When the Bears signed 30-year old DE Julius Peppers they were expecting big things out of him.  They figured that he would get 10-12 sacks this year and really amp up the Bears’ pass rush.  That has not happened as of yet.  Peppers has played in all 7 games for the Bears so far this year and he has 16 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks, 4 passes defensed, 1 interception and 2 forced fumbles.  The Bears need Peppers to step up soon which would help the Bears’ secondary.

Matt Forte is very inconsistent.  Sometimes he is outstanding but he has disappeared in a lot of games for the Bears so far this year.  With that in mind I think the Bears need to get 31-year old RB Chester Taylor more involved in the offense going forward.  Taylor has played in 7 games for the Bears so far this year and he has carried the ball 44 times for 160 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 10 passes for 78 yards (7.8 avg) so far this year.  The Bears have to get Taylor more involved to see if he can get into a groove and help jumpstart the offense a little bit.

The Bears’ offense wasted a pretty darn good effort by the D today.  Jay Cutler was the main culprit as usual as he completed 26 of 40 passes for 281 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs.  He also lost a fumble deep in Redskins’ territory.  Matt Forte wasn’t used enough in this game as he carried the ball 10 times for 41 yards (4.1 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 32 yards (6.4 avg).  Chester Taylor pitched in with 20 yards rushing on 3 carries (6.7 ypc) today.  Johnny Knox (6 rec, 86 yards, TD) and Earl Bennett (4 rec, 76 yards) led the way for the Bears in the passing game.  The Bears finished up with 66 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 40 passes for 256 yards.

CB Charles Tillman (8 tackles, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery) and S Danieal Manning (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Bears on D today.  CB D.J. Moore had a huge play for the Bears in this game as he intercepted a Donovan McNabb pass which he returned 54 yards for a TD.  The Redskins finished up with 121 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 32 passes for 187 yards.  The Bears are now 4-3 on the season after this disappointing loss.

Both of these teams suffered tough losses last weekend and need to win this week to get back on track.  It will be interesting to see which team wants it more this Sunday as that is the team that will likely win.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears would be smart to be more balanced than usual in this game.  The Redskins are giving up 121.8 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry so this could be the week to feed the ball to Matt Forte & Chester Taylor on the ground.  That would help slow the pass rush when the Bears want to chuck it down the field.  The Redskins are giving up 298.2 yards passing per game this year but you can’t pass the ball when the QB is on his back.  Bears’ QBs have been sacked 27 times already this season so Jay Cutler will likely have to have a fast trigger on Sunday.

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Redskins were much more balanced than usual against the Colts last Sunday Night and they will try to repeat that this weekend.  Ryan Torain will get most of the carries for the Skins so the Bears’ LBs better tighten up the chinstrap because he’s a downhill runner.  The Bears only have 9 sacks this year so unless Julius Peppers gets to the QB, Donovan McNabb is going to have time to throw the ball.  He will likely keep the passing game short when going to TE Chris Cooley while throwing the deeper passes to WRs Anthony Armstrong and Santana Moss.

PREDICTION:  REDSKINS 23, BEARS 20

25-year old QB Caleb Hanie has been promoted to the #2 QB for the Chicago Bears.  Hanie has played in 2 games for the Bears so far this year and he has completed 5 of 7 passes (71.4%) for 55 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (94.3 QB Rating).  Hanie also has carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard this year.   Hanie earned his promotion by looking good while Collins has been awful.  38-year old Todd Collins has really seemed to lose it.  He has played in 2 games for the Bears this year and he has completed 10 of 27 passes (37.0%) for 68 yards with 0 TD passes and 5 INTs (5.9 QB Rating).  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Collins get cut at some point this year by the Bears.

The Bears really stunk it up today at home against the Seahawks.  Jay Cutler got back into the starting lineup and he didn’t look that good.  He completed 17 of 39 passes for 290 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 19 yards (9.5 ypc) today.  Chester Taylor led the way on the ground today for the Bears with 31 yards on 4 carries (7.8 ypc).  Matt Forte had a tough day with 8 carries for 11 yards (1.4 ypc) with 1 TD grab and he also caught 3 passes for 40 yards (13.3 avg).  WR Johnny Knox (5 rec, 120 yards) and Earl Bennett (3 rec, 55 yards) led the way for the Bears in the passing game today.  Devin Hester returned a punt 89 yards for a TD to make this game close in the 4th quarter.  The Bears finished up with 61 yards rushing on 14 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 39 passes for 246 yards.

LB Brian Iwuh (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), CB Charles Tillman (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and S Chris Harris (7 tackles) led the way for the Bears on D today.  The Seahawks finished up with 111 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 40 passes for 242 yards.  The Bears are now 4-2 on the season.

The Seahawks have been a terrible road team this year as they are 0-2 having been crushed by the Rams & Broncos by a combined score of 51-17!  The Bears are 2-0 at home but there has been quite a bit of luck involved in those wins over the Lions & Packers.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  Jay Cutler is back at QB for the Bears and just in time to face a Seahawks’ D that is allowing 302.0 yards passing per game.  I look for the Bears to get back to an air raid type of attack against a Seahawks’ D that will have a hard time dealing with it.  The Bears’ O-Line is going to have to keep Seahawks’ DE Chris Clemons (4 sacks) out of the backfield so that Cutler can have time to throw the ball.  Cutler will have to keep tabs on where rookie safety Earl Thomas is at all times as he already has 3 pickoffs this year.  Matt Forte will continue to be a big part of the offense even though the Seahawks have a outstanding run D (72.8 yards rushing per game, 2.8 ypc).

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks will likely bust out their brand new, shiny toy (Marshawn Lynch) this Sunday against the Bears.  He will have to fit for every yard against Brian Urlacher and the rest of the Bears’ D which is allowing only 78.6 yards rushing and 3.5 ypc so far this year.  The Seahawks have a really inexperienced WR corps so the Bears will try to blitz Matt Hasselbeck and put pressure on the kids to make plays.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 27, SEAHAWKS 13

Matt Forte had his breakout game last weekend against the Panthers when the Bears needed him the most.  He carried the ball 22 times for 166 yards (7.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs including a 68-yard bolt for six points.  The most impressive thing about last week’s performance was that the Bears had no air support for Forte.  Forte has now carried the ball 72 times for 300 yards (4.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has also caught 18 passes for 231 yards (12.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Forte now has 531 of the Bears’ 1,528 yards on offense meaning that he’s accounting for 34.8% of the offense!

The Bears played old school football today winning by running the ball and playing defense.  With Jay Cutler out of this game due to a concussion the Bears had to start Todd Collins at QB and he did not play well.  Collins completed 6 of 16 passes for 32 yards with 0 TD passes and 4 INTs before he was replaced in the 4th quarter by Caleb Hanie.  Hanie finished up the game completing 2 of 3 passes for 19 yards.  Matt Forte decided to carry the Bears’ offense on his back today.  He carried the ball 22 times for 166 yards (7.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 2 passes for 22 yards (11.0 avg).  Chester Taylor also got a lot of work in this game as he carried the ball 18 times for 43 yards (2.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 11 yards (5.5 avg).  The Bears finished up this game with 218 yards rushing on 42 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 8 of 19 passes for 29 yards.

DT Israel Idonije led the way for the Bears’ D in this game with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 sacks and 2 QB hits.  Safety Chris Harris pitched in with 7 tackles in this game.  CB Charles Tillman, LB Brian Urlacher and DE Julius Peppers each had 1 interception apiece in this game for the Bears.  The Panthers finished up with 85 yards rushing on 25 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 32 passes for 62 yards.  The Bears are now 4-1 on the year.

Both of these teams suffered major injuries last weekend as Jay Cutler (concussion) of the Bears and Steve Smith (high left ankle sprain) of the Panthers will be sitting out this weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are starting Todd Collins at QB in this game but I don’t look for them to change the offense too much.  Luckily for the Bears, Julius Peppers plays for them now.  The Panthers only have 4 sacks this year so I don’t see the Bears’ O-Line having the same issues they had against the Giants last weekend.  That being said I wouldn’t be surprised if Matt Forte & Chester Taylor got the ball alot this week both running the ball and catching it out of the backfield. 

When the Panthers have the ball:  With Steve Smith out of action the Panthers are going to run the ball all day long.  That means that Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher and the rest of the Bears’ front seven will have to be ready to deal with DeAngelo Williams & Jonathan Stewart.  The Bears are only giving up 77.0 yards rushing and 3.5 yards rushing per carry so far this year so I think they will be up to the challenge.  The Bears give up 255.3 yards passing per game but the Panthers don’t have the receivers or the QB to move the ball through the air in this game especially with Julius Peppers chasing Jimmy Clausen around.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 17, PANTHERS 3