Week 5: Midweek Report

As the Bears head to Detroit for their Monday night match up, the importance of the game is different for both teams. For Detroit, it will be their first appearance on Monday Night Football in 10 years and you can almost guarantee that Ford Field is going to be insane. The Lions are finally able to send out a competitive team week in and week out to compete and Detroit has responded. However for the Bears, the Monday night game holds a completely different level of importance, because if the Bears loose, they will be three games back in the division. Even though they would only be heading into the sixth week of the season, overcoming a three game deficit in a division that has the last two undefeated teams would be extremely hard. However, I feel the Bears have a few advantages on the Lion's heading into the game. First off, the Bears have beaten the Lion's six consecutive times. The Bears are fully aware of what weapons the Lion's have and probably have game planned for them numerous times. Another advantage I feel the Bears, is that they won’t have to deal with the hype of the Monday night game like the Lion's. They have been in prime time’s games, know how to handle the pressure and realize they don't have to come out and live up to any over-hyped expectations. For the Bears to be successful against the Lion's they are going to have to lean on the running game like they did last week against the Panther's. Running the ball for the Bears would not only allow them to control the clock and execute how they would like too, but it would also keep the dangerous Lion's offense off the field. Look for the Bear's to come out and have a heavy emphasis on the run game early, in an attempt to not only move the ball effectively but also to soften up the Lion's pass rush. Offensively the Bears will still be without linemen Gabe Carimi and wide receiver Earl Bennett, but look for the loss of Carimi to have much more impact on the game. On defense, the Bears need to do a few key things to keep this game within reach. First off, they simply can't let Calvin Johnson beat them. I don't care if you have to double team him every play and leave their other weapons with single coverage, letting him beat you simply cannot happen. Another thing the Bears have to do along with keeping Johnson in check, is keeping the plays in front of them. The last few weeks, the Bears have struggled to avoid the big play, which simply can't happen in a defense that is formatted around keeping play in front of it. I believe the addition of Chris Harris back into the lineup should help tremendously, coming off a hamstring injury that sidelined him for three weeks. Finally, the last thing the Bears need to do defensively is get pressure on the quarterback. This task will do two things, it will help a struggling secondary and it may rattle Matthew Staford, who has not finished a game against the Bears in the last two seasons. So look for the Bears to come out pumped up and hope to deflate a very high Detroit crowd. I am predicting a 24-21 victory for the Bears, so until next time Chicago, Bear Down!