Week 9: Midweek Report

As the Bears come off their bye week in preparation for the Philadelphia Eagle, it can be well assumed that the coaching staff has gone back and looked at tape and tried to make adjustments to better the Bears. You can also assume the coaching staff has gone over film to see how they would like to attach the Eagles defense and stop the Eagles offense. One of the biggest positives for the Bears coming off their bye week is the entire team is finally healthy. Offensive tackle Gabe Carimi is back in practice and is supposed to be a game time decision on whether he will play. One good thing for the Bears is that their offensive line has started to gel, so there is no hurry to rush him back and get him in the lineup.  However, once he is back up to game speed, he will provide a huge boost for the team and should make the line even better. Another important offense piece that will definitely be back for the Eagles game is wide receiver Earl Bennett. Bennett has been out since week two when he suffered a sternum injury that kept him out for six games. Bennett's return should only add to the weapons the Bears have on offense. The offense is finally starting to get on track and the addition of Bennett should only help considering the confidence Jay Cutler has in him. On the defensive side of the ball, the bye week probably helped a number of defensive started. Julius Peppers had a week to rehab his knee and it will be interesting to see what kind of impact he has on Monday’s game. As many Bears fans remember, Peppers did a great job of containing Michael Vick in last year’s game and was even able to chase him down from behind for a sack. There are not many defensive ends in the league that are able to do that, so the week off should definitely help Peppers. Matt Toeaina should also benefit from the bye week because he was trying to recover from a lower body injury. Toeaina is an important piece of the interior line and always does a good job against the running game. The players I think that are going to benefit the most from the bye week are the two new safeties, Chris Conte and Major Wright. During the week, they were probably able to watch more film than normal and also get some more reps with the first team defense. This is important because the Eagles offense is going to be the first "dynamic" offense the duo has seen and it will be important for them to play well in order for the Bears to win. The result of this game could have huge implements on the Bears playoff positioning and could possibly end up being a tie breaker for the final position. Even though the Eagles are at home, I still think the Bears will be able to squeak this one out in a 28-24 game. So until next time, Bear Down Chicago!