Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on August 22, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears, after not showing anyone much during their game against the San Diego Chargers the previous week, took their show home to face the Oakland Raiders this Saturday night and they started out the game playing poorly on both sides of the ball.  The Raiders ended up getting the ball first and they marched all the way down the field, converting third down opportunities as they went.  They ended the drive with a touchdown following a one yard run by quarterback Jason Campbell.

During that drive, the Bears lost Brian Urlacher to a calf injury.  The injury is not said to be too serious and he should be available to play a little in the Bears’ next preseason game.

The Raiders went up by ten after they drove down the field once again and kicker Sebastian Janakowski nailed a 43-yard field goal.

Chicago finally got something going after Campbell threw an errant pass which was intercepted by cornerback Charles Tillman deep in the Bears’ end of the field.  Shortly after that, running back Matt Forte took a handoff from quarterback Jay Cutler and outraced everyone on the Raiders defense en route to an 89-yard touchdown.  The Bears missed the extra point thanks to a botched snap (regular long snapper Patrick Mannelly was out with an injury and tight end/H-back Desmond Clark was in snapping).  It was 10-6 at that point.

In the second quarter, the Raiders added another Janakowski field goal (43 yards) to make it 13-6.  The Bears would go up ahead of the Raiders after another turnover gave them good field position and Cutler threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Johnny Knox.  Running back Chester Taylor punched it into the end zone for two points and Chicago had a 14-13 lead heading into halftime.

The second half of this game was virtually all Oakland.  After the Bears’ second string defense kept the Raiders from moving the ball on their first possession of the game, wide receiver Eric Peterman muffed the ensuing punt and the Raiders recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.  This put them up 20-14.

Oakland would go up 27-14 after second string quarterback Kyle Boller punched the ball into the end zone himself on a two-yard run.  Chicago would manage to get three more points in the game following a 25-yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould to start the fourth quarter.

The Raiders got another field goal from backup kicker Swayze Waters (28 yards) to make it 30-17.  Oakland would get an additional two points on a safety after a punt by Bears’ punter Brad Maynard was blocked and rolled out of the end zone.  The game would end with the Raiders winning 32-17.

Dud of the Game

There were several mistakes made in this game on both sides of the ball so this honor goes to both the starting offense and the starting defense.  After having been such a big problem last season, you would have figured that the Bears defense would have been much more wary and better prepared in not allowing opponents to convert third and long situations.  This wouldn’t be the case in this game as the Bears defense allowed the Raider’s offense to convert third downs on a regular basis.

The offensive line didn’t provide hardly any pass protection for Cutler who was sacked five times in one half of play.  They did provide some good run blocking at times in this game, but their pass blocking needs a lot of work.  Hopefully they can get things put together in the time that they have remaining before the regular season starts.  If they can’t, the Bears will not win many games this season.

Stud of the Game

Running back Matt Forte looked like his old self as he ripped off an 89-yard touchdown run and looked very good doing it.  He seemed to have an extra gear as he outran the Raiders’ secondary and got into the end zone without missing a step.  The Bears should know that they can run the ball effectively this coming season as long as Forte can stay healthy and their offensive line can block well for the run.

Injury Update

Bears fans and coaches alike held their breaths a couple of times during this game but perhaps the most worrisome moment came when both defensive end Julius Peppers and defensive tackle Tommie Harris were down on their hands and knees and in obvious pain.  It appears as if Harris’ injury might have been to his legs while Peppers’ injury could have been to his head.  Both returned not too long afterwards and played pretty well.

As previously mentioned, Urlacher was out early in the game with a calf injury that doesn’t appear to be too serious.  

Safeties Craig Steltz, Josh Bullocks and Major Wright sat out along with second string quarterback Caleb Hanie.  Wide receiver Earl Bennett and defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert also sat out with injuries.

Analysis

The Bears started this game poorly on both sides of the ball as the defense failed to stop the Raiders and the offense failed to give Cutler adequate enough protection to keep him upright.  There were also mistakes made that kept them from being able to do much including a muffed punt, a missed block (that lead to a blocked punt) among other things.

The starters on both sides of the ball, except for a rare few, looked out of sync and somewhat confused at times.  This will have to be corrected before the season starts.  The Bears need a lot more work before they can consider themselves to be ready for the season.

Some of those players that did perform well include Forte and Peppers.  Peppers finally started to show the coaching staff and fans some of what they thought that he could do when he was brought to Chicago.  He should have an impressive season.

This team looked like the team that played last season.  Still struggling on third down defense and still not being able to protect the quarterback are two things that still plague this team and are two of the biggest things that they have to resolve before the season starts.

Next Up

The Bears will host the Arizona Cardinals next Saturday night.  Stay tuned for a full preview of that game later on in the week.

Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com