Now That’s More Like It

Make no mistake about it.  The Chicago Bears were supposed to win the contest against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. On paper, the match up favored the Bears.  So the Bears won.  But it was the way they won that stood out.

A tight game with a close finish would have perhaps continued the general feelings from the public that the team was spiraling downward at an alarming rate.  A loss could have just as easily done that as well but a decisive rout against a horrible team was just what the doctor ordered for the Bears.

All cylinders were in full working order Sunday night as the Bears improved their record to 3-3.  Jay Cutler had plenty of time to get the ball to his receivers as  perhaps the biggest problem, the offensive line held their ground.  There were some occasional hiccups but compared with the dismal performance in the previous weeks by the line, they played rather well.  On the other side of the ball where most of the changes took place, the defense finally brought enough pressure to the quarterback to make it appear that our safeties our indeed capable of coverage.

Stephen Paea, the Bears 2nd Round draft pick finally got his first action at DT.  He played so well in fact, that it brings up the question of Why wasn’t he in there all along?  Chris Conte also go his first nod at starting safety and made some nice plays.  The defense held the Vikings only true weapon in Adrian Peterson to under 40 yards.

On special teams, Devin Hester was at it again taking his 5th career kickoff to the house.  Devin Hester the receiver, also had a beautiful over the back catch for a touchdown.  At the final whistle, the score was 39-10 Bears.

So what happened?  Are the Bears done hibernating?  My first reaction is that they are not.  While the game was an absolute blowout, I am still not convinced that this team is capable of a playoff berth let alone playoff push.   The Minnesota Vikings are terrible.  And as stated before, teams must win the winnable games.  So the Bears did what they were supposed to do.

The real test will come next Sunday as the Bears take a flight to London and play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  I am not ready to crown the Bears just yet.