Defense. Last year, an average Baltimore Ravens team rode the coat tails of an outstanding defense all the way to a Super Bowl Championship. When the Bears signed Ted Washington & Keith Traylor to be Brian Urlacher's personal body guards, it was looked upon as a copy-cat attempt that would fall short. So much for crystal ball predictions.
In a game Minnesota was desperate to win, the Bears defense confused and regulary clobbered the Vikings. Defensive alignments never before used, coupled with a free running Brian Urlacher, sent the bruised and confused Vikings to their 6th loss, by a count of 13-6.
Little used backup safety Mike Green spent a lot of quality time as a linebacker/safety in the Bears nickle package. He was credited with 13 tackles (2 of them on special teams) and 1 forced fumble. And to think, the last Bear picked in the 2000 draft had barely had a whiff of the active roster prior to Sunday Night.
Brad Maynard is currently my pick as Bears MVP thus far this season. "You're picking a PUNTER?" you might ask. Brian Urlacher has been great; Mike Brown is really establishing himself; Anthony Thomas & James Allen have been picking up good yards. But Brad Maynard is the 1 player on the roster who consistently, and cooly, digs the Bears out of deep holes created by the sometimes impotent Bears offense (o.k. ... the offense has not set the NFL on fire, but they don't totally suck either).
James Allen was apparently not given much consideration by the Vikings, as his 80 yards rushing in the first half came on bursts through the middle of the Viking defense. The Bears continued problems on 3rd down kept them from capitalizing on most of their scoring chances, and needs to be improved upon before (dare I say it?) the POST SEASON is upon us.
The usual amplifed noise in the Humpty-Dome made audibles unlikely, perhaps explaining some of the Bears attempts to run into an 8, 9, and sometimes 10 man front. This was actually a good move by the Bears, as it prevented them from duplicating the bumbling (and ultimately failed) efforts of the Giants to change plays without delay of game and false start penalties. Surprisingly enough, it was the Vikings who looked out of sync, resulting in many illegal motion and false start penalties that hurt them every time.
Self proclaimed big game player Randy Moss (you know ... that $75 million street punk in purple) got alligator arms early in the game. By halftime, he was flinching away from passes due to Bear defensive players (both real and imagined) drawing a bead on him. By the fourth quarter, he
This game made the statement that the Bears are a legitmate first place team, and that their defense will keep them in it until the very end against anyone. The statement the Vikings made was more akin to a lower bowel emission. By the 4th quarter, it seemed everyone in a Viking uniform was either limping, winded, or on the sideline getting attention (or in the case of Randy Moss, getting an undeserved break).
I have said all along that I welcome these NFC Central games, because it provides no excuses. Beat your divisional opponents head to head, and the playoff spot is yours. Lose and you stay home. As it should be. No whining about "oh, maybe team A can beat team B by 32, so we can win a tiebreaker for a wild card ...." That stuff kills me. Just go out and take care of business yourself, and good things will happen. It is simply comforting to this long time, and battle scarred, Bears fan that the light at the end of the tunnel is no longer that of an oncoming train.
The winless Detroit Lions come to Soldier Field this week. Past Bears teams would look beyond this game perhaps. THIS Bears team realizes they are not super stars, and NO game is a gimme. They need to work for what they get, and give no quarter. Sorry Detroit, but Chicago is not into charitable contributions on the field this year. Bears 27 Lions 10.