Warner Will Turn Ball Over if Pressured
Friday, 8:02 a.m.
QB Kurt Warner
Getty Images |
If the 4-3 Bears don't put more pressure on the Cardinals'
Kurt Warner on Sunday than they've put on opposing quarterbacks in their last three games, they'll be looking at a .500 record at the halfway point of the season.
Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, the team's leading sacker with 4.5, went so far as to say he doesn't think the Bears can win if they don't disrupt Warner.
"My mindset is, if we don't get to Kurt, pressure him, sack him, it's going to be a long day," Ogunleye said. "With that said, there's a lot of pressure on our backs, a lot of pressure on my back, to get to Kurt."
In their first four games this season, the Bears had 14 sacks. But in the last three games, losses to the Falcons and Bengals and a victory over the Browns, the Bears had a grand total of one sack.
This week they know the best way to slow down one of the NFL's most explosive offenses is to do to Warner what the Panthers did last week: get after him. Warner was sacked twice and pressured into five interceptions and a fumble.
If Warner is allowed time to throw to his talented targets – wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston – the Bears won't be able to contain all of them.
Last season, en route to the Super Bowl, each of Warner's top three targets had over 1,000 receiving yards. Fitzgerald (47 catches, 509 yards, five touchdowns) is well on his way to duplicating that feat this year. But Boldin (35 catches, 404 yards, one touchdown) has been slowed by a sprained ankle, which kept him out of practice Wednesday and Thursday, although he has vowed to play Sunday. Breaston has picked up the slack with 30 catches, 400 yards and a team-best 13.3 yards per reception.
"They have probably the best receiver in the game," Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said of Fitzgerald. "I love watching both of them play, Anquan and Fitz, and they have Steve Breaston, and they have good backs and they have Kurt Warner. They have the tools. As long as they can protect and get those balls out, those guys will make plays."
Yet the Cardinals have shown a tendency to give the ball away this season, committing 18 turnovers.
"You watch their tape this year, and the people who have had success against them have done a pretty good job of taking the ball away from them," middle linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer said. "They're an offense that's going to make their plays. They've got too many great players out there. Our goal is to take the ball away, have big plays and try to contain their big ones."
Back in 2004, when Warner was playing for the Giants, he was sacked four times in one game by Alex Brown in a 28-21 Bears victory.
"We need the sacks," said Brown, who's second on the Bears with 3.5 sacks. "We need to force the turnovers, we need to get the ball, [get] tipped balls, make him throw the ball sooner than he wants to, stuff like that."
More than ever, this week, it's what's up front that counts for the Bears.
"We've got to create havoc in the passing game," Ogunleye said. "It starts with the defensive line because you can't expect our secondary to cover those guys for long. They're just too good."
Courtesy of The Sports Xchange
Briggs: Vasher Does Just Fine at Safety
Thursday, 2:52 p.m.
CB Nathan Vasher
Getty Images |
Chicago thought it were set at both corner positions after signing
Charles Tillman and
Nathan Vasher to big-money contract extension before the 2007 season, but while Tillman continues to be a solid DB, Vasher has since been benched in favor of
Zack Bowman.
Vasher missed 12 games in '07 with a nagging groin injury and eight more in '08 thanks to wrist and thumb problems, and he simply didn't look like the former Pro Bowler he is throughout training camp in Bourbonnais over the summer.
However, Vasher is again getting playing time on D, replacing the ineffective Kevin Payne at free safety in the nickel package, and linebacker Lance Briggs likes what he sees from him so far.
"It's always nice to see 'The Interceptor' out on the field," Briggs said Thursday before practice at Halas Hall, referring to the nickname Vasher earned after recording 13 interceptions his first two years in the NFL and going to the Pro Bowl in 2005. "Nate, when I see him out there, he's having fun. And I think that's what's important, if you're enjoying what you're doing, you're having fun. If you're screwing up – I don't think there was a face on the field when we played Cincinnati that was out there smiling. If guys are out there smiling, it means we're doing something positive."
This is Vasher's first opportunity to play safety on Sunday, and even though he's not ideally suited to line up there at 5-10 and 180 pounds, Briggs hasn't witnessed much of a learning curve.
"All he needs to know is the call," said Briggs, "and he might have that already. Nate, he knows what he's doing. He doesn't need much."
Bowman has been hit and miss opposite Tillman at corner, but at 6-1 and 197 pounds, the second-year pro fits the mold of what Chicago likes physically at that spot.
JC
Beekman Gets Second Start at Left Guard
Thursday, 9:29 a.m.
DT Tommie Harris
Getty Images |
WR
Devin Hester (ankle) did not practice Wednesday but is expected to play on Sunday. ...
CB Nathan Vasher has been getting increased playing time at free safety in nickel situations to improve pass coverage, and that is expected to continue Sunday against the Cardinals. ...
DT Tommie Harris (knee) practiced for the second straight Wednesday, a rarity the past two years, and even though he was limited, it was encouraging, as was his four-tackle performance last week, his best of a so-far subpar season. ...
G Josh Beekman is expected to get his second straight start at left guard after replacing Frank Omiyale, who started the first six games. ...
RB Adrian Peterson (knee), who played just on special teams last week, is expected to be available on offense this week.
Courtesy of The Sports Xchange
Warner: A QB Never Has Too Many Weapons
Wednesday, 3:28 p.m.
WR Larry Fitzgerald
AP Images |
While fans wonder if Bears quarterback
Jay Cutler has enough skill-talent talent around him to be successful in Chicago, Cardinals signal caller
Kurt Warner does not have that problem in Arizona.
Warner threw to three different 1,000-yard receivers during his Super Bowl run in 2008: Larry Fitzgerald, arguably the best wideout in the NFL; Anquan Boldin, who plays with the toughness of a running back; and Steve Breaston, a No. 3 that could be a No. 1 for a lot of teams.
If there is a such thing as having too many weapons in the passing game, thereby making decision-making a little harder and keeping everyone satisfied a bit of a challenge, Warner isn't buying it.
"I don't think there's such a thing as having too many weapons," Warner said Wednesday via conference call at Halas Hall, "or if there is, I'm not telling anybody because I'll take as many as you give me."
The two-time MVP acknowledges that not every receiver can have a big game week in and week out, but simply throwing the ball to the open man every time ensures they all get opportunities to succeed over the course of a season.
"I think there's times where you can have trouble making them all happy," said Warner. "I think they all want to catch 10 balls every game, and sometimes defenses don't dictate that and I've tried to handle that pretty well. But I think the one thing that guys around me know is I'm going to throw it to the open guy, where the defense dictates it. And so one game, you may only get two catches. But then the next game, if the defense is giving a favorable look, you'll catch 10 or 12. And I think that's what keeps them happy more than me trying to force things to them every game, because a lot of times you're not successful in those situations anyway."
Chicago's triumvirate of Devin Hester, Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox has played better than expected thus far in 2009, but they've got a long way to go before they strike fear into the hearts of opponents like Fitzgerald, Boldin and Breaston do.
JC
November the Month for Bears to Arrive
Wednesday, 7:33 a.m.
Lovie Smith
Getty Images |
November will be a big month for the 4-3 Bears for a lot of reasons.
No. 1 is they play four more November games after starting the month off with a win over the Browns. They're at home against the Cardinals, then at the 49ers, home vs. the Eagles, and at the Vikings.
No. 1A is that coach Lovie Smith says November is important.
"There is a part of the year where you get yourself in position (September and October)," Smith said. "You can't be out of it. By the time you get to November, that's what a team is. Early on, you're working through different things. We feel good about getting that first win in November, and this is a key month for us."
Smith made that point to his team the night before the Browns game.
"Lovie pointed out that you don't make or break your season in September and October," linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer said. "It's November and December where you really figure out what you're made of. We're 1-0 in November, and hopefully that's a sign of things to come."
In the two years that the Bears have made the playoffs under Smith, they were a combined 13-4 in November and December. In the three non-playoff seasons, they were a combined 12-13.
The Vikings are threatening to run away with the NFC North at 7-1. The Bears and Packers are tied for second in the division at 4-3, and Chicago and Green Bay trail the 5-2 Eagles and Cowboys, plus the 5-3 Giants. Even a 3-2 November would put the Bears at just 6-5 and probably leave them with slim playoff hopes and looking at a three-game December stretch that includes the Packers and Vikings at home sandwiched around a road game against the Ravens.
"We feel like we're still in good position," Smith said. "We're doing the things we need to do. We're taking care of business at home (3-0, but two of the wins are vs. the Lions and Browns). We have a lot of division games coming up later on (four of the final six games). But right now the best thing we can do is put ourselves in position to contend with the Vikings, is to win the games we have right now."
Courtesy of The Sports Xchange
Week 8 Report Card: Bears 30, Browns 6
Tuesday, 8:18 a.m.
WR Devin Hester
Getty Images |
PASSING OFFENSE: C-minus – Pass protection was awful.
Jay Cutler was sacked four times and hit on several other pass plays immediately after releasing the ball. The result was a net 199 passing yards and a 66.7 passer rating for Cutler, who failed to throw a TD pass for the first time in his Bears career.
Devin Hester continues to emerge as the go-to guy with seven catches for 81 yards.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B – It took a 36-yard run by Garrett Wolfe during garbage time and a 19-yard scramble by Jay Cutler, but the Bears finished with a season-best 170 yards on the ground. Matt Forte rushed for 90 yards on 26 carries, but his 3.5-yard average was identical to his disappointing season average.
PASS DEFENSE: A – Sure, it was Derek Anderson and the Browns offense, but the Bears had two interceptions and a sack on just 20 pass attempts. They held Anderson to a 10.5 passer rating, and he and Brady Quinn combined to complete just seven passes. Danieal Manning and Charles Tillman had interceptions, and Tillman returned his for the Bears' first defensive touchdown of the season.
RUSH DEFENSE: C – The Browns got 117 yards on the ground, but their 4.0-yard average was acceptable, plus they did not have a run longer than 13 yards. LB Nick Roach, back on the strong side after starting three games in the middle, forced two fumbles. He and Hunter Hillenmeyer, who moved from the strong side to the middle, each had a team-best six tackles, as did rookie S Al Afalava.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B – Brad Maynard shanked a 12-yard punt that led to the Browns' only score, but he helped hold the league's leading punt returner, Josh Cribbs, to zero yards. Three of Maynard's five punts were downed inside the 20. The kickoff-coverage team also did an excellent job on Cribbs, limiting him to a 22.8-yard average on six attempts. K Robbie Gould hit all three of his short field-goal attempts, giving him 39 straight from inside 40 yards. Bears kickoff returns were a disappointment, but Devin Hester continued his strong work on punt returns (four for 47 yards).
COACHING: C-plus – The linebacker flip-flop that saw Hillenmeyer back in the middle and Roach switching from the middle to the strong side worked well. But Josh Beekman for Frank Omiyale at left guard didn't seem to make much of a difference, at least when it came to blocking DT Shaun Rogers. CB Nathan Vasher saw a lot of playing time at free safety in passing situations and the pass defense was improved over the previous week, although maybe that's just the difference between facing Anderson and Carson Palmer.
Courtesy of The Sports Xchange
Hard to Know How Good Bears Were Sunday
Monday, 3:43 p.m.
LB Hunter Hillenmeyer
Getty Images |
At least the Bears' defense was able to regroup following the 45-10 loss to the Bengals in Week 7, but it's difficult to tell how much improvement was made in a 30-6 victory over the pathetic Browns.
The Bears put up their best numbers of the season: five takeaways and only 191 total yards allowed. But the offense continued to squander red-zone opportunities, and the line did not do a good job of protecting quarterback Jay Cutler.
For the Bears' offense, it was as unsatisfying a 24-point victory as anyone could remember. Cutler was physically abused by the Browns defense, which is arguably the NFL's worst. Cutler was sacked four times for 26 yards in losses, and he was hit with a vengeance several other times just as he released the ball. The Bears offense, which was booed by the home crowd on several occasions, had to settle for field goals on its first three red-zone opportunities.
Fortunately, the defense kept giving them the ball back, which is what the Bears defense does when its playing well, which hasn't been that often lately.
Safety Danieal Manning and cornerback Charles Tillman each had an interception and a fumble recovery, and defensive end Adewale Ogunleye recovered a fumble. Nick Roach, switched back to strong-side linebacker from the middle, forced two of the Browns' three fumbles, and Manning caused another.
"We were able to get some points when the defense got the takeaways," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "Of course, we'd like to be able to get touchdowns. And Jay got hit a few more times than we would like for him to today."
The flip-flop of jobs between Roach and Hunter Hillenmeyer was a success, and it appears the Bears will continue to use Hillenmeyer, the more experienced player, in the middle, where he has the play-changing and alignment responsibilities.
As for the offense, coordinator Ron Turner was so frustrated after Sunday's inconsistent effort that he promised to take a hard look at scaling back the game plan.
"We'll come in [Monday] and look at it and make the corrections we need to make," Turner said. "I'll look at it, see what we need to do to give us a chance to get better and, if we're doing too much, we'll cut back. Obviously we are [doing too much] because we're making too many mistakes. We just have to figure out what we do well, and that's what we'll do."
Courtesy of The Sports Xchange
Beekman-for-Omiyale Not Much Difference
Sunday, 6:03 p.m.
QB Jay Cutler
Getty Images |
The Bears finally admitted their mistake in starting newcomer
Frank Omiyale at left guard over incumbent
Josh Beekman, but shaking up the offensive line after six games didn't produce much better results in a 30-6 rocking of Cleveland.
Struggling ball carrier Matt Forte certainly made his fantasy owners happy with 90 rushing yards and two touchdowns, plus he also chipped in two receptions for 31 more yards. That being said, the second-year pro out of Tulane only averaged 3.5 yards per carry and never busted a run longer than 12 yards. Just like when Omiyale was in there, Forte was getting banged in the backfield shortly after taking the handoff and rarely had room to run despite facing a Browns run defense that came to Soldier Field ranked 31st in the NFL.
As far as pass protection is concerned, Jay Cutler was sacked a season-high four times and took as big a beating as he ever has quarterbacking the Bears. The Pro Bowler got blasted late – the play resulted in a 15-yard personal foul – right on his jaw by linebacker Kamerion Wimbley and bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood, and then he was the recipient of an old-fashioned planting by conservatively-listed-at-350-pounds tackle Shaun Rogers. Cutler said after the game that being driven into the turf by a guy like Rogers counts for two hits.
It remains to be seen if the coaching staff will continue to tinker with the offensive line, although that would probably mean having to bench a future Hall of Famer (left tackle Orlando Pace) or a former first-round draft pick (right tackle Chris Williams).
JC
Numbers Say Bears Should Pummel Browns
Sunday, 7:41 a.m.
RB Matt Forte
AP Images |
Former Bears coach
Mike Ditka once said that stats are for cowards and losers, and while the game of football isn't played with a calculator, the stat sheet can sometimes give us some valuable insight into what to expect on Sunday.
On the offensive side of the ball, if there was ever a matchup for Matt Forte to break out of his sophomore slump and start looking like the difference-making running back he was as a rookie, this is it since the Browns surrender 170.6 yards per game (31st in the NFL), 4.9 yards per carry (31st) and have allowed 10 rushing touchdowns (tied for 30th). Jay Cutler should also have success through the air since Cleveland isn't much better defending the pass: 244.3 yards per game allowed (24th), just three interceptions (tied for 28th) and only 12 sacks (tied for 22nd). As far as total defense is concerned, the Browns are dead last giving up 414.9 yards per game and 27th at 25.6 points per per game.
Looking at Chicago's defensive assignments, while Cleveland has a decent offensive line led by two-time Pro Bowler Joe Thomas at left tackle, former Bears swing man John St. Clair has struggled a bit at right tackle and center Alex Mack is a rookie. Jamal Lewis and Co. don't run the ball particularly well on the ground, gaining just 97.1 yards per game (24th), but the passing game is even worse. No matter if it's been Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson at the controls, the Browns generate only 143.6 yards per game throwing the ball, which is tied for last in the league with busted No. 1-overall pick JaMarcus Russell and the lowly Raiders.
The Monsters of the Midway have been fairly mediocre in every phase of the game thus far in '09 except special teams, so it appears the statistically-challenged Browns come to Soldier Field at just the right time.
JC
Agree? Disagree? Let your voice be heard on our message board
RIGHT HERE.
John Crist is the Publisher of Bear Report and a member of the Professional Football Writers of America. To read him every day, visit BearReport.com and become a Chicago Bears insider.