“Obviously I was a little bit [apprehensive]”.
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“There’s a reason Jay (Cutler) can’t make that throw – it’s because there’s a guy with his arms up his face”, Long said. Cutler finished 18 of 36 for 225 yards to go along with one touchdown and one interception. You can’t replace Jordy, we’ve said that over and over.
Unfortunately, this was the play where Matthews picked off Cutler. He will make some nice plays, but be on the lookout for the INTs.
Jones isn’t Nelson and he never will be. They trailed the Bears at halftime 13-10 and there were moments when it appeared that the Bears had a chance to pull off a big upset. “The better you play the run, the more you’re going to have the third-and-8, 9, 10 categories as opposed to the third-and-short”.
How do you celebrate the Bears?
– Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) September 13, 2015#Bears RB Matt Forte (24-141) on the commitment to the run game: “That’s how it’s supposed to be”.
“The Green Bay Packers came into the season with about as many questions as any team in the league”, Larrivee says, adding that the Bears with a new-look system made a formidable opponent. But we have a lot of work to do. It was a dominant first half for Forte, who gained 105 rushing yards on 16 attempts, followed by three catches for 19 yards.
Ah, Matt Forte, a fantasy football owner’s best friend. I don’t understand it. SECOND: Why wasn’t Martellus Bennett more of a focus throughout the game? But on first down from the Green Bay 29, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews intercepted a Cutler pass, leading to the drive that ended with Lacy’s touchdown. “I knew I was going to get everything and then some in terms of looks and stunts and twists and blitzes”. The guy is a match up problem. Jeffrey, who was still getting over a calf injury and was on the bench for a few more possessions than he normally would be, was easily Cutler’s favourite target as he threw to him 11 times despite the limited time on the field. Come on now! We heard similar talk in 2013 with Trestman’s wide-open offense and monstrous years from Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall, but defenses quickly adapted and Trestman’s offense had major trouble last year. Vic Fangio has tried to mix and match players in the Bears locker room to fit his 3-4 defense. Instead, they were playing for most of the contest in their nickel package, trying to slow down Aaron Rodgers and the passing attack. My big take away was the Bears lack of a pass rush.
Will Sutton played very well even though he was forced to play out of position at nose tackle, setting the tone for this defensive line all afternoon. The one thing that was evident was the Bears secondary is a liability moving forward.
James Jones wasn’t at all satisfied. Their ability to defend the deep ball is suspect. I’d give John Fox and company a B for their maiden voyage. The thing would have blown up on them had they not moved the chains, but offensive coordinator Adam Gase’s game plan was solid and it kept them within striking distance.
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Maybe, for a team that claims it’s long over its NFC Championship Game loss to the Seattle Seahawks – their opponent next Sunday night – and the epic collapse it took to keep them out of Super Bowl XLIX, maybe it was better that it didn’t come too easy, as so much of that unforgettable loss seven months ago had.
