23-year old Matt Forte has not played well at all this season.   In six games this year, Forte has carried the ball 92 times for 318 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 22 passes for 154 yards (7.0 avg) with no TD receptions.  Getting Jay Cutler to play QB in the off-season was supposed to make the Bears have a balanced offense but Forte isn’t doing his part.  What really hurts though is when you see what Cedic Benson and Thomas Jones are going this year.  Benson has played in 7 games for the Bengals this season and he has carried the ball 164 times for 720 yards (4.4 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  Benson has also caught 10 passes for 66 yards (6.6 avg) this year.  Thomas Jones has also been outstanding this season for the Jets.  He has played in 7 games this season and he has carried the ball 122 times for 602 yards (4.9 ypc) wiht 7 RD runs.  He has also caught 5 passes for 21 yards (4.2 avg) this season.  Jones has much better numbers than Forte does even though he was sharing the ball with Leon Washington before he was injured.  The bottom line is that Matt Forte needs to play better and the Cleveland Browns provide him a excellent chance to get his game back on track tomorrow.

The Chicago Bears (3-3) looked awful last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, losing 45-10, and are looking to bounce back this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns (1-6).  The Browns are not a good team, but with the way the Bears have looked lately they aren’t either.  The defense gave up 448 yards last week, including 198 rushing yards to Cedric Benson.  The defense will have to do better than that, but they should have an easier time slowing down Jamal Lewis who only has one 100 yard rushing game this year, with the rest all under 60 yards.  There is no Carson Palmer to deal with in this game either, as the struggling Derek Anderson is still the starting quarterback for the Browns.  He has thrown six interceptions in the last four games, so if the Bears can get some pressure on him they could get some turnovers.

On offense, Jay Cutler and Matt Forte really need to step their play up.  Cutler needs to take care of the ball and stop throwing interceptions.  He has five picks in the last two games, but he has been doing a good job finding Devin Hester.  Hester was the only good offensive player in last week’s embarrassment for the Bears, catching eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.  Cutler should continue to look for Hester since it looks like he is finally coming into his own as a receiver.  Forte continues to be a non impact player, but he may be able to break out of his funk and have a good game against a Browns defense that gives up 170 rushing yards per contest.  The Bears are also honoring Walter Payton before the game, as it is the 10th anniversary of his death.  Hopefully Sweetness can inspire the Bears to play like they are capable of.  The Bears should win this won easily, but it could be close if they play like they did last week.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 28, Cleveland Browns 14

The Chicago Bears (3-3) were completely embarrassed by Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson, and the rest of the Cincinnati Bengals (5-2).  Most thought this game was a toss up and could go either way, but the Bears looked more like the Titans and were crushed.  Former Bears’ running back Cedric Benson got his revenge, going for 189 rushing yards and a touchdown on 37 carries (5.1 avg).  They let Bengal’s QB Carson Palmer sit in the pocket pick away at the Bears’ secondary.  He finished with five touchdowns and no interceptions on 20/24 passes (83%).  Jay Cutler played pretty much the exact opposite as the way Palmer played, throwing three interceptions and botching two snaps.  Cutler just got $20 million and a two-year extension from the Bears a few days before this contest, and hopefully for the Bears this was not a sign of things to come from the talented, but erratic quarterback.

The Bears defense was just as bad if not worse than the offense.  The secondary had some key breakdowns, letting guys get wide open, including Chad Ochocinco on a 3rd quarter touchdown where a defender was not even within 10 yards of the cocky receiver.  Matt Forte continues his struggles, getting only 24 yards on six carries, and it looks like his rookie year may have been a fluke.  Forte has been consistently unproductive this year for the Bears.  Other than a 121 yard day against the pathetic Detroit Lions, Forte has had rushing yard totals of 55, 29, 66, 23, and 24 which gives him a 2.4 average (not including the Lions game).  Devin Hester was the only bright spot for the Bears, getting his first 100-yard reception game of his career.  He finished with eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.  The Bears looked awful in this game and need to go back to the drawing board and make sure their season isn’t lost.  They take on the Cleveland Browns at home next game.

The Chicago Bears (3-2) are on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) Sunday and are looking to shut up running back Cedric Benson.  Benson, who was the Bears’ first round pick four years ago, says the Bears “blackballed” him.  Benson has turned into an elite back this season and is very bitter towards the Bears, and has not been afraid to let the media know about it.  The Bears have denied such accusations, but this has added some extra drama to what should be a close and exciting football game.  Benson was held to only 44 yards last week against a Texans’ defense that gives up an average of 125 rushing yards per game, so I think the Bears will be able to limit what Benson does.

The Bears need running back Matt Forte to have a good game.  Forte has had himself a “sophomore slump” so far this season with only one game over 100 rushing yards.  The Bengals give up 97 rushing yards per game, so Forte should be able to get himself going in this one.  Jay Cutler needs to play mistake free football, as the two interceptions last week really hurt the Bears.  They did a terrible job in the redzone last week, something they really need to do better this week.  Carson Palmer is a very good quarterback and has proven he is very clutch as well.  If the Bears can slow the running game down, they can blitz Palmer into some mistakes.  The Bears really need a win and I am going to keep my faith in “Monsters of Midway” and predict a close win on the road for them.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 31, Cincinnati Bengals 27

28-year old linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa is out for the season due to right knee surgery.  He finishes his season having played in 2 games in which he made 4 tackles, had 1 tackle for a loss and he forced 1 fumble.  This hurts the depth at linebacker for the Bears but it’s not like Tinoisamoa played that much for the Bears this season anyway.

The Chicago Bears (3-2) gave this game away to the Atlanta Falcons (4-1) with huge mistakes in the red zone.  On three separate drives Jay Cutler threw an interception inside the 10-yard line, Matt Forte fumbled two plays in a row inside the 5-yard line with the second fumble recovered by the Falcons, and OT Orlando Pace false started on 4th and 1 inside the 5-yard line on the Bears’ final drive.  What I thought might be a little bit of a shoot-out, turned into a defensive and turnover battle, with the Falcons winning both.  Cutler finished the game with 300 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions on 27/43 attempts (63%).

The Bears defense put up a strong effort today, limiting Matt Ryan to 185 yards and two interceptions on 19/33 attempts.  Ryan did throw two touchdowns, both coming in the second quarter to give the Falcons a 14-7 halftime lead.  The Bears did a great job containing the dangerous Michael Turner to only 30 yards on 13 carries (2.3 avg).    The offense could not take care of business in the red zone though, so it was not enough.  Rookie Johnny Knox had another good game for the Bears, catching three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown.  Matt Forte was terrible, only getting 23 yards on 15 carries (1.5 avg) and those two consecutive fumbles in the red-zone.  The Bears’ linebackers seem cursed this year, as they lost another one to an injury with Pisa Tinoisamoa leaving the game (knee).  The Bears will look to bounce back next week on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bears have released TE Michael Gaines to make room on the roster for newly acquired DE Gaines Adams.  The Bears don’t use the TE as much in the offense as they have in the past so they didn’t need a 4th TE on the roster.  Gaines did not catch any passes for the Bears this season so he won’t be missed.

Earl Bennett had the look of a bust for the Chicago Bears after a rookie season in which he played 10 games and didn’t catch any passes.  He did return 1 punt for 17 yards and he had 2 tackles which was the extent of his production as a rookie.  He has been revived by the fact that his old college buddy at Vanderbilt (Jay Cutler) has come to the Bears as the starting QB.  Bennett has caught 15 passes for 200 yards (13.3 avg) this season and he has also returned 4 punts for 63 yards (15.8 avg).  Now that is the player the Bears thought they were getting when they drafted Bennett and they need him to keep up the good work.

The Bears have acquired 26-year old DE Gaines Adams from the Buccaneers for a 2nd round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Adams has played in 5 games this season for the Bucs and he has made 10 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he has 1 sack.  He has now played in 37 games in his three year NFL career and he has made 86 tackles, defensed 10 passes, has 13.5 sacks, forced 2 fumbles and he has picked off two passes (one he returned for a TD).  Adams was a very high draft pick just a couple of years ago and the Bears are banking on a change of scenery to revive his career.

The Chicago Bears (3-1) are on the road Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons (3-1).  Both of these teams play pretty good football and it should be a close game.  The Bears are rested up after a bye week, so they should be fresh and ready to go.  The Falcons are coming off a big 45-10 win in San Francisco, and are looking to ride that momentum into this contest.  Both teams are pretty even in most stats, but the Falcons defense looks to be the weaker of the two.  They give up 127 rushing yards per game, and with Matt Forte coming off a break out game of 121 yards on 12 carries (10.1 avg) the Bears should be able to do some damage on the ground.  They also have Jay Cutler and his super fast receivers in Johnny Knox and Devin Hester for some deep threats.  Cutler has thrown 901 yards, eight touchdowns, five interceptions, with a 64% completion percentage.  His number aren’t the greatest, but he has been a good leader and has proven he can come through in the clutch.

The Falcons have a pretty good quarterback themselves in Matt Ryan.  He has thrown 977 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions and a 67% completion rate.  The Bears need to focus on shutting Ryan down, and if they can do that they should be able to slow down running back Michael Turner and Falcons 106 rushing yard average.  These are two evenly matched football teams, but the Bears have the better defense so they should win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 30, Atlanta Falcons 24