Week 6: Minnesota Vikings

Coming into week 6 against the Vikings, the Bears had just come off a very embarrassing lose to the Lions. The defense looked old, out of place and did the one thing they were never thought to do, give up the big play. A loss to the Vikings and the Bears would have some serious questions to ask and themselves and their playoff hopes would all but be gone. However, the Bears did not lose to the Vikings and they possibly caught a bit of luck. With the Packer 6-0 and looking nearly unbeatable, it’s pretty safe to assume that they have locked up the NFC north as their division. The Lions were not far behind going into week  6 as they were 5-0 and looking for a big victory over a surprisingly good 49ers team. The 49ers did the Bears a big favor and beat the Lions at home and gave the Lions there first loss. If the Bears are going to make the playoff, it is going to be as a wildcard and only a few teams are even in the position to be a threat, the Lions of course being one of them. With the Bears needing a win to not only keep pace with the few other wildcard team but to also build some confidence, they came out and made easy work out of the Vikings. The Bears defense came out and looked like a force to be reckoned with. They were loading the box with 8 defenders basically stating they were not going to let Adrian Peterson beat them. And that is exactly what the Bears did; limiting Peterson to 39 yards on 12 carries. They were also a few other players that answered questions for the Bears on defense. Julius Peppers had been listed as doubtful all week on the injury report and did not practice at all. However, Peppers did end up playing and had a substantial affect on the game even though he was not at a 100 percent. Many, including myself, were starting to question whether Peppers was the same type of game changing player man believed he was when we signed him. He answered that with a 2 sack, 4 tackle performance and really seemed to motivate the defense. Another set of players that showed up and answered questions was the Bears two new starting safeties, Major Wright and Chris Conte. Need made any huge plays, but did give up any either so that can be considered a positive after the last few weeks. Expectations are going to be high for these safeties if the Bears hope to make it to the playoff.
On the offensive side of the ball, we saw a unit that for once looked as if they knew what they wanted to do. After Jay Cutler basically called out Mike Martz and asked him to change up his play calling so that he can get rid of the ball faster, Cutler for once looked comfortable in the pocket. On just the third offensive play of the game for the Bears, Cutler hit Devin Hester for a 48 yard touchdown and many fans saw how good of a quarterback Cutler can be with time and protection. On the play, the Bears had only two receiver running routes while everyone else stayed in and blocked. That resulted in Cutler being able to scan the field and simply flick the ball down field to Hester for a touchdown. It would not surprise me if we see the Bears doing more of this to give Cutler time to look down field and try to get the vertical passing game going. Matt Forte was of course himself, racking up over 100 yard from scrimmage for the game and looking very comfortable behind yet another offensive line combination. He showed his ability to hit the big play on numerous runs and even picked up some blitzes very well. Like I have said before, and probably will say many times more, the Bears are making a huge mistake by not simply signing this man. The more he plays and the better he does is just going to translate into a bigger payday that he definitely deserves. The offensive line also played much better this week then they did against the Lions. One of the Vikings few strong points on their team was a defensive line that had accounted for 17 sacks throughout the first five weeks, and the Bears limited them to one sack and only five quarterback pressures. If the Bears are going to be successful at all on offense, they are going to need the offensive line to continue to improve and protect Jay Cutler.
Finally, Devin Hester once against stole the show and returned another kickoff for a touchdown, his four against the Vikings. It still baffles me why teams kick or punt to this man, considering he can take it to the house from nearly anywhere on the field. He nearly took a punt back for a touchdown near the end of the game and the only reason he did is because one of his own men was blocked into him. If the Bears are going to get back into contention, Devin Hester and the special teams unit is going to have to have a big contribution. Special teams have always seemed to spark the Bears team as a whole and are probably one of the best in the league. The Bears gained a huge victory over the Viking and even more, they gained some much needed confidence. They head to London in week 7 to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a very winnable game. So until next time Chicago, Bear Down!