Bear Down: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

A wise man once said, "Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth".

Sure, that same man once said, "My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart! I want to eat his children!", but It's tougher to relate that one with the Bears so I'll just stick with the first quote.

The Eagles may have had a solid game plan for the Bears but it went out the window once the Bears punched them in the mouth with a surgical-like opening drive resulting in a touchdown followed by a defensive stop.  The start to Monday nights game couldn't have gone any better for the Bears especially being on the road in front of a hostile Philadelphia crowd.  Half way through the first quarter the crowd seemed deflated and the Bears looked to be the fighter throwing the punches.  In the end the Bears got the victory in what was, in my opinion, the most entertaining game of the season.  This one just felt big leading up to kickoff and throughout the game and it didn't disappoint.  Bears 30 Eagles 24

Keys To The Game:

*The star(s) of this game for me was Lance Louis and the entire offensive line.  Lance in particular because he was constantly mauling the Eagle's linemen all night.  I can't remember seeing a Bears offensive lineman play that mean since maybe Olin is his hay-day.  It was fun to watch.  I was really impressed with the whole line though.  It was great to see Chris Williams pulling hard on the sweeps and laying solid blocks down the field for Forte.  And get this, Jay was sacked a total of zero times.  ZERO!  Over the past three years, that's like going out and partying with Lindsay Lohan one night and getting arrested zero times.  Sure, it's possible, but it wouldn't be the Bears or LiLo if it didn't happen.  Great to see that going forward.

*Jay is a stud.  He didn't even have his best stuff Monday, missing on a few throws, but his grit and perseverance were enough to lead the team to the win.  Martz let him roll out where he feels most comfortable and make plays.  He even did his best Vick impression on the play where he spun on the ground and was able to get up and dump the ball off to Barber for the positive gain (that drive may have been Jay's best of the year).  Jay is getting better and stronger as the season goes on.  This is the best football he has played as a Bear.

*My Name Is Earl!  Jay got his favorite target back in Earl Bennet and the two looked locked in and great together.  Forget Cavallari and "Jaystin".  That couple is so last year.  The new power couple in Chicago is, ehrr, "JEARL"?!?  Yeah, that'll work.  Pass it on!

*It sometimes goes unnoticed because of his sleep inducing personality, but Lovie Smith is a great coach.  Say what you will about the guy but he always has his players and coaches ready to play and puts a strong team on the field week in and week out.  The game plan he and the coaches came up with to slow Vick and the Eagles was brilliant.  Vick even said it himself in the post game that the Bears were throwing stuff at him that he wasn't expecting.  They dropped the cover 2 almost entirely but disguised it in a way that Vick didn't know what was happening.  They pretty much played cover 1 all game leaving Conte 20-25 yards off the line eliminating the deep ball and blitzed from all angles (very un-bear-like).  It was a great game plan.

*The stars on the defensive side of the ball showed up in a big way.  Briggs was a beast running down Vick and forcing the interception by Major.  Peppers was a force on the line causing havoc and forcing double teams to create plays for his teammates.  Urlacher was Urlacher and played his standard great game.  What he may have lost in speed since his younger days he has quadrupled in smarts, making him a better player as he ages.  He's like Benjamin Button! (but before he becomes a kid and has a weird love connection with Cate Blanchett.  Uggh that movie sucked)

*My last key to the game is Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer.  If you don't already do it for Bears games I highly recommend turning down the TV announcers and turning on Jeff and Tom on the radio.  In past years the games have only been on am 780 and the delay from radio to TV was to big to watch.  Now the games are also on 105.9 fm and the delay is much less and a lot better sounding too.  It's the way to go in this man's opinion.  Nothing beats Jeff yelling "Fade. To. BLACK!"

Play Of The Game:

Corey Graham forcing and recovering the fumble on the punt at the end of the first half.  It led to seven points right before the half and was a punch to the gut of the Eagles.  That man should be seeing the pro bowl this year.

Player Of The Game:

I have to give it to Lance Louis and the offensive line.  That may have been the best line play Jay has seen as a Bear.  Very impressive.

In case you couldn't tell, I had a blast watching this game.  I don't know about you but to me it felt like FOREVER since we watched the Bears before Monday night.  Bye weeks suck.  For those two weeks between games you never leave your house, close all the blinds on the windows, don't shower or shave, burn garbage in the kitchen sink for heat, only eat leftover chili from the last game and fall asleep in the fetal position in the bathtub while humming the super bowl shuffle.  You know?!?  Of course you do.  They're the same for everyone every year.  Next up, Detroit.  Bears win this one and everyone forgets the beat down they took from the Lions in week 5 as they'll be tied with them for second in the division.  Keep the train moving.  5-3 Bearssssss