The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Chicago Bears in Chicago, and what makes this one a must watch is to see how both teams’ defenses play without their defensive captains. The Bears are going to have to play without middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, and the Steelers are without Troy Polamalu.

With both teams not having their main man on defense, the QBs could have big games this Sunday.

Here are the particulars for this Sunday’s matchup:

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) at Chicago Bears (0-1)

• Steelers-Bears Date: Sunday, September 20
• Steelers-Bears Time: 4:15
• Steelers-Bears TV Network: CBS
• Steelers-Bears Announcers: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms
• Steelers-Bears Point Spread: Steelers -3.5
• Steelers-Bears Over-Under: 37.5
• StubHub: Steelers-Bears tickets as low as $130!

The Bears are coming off a very tough loss to the Packers, in which Jay Cutler threw four interceptions, but I see Cutler rebounding against this now weaker Steelers defense.

Despite the plethora of picks, Cutler’s day wasn’t all bad. He did connect with Hester for a touchdown, and he also connected with Johnny Knox. The throw to Knox was just beautiful, and it’s the Cutler I would like to see more of moving forward. The Bears have their work cut out for them again as they go against, arguably, the best defense in the NFL.

But are the Steelers that good without Polamalu?

My guess is yes.

This is still the dominant Steelers defense we saw last year win the Super Bowl. They will be very tough, but that doesn’t mean they are invincible.

The Bears’ defense can help the offense by playing well and making sure the Steelers defense doesn’t get much rest. Every defense needs rest, and one way to upset a good defense is to limit their rest time. The defense will be slower and that’s exactly what the Bears hope happens because that means Hester will be able to run all over the defense.

The Steelers, in the opener last Thursday, didn’t have much of a running game going on. They might not have to do much running this weekend if they can exploit the Bears pass defense. The Bears’ pass defense didn’t look bad last Sunday, but it still their weakest point. Nathan Vasher still gets beat every time he gets the ball thrown his way. I think he is a bust, but the coaches haven’t seen that yet.

My overall thought about this game is that the Steelers have the advantage, and for obvious reasons. They are the returning champions, they have a better defense, better coaching, better play calling, and a more consistent QB. With all these factors adding up, I don’t see the Bears winning this game.

But hey, prove me wrong Bears. I hope you do.

——————–

It’s what we have all been waiting for: NFL Kickoff 2009.

After going through football withdrawls, the draft, and preseason, our moment of Glory finally came. And it was good…real good.

In honor of Week 1 I have decided to make this week’s I’ll Tell You This an “NFL Kickoff Special”.

Enjoy.

1. The Boston TD Party

In the first of two Monday Night Football games, Tom Brady stepped onto the field for a regular season game for basically the first time in two years (not counting his less-than-a-quarter stint a year ago before getting hurt) against the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills came out motivated and the Patriot came out flat. With time dwindling down in the final minutes of the 4^th quarter, Brady threw a line drive touchdown to tight end Ben Watson to bring the Bills lead to just 5 with 2:06 to go in the game. Instead of an onside kick, the Patriots chose to kick off deep.

Instead of taking a knee, Leodis McKelvin of the Bills decided to bring the ball out. After breaking a tackle or two, he got hammered and dumped the ball on the ground. The Patriots recovered near the 30 yard line of the Bills, and just a few short plays later Brady hit Watson again, on what seemed to be the exact same play, for another touchdown.

With only 50 seconds remaining, the Bills could not answer, and the Patriots would move to 1-0 on a miracle, or perhaps a follie.

I’ll Tell You This: As you may know about me, I am a die-hard Colts fan, and it pains me to talk about anything that has to do with the success of the New England Patriots.

But as for the Bills’ return man, I have a simple message: you are an idiot.

If you take a knee, your offense will run at least 30 seconds off of the clock, New England will use all of their time outs, and the entire AFC will take a collective breath as they realize that the mighty Patriots are 0-1.

But no.

You had to try to be the hero. Enjoy the practice squad.

The only consolation I can take is that MAYBE, just maybe, the Patriots aren’t the juggernaut that everyone seems to think they will be again.

2. The AFC South

Obviously, I can’t give the Patriots face time without spending a little time on my Colts and their division.

Houston, who has been deemed by many to possibly win the AFC South, came out flat and never caught fire. In their 24-7 loss to the Jets, Steve Slaton was not effective, Matt Schaub was disappointing, and the Jets ran for 150 yards on 49 attempts while protecting their rookie starter, Mark Sanchez.

Tennessee faced off against the defending Super Bowl champs, the Steelers. After an overtime slugfest, Tennessee dropped their battle on an OT field goal by Pittsburgh as the Steelers were victorious 13-10.

In the only divisional match-up, Jacksonville played the Colts.

Manning and Co. would have a rough start with a redzone interception, followed by a mid-field fumble by Joseph Addai.

After failing to convert a 4th and 1 at midfield in the closing minutes of the game, holding a 14-12 lead, the Colts’ defense would take a stand and force Jacksonville into a turnover on downs to hold onto the victory, leaving the Colts as the only team to be 1-0 in possibly the toughest division in football.

I’ll Tell You This: I’m sorry, did I just report that the Colts’ defense won the game? I think I did. And, the Colts now hold their own destiny for the rest of the season in the AFC South.

The AFC, and perhaps the entire NFL, must be asking themselves this: If Manning and his offense can get on track, and they presumably will, how dominant can this team be with a stronger defense, which get even better when vaunted safety Bob Sanders returns?

3. What a “Brees”

Drew Brees torched the Detroit Lions on Sunday completing 26 of 34 passes for 358 yards and 6, yes count them six, touchdowns in the Saints’ 45-27 romp of the cellar dweller Lions.

I’ll Tell You This: Everyone in the league has done nothing but talk about Peyton Manning and Tom Brady for the past 5 or 6 years. Recently talk has swung to Eli Manning, Big Ben, and Aaron Rodgers, who, among others, have been anointed the next line of MVPs of the NFL.

But Drew Brees is the real deal and deserves to be mentioned with the former group, not the latter.

He may even be…possibly…the best quarterback in the NFL right now.

Only time will tell, but I would even hazard to guess that Tom Brady’s 50 TD record is in serious jeopardy. Get over it NFL, I know he is not the most marketable player in the league, but Drew Brees could very well be your best.

4. The Replacements

With Week 1 in the books, several injuries have taken center stage. The most prominent injury is that of Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher. After dislocating his wrist, Urlacher is now done for the season. The Bears immediately looked at signing former Buc Derrick Brooks, but decided on Tim Shaw instead.

The other injury that has swept headlines is the broken ribs of Donovan McNabb. After what seemed to be a late hit in the end zone, McNabb left the game to find out the he had cracked ribs. The Eagles have activated Michael Vick, but since he is unavailable until week three, they have pursued and signed QB Jeff Garcia, and have released WR Hank Baskett to make room on their roster.

I’ll Tell You This: In Chicago, the loss of Urlacher is devastating. Brooks could be a nice player, but he is older and will not run this defense the way the Urlacher did. Who is Tim Shaw again?

In Philly, the stage has now been set for a three-way QB controversy that may very well find itself headlining on Jerry Springer. It’s my guess that things will never be the same in Philly, and I don’t see this situation working itself out.

5. The Great White Hype

In my final story of the week, I am going to do something a little different. I’m going to rant. No story, just a rant. So……

I’ll Tell You This:

I am sick and tired of hearing how awesome two players are. One is in the NFL; the other is a NCAA football player.

First, let me address the player who has already been involved in Heisman talk, True Freshman QB from USC, Matt Barkley.

I watched the Ohio State game. It was a phenomenal game, and USC truly outplayed Ohio State in the 4th quarter to get the W. However, following the end of the game the announcer, as it seems all of Sports Media have been doing, began to talk about Barkley and what a great game he had, and how he was truly a candidate in the Heisman Race.

For the love of God, he completed less than 50% of his passes (15 for 31) for 195 yards and one interception. No Touchdowns. Wow. If this is what it takes to be a Heisman candidate then I hereby nominate myself, and I think that I could possibly contend with those numbers.

My other complaint is focused on Green Bay Packers QB, Aaron Rogers.

His stats from Sunday’s bout with Chicago? He completed 17-28 passes for 184 yards and 1 touchdown. Not that this is a bad performance, but it is FAR from what I would consider an MVP performance, especially given the performance by Drew Brees this week. With the hype surrounding Rodgers this season, I expected more. 

All in all, it was a phenomenal Kick Off, with a lot of exciting games and finishes, and perhaps even a few surprises. Feel free to comment and tell me what your favorite moment of NFL Kick Off weekend was. I’d love to hear it.

Until next week kids…

**********

You can follow Myles on twitter at www.twitter.com/mylesb3269

* – Tom Brady photo credit: More Than an Electrician

* – Drew Brees photo credit: The Campus Socialite

Brian Urlacher is reportedly out for the season, according to Vaughn McClure of The Chicago Tribune:

Brian Urlacher appears to be out for the season after dislocating his right wrist, the linebacker said Monday. The team has not given the official word, but Lovie Smith is expected to address the issue during his afternoon press conference.

This is obviously terrible news for the Bears and their fans and comes on the heels of a heart-breaking loss in Green Bay during which new QB Jay Cutler threw 4 INTs.

Urlacher, to describe him in completely cliched term, is the heart and soul of the Bears’ D. And even though the primary weakness in the current Bears defense appears to be in the secondary (and specifically cornerback Nathan Vasher), Urlacher’s athleticism and experience often helped to compensate for issues elsewhere.

Follow the links to StubHub for great deals on Chicago Bears tickets and all NFL tickets.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the latest injury update on Urlacher is that he will have surgery this morning on the dislocated wrist with no specific timetable yet for his return:

A surgery related to a dislocation could have something to do with bone being put back into place. The extent of Urlacher’s injury wasn’t evident following the game although he was expected to undergo a procedure upon the team’s arrival back in Chicago after midnight.

The Bears are hopeful it will not sideline Urlacher long. He played well before exiting with three tackles.

Unfortunately for the Bears, Urlacher could not quite live up to his new ad campaign for Nike, seen at the right ironically juxtaposed against the ESPN headline section noting his injury. Lovie Smith no doubt would have loved to be able to unleash his defensive leader on the Packers in the 3rd and 4th quarters last night. 

Smith also would loved to have his other starting linebacker as well, Pisa Tinoisamoa, who also left the game with an injury. He sprained his posterior cruciate ligament and there is no timetable set for his return.

The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears will meet for the 178th time Sunday night at Lambeau Field. It will also be the 21st time the two teams have met in the season opener.

The storied teams split last year’s series, with the Packers routing the Bears at home 37-3, while the Bears escaped with a 20-17 overtime win on a frigid December night at Soldier Field. (I should know. I was there.)

Before we break down the two rosters, here are the particulars for Sunday night’s Packers-Bears matchup:

Chicago Bears (0-0) at Green Bay Packers (0-0)

• Bears-Packers Date: Sunday, September 13th
• Bears-Packers: TV & Kickoff Time: 8:30 ET on NBC
• Bears-Packers: Location: Lambeau Field in Green Bay
• Bears-Packers: Announcers: Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth
• Bears-Packers: Point Spread: GB -3.5
• Bears-Packers: Over-Under: 46.5
• StubHub: Packers-Bears tickets – Week 1 in Lambeau
• StubHub: all Green Bay Packers tickets
• StubHub: all Chicago Bears tickets
• StubHub: all 2009 NFL tickets

This year brings with it a lot of questions for both teams:

1. How will Green Bay adapt to its new 3-4 defensive scheme under new coordinator Dom Capers? 
2. How will Jay Cutler do in his new city with less-than-average receivers? 
3. Can Aaron Rodgers build on last year, when he threw for over 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns? 
4. Will Cutler’s big arm mean more passing from the Bears offense? 
5. Will Ryan Grant return to his 2007 form, or was that just an anomaly?

The questions go on, and most will be answered, at least in the short term, Sunday night.

The Packers have been downright dominant in the preseason, posting a 3-1 record — the same as the Bears — with the first-team offense scoring touchdowns on nine of 13 possessions. The Packers were 3-0 before dropping the backup-filled finale to Tennessee.

The Pack seem to have a slight edge at quarterback, mainly because Cutler’s effectiveness is a relative unknown with receivers such as Earl Bennett, Devin Aromashodu, Rashied Davis and rookies Johnny Knox and Juaquin Iglesias. The supposed top receiver for the Bears is Devin Hester, who is still learning the ropes on offense bytdefinitely trumps any return specialist the Packers have.

The Packers certainly have a huge edge is at wideout. Aaron Rodgers has a plethora of weapons, including Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson. Jennings, in fact, just might be emerging as the best player from the 2006 draft. Add Donald Lee and Jermichael Finley at tight end, and it makes the weapons pool even deeper for Rodgers.

The Bears have their own talented tight end in third-year player Greg Olsen, but neither Desmond Clark, Michael Clark, nor Kellen Davis give Chicago a 1-2 punch at tight end like Lee and Finley.

The running back edge belongs to Chicago, mainly because the versatile Matt Forte can flat out carry the rock and is effective catching passes out of the backfield. The second-year stud from Tulane ran for 1,238 yards last year to set a new franchise record for rookie tailbacks. Adrian Peterson is a nice change-of-pace back for Chicago, which recently lost Kevin Jones for the season.

Green Bay has plenty of runners, but none with the talent of Forte. Ryan Grant did eclipse 1,200 yards last year, but averaged less than four yards per carry. If he can get that number back up this year, the Packers will be all right. Spelling him in the backfield will be Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn.

Both teams have solid offensive lines, which they’ll need against the aggressive defenses they’ll see on Sunday night. Despite finishing the year 6-10, the Packers led the NFL in defensive touchdowns last season. Where they struggled was in the pass rush, something the new 3-4 scheme is supposed to remedy. Cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris are two of the best in the business, and safety Nick Collins was a Pro Bowl selection in 2008.

Chicago has another aggressive unit led by linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. If they can control the middle, the Bears can exert their will on pretty much any team. Green Bay’s backers are also good with Nick Barnett, A.J Hawk, Brandon Chillar, rookie Clay Matthews, and now Aaron Kampman added to the mix as an outside linebacker.

Kampman led the Packers with 9.5 sacks last season, his first year without registering double-digit sacks since 2005. If the Packers can get some pressure on Cutler, it could be curtains for the Bears.

It’s hard to overlook that Green Bay led last year’s game in Chicago 14-3 before imploding and handing the game back to Chicago. The Packers were clearly the more talented team last season, and look to be again this year.

Green Bay wins its home opener by beating up on the Bears, 31-13.

**********

* – Brian Urlacher getting owned photo credit: Mouth Piece Sports

A lot of interesting stories have broken this afternoon, but none more interesting than the fallout from Bobby Wade’s contention that Brian Urlacher called Jay Cutler a pussy.  From PFT:

Wade told our pal Paul Allen of KFAN within the hour that, during an offseason trip to Vegas with Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, Urlacher expressed a not-so-flattering opinion of new Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

Basically, Wade said that Urlacher said that Cutler is a “pussy.”

Predictably, Bears supporters have rallied against Pro Football Talk for even mentioning the Bobby-Wade-said-Brian-Urlacher-called-Jay-Cutler-a-pussy story:

You’d think with ProFootballTalk’s heralded move under the NBC peacock’s plumage that they would up the ante in providing smart, in-depth coverage of the NFL.

Nah.

This then prompted a hilarious retort from Pro Football Talk in discussing Tommie Harris’ tweet about the issue and defending itself for reporting the Bobby-Wade-said-Brian-Urlacher-called-Jay-Cutler-a-pussy story:

Look, all we’re doing is reporting what Wade said on the air. So even if some dude who uses his best contemplative senior picture (he should have stuck with the “ninth grade dorky smile mom plastered down my hair with a handful of spit” pose) at the Chicago Sun-Times thinks that it’s not newsworthy, it was — and it is.

Especially if it’s true.

Final verdict? Who the hell cares if Urlacher said it or not. Wade said that he said it, it’s news, and it’s going to make the first meeting of the two teams pretty damn interesting. (Besides, it’s not like Cutler hasn’t been called derogatory names before.)

And now, onto other links from around the sports world today, beginning with updates on the flurry of trade activity that’s gone down.

MLB Trade Links:

• Cliff Lee officially traded to Philadelphia — (Waiting For Next Year)
• Now that Cliff Lee is gone, is Victor Martinez next? — (MLB Trade Rumors)
• Pirates trade Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to Mariners for some spare parts — (SI.com)
• What’s the latest on Roy Halladay? — (MLB Trade Rumors)
• No surprise: Josh Fields wants out of Chicago — (Sun-Times)

Other Links:

• Cavendish’s WWII Dogfighter Bike with Pin-up — (Gunaxin)
• Alessia Filippi Wins 1500m, Frederica Pelligrini sets Record at the World Championship Look Really Hot Doing IT — (The Angry T)
• Playmate is a huge Mariners fan — (Spewf)
• The Megan Fox one-day media blackout is on — (MoonDog)
• The All Ex-Bulls Team — (Pippen ‘Aint Easy)
• Is Brett Favre the greatest fantasy football player ever? — (Sharapova’s Thigh)
• Big Witness Meets Big Show — (Not Qualified to Comment)
• Brewers slide continues — (i94sports)
• Drew Brees’ mom is crazy and ruthless — (SportsByBrooks)
• Miguel Cabrera’s struggles with RISP is killing the Tigers — (Detroit4Lyfe)
• Congress calls out Shaq while honoring Kobe and the Lakers — (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
• Japanese Lil’ Buddies Falling in Love with Pillows — (Straight Pinkie)

* – Jay Cutler photo credit: Newscom via Every Joe

“Kaner, with all the positives, what’s the problem?” 41 is the number that’s a problem. How do you let a team who turns the ball over 6 times still score 41 points? The Bears got a W and that was on account of a great team effort, the defense however did not impress consistently. To give up 7 scoring drives and 439 yards of total offense, you should lose that football game. But the Vikings beat them to the punch making mistake after mistake.

It was hot and cold all day for the defense. While the Bears stole 4 interceptions from Gus, they gave up two touchdowns and 298 yards, too. If Frerotte could have avoided forcing the ball a few times and communicated with his receivers to avoid mistakes, a few of those turnovers would have been avoided. Fantasy owners of Adrian Peterson had a banner day. Going into the day, I knew that I was playing an owner of Peterson in one league, I knew that he would put up some points but I thought that the Bears would be able to at least slow him down. Not the case, he ran wild on 22 touches for 121 yards and 2 TDs. He put up 24 fantasy points, it was killing me (luckily I went point for point with him enjoying Steven Jackson on my roster) I’m rambling, but what I’m saying is that to win in the NFL you can’t expect to rely on mistakes made by quarterbacks and hit home runs on special teams. It’s a recipe for a lucky year, not a good one.

Consider this, if the Bears’ punt in the 2^nd quarter had not taken a funny bounce off of the turf and hit the arm of Charles Gordon, then jumped into the endzone, we would be discussing another Bears’ letdown right now. Ryan Longwell’s fifth extra point would have tied the game with 3 minutes remaining. People are now grumbling, thinking, “Yeah, but the ball did take that bounce and the Bears made a play on it. Who cares about the what ifs?” Fair enough, and in football a win is a win, that’s what matters. We have to know, though, that if this team expects to win games consistently, this defense has to step up, with consistency. No team in the NFL can rely on the mistakes of another squad to be the determining factor in their games.

Kyle Orton and the offense have realized this, stepping up in big situations, taking advantage of mistakes but not relying on them. When the Minnesota defense started to slow down Matt Forte, Orton showed arm strength, accuracy and vision hitting 7 receivers twice or more. He totaled for 283 yards and two TDs, giving his team enough scoring chances to stay ahead of the consistent surges of the Vikings. He did it the week before in Atlanta and has proven he can hold up his end of the deal. In this case, though, his end of the deal is really only 49%.

The other 51% percent belongs to the other side of the ball, the supposed Monsters of the Midway, who have been picked apart, fallen asleep on the job and let games get away from them.

The defensive line has done an okay job to this point. They have gotten to quarterbacks enough and stepped up huge in certain situations – picking off Brian Griese, the goal line stand against Philly, Tommie Harris’s 4^th quarter sack today. My only issue is that they have not been consistent enough against the run, shutting down the running game of the Bucs and Falcons but giving up some big games to Jonathan Stewart and Adrian Peterson. Tough to tackle backs prove too much for the front four.

Then, you look at the linebacking corps, they are certainly highly paid and have been somewhat disappointing, Briggs and Urlacher both have their share of tackles but Urlacher does not have one sack and has only 2 tackles for a loss. Briggs only has a sack. They do make tackles when they have the chance, and certainly, they clog things up. Yes, Urlacher is a leader. And of course, they provide a huge threat. They are not making plays consistently enough in late game situations, though. Plays to sew up the corps of that defense, to solidify their tough as nails reputation. And what do they have to show for it? Some great moments but a whole lot of “coulda, woulda, shoulda” thanks to blown opportunities.

The secondary is a love/hate thing. They have given up yards like crazy and when backs get into space they can blow up for long runs due to poor tackling, like today. They, do, however have games where they embarrass QBs and get 4 interceptions, like today. But they let up too soon and have given up major yards late in games, while mediocre QBs pick them apart. Yes, you can point to injury but you need to adjust if that’s a problem and other members of the defense need to step up to hide the weaknesses caused by injury.

All in all, today was a good day, the Bears scrape out a big conference win and continue to show that they have a number of good things going. The pieces are falling into place, and they have their destiny in their own hands. They need to take control of that though and start playing consistently to be considered successful, just because we had such low expectations at the beginning of the year does not mean that Bears fans should ignore the consistent problems the defense is having. You can’t count on teams losing games to get you into the playoffs and with what this team has shown so far, they don’t have to. They have the talent, the confidence is growing and they stay in games, it’s a matter of consistent execution. Lovie needs to remind this defense that they are the ones who win championships and anything short of a championship that isn’t a success. Close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes, folks.

[tags]chicago bears, minnesota vikings, nfl, football[/tags]

Yesterday, Kyle Orton brought his team 77 yards down the field with 2:43 on the game clock. Bears’ fans rejoiced when the touchdown was upheld. The Bears had a lead and the Falcons had a huge mountain to climb with nothing left on the clock. Instead, a squib kick set up Atlanta on the 44 yard line. Chicago fans shook their head and said, “What?! Why? Big stop defense.”

Lovie’s justification for setting up the short field was that his boys, “were tired.” For a special teams squad on their last appearance of the game it’s ridiculous that Lovie wouldn’t tell them to run after the ball 20 yards farther down the field. They are paid to get tired, Lovie. You’re not their mom. You’re a football coach and you’re paid to make decisions that win games, not set up your opponent’s rookie QB with a flair for the dramatic to be on Sportscenter as the winner. Kick the ball out of the end zone, make the trek for a field goal be at least 50 yards.

Instead, Ryan found Michael Jenkins on one well placed ball 26 yards down the field. Jason Elam, a long ball kicker had no problem finding the middle of the uprights from 48 yards out. Bears lose 22-20, and the Falcons celebrations lead highlight reels all over sports nation. Since the end of gametime Bears’ fans have been screaming explatives about how Jenkins slipped under coverage, how Ryan brought his team back to field goal range with one ball, where the pass rush disappeared to and why Lovie told Robbie Gould to squib kick.

The tough part is that they have been shaking their head this way before. After the late losses to Panthers and Bucs, the Bears’ nation tried to stay positive, and see the silver lining in their two losses, saying things like, “Well, Orton managed a good game.” “The defense made some plays” “Matt Forte is impressive.” Most of all, “We have been in these games, we’ll get the win next time.”

Really, the silver lining doesn’t matter at this point. The NFL is a results league, wins are what matter, not “staying in the game”. So, where do you start the finger pointing? Well in breaking down the Falcons game you have to look at the defense first, Orton managed the game and put the points up to win. So, the defense takes big blame today, again. I heard a stat today that said Ryan went 9 for 16 on 3^rd down. 6 of those conversions were at 9 plus yard situations. Where is the secondary on that? Better yet, where is the pass rush? Ryan is not Vick, he is a pocket passer, and a rookie. A veteran Bears defense that shut down Donovan McNabb and Payton Manning should make mince meat of Ryan. Especially for the money that the Bears have locked up in players like Charles Tillman, Brian Urlacher and Tommie Harris, you expect results when those checks go out. Why the letdowns, then? Why the groaning fans? Why the dashed hopes and dreams? Because this problem is bigger than simply giving up a few plays and its now visible, at least in my eyes.

It seems to me that there is nothing at stake here for the defense, there is no edge, there is no fire. They have their contracts, they have their faces all over CTA buses and they have a decent reputation. There are personal fouls, big letdowns, and big performances by opposing QBs but no disciplined consistency for a defense that Madden put on his horse trailer last Sunday. The offense is the squad with passion, with something to prove, and they are keeping this team in games. Unfortunately, the rest of the team won’t back them up every week and to me it’s more than just Tillman, Urlacher and Harris.

Even though the defense fell asleep on the job, I say that it starts with your coach. While Lovie knows the game, sets up a team well and has lead his team to an NFC championship. His energy rivals that of a librarian, a demure librarian at that. The fire starts with the leadership, and Lovie does not inspire the type of fire that the leader of smashmouth, run-up-the-gut, defense-wins-championships, ode-to-Butkis, Chicago Bears football team deserves. I’m not saying he needs to headbutt someone, but clearly the message of “don’t let this happen again” was not communicated strongly enough before the defense took the field in the final Atlanta drive.

A good football locker room culture of accountability, consistency and pride starts with your coaching staff. Frankly, Lovie does not seem to have that fire. Lovie is a calm guy, that came from the University of Dungy, that seems to work, too. Until this year, when mental and emotional letdowns acoount for all your losses.

Yes, he will honestly admit a letdown but who is he holding over the fire? Whose name is he saying when he talks about veterans who can’t get off blocks? Whose head turns down when he tells everyone who got beat by Michael Jenkins? Clearly, the defense was not feeling the heat of locker room conversation that followed Carolina and Tampa Bay, and if they were, the results of Sunday don’t represent that.

Lovie, what I’m saying is I think you’re soft. You are an emotional and mental leader, not simply a robot that makes play calls. Yes, the players are accountable for these letdowns but I want to know what you are going to do about it. How do you make sure your team stops these letdowns? Get your team up for every game and maybe people won’t have to say, “But look at the upside…”

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?”