Chicago Bears – Philadelphia Eagles Preview

by Sean Kane

Donovan McNabb returns to Chi-City this weekend for some Sunday night football in Soldier Field. He and his Eagles have been beat up by tough weeks in both Dallas and against Pittsburgh, but they still seem to be one of the best teams in the NFC and perhaps the league. This means disaster for the Bears. I remember going into week one of the season, looking at the Bears schedule thinking, “We gotta’ get through September,” well the month is almost over and after stealing one from some rusty Colts, the Bears are looking at 1-2, some real questionable play on both sides of the ball and tough Philly team. Falling to 1-3 would be hard for this team who already has established that they can do some things well but still can’t win. Philly won’t make it easier on them.

The Eagles proved that they can score at will against the Cowboys, through the air and on the ground (offensive numbers). Then, the defense proved that they could even bring Big Ben to his knees and beg for mercy with (sacks). Kyle Orton is going to look like prime rib and the offense will pick apart the defensive buffet unless some key things happen consistently for the Bears on Sunday night.

The first is being able to connect through the air. The Eagles are likely to shut down Forte. They slowed Barber down, letting up only 63 yards, and took Willie Parker out of the game, before his sprained left knee took him out of the game. Unless Forte breaks into the second or third level of the defense, he won’t see more than 3 yards a carry. So, Orton has got to soften them up.

He will need to find the tight ends and slot guys on some shorter routes. He cannot wait in the pocket. The Philadelphia line will shred him even on the three step drop. Most of us here in Chicago saw Rothlisberger get sacked 8 times last Sunday, by every slo-mo camera CBS had. What they did to Romo in the end zone of the Texas Stadium was a huge momentum swing in week 2. And the unflappable, hall of fame quality Marc Bulger of the perennially competitive St. Louis Rams couldn’t move the ball at all. If Turner doesn’t want to make Orton into Marc Bulger or be compared to the Rams he needs to keep the routes short and keep Kyle’s time in the pocket to a minimum. Trouble is, we do have to be able to throw the ball, or else Brad Maynard might see a lot of action.

If Maynard is working that leg too hard we’ll see another problem, too much time on the field for the defense. Even though Brian Urlacher said, “I don’t get tired” in the locker room on Sunday. It’s clear that the Bears D can’t go the distance. They were gassed in Carolina and made Jonathan Stewart look like he was the next Adrian Peterson (the purple one, not ours). He broke weak arm tackles and got into the end zone twice.

Then, in the home opener the secondary was solid…until the fourth quarter and then got worked in OT. Reminder: They got worked by Antonio Bryant, Jerramy Stevens and Brian Griese. Not exactly TO, Witten and Tony. It’s key that the defense is not expected to trail the surprisingly talented Eagle receiving corps. And even though he’s a backup, Buckhalter is a tough back to stop.

The one thing that they absolutely have to do is take advantage of every scoring opportunity. They cannot leave any points on the field, which means they need to set up a field position and take advantage of any and all turnovers. They won’t get many chances, but if they do, they must convert. Oh, and Robbie Gould needs to grow a pair and stop kicking like he’s in high school.

Realistically, the Bears could steal one. With some timely turnovers, big stops on third down and a big play the Bears might get to an Eagles team, who is a little shaken up after some tough games. And Brian Urlacher will scoff at Andrea Kramer, again, and tell her, “That wasn’t an upset. We expected to win.” Philly will drop their heads thinking, “Seriously? How’s that ankle Bryan?” Chicago fans will scratch their head saying, “I just don’t get it. What kind of team is this?”

Tags: Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears, kyle orton, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles

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