That was unexpected

Take a good look.....

This is the face of a man who threw a personal best 3 TDs passes last night, and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 [NFL.com]. Last night's defeat at Soldier Field was nothing more than a debacle! Here are some observations from Sunday night.

1. The Eagles defense was good last night (Seriously). They continued their run stopping dominance last night, holding the Bears to 78 yards rushing on 26 attempts. They held Orton to 18/34 passing for 199 yards. The Birds got 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, and recovered 2 fumbles as well. Those a really good numbers, but the Bears countered with three touchdowns.

2. Who would have thought that Kyle Orton would throw three TD passes? I certainly didn't expect it. I don't think that anyone could have. Greg Olsen burned Chris Gocong for 19 yard strike in the back of the end zone. Marty Booker got the inside position on Quintin Mikell, and Kyle found him for a 23 yard strike over the middle. To cap off the first half, Kyle hits Devin Hester for a 20 yard TD. To their credit, Greg Olsen and Devin Hester made really great catches. Orton put all three throws where only his receiver could get it too.

3. DeSean Jackson looked like a rookie last night. He started the game off with a 22 yard TD reception in the back of the end zone, and finished the game with 5 receptions for 71 yards, 1 TD, and 35 yards rushing on two plays. However, Jackson's muffed punt gave the Bears the ball back at the Eagles 24 yard line, and led to a TD. DeSean also ran the wrong way on a route, and the ball was intercepted. It may not have been his fault, but in this instance I am going go with the veteran's knowledge of the offense, and say that Jackson did indeed run the wrong way.

4. Special Teams/Missed field goals. The Eagles gave the Bears great field position for most of the game. The Eagles were doing what everyone does. Try to keep the ball out of Devin Hester's hands. David Akers missed 2 field goals. 6 pts that would have been the difference between winning and losing.

5. Red Zone offense. Three out of four trips inside the red zone led to points (1 TD, 2 FG). The problem is that the fourth trip the Eagles got stopped on the goal line, and turned the ball over on downs. That was just hard to watch, and extremely disappointing too. The Bears defense dominated the line of scrimmage.

6. Injuries, were they a factor? Absolutely. Did they cost us the game? No. The Eagles were able to move the ball the entire game without Shawn Andrews or Brian Westbrook. They would have made a difference in the game, but their absence didn't cost us the game either.

What did you see?

Take today and get out all of your frustrations. We have a huge game at home next week with the Redskins.

GO BIRDS!!!!!

Eagles vs. Bears

We're heading into week 4 of the season, and the Eagles will travel to the Windy City to face the Chicago Bears. Let's look at the matchup, Bears offense, Eagles defense.
In order for the Bears offense to be successful, they need run the football successfully. The responsibility falls on the shoulders of their offensive line, and their running backs. With just having played 3 games this season the Bears have run for 456 yards on 105 attempts (4.3 yards/carry average). This would indicate that the offensive line is doing a good job opening holes for the running. Of the 105 attempts, rookie Matt Forte has taken 73 of them, and gained 304 yards on the ground, and is 4th overall in rushing. In addition Forte has caught 13 passes for 105 yards. Behind Forte, the Bears have former Detroit Lion Kevin Jones, Garrett Wolfe, and Adrian Peterson. Kevin Jones could be a good compliment to Forte, provided that his foot has healed after suffering a Liz Frank fracture. Garrett Wolfe is a change of pace back, but is undersized.
If the Bears are able to rush for 100 yards or more per game, they will make Kyle Orton's job of managing the football game much easier. The Bears aren't relying on Kyle Orton to win football games. They are relying on him no to lose them. In order for Kyle to manage the game effectively he needs his offensive line to protect him, the running game to be productive, and his receivers to get open. The offensive line needs to give him time to make his reads. If the running game is working that will alleviate some of the pass rush, and setup up the play action pass. The key for Orton will be time. The more time he has, the better decision he should be able to make.
The Bears' wide receiving corps isn't star studded by any stretch of the imagination. They don't have a great deal of size. Their biggest receiver is 10 year veteran Marty Booker (6'0", 205lbs). The Bears are converting Devin Hester from defensive back to receiver, but is a work in progress. Not too mention he's injured as well. Brandon Lloyd is their leading receiver, but has been a castoff from 2 other teams for under performance. But the Bears do have two solid tight ends in Desmond Clark, and Greg Olsen. Orton has made a lot of check downs, and thrown to the back. Forte is 2nd on the team with 13 receptions.
The keys for the Bears are to continue to run the football, protect Kyle Orton, play turnover free football, and make plays. The biggest thing for the Bears right now is their pass protection. Orton needs enough time to make a good decision, and to avoid throwing errors.
On the other side of the ball is the Eagles defense, and there is no indication that this matchup doesn't favor the Eagles. The keys for the Eagles will be to stop the run, and put pressure on the quarterback.
The Eagles are doing everything right against the run. Through three games Jim Johnson's boys have on average only given up 45.7 yards on the ground. The Eagles defensive line is undersized compared when matched up against the Bears offensive line, but we held the Cowboys to 73 rushing yards, and their offensive line dwarfs that of the Bears. The Eagles front four will need to tie up their blockers, and allow the linebackers to to get to the ball carrier as they have been doing so far.
If the Eagles are able to put a stranglehold on the Bears running game, you can expect Jim Johnson to open the floodgates, and blitz Kyle Orton unmercifully. I can't imagine Lovie Smith abandoning the running to game, and rely on Orton to sling the ball all over the field. The Eagles will need to get pressure on Orton in passing situations. If the Eagles can put pressure on Orton, then our secondary should have a field day picking off errant throws. With our secondary being as good as it is, expect to see some coverage sacks this week.
The Eagles defense has a clear advantage here over the Bears offense. I don't think that we'll get 9 sacks this week, but we will get some. Expect to see more turnovers than in previous weeks. My only concern will be: If Matt Forte is in man coverage with one of our linebackers. We have seen them get burned.

thoughts?

GO BIRDS!!!!