Bear Madness

FOOTBALL THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

Obviously the big news this weekend was the season-ending injury to Tom Brady, and deservingly so. Brady is the reigning MVP of the NFL, has won three Super Bowls and is dating one of the hottest women on the planet. He also plays for one of the leagues most visible, and most disliked, franchises, the New England Patriots.

But I’m not going to spend this space writing about Brady. You can read about him here, here, and here. Instead, I need to discuss a certain team known as DA BEARS.

Now last week, I wrote that in my opinion, the Bears were going to go 6-10 because of their inability to score points. And of course, that still could occur. But last night versus Indianapolis, I couldn’t help but be impressed by how the entire team performed. Quarterback Kyle Orton was smart with the ball and spread the rock around to seven different receivers. Running back Matt Forte was great, as he showed speed and power in chewing up the Colts for 123 yards. And the defense went back to their early-2006 selves, forcing turnovers, attacking the ball and most importantly, not allowing the big play.

Now the Bears travel to Carolina, who had a big road win of their own yesterday, going into San Diego and winning on the final play of the game. The Panthers are very similar to the Bears, with a fast defense, a young running back and a coach with something to prove. The matchup will test Orton and Forte, and should provide a different type of challenge to the D. Beating the Colts was surprisingly easy, but don’t count on that happening two weeks in a row. I’m not ready to call the Bears a contender quite yet, but I must say, so far so good.