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The Chicago Bears versus the Denver Broncos Game Review

September 18th, 2019 Bryan Dietzler Posted in Bear Necessities, Game Stories, Inside The Bears, Main, Notes & Observations, Opinions

by Bryan Dietzler

The Chicago Bears, favored by many to beat the Denver Broncos, in Denver on Sunday afternoon managed to squeeze out a 16-14 win and make the prognosticators look good. The game wasn’t pretty and, once again, the Bears had to do it with defense while their offense continued to struggle. But a win is a win, and this first win of the season got the monkey off their back.

Now, can they build upon this first win and win even more games?

Scoring

The scoring started off in the first quarter as Denver took the lead 3-0 thanks to a 43-yard field goal by kicker Brandon McManus. This would pretty much set the tone of the game in terms of scoring as things started out slow.

Chicago would get the next score, in the first quarter, following a 14-play 59-yard drive when kicker Eddie Pinero hit a 40-yard field goal to tie it up.

The Bears would later take a 6-3 lead thanks to a 52-yard Pinero field goal that capped off a ten-play 56-yard drive.

The half would end with the Bears up 6-3.

The Bears would take an even larger lead in the third quarter as rookie running back David Montgomery barely broke the goal line from one yard out. The touchdown was upheld and the Bears took a 13-6 lead. That play capped off a nine-play 79-yard drive.

Chicago appeared to be in control at that point.

After a nine-play 56-yard drive, the Broncos gained a little on the Bears thanks to a McManus field goal of 32 yards. The score was 13-6 at that point.

Denver was heading towards the endzone to score when their drive was suddenly stopped thanks to an interception by cornerback Kyle Fuller. The Bears got the ball back but couldn’t do much with it, were forced to punt and give the ball back to the Broncos.

Denver drove down the field capping off a 12-play 62-yard drive. A strange series of events took place after the touchdown. The Broncos wanted to go for two but they were hit with a delay of game penalty. After that, they decided to go for one and their kicker missed the kick. However, cornerback Buster Skrine, who was having a great game up to that point, lined up offsides and the Broncos decided to go for two.

They got the two-point conversion and led by one point. Things seemed hopeless for the Bears but they had some time left to do something. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky managed to get the team in field goal position. The kick would be a 53-yarder and Pinero would have to make it for the Bears to win.

He made it! Bears fans everywhere let their emotions flow as the Bears won their first game of the year.

Player of the Game on Offense

I think that the player of the game has to be Trubisky. Why he didn’t do a lot to win the game, he did do enough not to lose it. He didn’t make any mistakes and didn’t turn the ball over. His taking of the timeout at the end of the game was a great thing.

Trubisky’s awareness is sound, his intangibles are solid but his overall ability to be an effective quarterback is in question. It’s his third year in the league. It’s time to see some positive dividends.

Player of the Game Defense

Kahlil Mack had a sack but what he did that’s most important in this game is cause several holding calls which gave the Broncos poorer field position. It shows what kind of pass rusher Mack is when opposing players are doing everything that they can to keep him from reaching the quarterback. This includes holding him to the point he can’t make the play.

Mack is a force and a real game-changer. This was evident on Sunday.

Play of the Game

The play of the game is a no-brainer. Pinero’s 53-yarder with one second left on the clock was the biggest and best play of the game. It might be the biggest of the season but it’s too early to tell.

But there is one thing we do know; the Bears have found themselves a kicker.

Next Game

The Bears will travel to Washington to take on the Redskins on Monday night football.

We will have a full preview of that game coming up in the next few days.

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The Chicago Bears versus the Denver Broncos Game Preview

September 14th, 2019 Bryan Dietzler Posted in Bear Insight, Bear Necessities, Game Previews, Inside The Bears, Main, Notes & Observations, Picks

by Bryan Dietzler

The 0-1 Chicago Bears will travel to the Mile-High City to take on the 0-1 Denver Broncos. The Bears are coming off a 10-3 loss to the Packers at home while the Broncos were beaten by the Oakland Raiders 24-16.

This game’s biggest storyline must be the fact that Chicago’s former defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio will be taking on his former team as head coach of the Broncos. It’s been talked about for months and the day has finally arrived.

Who has the upper hand?

This promises to be an interesting game. With Fangio knowing the Bears offense, or at least last year’s offense, we can only hope that Matt Nagy and company changed enough to make it harder on Fangio. In addition to that, Fangio’s defense should be a little tougher in week two. Will the Bears’ offense be able to pick it up and get it right or will they falter?

Let’s hope its’ the latter.

They face a rebuilding Denver defense with an experienced quarterback in Joe Flacco. While Flacco has proven himself to be a winner in the past, he is nowhere close to the way he used to be. He’s on the decline. And with the rest of the offense around him, which is rebuilding, you can bet they are primed to struggle.

And the Bears’ defense will be up for the challenge.

Plenty of pressure on Flacco will help stop the Denver passing attack. Get some pressure on him forcing him to make mistakes and Chicago will have an easy time of stopping their offense.

The Bears’ defense is not a question mark, not like their offense is. The defense is stout and remains that way, from last season, even with new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. They should be able to have a strong game against Denver this Sunday.

The stars of the defense, Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, and Eddie Jackson all contributed strongly to the Bears’ effort against the Packers. Look for them to have an impact on this game and help carry the Bears to victory.

It’s too early in the season for rankings so we won’t get into those today. Looking at some of the statistics from last week’s game, Flacco threw for 268 yards completing 21 out of 31 passes. He threw for a touchdown as well which happened to be the only touchdown of the game for the Broncos. Otherwise, their field goal kicker put up the most points and kept them in the game somewhat.

The Bronco’s rushing attack gained 95 yards against the Raiders on Monday night. Their average per carry ended up being around five. That came in limited carries by four players, including one that lost five yards on the ground. Their leading rusher was Royce Freeman who had ten carries for 56 yards.

Chicago’s defense does well against the run so look for them to shut down that aspect of the Bronco’s game forcing them to pass the ball. Guys like Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan will knock the running game down in the middle while Mack and Leonard Floyd take it to the Broncos from the edge.

The opportunity to get some sacks will be good on Sunday.

Shutting down the run means that they will force Flacco and his wide receiving corps to throw the ball more. That gives guys like Mack and Floyd a chance to pin their ears back and get a good pass rush going. And with the state that Denver’s offensive line is in right now, this might be a big game for them.

You can pretty much figure that the Bears defense isn’t going to have much trouble taking care of the Broncos’ offense. Unless something weird happens and Denver’s offense suddenly figures things out, the Bears defense should hold them to a relatively low points total.

The buzz around the football world is that the Broncos’ defense didn’t play anywhere close to the expectations that were had for it. You would think that the defensive-minded Fangio would have had the defense installed and ready to go. But that was not the case.

Will the defense show up for this game or will the Bears finally be able to get things back on track, on offense, and become world beaters?

Denver’s defense allowed the seemingly lowly Raiders to score 24 points which isn’t terrible but when your offense is only able to put up 16 you need your defense to help as much as possible.

Denver’s defense couldn’t do that.

Last week, they allowed quarterback Derek Carr to throw for 259 yards and a touchdown. The Raiders had a 100-yard receiver in the game to boot.

Now the Bears can throw the ball, Mitchell Trubisky has proven that he can, but they just need to make sure he has time to throw the ball. Another thing that Trubisky cannot do is lock on to one receiver and follow him, with his eyes, down the field. He did that with Alan Robinson last week and while Robinson had over 100 yards, the passing game was still quite inept.

We will cross our fingers in hopes that Trubisky has time to throw the ball. This is because Denver boasts two great pass rushers in Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. Put together, they are one of the top pass-rushing tandems in the NFL. Chicago’s offensive line, which had a rough game against the Packers, needs to come together quickly to help stem what will be a tide of pass-rushing on Sunday.

(NOTE: The Broncos didn’t have any sacks against the Raiders on Monday night).

If Trubisky and the offense can’t get the passing game going, they will have to rely on the rushing attack which is manned by Mike Davis and David Montgomery. This week, Nagy confirmed that Montgomery would see more touches. That’s important because he is probably the best runner on the team and someone that the Bears need to get going early on.

Look for the Bears to establish the rushing attack to help take some of the heat off Trubisky and the offensive line. I think that we could see the first 100-yard rusher of the season on Sunday.

I mentioned that Robinson was a big target for the Bears last week. That’s good but the Bears still need to spread the ball around more. Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller are two guys that Trubisky can rely upon to get the ball to and get some big gains. The tight end position is a little rocky right now, with Trey Burton’s injury still a possibility to keep him out of the game.

It’s tough to rely on that group to do much.

If the Bears’ offensive line can keep Trubisky clean, the Bears will have success passing.

Trubisky must step up and make better decisions as well for Chicago to win this game.

Special teams, particularly kicking field goals, has been a point of contention for the Bears over the few months. It appeared, last week against the Packers, that the coaching staff doesn’t trust kicker Eddie Pinero. The Bears must get over that. They need to allow him a chance to kick and keep the Bears’ scoring. If they don’t trust the kicking game, then there will be lots of issues for the Bears this season.

We all know that this game puts the former coordinator against the head coach that once coached with him. Who has the edge? Fangio is crafty and will give the Bears problems right out of the gate. Will Nagy be able to outfox the old coach and coach his team to a win?

In the end, this looks like a game that the Bears should easily win. They are put together better than the Broncos and they have the upper hand on defense. If the Bears can improve over their last game and play better on offense, they are a lock to win.

Score Prediction: Chicago 21 Denver 10

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Can Chicago Pick Themselves up Against the Broncos?

September 12th, 2019 Bryan Dietzler Posted in Bear Insight, Inside The Bears, Main, Notes & Observations, Opinions

by Bryan Dietzler

Anyone who is a fan of the Chicago Bears knows what’s at stake this season.

The Super Bowl.

The team has a top tier defense that is ready to play and will play well all year. They have some upgrades on special teams and hope that they don’t suffer gaffes in the kicking game like they did last year.

Then there is the offense. We had all thought that it was going to be much better this year. However, they had a lot of trouble against a rebuilding Green Bay defense last Thursday night. Is this a sign of things to come or will the offense be able to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and improve?

We certainly hope that the Bears pick up and play better against their next opponent, the Denver Broncos. Denver, just like Green Bay, is supposed to be in a rebuilding phase after having hired former Bears’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio as their coach. Fangio knows the Bears well and this could cause problems for Chicago’s offense this Sunday.

Will this be a tough test for the Bears? You bet it will and this game could be difficult for the Bears to win. With Fangio knowing their offense, especially since it appears that the Bears haven’t changed much from last year, the Broncos’ defense could give Chicago some trouble.

The Bears have to be ready and have to change some things up to have success on Sunday.

The coaching staff should be up to the challenge. They should be able to come up with a game plan that takes advantage of a less-than-stellar Denver offense. Chicago’s defense is tough and should be able to put the pins to Denver’s offense.

But can Chicago get going on offense?

After watching the Broncos this Monday night in their game against the Oakland Raiders (which ended up being a 24-16 loss) it appears they are beatable. Their starting quarterback is no longer a top tier starter and their rushing attack leaves a little something to be desired.

Their offense didn’t score a single point until the third quarter of Monday’s contest.

They still have a lot of growing up to do.

The Broncos defense did not play that well on Monday night. They gave up 24 points against a team that isn’t that great and had a tumultuous offseason.  Hopefully, they don’t make adjustments that work against the Bears and end up giving Chicago problems.

Denver is a rebuilding team that, on paper, should not be able to beat the Chicago Bears.

This is a test that Chicago must be prepared to pass.

If they can’t win this game then there are serious problems that need to be addressed immediately.

When it’s all said and done, look for the Bears to pick themselves up and play much better this Sunday against Denver than they did against the Packers. Look for Chicago to get their first win of the season and start to move forward in an effort that will take them back to the playoffs and perhaps the Super Bowl.

A full preview of Sunday’s game will be coming up here soon on this site.

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The Chicago Bears versus the Green Bay Packers Post-Game Look

September 8th, 2019 Bryan Dietzler Posted in Bear Insight, Bear Necessities, Features, Game Stories, Main, Notes & Observations, Regular Season

by Bryan Dietzler

After so much hype and build-up, the game that the NFL’s two most storied franchises played Thursday night was a defensive battle as the Packers upended the Bears 10-3. Both offenses were stagnant while the defenses took control and made things happen. The Bears just couldn’t get going on offense, however, and weren’t able to get past Packers, their hated division rivals.

The scoring started in the first quarter as Chicago struck first going up by three on a 38-yard Eddie Pinero field goal. The Packers would go up by four following a stellar drive which ended with an eight-yard touchdown strike from Aaron Rogers to tight end Jimmy Graham.

As it turned out that would be all the points that the Packers would need to win. But they added just a little more misery to the Bears following a 39-yard field goal by kicker Mason Crosby to go up 10-3.

That’s how the game would end.

It’s hard to find a player of the game on offense for the Bears but we did discover a couple of players that do have some “silver lining” to them. Wide receiver Allen Robinson stepped up and played well, giving quarterback Mitchell Trubisky an outlet to throw the ball too. Robinson could easily be a 1000-yard receiver when the season is over but that’s if Trubisky can get him the ball.

But he can’t be the only one Trubisky targets.

The player that left a good taste in our mouths, on offense, was running back David Montgomery. Montgomery showed what he was able to do so well at Iowa State by breaking tackles and eluding would-be tacklers. He is a strong and fierce runner and needs to be utilized much more on offense. If the Bears want to win, they need to run him more.

The players of the game on defense for the Bears include Leonard Floyd and Roquan Smith. Floyd ended the game with two sacks. He finally appears to be living up to his first-round draft status. Look for him to make the Pro Bowl this season. Roquan Smith picked up where he left off last year and had four tackles including one tackle for a loss. Smith was everywhere and shows no signs of slowing down.

There wasn’t much happening on special teams for the Bears. Thank goodness Pinero made his lone kick or Bears’ fans might have stormed the field in mutiny. Tarik Cohen seemed to look a little worn out at times and wasn’t effective.

So, what did the Bears do well? Except for the lone touchdown drive of the game by Green Bay, the defense kept the Packers in check and didn’t allow them to walk all over them as they have in the past.

The defense looks solid although the Green Bay offense might have been out of sync. Expect the defense to get even better as the season goes on.

What did the Bears’ do well on offense? There isn’t much to hang your hat on there. The running game is ok and getting the ball to Robinson was a plus. But it was also not a great thing. One thing you surely don’t want to see is Trubisky lock in on one guy who, if taken away by the defense, causes him to lose control and take off running.

He has great weapons he just needs to use them.

It’s too early to declare the Bears a bad team. This was just one game albeit against a rebuilding team. But these rivalry games are always tough and it’s anyone’s game no matter how good one team is (over the other).

The crushed hopes of Bears’ fans should not last long, however, as some potential winning “medicine” is on the way. Chicago will play the Denver Broncos and they are in tough shape. Still, we thought Green Bay would be in the same rebuilding state as the Broncos are. They will face someone who knows them well in Vic Fangio so look for this to be an interesting and competitive game.

But also look for it to be the springboard to more wins and a trip to the playoffs.

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Bears Offense Dominated in 2019 Opening Night Loss to Green Bay 10-3

September 6th, 2019 Matt Loede Posted in Game Stories, Opinions

It was ugly from the opening kickoff till the final Mitch Trubisky ending any chance the Bears may have had.

In between it was a showcase for two defenses that have bigger goals in 2019, and on this night the Packers D was just a touchdown better, leading Green Bay to a 10-3 win at Solider Field.

It was a massive letdown for a team that has their eyes on another NFC North title, this time with dreams of surpassing the first round of the postseason.

Instead Matt Nagy’s team managed just one field goal to take an early 3-0 lead, and never scored again.

Here’s a couple observations from the opening night debacle in Chicago.

1. Ugh

It’s like letting the air out of a balloon. That’s how this night played out, as the Bears offense looked more like they were playing in their first preseason game than a huge home game against their biggest rival.

They put up 254 yards in 65 plays, but let’s face it, each time it looked like they had some momentum going, a flag or a miscue by the offense shut it right back down.

Never have I seen a team face a 1st and 40 like the Bears did. Without question this team has a TON of work to do before week two, now the question is will they make a quick turnaround.

2. The D Has Nothing to Complain About

The Bears D allowed two scoring drives resulting in 10 points, and on pretty much any given Sunday that should be enough to win.

It wasn’t on this night, which is a shame because it does eliminate what was a very good game for the Bears D, getting to Aaron Rodgers for five sacks, and holding the Pack to just 213 total yards.

If they put this effort in every week, you can imagine this team will be just fine.

3. Mitch Off His Game

The Bears made the decision not to have Mitch Trubisky play or throw a pass in the preseason, and as you can see he looked awfully rusty in the seven-point loss.

On the night he was 26-for-45 for 228 yards with an awful pick that basically ended the last good shot the Bears had at tying the game.

He never got things going with the offense, and while they were slow, they just didn’t have any sort of emotion or momentum.

As QB’s go, Trubisky has to be better prepared, as on this night he didn’t appear to be.

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The Chicago Bears are Set to Begin an Exciting 100th Season

September 5th, 2019 Bryan Dietzler Posted in Bear Insight, Bears Banter, Features, Inside The Bears, Notes & Observations, Opinions

by Bryan Dietzler

Bears fans are still smarting from the loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles (well, more like Cody Parkey). This season is their chance for redemption. Many fans expect to see their beloved Bears not only back in the playoffs but ultimately, in the Super Bowl after a drought of more than a decade.

To go along with everyone’s hopes and dreams, it just so happens that this is the Bears’ 100th anniversary of coming into existence. Wouldn’t it be great if the Bears could celebrate their 100th season as an organized football team by winning a Super Bowl? As fans of the Bears, we can only hope that is the case.

The Bears will return a bevy of great talent from the previous year. Who isn’t going to want to watch the disruptive Khalil Mack give offenses fits with his ability to singlehandedly change the game? Or how about Eddie Jackson and his ability to score after an interception or fumble recovery? And don’t forget the offense. All eyes are on quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in hopes that he can continue to grow following his Pro Bowl season and lead the Bears to the promised land.

Running back David Montgomery is a special talent who should have an excellent first year in Chicago. Allen Robinson is ready to have a great year and help lead the team through the air.

The coaching staff appears to have prepared this team for a stellar season. The true test begins this Thursday evening when the Bears take on the Green Bay Packers, their hated division rival. Will the Bears be able to prove that they are the more dominant team and their time to take over the “North” is finally here?

We will soon find out.

Aside from all of the game action, the team has planned several events to help celebrate their 100th anniversary. We already saw them hold the 100th-anniversary celebration earlier this year. Each home game is going to have a theme for each decade the Bears have been around. There will be a bobblehead given out that includes some greats such as Dick Butkus, Devin Hester, and Red Grange. This, along with other activities will help make this season a huge success.

So, sit back and get ready to enjoy the 100th season of the Chicago Bears. Hopefully, it’s as magical as so many think it will be. Topping off the 100th season with a Super Bowl win would be the best thing possible. The Bears could easily get into the Super Bowl and make their fans happy.

It’s not out of the question.

Let’s wish our Bears good luck this Thursday night as they begin another 16 game journey towards the playoffs and march into history.

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Former Chicago Bear Cedric Benson passes Away at Age 36

August 29th, 2019 Bryan Dietzler Posted in Inside The Bears, Main, News

Former Chicago Bear first-round pick, Cedric Benson, passed away following a motorcycle crash in Austin, Texas on the 17th of August. A woman that was with Benson passed away as well while two others were injured in the accident.

He began his football career early and shined almost from the start. His yardage total, in high school at Robert E. Lee High in Midland, Texas was 8,423 yards. That was the most in Texas 5A history at that time. Incidentally, it was the fourth most in high school football history in the state of Texas. A large chunk of that dynamic rushing total came in his junior year when he rushed from just over 3,500 yards with 51 touchdowns.

Benson went to the University of Texas in Austin and started all four years. He rushed for 5540 yards and earned the honor of being named the best running back in college football by receiving the Doak Walker Award. He managed to rush the second-most yards in team history behind famed running back Ricky Williams. Benson’s best season, statistically, at Texas was in 2004, his senior year, where he racked up a total of 1,834 yards while scoring 20 touchdowns (one of those was a receiving touchdown).

The success found in college helped earn Benson lofty status in the 2005 NFL Draft where he was selected fourth overall by the Chicago Bears. Benson’s start with the Bears was rocky, especially at the start as he held out of camp. He ended up signing a 35-million-dollar contract.

Benson ended up with a knee injury to finish his rookie season.

The Bears had thoughts of putting Benson in the starting role heading into the 2006 season but he missed a good bit of training camp time. He ended up missing out on the starting job as the coaching staff went with Thomas Jones in as the starter. It was during that season that Benson scored his first touchdown (actually two) in week five when the Bears met the Buffalo Bills.

Benson’s career slowly started to gain traction that season but he still could not crack the starting lineup. He had his first 100-yard game against the Packers and went into the playoffs as the number two running back behind Jones. Benson had most of the carries in the Bears’ game against New Orleans and had a touchdown. He played in the Super Bowl but hurt his knee and missed most of the game.

Jones was traded away to the New York Jets and this meant that Benson finally had achieved starter status. His first season as the starter was both up and down. He started off the year with a 42-yard game but came back strong. He finally seemed to put it together after the bye week. However, an ankle injury took him out and his season was finished. He ran for a total 647 yards and four touchdowns that season.

After some legal trouble, which involved two alcohol-related arrests in a short span, Benson was released by the Bears.

Cedric found a new home in Cincinnati during the 2008 season and became their starter in week seven. Benson rushed for 747 yards that season.

In 2009, Benson signed a two-year contract to stay in Cincinnati. He led the NFL in rushing for a time that year. Perhaps his most memorable game came against the Chicago Bears. He got revenge on his old team rushing for 189 yards and one score.

That’s a game that most Bears fans will choose to forget.

He ended up with a 1000-yard season that year including six 100-yard rushing games. He excelled in the postseason rushing for a team-record 169 yards in a loss to the New York Jets.

The Bengals did not renew their contract with Benson in 2012 and so he ended up in Green Bay on a one-year deal. He suffered a foot injury and he never played football again.

For his career, Benson rushed for a total of 6017 yards on 1600 attempts for an average of 3.8 yards per carry. He scored a total of 33 touchdowns (one of these was a receiving touchdown). He caught 120 passes for 833 yards.

Admittedly, Benson’s time with the Bears was a bit rocky but he ended up making an impact in the NFL, albeit for a little while.

No one likes to see a tragedy like what happened to Benson take place.

Prayers go out to him and his family.

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Sporting News Picks the NFL 2019 Division Winners – Where Do the Bears Land?

August 8th, 2019 Matt Loede Posted in Opinions

It’s that time of the year when national pundits start to look ahead and pick records for teams around the league, as well as pick the winners of the divisions.

Sporting News is out with their 2019 predictions, and they have their picks in for the NFC North.

The longtime company picks the Packers and Bears, not a big surprise, will be the two top teams in the division, with just a game between the two.

The Packers are expected to end the season at 12-4, while they have the Bears ending the year at 11-5.

Sporting News has the Vikings at 9-7 being the third place team, while they have the Lions sitting at 5-11.

Here’s the complete rundown of who Sporting News likes along with the Super Bowl teams.

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