What I Predicted:
Week 7: @ Cincinnati (FOX) Three of the next four should be cupcakes for the Bears including this one. Ochocinco will not be enough to beat this Bears team, as Cedric Benson will do more to stop the run than the bears D will. Bears 27, Bengals 17.
What Happened: Bengals 45, Bears 10
Well, I did not see this coming, even with Cincinnati’s rebirth into NFL’s elite, I figured the Bears would roll over the Bengals just like many other teams before them when I made my preseason predictions. Two things are quite clear in my mind after this dismantling; The Bears are not who I thought they were and the Bengals are for real.
At the outset of the game, you could tell in the Bengals first series that it was gong to be a long day for the Chicago defense. Beyond the lack of basic fundamental play in all three phases, the Bears decided they were not done shooting themselves in the foot with costly penalties, picking up where they left off against the Falcons last week.
The main culprit behind the Bear’s woes has to be the Offensive line; it is quite evident that when given time, Jay can make all the throws on the field. The running game continues to be a non-threat, although today may not be a good indication of progress, as the Bears were down 21 before Ron Turner could establish the run in the game plan.
I had to laugh at my prediction that Cedric Benson would “will do more to stop the run than the bears D will”, could I have been more wrong? Cedric ended up with a career high 189 yards and looked like a mature adult running with purpose—-something we never saw during his time in Chicago.
The Bears looked lost in both pass and run coverage. Lance Briggs continued to make big plays on a team in desperate need of a defensive playmaker. Is Urlacher’s absence from the team main cause of this? Perhaps, but giving up over 400 years and 45 points on a team that prides themselves on defense in unacceptable any way you look at it.
Looking terrible in all three phases can really play games with your mind, and that leaves next week, for us Bears fans, to find out if they’ll be mental tough to get over back to back terrible losses. Good news is that the Cleveland Browns will be waiting.
Popularity: 1% [?]
