So here is a more complete look at the Bears against the Vikings yesterday. Like I've already said, it wasn't a pretty win, in fact it was a very ugly win, but in the end, a win is a win. It was like the normal roles were completely reversed for the Bears, usually they're the team making the other team look sloppy, but this time it was indeed the Bears that were uncharacteristically ugly.
Let's start with the good though. I'm going to go right to the first man to touch the ball for the Bears, Devin Hester. Hester had a record 249 return yards yesterday. He had kickoff returns of 76 and 80 yards, both in the first half. It was his play there that kept the Vikings from gaining the momentum early on. This could have been an even uglier game for the Bears if Hester hadn't gone back to being the Hester we all know and love.
The bad, well, I'm going with sloppy play overall. I would say it was the ugly, but it was more bad than anything else. The first Cutler interception can be excused, especially since there was a player right there that could have batted the ball down, but the second one was just a bad throw right to the Vikings defender. The Cutler fumble was one where Cutler simply needs to have better awareness in the pocket, although at the same time I will admit that it's one that could happen to any quarterback. The bounce off of that fumble was a very lucky bounce for the Vikings, but you'd like for them to not have that opportunity in the first place. It wasn't just Cutler though, Matt Forte allowed the ball to be torn from his hands at one point, giving the ball up himself. The team just did not do a good job protecting the ball.
The ugly? Well, I'm going back to the well and saying the offensive line. They did a good job again, this time blocking well for the run against a Vikings team that, with Williams back, suddenly became a line that could be a serious threat against any run game. They also allowed only one sack the entire game. However, that doesn't mean that they were great either. The left side didn't have its best game, of course going up against Jared Allen will do that, but Cutler was scrambling an awful lot throughout the game. To his credit, he made some of his best plays while scrambling, but still, you'd like for him to have more time to throw the ball. Still, Cutler was able to do a good job. Outside of those 2 interceptions he did a great job.
Passing Offense
Skill Positions - B+
Take away the 2 interceptions and this is easily an A. Cutler was, for the most part, very efficient throughout the night. Outside of those interceptions he was 28/37. As a whole he was 28/39 with 290 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. That's not a great line, but it's still a good one. Brandon Marshall topped 100 yards again, this time on 7 receptions. The Bears had 3 players with 7 or more receptions, led by Forte with 11 catches for 71 yards. Everywhere you look, things were still good for the Bears.
Blocking - B-
Maybe this grade is skewed a bit because of how bad the Bears pass blocking has been over the last several years, but they still only allowed Cutler to get sacked once all game. If the Bears ended the season with Cutler only getting sacked 16 times, I wouldn't be upset at all (pace is for 8, but we know that won't hold up). He was still forced to scramble much more than I would have liked to see, like I previously mentioned, but as a whole the blocking was more than good enough.
Running Offense
Skill Positions - B+
Not only was Forte good in the aerial game, he rand the ball very well too. On 19 carries he had 90 yards, an average of 4.7 yards per carry, a good number. Alshon Jeffery's run in the first half was also a nice play, although they tried it again in the second half and it didn't work nearly as well. Michael Bush only had 2 carries and both gained and lost a yard on those two carries. Still, Forte along with the successful Jeffery run were both very good plays. As a whole, they averaged 5 yards per carry (4.96 or so, to be more exact).
Blocking - A-
Both the receivers and offensive line did an excellent job in opening holes for Forte, and keeping those holes open as well. They also did an excellent job in using the run to open the pass game, much of it coming from the blocking and how the Vikings had to attack differently because of the blocking, when there were run plays. This unit was very good yesterday.
Passing Defense
Secondary -B
I considered going B- or C+, but the Jennings pick 6 was a huge play, and it's not like they had a lot of help either. It was against Christian Ponder, but they were able to limit the Vikings to one touchdown in the air, even if they did allow Ponder to throw for more than 200 yards.
QB Pressure - D+
The grade may be a bit harsh here, but I just expect more. The Bears had one sack all game, this time by Corey Wootton. For every bit of excitement for how good the Bears offensive line has been in preventing sacks, there's worry for how the Bears defensive line has been in not getting pressure on the quarterback. Supposedly Peppers was playing sick this week, but still, even for a fan who thinks more with his head than his heart, I'm starting to say that this is becoming a concern. It's still early, but it has to improve very fast.
Running Defense
B+ - The Bears were going against the best running back in the game yesterday. They were able to hold him to under 4 yards per carry, something most teams are unable to do. On 33 runs, the Vikings had a total of 123 yards. That's about 3.7 yards per carry, more than a yard less than the Bears averaged on the ground. Given the game conditions, it was important the Bears play great run defense, especially when you have Peterson running the ball against your team.
Special Teams
Kicking - C
Giving up a touchdown on the opening kickoff was the worst way possible for the Bears to start things off. They held Patterson to 21 yards per return on his next two, which is solid, but it doesn't negate the opening kickoff by any means. Robbie Gould kicked one 20 yard field goal, and while he almost missed that, he still did make it, and that's all that matters, but it was only from 20 yards out. Podlesh was solid once again, but nothing special.
Returns - A+
Devin Hester did as good as he possibly could have without taking one back to the house. Nothing more really needs to be said, this was an easy grade here.
Looking back at the grades, I feel like I might have been a bit generous. However, they did wind up winning the game, and despite the sloppy play, they did do a lot of things well, and they actually looked completely dominant during the first half, despite allowing the Vikings to keep it close. It wasn't a perfect game, but once again, they did win it. I can't imagine them being able to keep doing this week after week, but for now they're winning.
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