The Bears' First Quarter: Better than expected

I debated whether or not I should really do quarterly updates for the Bears, seeing as the football team plays the least number of games of any of my Four Bs. It's not entirely unrealistic that in a 16-game season, the Monsters of the Midway could go a four-game span where a win or loss might not be applicable. Still, I figured if I take the time for the other three teams, the Bears should get their special little graphic too.

And for a while there, it certainly appeared like this first quarter of the 2010 season would be quite a glorious little update. In the midst of a winless preseason, I'd said that there was a very real possibility the Bears could finish last in the NFC North. Instead, the team came out and won its first three games—two of which defied many expert's predictions. And while all three of those wins could have just as easily been losses, you have to give the team credit in the sense that they're winning close games—sometimes against teams not playing their best—rather than losing these games that they could have won.

Of course, that last game for this first quarter of the season was a little discouraging, and the team's getting ready to trot out backup QBs to begin the next quarter of the season. Still, as a fan, it's hard to complain about what the Bears did to start their 2010 campaign: 

RECORD FOR THE QUARTER: 3-1 (3-1 OVERALL) — Since I've got the benefit of looking back at what I've predicted each and every week in the NFL, the Bears have performed pretty much the opposite of what I anticipated every single week thus far (only exception being the opening week win against the Lions—which we owe a certain level of gratitude to the officials and a poorly-conceived NFL rule for). I had them at 2-2, and Chicago won both games I thought they'd lose while dropping that last game against the Giants where I'd apparently sipped too much of the Kool-Aid and thought they'd win.

BEST WIN: September 19 (Bears 27, Cowboys 20) — Very few people had expected the Bears—fresh off that narrow victory over the Lions that could have should have just as easily been a loss—to ruin the home opener of a Cowboys team many had pegged to be playing in the Super Bowl they'll be hosting. After Chris Williams went down with a hamstring injury in the opening quarter, Jay Cutler was sacked only one time in the game and ended up being 21 of 29 for 277 yards. D.J. Moore picked off two passes and Charles Tillman forced a fumble as the Bears managed to win their second game of the year in a far more convincing fashion than the manner in which they'd escaped their own home opener victorious. Cutler ended up with three touchdown passes in the game, with Hester's one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone being the prettiest. The 39-yard pass to Greg Olsen in which Cutler found the tight end open while being blitzed wasn't bad either. More amazingly, the Bears didn't commit a single turnover. The Cowboys did have a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter, but kicker David Buehler missed a 44-yard attempt and the Bears ended up putting the game away. Dallas fans might take comfort in the fact that their 1993 Super Bowl-winning squad also started 0-2, but Bears fans could also feel pretty good since the last time Chicago started with two victories was the 2006 season—when that team went to the Super Bowl.

WORST LOSS: October 3 (Giants 17, Bears 3) — Chicago was brought back to Earth on national television as Jay Cutler's offensive line watched their quarterback get sacked nine times—in the first half. In the end, the Bears amassed only 110 total yards for the evening and even had to bring in third-stringer Caleb Hanie. All of the problems I'd been anticipating with the offensive line suddenly became evident against the Giants and Cutler was forced to leave after suffering a concussion at some point—presumably on the final time he was taken down when his head appeared to bounce off the turf. Amazingly, the Bears defense had kept the game a 3-0 contest going into halftime, but the G-Men took over in the second half. Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 129 yards with a touchdown, and even Brandon Jacobs ran in for a score after losing a fumble earlier in the game. Both Cutler and backup Todd Collins threw an interception as the Bears were totally ineffective all night long, failing to convert on any of their 13 third down attempts.

MVP: Brian Urlacher — While Jay Cutler finally resembled the quarterback we'd been imagining all along in those first three games and Julius Peppers has been the presence we'd hoped for on the defensive line, it's been easy to see why that opening week wrist injury suffered by Urlacher was so devastating last season. The linebacker is already in the top 25 of the league with 30 tackles and has also forced a fumble, added a sack and defended three passes. His presence isn't just a threat against the opponent's run but also when they take to the air, and if he can keep up the type of performances he's had so far, I'm sure Urlacher will be in contention for Comeback Player of the Year. You'd never guess this guy's age (hey—he's the same age as me!) by the way he's been playing on the field so far this year.

LVP: Devin Aromashodu — I had entered this season with concerns about how the young receiving corps of the Bears would handle that ultra-complicated playbook of Mike Martz (watch Devin Hester's apparent confusion when the team breaks from a huddle), but it's Aromashodu who's ended up being the least valuable at this point. The team needs him to be a slot receiver and Aromashodu is apparently incapable of that. Additionally, he hasn't been able to contribute on special teams or blocking assignments downfield, and thus, hasn't seen many opportunities to even get on the field at all since the opener. His role as more of a specialist isn't going to help with a Bears team that doesn't have a lot of room for keeping those types very active, and since Hester and Knox have established themselves as the primary outside guys, Aromashodu would be wise to start making more of an effort to learn that slot position if he has any hopes of getting more looks—or playing time in general—this season.

THREE THINGS I'VE LIKED SO FAR:

1. WINNING THE BIG GAMES — Dallas and Green Bay were two of the popular picks to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this season, and thus, not too many expected the Bears to defeat either one of those teams. But sure enough, Chicago emerged from both of those games with surprising wins.
2. SIGNS OF THE QUARTERBACK WE TRADED FOR — In the first three games, Jay Cutler was a helluva lot closer to being the QB many of us in Chicago had in mind when Kyle Orton was shipped to Denver in April 2009. OK, so maybe the last performance against the Giants wasn't so stellar—it allowed Peter King to conclude the Broncos got the better of that deal—but once Cutler gets some blocking from his offensive line, I'll still feel pretty good about it.
3. DEFENSIVE STARS — In addition to the previously mentioned stellar play so far from Urlacher, Lance Briggs has also been making an early case to be a Pro Bowler. And again, Julius Peppers might not have the benefit of scary numbers, but his presence has helped the D-line and made the unit look much improved.

THINGS I HAVEN'T:

1. THE OFFENSIVE LINE — You're hoping that the Giants game proves to be an exception rather than the rule, but there's the distinct possibility that maybe the O-line played their best games in the first three of the season and now the bottom's fallen out.
2. THE RUNNING GAME — With Mike Martz calling the shots on offense now, it's obvious the Bears are no longer a team that "gets off the bus running." Matt Forte and Chester Taylor have each had a few decent runs, but the attack on the ground lacks consistency and there's some real issues with blocking.
3. THE MARK ANDERSON MOVE — The Bears caught a fair amount of grief for letting Alex Brown go and saying Mark Anderson was ready to be a full-time guy. Now Anderson's been cut and perhaps even more mystifying, the Bears went and signed Charles Grant—a fellow still facing potential discipline from the league after being indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter in 2008 in which a pregnant woman was shot to death. You might recall Jerry Angelo citing these same issues as being reasons for letting Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson go, but apparently the character of the team has changed for the worse.

25 WORDS OR LESS:

A favorable finish to the first four games bodes well for a softer portion of the schedule with the next four.