Bears Look to Take Top Spot in NFC North

Right now, the NFC North title is between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears. The Green Bay Packers are nipping at their heels just one game behind. This makes Sunday’s match up between the Bears and the Vikings even more exciting. The two teams have already met once this season during week seven, which ended with a high-scoring 48-41 win for the Bears. If the defense puts up an effort anything similar to last week’s game against the St. Louis Rams, then the score should look much different. The interesting part about the last match up was that the Bears did a relatively poor job of containing star Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.  He had 121 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

Forte didn’t have one of his top games either with 20 carries for 56 yards and one touchdown. The Vikings had over 100 more yards of offense than the Bears, and yet the Bears came away with the win. It had a lot to do with the four interceptions that the Bears stole from Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte. The Vikings will be looking to improve on that stat, meaning the Bears will have to step up in other parts of the game in order to topple Minnesota once again. Get your Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 26, 2008 - Post a comment

Defense Shows They Still Have It

There was a lot of talk about the lack of big plays coming from the Chicago Bears defense the last few weeks, but they showed they still have what it takes in the 27-3 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. They tallied five sacks and four interceptions during the game, and five players had four or more tackles.

One of those sacks went to Alex Brown, who commented on the game, saying, “It’s just a confidence booster going into this week. We have a very good [opponent], a team I believe that is better than the team we just played, so we’ve got to be ready. It just gives us a little more confidence understanding that if everybody does their job, this type of stuff can happen. We played well, we played hard. I’m pretty sure there are some things that we need to correct, but hopefully we can correct those things and keep playing at this level. We’re going to need it for the next five games.”

The Bears are preparing for a hard-fought match this Sunday as they take on the Minnesota Vikings. After the Green Bay Packers lost on Monday night, the Vikings and the Bears are tied for the top spot in the NFC North. Reserve your Chicago Bears tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 25, 2008 - Post a comment

Forte Comes Through Again For Win

The Chicago Bears got just what they needed on Sunday: a big win that gave them back their momentum. The Bears toppled the St. Louis Rams 27-3, keeping them at the top of the NFC North. The undisputed star of the game was rookie running back Matt Forte. With a bevy of trash-talking draft busts in that position, it is tough to determine what is more refreshing about Forte, his ability to put up big numbers or his humility about his accomplishments.

Forte tallied 132 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries as well as two receptions for 14 yards against the Rams. The game brings his rushing total to 909 yards so far, making him the Bears’ best rookie running back after Walter Payton, beating out other greats like Gale Sayers. In true Forte fashion, he downplayed his role in the big win, saying, “If they’re blocking and the holes are that big, I have to make the safety miss. That’s my job.”

Everyone from coach Lovie Smith to center Olin Kruetz sings to praises of Forte as he has won the respect of practically everyone in the Windy City. With Forte only being in his first year in the NFL, he looks to be the next offensive star for the Bears. Reserve your Chicago Bears tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 24, 2008 - Post a comment

Hester Upset About Lack of Return Touchdowns

The Green Bay Packers game last Sunday may have revealed to the Chicago Bears that they have many aspects of their game that need tightening up, but one of the consistently low stats this season so far has been the Bears return game. This fact has been especially hard for Devin Hester, who is used to putting up big numbers on returns.

He said, “It’s tough, not only [on] myself but to the fans and to the team. I set a high standard not only for myself but for outsiders that I’m the guy that’s going to take five or six returns to the house, and I haven’t taken [any]…The return game was basically my success in football, and now that it’s not there, it’s tough [not] being that football player that everybody knew about.”

In 2005, Hester tallied five returns for touchdowns followed by six in 2006. So far this season, Hester has yet to find the end zone on special teams. This year is a little different for Hester, who has moved from just being on special teams to also becoming a wide receiver. In 2006, Hester returned two kickoffs for touchdowns against the St. Louis Rams, so he will be looking to help his stats during Sunday’s game. Reserve your Chicago Bears tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 21, 2008 - Post a comment

Orton Getting Better Slowly

It is a good thing that the Chicago Bears are up against the injury-battered St. Louis Rams this week, considering that they themselves are dealing with injuries as well. None seems to be affecting the Bears as much as the ankle injury that quarterback Kyle Orton is recovering from. He was obviously not himself in the Bears’ game against the Green Bay Packers last week, and fans are hoping for a better performance this week. Orton knew that his ankle wasn’t 100 percent, but is hoping for a better game as well. He said, “It’s going to be a process. I don’t think it’s going to miraculously get better, but just as long as it keeps making improvements and hopefully (on) Sundays doesn’t take too far of a step back.”

Against the Packers, Orton was 13 of 26 for 133 yards, which are incredibly low stats for him this season. Even those without injuries need to make sure not to repeat their performance at Green Bay, like virtually all of the wide receivers. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner has high hopes for what the offense will do this week. Be there to see all the action with Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 20, 2008 - Post a comment

Defense Struggle Could Pay for Orton

The Chicago Bears defense may want to be watching their pocketbooks. Many of the defensive stars wrangled big raises during the offseason and general manager Jerry Angelo has been very clear that the expectation behind those raises has not been met. He said, “Obviously, we have experience and we pay players on that side of the ball. We expect our defense to play very well. Is that going to happen each and every week? No, it’s not. You’ve got to give the other guy a little credit, too. You’re not always going to have your ‘A’ game, [but] I feel we’ve been inconsistent in clutch moments of games.”

Some of the players he is talking about are Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, Alex Brown, Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher, who have all gotten contract extensions or raises in the offseason but who have failed to put up big stats so far this season. The trip-ups of the defense could leave an opening for some of the offensive players to be rewarded this offseason, like quarterback Kyle Orton. Although he did not have a good game last week against the Green Bay Packers, he has been a consistent force for the Bears so far this season. Get your Chicago Bears tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 19, 2008 - Post a comment

Bad Defense Reflects Poorly on Babich

Where the Chicago Bears failed miserably against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday is the area that used to be the Bears’ strength: the defense. The weakness brings to question coach Lovie Smith’s choice to replace defensive coordinator Ron Rivera with his friend Bob Babich. Babich said after the game, “It’s been a very disappointing couple weeks,” Babich said. “It’s been an up-and-down season as we go along here. [But] we have good football players, guys that have a lot of pride and play with a lot of pride. We’ve just got to make sure to get it corrected. We’re still in first place in the division. For us, we’ve got to play good defense to win. Any time you give up as many yards and as many points as we gave up [against the Packers], you don’t give your team a chance to win.”

The failures of Babich are not just reflecting poorly on his own abilities, but also on Smith. Media around Chicago have been attacking both, making a change after this season seem nearly inevitable. Of course, that is what many fans thought about Rex Grossman after the 2006 season, but he was still made the starter for another season. Get your Chicago Bears tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 18, 2008 - Post a comment

Bears Tally Tough Loss

Not only did the Chicago Bears not topple their rival Green Bay Packers on Sunday, they somehow managed to only score three points the entire game and left with a devastating 37-3 loss. Even the return of starting quarterback Kyle Orton after he sat out last game because of an injury couldn’t help the Bears. Orton was 13 of 26 for 133 yards, and when Rex Grossman came in for him he couldn’t do any better. While the Bears only managed 234 yards of offense, they allowed 427 by the Packers. Orton summed it up, saying, “You can go around to every position group on the entire team and we stunk it up… Of course it’s fair. You guys write as much as you want, as much negative stuff as you want because it’s probably deserved at this point.”

The loss marked the second in a row for the Bears, who are now 5-5, but miraculously they are still tied for first in the NFC North with the Packers. Unfortunately, the Bears are looking at two more away games coming up against the St. Louis Rams and the Minnesota Vikings. Be there to support your team by getting Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 17, 2008 - Post a comment

Rivalry Heats Up

Although the Chicago Bears’ game against the Green Bay Packers is important because both teams are fighting for playoff spots, this match-up would be heated no matter what the teams’ records were. The NFC North opponents have one of the oldest and most storied rivalries in the league, meaning every game between the two is a nail-biter. Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye summed it up, saying, “When I first signed here, everybody was like, ‘We don’t care if you guys go 2-14 as long as those two wins are against the Packers. It’s a crazy community when it comes to that, and we understand that. When coach Lovie got here, he said that his No. 1 goal was to beat the Packers, and that’s still our goal every time we start a season.”

The end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s were not a good time for the Bears in the rivalry as they lost 18 out of 20 games between 1994 and 2003. Recently, however, it has looked up for the Bears. Coach Lovie Smith joined the team in 2004, and since then the Bears are 6-2 against Green Bay, even with Brett Favre at quarterback. Be there for the game with Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 14, 2008 - Post a comment

Both Quarterbacks Look to Packers

The question on all Bears’ fans minds this week is whether or not quarterback Kyle Orton will be back for this week’s game against the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers. Last week, the Bears suffered a 21-14 loss to the Tennessee Titans with Rex Grossman filling in for an injured Orton, who is out with a sprained ankle. Orton has been taking snaps in practice and looks like he could possibly play. He also sounds like he is itching to take the field, saying, “This is what you play for, to play Green Bay, play your division rivals in November for first place. These are huge games from here on out. That’s what I put the effort in for, so I’m going to do everything I can to be out there.”

Grossman has also been preparing for the game on Sunday, but it looks like everyone, including coach Lovie Smith, is looking to see Orton leading the team. Having Orton back could be the difference between a decisive win and a close match. Orton is a clearly more consistent quarterback, and he also has shown that he can motivate the offense better than Grossman ever could. Get your Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 13, 2008 - Post a comment


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