Tough loss in cheese land

Instead of a longer column, here are four expanded thoughts on the Bears-Packers game, one on the upcoming Steelers matchup, followed by Week 2 picks.

1) As much as the Green Bay loss stung - and it felt like a swarm of mosquitoes attacked after that game - the season-ending injury to Brian Urlacher was much more painful. Before the season began, a lot of writers talked about how the middle linebacker was going to have a career year. He was healthy, he was comfortable with Bob Babich as his linebackers coach and he’s surrounded by a pair of guys, Lance Briggs and Pisa Tinoisamoa, who would allow him to roam the middle of the field and make plays. During the first quarter, #54 laid a great hit on Aaron Rodgers, one of those classic Urlacher blows where he just slams into a guy like the train hitting the criminals’ bus in ‘The Fugitive’. But that hit is what probably messed up his wrist, ending his 2009 before it even began. The Bears will be OK without him, since Hunter Hillenmeyer and Nick Roach are serviceable players. But they could have been great with him, and it’s too bad that won’t happen.

2) Offensive play calling was one of the deaths of the 2008 Bears, and it appears to be happening again. Not enough blame was placed on Ron Turner for his horrendous plays in the fourth quarter, which ended up costing the Bears the win. Follow my logic here: After an impressive drive, Bears have 1st-and-Goal from the 5 with 3:48 remaining. Score is 13-12 Packers. What does Turner do? First down he hands the ball to Matt Forte, which makes perfect sense. Gain of one, making it second down on the 4. Note that Forte at this point had now rushed the ball on four consecutive plays. So what’s the second down call? You guessed it, #22 on a toss to the outside, a play that has a history of working roughly 0% of the time. No gain of course, making it third down from the four. Now Turner only has one choice, which is to throw. But Turner decides to call a play-action, which nobody wearing green & gold falls for, and sends only one receiver, Greg Olsen, out on a route. He’s surrounded, ball sails over his head, and now the Bears have to settle for Robbie Gould. A 15-13 lead could have been 20-13 (with a two-point conversion), which of course made a difference when Nate Vasher did his best Richard Pryor impression a minute later. (Get it, he got burned) If Ron Turner is smarter calling plays, the Bears may win that game, even with the late Packer TD.

3) Now onto the main topic of the week, Mr. Jay Cutler. Everybody had a prediction on how his season would unfold, but nobody predicted this. Four picks, including three in the first half, and one on the final drive of the game. Simply put, it was very Rex-like, but with the added disappointment of actual expectations. Some of the picks were the fault of receivers, some were nerves, some were just good defensive plays. And believe me, he’ll bounce back at some point this year, and he better considering the price the team paid for his services. But as Herman Edwards once famously says, ‘You play to win the game.’ As far as I’m concerned, Cutler’s 1:4 TD-to-interception ratio is no big deal compared to his 0-1 record as the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears.

4) It’s been all complaining thus far, so it’s only fair to highlight a few guys who played well Sunday night. The clear #1 is the Prince, Adewale Ogunleye. Showing the speed and power that made him a consistent double-digit sack man earlier this decade, Ogunleye recorded two sacks to go along with five pressures versus the Pack. That kind of pass rush is exactly what the Bears need to succeed this season, because we saw later in the game that they don’t have a secondary that can sit back in coverage if the team chooses to blitz. A second player who shined under the Sunday night lights was wideout Johnny Knox. Despite only making two catches, the emergency #3 receiver - Devin Aromashodu was out with a quad injury - gained 82 yards through the air. That included a 68-yard bomb down the right sideline, where Konx blew by former Heisman winner (and still very fast) Charles Woodson. A go-to deep threat was something the Bears offense lacked in 2008, but if Knox and Devin Hester can continue to make plays on the long ball, it will elevate the offense as a whole.

5) The longer I think about facing Pittsburgh this Sunday, the better I feel. Which is a surprise, considering they are the defending Super Bowl champs and the Bears are already in must-win mode. But the Steelers are on nine-days rest, which is too long in my opinion when a team is rusty to begin with to start the year. It’s the home opener of the Jay Cutler Era, which means the lakefront will be jacked up with 61,000 of Bill Swerski’s Superfans. And did I mention already the Bears are in must-win mode. I’m still picking the Bears to lose - I thought Ben Rothlisberger was one of the three best QB’s in the league before his clutch win during Week 1 - but I see another close one that goes down to the end of the fourth quarter. Key will be getting a good performance out of Matt Forte, which didn’t happen versus the Packers.


Now for my Week 2 picks, following up a 13-3 performance in the opener. My picks in bold.


Carolina at Atlanta


Minnesota at Detroit


Cincinnati at Green Bay


Houston at Tennessee


Oakland at Kansas City


New England at New York Jets


New Orleans at Philadelphia


St. Louis at Washington


Arizona at Jacksonville


Tampa Bay at Buffalo


Seattle at San Francisco


Cleveland at Denver


Pittsburgh at Bears


Baltimore at San Diego


New York Giants at Dallas


Indianapolis at Miami


And my survival team of the week, after using up the Saints last week, is...the Washington Redskins.