Bear Down: Bear > Falcon, in Wild and Football

To quote the great Larry David, the Bears looked prettyyyyyyyy pretty good on Sunday.  And I know that's an understatement, but Larry isn't known for saying "veryyyyyyyyy very good", so that will have to do.

As a last minute surprise to me, I scored a ticket to the game Sunday and what a day it was.  It started in the south lot (see photo 2) at 8:30am with the breakfast of champions, steak-n-eggs and a Miller Lite.  I've been to many tailgates at Soldier Field but this one had an extra buzz to it.  It was the kickoff to the new season, you're coming off a NFC Championship game berth, you're playing last years #1 seed in the NFC Atlanta Falcons and if that all weren't enough it was the 10 year anniversary to the 9/11 tragedy.  The place was electric.  The first goosebump moment of the day came when Jim Cornelison sang the nationally televised National Anthem while the field was covered with the stars and stripes (see photo 1).  It was special to be there as I'm sure it was to just watch on TV.  Once the ball was in the air though, it was all Bears from there on out.  They beat the Falcons in all three phases of the game.  Final score Bears 30 Falcons 12.

Keys to the game

*In true Bears fashion, this victory was fueled by the defense.  In order for Lovie's preferred Cover 2 defense to work, the front 4 must get to the quarterback on their own allowing them to drop 7 into coverage.  We all know Peppers is a beast (he's one the greatest ever to play the position) and will demand double teams leaving everyone else on the line most of the time with one man to beat.  The DT is really the one who benefits from this the most.  For the past two seasons or so we've been watching Tommie Harris (mostly on the ground) be a shell of himself from his early years and apply zero pressure in the pass rush.  Now the bears have a guy in Henry Melton who the coaches can't stop saying enough good things about.  I know it was only one game but the guys posses freakish skills.  I mean, in college at Texas the guy was a running back!  His burst off the line is reminiscent to Tommie the first half of his career.  Melton ended the day with two sacks and six quarterback hurries.  Again, it was just one game and he is young but look for him to keep improving and be a force on this Bears defense.

*Julius Peppers.  The guy just simply CAN'T be stopped.  What he does for this defense just doesn't show up in the boxscore.  When he was on the field I couldn't keep my eyes off him.  When the defense would run off the field I'd snap to "what happened? I just blacked out".  He is awesome (mancrush)

*Brian Urlacher.  Is he going to start slowing down anytime soon?  The 33 year old, 12 year vet, looked fast and decisive as ever while racking up 10 tackles, 1 int (what a grab!) and 1 fumble recovered for a TD.  The guy is my favorite Bear of all time (I'm 28) and like the man mentioned above here, is one of the greatest to ever play the position.

*The offense, while not perfect, played a very good game.  All the way down to the mad man Martz, the offense constantly was taking it to the Atlanta defense and won the battle Sunday.  Jay looked comfortable most of the day in what appeared to be a U-shaped offensive line that I think was a passing pocket.  I've heard they exist in other cities but I've never seen one here so I was shocked to see it Sunday.  Jay proved when given enough time, he is a very good quarterback.  Webb was still overall pretty awful and the line will be a work in progress all year.  Forte played strong and ran with a purpose, mostly during his 56 yard receiving touchdown in the first quarter.  He was making the first man miss all day and made a few of the Atlanta defenders look silly in the process.  I really like Forte and think he is a really good football player.  Its not a matter of "if" he'll get paid.  It's a matter of "when".

*Play of the game:  Julius Peppers didn't even have to touch him but his presence alone made Matt Ryan wet himself and put the ball on the ground.  Urlacher scooped it up and ran it into the endzone to put the Bears up 30-6 in the 3rd and seal the game.  I'm pretty sure everyone started chanting U.S.A. after that play.  Again, I started at 8:30am.

*Player of the game:  I have to give it to Henry Melton.  The kid was a beast and making life miserable for Ryan all day.  Great coming out party for him.

Overall, a great way to start the year.  This win was extra important in my book seeing how our next two games are against the Saints and Packers, two very tough teams.  At the Saints this Sunday will surely prove to be a hostile environment and tough game.  This Bears team proved though they are ready for the best.  Bring it on! 1-0 Bearssssss