Rory Sparrow
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- Aug 14, 2010
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*In general, the Bears looked to be the superior team, and the Vikings were somewhat fortunate to still be in the game at the end. If Mack’s ankle is good, the Bears can compete with anyone in the NFL. I was looking at this game as a “prove it” game for the Bears, and now its almost like if they don’t end up winning the NFC North, it will be disappointing. I think the expectation should be for the Bears to get a 3 seed, host a playoff game, then look to compete with LA or NO in the next round.
*I thought the Bears did a good job of stifling the Vikings’ defensive aggression and attacking the edges. The drive in the 2nd quarter that ended with Anthony Miller’s TD catch was essentially 3 Trubisky scrambles. Trubisky did some nice things, but it pains me to say that his accuracy continues to be an issue. It would be great to say that Trubisky won the game for the Bears, but he made some bad throws and the Bears probably should have had more than 14 points midway through the 4th period.
*Eddie Jackson’s TD INT was the big play of the game, but I never felt like the Bears weren’t in control. A notable play was in the 2nd quarter when Cousins was getting hit every play by Mack, so they ran a screen to Mack’s side. Danny Trevathan sniffed it out immediately and ran all the way across the field to tackle the RB as soon as he caught the pass. It proved that nothing was working for Minnesota’s offense.
*I thought the Vikings game plan would be to run the ball, possibly straight at Mack, and let Cousins pick his spots to hit his WRs. The Vikings kind of gave up on the run, but they also couldn’t get anything going with Cook and Murray. Very impressive performance by the Bears D.
*Speaking of Cousins, I thought LT Riley Reiff and Kirk Cousins did a great impression of JaMarcus Webb and Jay Cutler. In the pre-game one of the schmucks said “The Bears haven’t had a pro bowl QB since Jim McMahon…isn’t that unbelievable?!” Of course its not unbelieveable…the Bears had Jay Cutler for an entire decade! Anyways, Reiff couldn’t block anyone and Cousins looked ‘shook’ from the opening of the game. One of the big plays of the game was Cousins INT heave at the end of the first half that kept the Vikings at 0 points…very Cutler-esque.
*Mack was fantastic against an overmatched Vikings OL that has been poor all year. In Reiff’s defense, no one in the NFL has been able to handle Mack, and the Vikings never adjusted their protection to give Reiff help (JaMarcus Webb would have a TE next to him and a RB behind him, and he’d still make Frank Zombo look like Lawrence Taylor). I felt good for Hicks to get notice on a national stage. Too much of the NFL pro bowl is about stats, and a good all-around DE like Hicks will always get overlooked because its all about sacks. Maybe this will be the year Hicks gets into the pro bowl.
*Already sick of the Cody Parkey story. You made some FGs. Good for you. Interesting that Nagy kept going for 2.
*I think the overall picture looks good for the Bears. They should beat Detroit, but even if they lose they will most likely be a postseason team. I am most impressed with Chicago’s balance…they can pass, they can run well enough, they stop the run, they stop the pass. Jacksonville had a similar Cinderella run last season, but I think they were more one-dimensional than the Bears. Trubisky is much better than Bortles.
*I thought the Bears did a good job of stifling the Vikings’ defensive aggression and attacking the edges. The drive in the 2nd quarter that ended with Anthony Miller’s TD catch was essentially 3 Trubisky scrambles. Trubisky did some nice things, but it pains me to say that his accuracy continues to be an issue. It would be great to say that Trubisky won the game for the Bears, but he made some bad throws and the Bears probably should have had more than 14 points midway through the 4th period.
*Eddie Jackson’s TD INT was the big play of the game, but I never felt like the Bears weren’t in control. A notable play was in the 2nd quarter when Cousins was getting hit every play by Mack, so they ran a screen to Mack’s side. Danny Trevathan sniffed it out immediately and ran all the way across the field to tackle the RB as soon as he caught the pass. It proved that nothing was working for Minnesota’s offense.
*I thought the Vikings game plan would be to run the ball, possibly straight at Mack, and let Cousins pick his spots to hit his WRs. The Vikings kind of gave up on the run, but they also couldn’t get anything going with Cook and Murray. Very impressive performance by the Bears D.
*Speaking of Cousins, I thought LT Riley Reiff and Kirk Cousins did a great impression of JaMarcus Webb and Jay Cutler. In the pre-game one of the schmucks said “The Bears haven’t had a pro bowl QB since Jim McMahon…isn’t that unbelievable?!” Of course its not unbelieveable…the Bears had Jay Cutler for an entire decade! Anyways, Reiff couldn’t block anyone and Cousins looked ‘shook’ from the opening of the game. One of the big plays of the game was Cousins INT heave at the end of the first half that kept the Vikings at 0 points…very Cutler-esque.
*Mack was fantastic against an overmatched Vikings OL that has been poor all year. In Reiff’s defense, no one in the NFL has been able to handle Mack, and the Vikings never adjusted their protection to give Reiff help (JaMarcus Webb would have a TE next to him and a RB behind him, and he’d still make Frank Zombo look like Lawrence Taylor). I felt good for Hicks to get notice on a national stage. Too much of the NFL pro bowl is about stats, and a good all-around DE like Hicks will always get overlooked because its all about sacks. Maybe this will be the year Hicks gets into the pro bowl.
*Already sick of the Cody Parkey story. You made some FGs. Good for you. Interesting that Nagy kept going for 2.
*I think the overall picture looks good for the Bears. They should beat Detroit, but even if they lose they will most likely be a postseason team. I am most impressed with Chicago’s balance…they can pass, they can run well enough, they stop the run, they stop the pass. Jacksonville had a similar Cinderella run last season, but I think they were more one-dimensional than the Bears. Trubisky is much better than Bortles.
