s humiliation of which to be afraid.
