Noots Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts By Michael Nudo No Saturday this Sunday BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. COLTS DEFENSEcolor> Left guard Terrence Metcalf was a question mark going into this year after a poor performance in his opportunities last season. He recently underwent knee surgery that cost him all of the preseason games. Although he returned to practice this week, Metcalf would seem a long shot to play this Sunday. Stepping up is Josh Beekman, who hardly sniffed the field last year. Beekman started all four preseason games and played as many snaps as anyone. He’s come a long way and shows great promise blocking in space on runs and screens. He still has a ways to go in pass protection, and will likely be tested early and often this year. The Bears acquired guard Dan Buenning from Tampa Bay for a late draft pick on Tuesday. Buenning was an immediate starter for the Bucs after being drafted in the fourth round in 2005. He suffered a knee injury during the following season, fought his way back, but was behind some younger players who were also drafted relatively high. Buenning should figure into the mix at some point if there is injury or poor performance. Tight end Desmond Clark suffered a knee sprain during the preseason, but has returned to practice. The Bears are deep at tight end, where Greg Olsen looks to improve on a promising rookie campaign. Behind him is rookie Kellen Davis, who opened eyes everywhere during camp with his impressive combination of size and speed. The Bears were planning to utilize the tight ends heavily in the offense and it shouldn't change regardless of Clark’s health for this game. They’ll also play a role in helping left tackle John St. Clair, who is being trusted with Kyle Orton’s blind side. The Colts have a few bumps and bruises on defense. At linebacker, Tyjuan Hagler was recently placed on the PUP list. Clint Session is expected to step in on the strong side. Rookie middle linebacker Philip Wheeler has been recovering from a knee issue. Elsewhere, defensive end Dwight Freeney (foot) and safety Bob Sanders (shoulder) have missed extensive parts of the preseason. Anything that can slow down Freeney is good news to Bears' tackle John St. Clair. Look for the Bears to pound the Colts' defense with the run, and to set up play action to their tight ends. The Colts will load the box to stop the run and will blitz extensively to test the Bears' line and challenge Orton to find targets downfield with accuracy. COLTS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> Peyton Manning is expected to be ready for this game, despite missing nearly the entire preseason after he had an infected bursa sac in his right knee. He has returned to practice. Complicating matters, center Jeff Saturday will miss significant time with a torn right MCL. The situation becomes more difficult given left guard Ryan Lilja is also down with a knee injury and interior lineman Mike Pollack is also banged up. The middle three of the line is expected to be Charlie Johnson, Jamey Richard and Dan Federkeil. Rookie center Jamey Richard will be faced with a huge challenge. The offensive line depends on the center to make adjustments to blocking prior to each play. It would seem more than likely the Colts will depend on Manning to take a greater role at the line of scrimmage to ensure there are no breakdowns with Richard over the ball. Mike Brown is back in the lineup and Brian Urlacher returns after off season neck surgery. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who missed the last few weeks of practice to nurse a sore knee, returned to practice Wednesday. If he’s ready to go, he’ll be a key to attacking the inexperienced interior line of the Colts. The Bears are excited about the return of defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek, who was injured in the first game of last season. Pass rushing defensive end Mark Anderson isn’t expected to miss any time with a thumb injury. If it’s heavily wrapped, it may have an impact on his effectiveness. The Bears will want to test how well Manning's knee is healed as well. Regardless, expect the Bears to try to make things difficult for Richard with their rotation of fresh interior linemen and middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noots Posted September 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Hi Pix--I just tried sending this to you via email, but it bounced (I have your insight email addy). Noots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Good, solid analysis Noots! I think the key is in the trenches, as normal. If the Bears healthy D can do any damage to the Colts offense, pressuring Manning and possibly getting a turnover or two, then the Bears have a shot. But if they can't stop the offense at least some, then it's over before it begins, because I don't see the Bears getting more than 10-14 offensive points against the Colts' D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TerraTor Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Good, solid analysis Noots! I think the key is in the trenches, as normal. If the Bears healthy D can do any damage to the Colts offense, pressuring Manning and possibly getting a turnover or two, then the Bears have a shot. But if they can't stop the offense at least some, then it's over before it begins, because I don't see the Bears getting more than 10-14 offensive points against the Colts' D. if we have tommie harris against a rookie center and ogy/brown/anderson vs backups and we cant get rediculous pressure, we dont deserve to win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 if we have tommie harris against a rookie center and ogy/brown/anderson vs backups and we cant get rediculous pressure, we dont deserve to win Exactly. However, Tommie isn't going to be even close to 100% and they might use a double team on Harris anyway. I don't think the Bears can win, but I think they could keep it close, similar to last year in San Diego. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesson44 Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Exactly. However, Tommie isn't going to be even close to 100% and they might use a double team on Harris anyway. I don't think the Bears can win, but I think they could keep it close, similar to last year in San Diego. Are you kidding me Bears can't win! If we take advantage of the three new starters in the middle for the Colts then we stand a good chance at winning. If we get to Manning some we may trigger his bum knee and he will have to sit. The question is can they stop our RB and TE if we use them right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixote Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Hi Pix--I just tried sending this to you via email, but it bounced (I have your insight email addy). Noots Comcast closed out my insight address after they bought out Insight. My new address is: j.w.sheridan@comcast.net Sorry, thanks for posting the article!! Great as usual!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Are you kidding me Bears can't win! If we take advantage of the three new starters in the middle for the Colts then we stand a good chance at winning. If we get to Manning some we may trigger his bum knee and he will have to sit. The question is can they stop our RB and TE if we use them right. This is what people were telling me in 2004 or whenever when the Colts had the same issue going into the regular season game against them- they have 3 young guys or whatever and we'll crush Manning. Well, we lost something like 41-10. The Colts are going to be fired up, the place is going to be rockin' (over/under- 6 false starts for us?), and Manning is 100% healthy- it's called a smoke screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo3451 Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 One thing I'm surprised about is that they are opening the roof of the new stadium tonight. The weather is supposed to be perfect, but opening the roof will let a lot of the noise out. The Colts D will not experience the advantage they are used to getting from playing in the old RCA Dome which was regarded as the loudest stadium in the NFL. I expect both teams to be jacked up. The Colts will obviously have more confidence, offensive talent and home field. The Bears will have revenge and the element of surprise on their side. My hope is that revenge is a powerful motivator that will revive our defense. The key to me, is NOT playing scared. The Bears must call a fearless gameplan on defense, with a disciplined attack on offense. This game is very winnable if we don't let up and execute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABEARSDABOMB Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Great stuff as always Noots. We were able to get it up on the front page of the site as well. www.talkchicagosports.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noots Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Great stuff as always Noots. We were able to get it up on the front page of the site as well. www.talkchicagosports.com I just spent around 10 minutes over there and couldn't find it. Is the front page somewhere else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.