By
Michael Nudo
The Bears (8-6) got out to a 21-7 halftime lead on the strength of Danieal Manning’s 83-yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown. There were few style points in the victory, as they frittered away the lead in the second half, and needed to kick a field goal to tie and eventually win in overtime.
Moving forward to stay in the playoff hunt (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert).
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Kyle Orton (24-40-172, 2 INT, 4/6, TD, Fumble) didn’t have a particularly good game, but did just enough when needed to lead the team to the win. One of his interceptions was thrown directly to a linebacker (Scott Fujita) that he clearly did not see. The pass was well behind the intended receiver Jason Davis. The other interception was a pass over the middle that was a touch behind Rashied Davis, who should have caught the ball. The ball deflected to safety Josh Bullocks. Orton just missed on a few deep passes to Hester. He and Hester were able to advance the ball downfield thanks to two lengthy pass interferences they drew. GRADE: C-
Running Backs
Matt Forte (11/34, TD, 5-29) injured his toe on the opening possession. The offense appears out of synch the rest of the game. Adrian Peterson (5/15, 1-8) subbed for Forte for about a quarter. Neither back found many openings nor were given many opportunities as the Bears were intent on challenging the Saints’ secondary via the air. Fullback Jason Davis made me wish Jason McKie was healthy. Davis did break a tackle on a short pass to pick up 12 yards. GRADE: C-
Receivers
Greg Olsen (8-45) was Kyle Orton’s favorite target of the night. He didn’t have many long plays but he was one of the few consistent elements of the offense. Olsen did have a false start. He also appeared to be interfered with early on but there was no call. Desmond Clark (3-11) had a rare drop in the end zone. Rashied Davis dropped the only ball thrown to him, resulting in an interception. Brandon Lloyd (2-21) had a couple of nice catches. He had another to convert a third down that was ruled a catch and later taken away after a replay review. Devin Hester (4-46) had a couple of nice catches and a false start. Hester’s value was in the hidden yardage of penalties. He drew two pass interference calls to yield an additional 77 yards of field position. GRADE: C
Offensive Line
Olin Kreutz gift-wrapped the Saints’ first touchdown when he snapped the ball too soon on a first down at the Bears’ own 1-yard line. Kyle Orton had plenty of time to pass in his 40 attempts. He was sacked only once. John Tait gave up a pressure. John St. Clair failed to get his head to the outside shoulder of the defensive end on a sweep outside left tackle. The play resulted in a 3-yard gain but could have gone for more if he simply held the point of attack. Guards Roberto Garza and Josh Beekman were not impressive in run blocking, either. GRADE: C
DEFENSE
Defensive Line
Defensive ends Alex Brown (4 tackles, sack, 2 TFL) and Adewale Ogunleye (6 tackles, TFL, PD, INT) were able to put just enough pressure on Drew Brees (24-43-242, 2 TD, 2 INT) to harass him into a poor day. Brown, who was working against the Saints’ backup left tackle (Zach Strief), had another sack that came off the board due to a penalty. Ogunleye’s pressure outside the pocket led Brees to force a throw that Ogunleye somehow gathered at point blank range for an interception in the red zone. Rookie Marcus Harrison (2 tackles, PD) was stout to stop a 3rd down and inches run. Anthony Adams (5 tackles) had another strong day. He and Urlacher combined for a few stuffed running plays. Matt Toeaina finally saw some action and deflected a pass. Tommie Harris had a pressure but was largely ineffective. Mark Anderson saw extended reps but was mostly invisible. Israel Idonije had a pressure that led to a 1-yard pass to Reggie Bush (6/30, 2-16). Although they only had one sack, the Bears were able to pressure Brees and did an excellent job against the run. GRADE: B+
Linebackers
Brian Urlacher (10 tackles, PD) had a key stop on a 3rd and inches carry for Mike Karney (3/1). Lance Briggs (7 tackles, PD) had a nice pass deflection early in the game. He got blocked inside on Pierre Thomas’ (22/87, TD, 7-59, TD) 42-yard touchdown romp. Briggs effectively took himself and Urlacher out of that play. With the defensive line slanting hard to their right, the alley off tackle on their left side was left wide open when Briggs was washed out. Nick Roach (6 tackles, TFL) had his finest game of the season. Roach made the big stop on a pitch on 4th and one in the fourth quarter. GRADE: C
Secondary
Safety Mike Brown (3 tackles, 2 PD, INT) came up with a huge interception in the first half to end a Saints drive. He nearly had another later in the game. Brown appeared to lose coverage on Marques Colston (6-84, TD) on his 11-yard touchdown reception. Brown was also at fault on Thomas’ touchdown run, taking a poor angle. Charles Tillman (8 tackles, PD) had a nice pass break up to go with an overall solid effort. Corey Graham (3 tackles, PD) shook off an early defensive holding call to bounce back with two pass breakups. Safety Kevin Payne (5 tackles) allowed a 24-yard pass to Marques Colston in the fourth quarter. Danieal Manning (2 tackles) saw plenty of action in nickel packages but wasn’t a factor. GRADE: B-
Special Teams
Robbie Gould hit both of his field goal attempts (28, 35). His kickoff distance was a little shorter than usual. Brad Maynard put 2 of his 5 punts inside the 20-yard line. Danieal Manning warmed up the chilly home crowd with an 83-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff return. He later added 52 yards on another return to put the struggling offense in good field position. Devin Hester again defied all logic in running a punt back toward his own goal, this time for a 7-yard loss. Brad Maynard attempted a fake punt pass that was ruled incomplete. A replay review showed what looked like a catch by Adrian Peterson but the play stood as called. Kick and punt coverage was very good. Rashied Davis made an excellent tackle in punt coverage at the 15-yard line. Trumaine McBride missed a tackle on a kickoff. Kevin Jones and Adrian Peterson had two tackles each. GRADE: B
Coaching
The fake punt was a strange call from the perspective that the Bears were winning the game and failure would surrender the ball at midfield. Ron Turner’s offensive play-calling was tilted heavily to the pass. Was this because of Forte’s injury or because of the depleted Saints’ secondary? Deep routes to Hester worked in terms of getting penalties. Bob Babich’s defense did an admirable job of keeping one of the top offenses in the league out of the end zone, especially considering one of those touchdowns was due to a fumble at the one-yard line. The Bears picked their spots in terms of putting pressure on as well as clamping down on the run. My biggest question is in regards to leaving Hester in for punt returns. He needs to take some time to clear his head and return to form. The other substitutions I am curious about relate to the amount of playing time given Mark Anderson and Rashied Davis. It’s time to work Earl Bennett into the rotation on offense. Haven’t they seen enough of their other wide receivers to know that they’re not going to miss any of them? GRADE: B-
Noots’ Nut Crackers
Nick Roach on Pierre Thomas
Nudo’s Kudos
Alex Brown
Adewale Ogunleye
Danieal Manning
Devin Hester
Nick Roach
Horns
Rashied Davis
Olin Kreutz
