jason

Big surprise ...the OL sucked on the opening drive.

I'm not absolving Urlacher of blame, but some of it has to be on the safeties. He hasn't been a safety for several years, and he's not quite as fast as he once was. Cover-2 means the safeties are each responsible for their half, which means they meet in the middle. One of them should have been there a little sooner with Urlacher.

I think you are confused about what he means by "exposed." He doesn't mean exposed as in "we will all see the weaknesses of the system." He means exposed as in "someone will exploit the weaknesses of the system." If the Bears' D can look good against the Patriots, then it will be easier to believe wholeheartedly. But right now, I see flaws that will be exposed (the second definition) in the playoffs. For the record, I said the same thing before and during the Super Bowl against Indy. Here's to hoping Dilfer and I are wrong.

duplicate

Don't confuse winning with working. You can drive a mile with a flat tire, but that doesn't make it the best way. Yes, the Bears got the win, but they could have made it much more convincing if they had stuck with the plan from quarters 1-3 instead of playing prevent in the 4th.

Yes, we're talking about the same play. It's a known gap in the cover-2, but ultimately I think a safety has to be there. Expecting Urlacher to cover that far down field is a little much at times. But, you're right, if he had cover-corner instincts, he would have just turned his head and picked it off.

Sadly, I agree. Remember the Super Bowl? Give a top tier QB just a little time against this defense and he'll eat it up. Peppers is great, but he can't stop Peyton Manning from checking down 439 times a game to a small, slot WR for 6 yards. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am. Aside from the past two weeks, the defensive pressure has not been substantial enough to cause problems for an all-pro QB like Manning, Brady, Brees, or Rivers.

1. I don't think Taylor deserves a horn. Each and every time he got the handoff there was a defensive player blowing up the play. Each time. I thought one time he might fumble because the DT was in as soon as Taylor got the ball. 2. The secondary deserves a lesser grade because they A] played too far back the entire game (I know the purpose, but it was still too much), and B] At least ONE of the safeties in the Cover-2 has to be there to dislodge the ball when Celek makes that TD catch.

Voted...but you are up against stiff competition this week. 1) The Saints are already in the lead 2) The Bears play the Lions, hardly a game most want to watch

Agreed. I must say this was probably my favorite game of the year. Nearly every aspect of the team did well. The only things that weren't good or great were the offensive line (no surprise) and the coaching decision at the end of just hope and hold on with that garbage prevent when they were doing so well otherwise the entire game.

And that TD right there is why you ALWAYS step on the opponent's throat. The prevent is almost always destroyed in the NFL, and this game should be ugly right now...not 31-26.

Surprised by the lack of holding calls on the Eagles' OL on the drive leading into, and through, the 2:00 minute warning. There have been numerous times a Bear was being mugged, but it's like the officials decided to just choke on the flags and ride out the game. It's not over yet, and a hold is a hold if it impacts the play.

We saw what happened on the last screen. Wide open hole, Cutler in a heap. The others I agree with.

Very good summary. It's great to be happy with the lead, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. I'm hyped about how the DL is performing, however, and how Cutler is picking apart the Eagles defense.

Dude...you gotta be kidding me. What's he supposed to do, put two more OLinemen directly behind the Guards so they can step up and plug the hole when either Omiyale or Webb shits the bed? EDIT: I wrote the above while the Bears were on the post-INT drive, and there were problems there as well. But the Bears got lucky on a back-foot throw from Cutler that could have been a 99yd INT return. I know I held my breath.

Well, that sucked. And showed the major flaw in the cover-2 (when it can be exploited). If there is no pressure, eventually the NFL talent of a QB and WR will find a gap in the zone. Let's go Devin, get us one back!

TOUCHDOWN!! I can't imagine how dangerous this offense would be if the OL could do freaking anything consistently. One week they open a few holes and get Cutler murdered. The next week they protect the QB and create mortar for a brick wall in front of the RBs.

WHICH TEAM HAS THE BIG PLAY OFFENSE!?!?

WOW. Melton looks like an absolute BEAST!

GREAT cutback by Forte! From no hole to uh-oh in 1 second.

Look at it this way...If there's a lockout, maybe there will be scabs, and in that case the Bears' OL might improve.

Wow. The Bears got lucky on that last play. Celek got wide open in the middle of the field, and Chris Harris was nowhere in site. Thank goodness Vick doesn't have Peyton Manning's accuracy.

If Vick keeps hitting RBs and WRs in the flats and on check-down routes, the Bears D is in trouble.

Frank Omiyale was, is, and always will be a bum. He has no business being on an NFL roster, much less starting. And some of you guys are comfortable with him being a stop gap next year because he doesn't smell like shit some of the time. He's horrible.

Bears (7-3): Eagles, @ Lions, Patriots, @ Vikings, Jets, @ Packers I say the following happens based on remaining schedule: Packers 11-5 (lose 2/4 to Falcons, Pats, Giants, Bears) Falcons 12-4 (lose 2/3 to Packers, Bucs, Saints) Saints 11-5 (lose 2/3 to Ravens, Falcons, Bucs) Bucs 10-6 (lose 3/4 to Ravens, Falcons, Redskins, Saints) Eagles 12-4 (lose 1/2 to Bears, Giants) Giants 9-7 (lose 3/4 to Jags, Eagles, Packers, Redskins) That puts the Bears in the position of requiring 3 wins to make it into the playoffs. Eagles - 50/50 game Lions - win Pats - loss Vikings - win Jets - 50/50 game Packers - Deciding game I think the Bears' playoff chances ride on the last game of the season.