The Chicago Bears have already played three of the best teams in the NFL this year in the Falcons, Saints and Packers.  While I don’t think this will be a walk in the park for the Bears, I do expect them to bring their A-Game just like they did in the season opener against the Falcons.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  Matt Forte is going to still be the focal point of the offense in this game, but it will be more likely running than catching the ball this weekend.  The Panthers are giving up 117.0 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry so far this year as they have had a couple of devastating injuries in the linebacking corps.  Jay Cutler has been sacked 14 times already this year which has caused him to rush things even when has had time to throw the ball.  The Panthers have two good DEs in Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy (5 combined sacks this year), so it will be up to the OTs to give Cutler the time he needs to throw the ball.  If Cutler has time to throw, he’s going to have a great game against a Panthers’ D that is allowing 239.7 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 108.9 QB Rating against them so far this year.

When the Panthers have the ball:  The Bears’ front seven will have to take care of stopping the Panthers’ running game, which has been non-existent to this point in the year.  The Panthers are averaging 84.0 yards rushing per game and only 3.3 yards per carry.  The Bears can’t afford to gang up on the passing game though as DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are still good NFL RBs despite their slow starts.  TEs have tortured the Bears’ defense so far this year and that’s not good news going into this season as Greg Olsen and Jeremy Shockey have combined to catch 21 passes for 306 yards (14.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Also, remember that Greg Olsen is going to try to stick it to the Bears who dealt him to the Panthers after the lockout was lifted.  In that same respect, DE Julius Peppers might want to really stick it to his old team by putting heat on rookie Cam Newton the whole game.  The Bears need to double Steve Smith and make Newton beat them by throwing to someone else.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 24, PANTHERS 17

22-year old undrafted WR Dane Sanzenbacher out of Ohio State has beaten the odds.  He not only made the team out of training camp, but he is starting to really help the offense with his willingness to go over the middle and pay the price to make a catch.  Sanzenbacher has played in all 3 games for the Bears so far this year and he has caught 9 passes for 66 yards (7.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  4 of his 9 receptions have went for first downs.  He reminds me of a poor man’s Wes Welker.  Jay Cutler has been under duress the whole year and he will be looking to dump the ball off on short passes over the middle, which is Sanzenbacher’s specialty so far.  Look for his role to possibly expand in the passing game in the near future.

The Chicago Bears played hard yesterday but the Packers were clearly the better team.  Jay Cutler looked a little skittish in the pocket yesterday.  He still completed 21 of 37 passes for 302 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 11 yards (3.7 ypc) in this game.  Matt Forte only rushed for 2 yards on 9 carries (0.2 ypc) but he also caught 7 passes for 80 yards (11.4 avg) in this game.  WRs Johnny Knox (4 rec, 84 yards) and Devin Hester (3 rec, 62 yards) led the Bears in the passing game yesterday.  TE Kellen Davis (1 rec, 32 yards, TD) and WR Dane Sanzenbacher (5 rec, 27 yards, TD) also made some big plays for the Bears in this game.  The Bears finished up with only 13 yards rushing on 12 carries (1.1 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 37 passes (56.8%) for 278 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 22:31.

The defense had a rough time for the Bears yesterday.  LB Lance Briggs led the way for the Bears on D in this game with 14 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  CB D.J. Moore (8 tackles) and LB Brian Urlacher (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also had solid games for the Bears.  DE Julius Peppers pitched in with a fumble recovery for the Bears.  The Packers finished up with 100 yards rushing on 29 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 38 passes (73.7%) for 292 yards.  The Bears are now 1-2 on the year.

Throw the numbers out, because this weekend is going to be a war between two heated rivals.  The Bears were 1-1 at home against the Packers last year, losing the NFC Championship against them.  They are going to be looking for revenge.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are going to come out feeding the ball to Matt Forte in the running game in an attempt to control the clock and slow the Packers’ pass rush.  Jay Cutler is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly in this game as the Packers are going to be sending OLBs Clay Matthews and Erik Walden on blitzes all day long.  That means that the WRs (Roy Williams, Johnny Knox, Devin Hester and Dane Sanzenbacher) are going to have to get yards after the catch on short passes to help the Bears move the ball through the air.  Look for Matt Forte on a lot of screens in this game to also slow down the pass rush of the Packers.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers are going to come out of the locker room throwing the ball.  The Bears need DE Julius Peppers (2 sacks), DE Israel Idonije (1 sack) and DT Henry Melton (2 sacks) to get a good pass rush on Aaron Rodgers, because if he has time to throw the ball, the Bears are in trouble.  The Bears are likely going to have issues in the secondary due to injuries to both of their starting safeties.  If the Bears have too many DBs on the field, the Packers could turn to the ground with James Starks and Ryan Grant.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 23, BEARS 20

The Bears should have done more to improve the offensive line in the off-season.  28-year old QB Jay Cutler has been sacked 11 times already this year, and that’s way too many.  Cutler has played in both of the Bears’ games so far this year and he has completed 41 of 77 passes (53.2%) for 556 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (84.1 QB Rating).  He also also carried the ball 1 time for 12 yards this year.  I feel sorry for Cutler as he is going to be a human pinata again this year.  The Bears should have backup QB Caleb Hanie warming up as soon as the game kicks off, starting this weekend against the Packers.

The Bears have lost rookie starting right offensive tackle Gabe Carimi for the next four weeks due to a dislocated right knee.  This is going to make the offensive line even worse for the Bears as Carimi was grading out the best of the bunch.  The Bears are only averaging 74.0 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry, so the O-Line isn’t getting much of a push in the running game.  Jay Cutler has already been sacked 11 times so far this year, so this injury could make things a lot worse.

The Bears got ambushed in the Big Easy yesterday as the Saints were really inspired in front of their home crowd.  Jay Cutler was sacked six times yesterday and it seemed to shake his confidence a bit.  He completed 19 of 45 passes for 244 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 12 yards and he lost a fumble in this game.  Matt Forte was the focal point of the Bears’ offense yesterday as he carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards (4.9 ypc) and he also caught 10 passes for 117 yards (11.7 avg).  WRs Johnny Knox (2 rec, 45 yards) and Dane Sanzenbacher (3 rec, 33 yards, TD0 also pitched in for the Bears in the passing game.  The Bears finished up with 60 yards rushing on 12 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 45 passes (42.2%) for 186 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 23:46.

The Bears had no answer to the Saints’ offense as they seemed to be moving the ball almost at will.  LB Lance Briggs (11 tackles) and CB Tim Jennings (9 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Bears’ D yesterday.  DE Israel Idonije (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and CB Charles Tillman (4 tackles and 1 fumble recovery) also pitched in for the Bears.  The Saints finished up with 118 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 37 passes (70.3%) for 264 yards.  The Bears are now 1-1 on the year.

The Bears gave up a lot of yards (386) last weekend against the Falcons but not many points (12).  That is because they were forcing turnovers and getting to the QB (5 sacks).  They are going to need more of the same this Sunday in New Orleans to stop the high powered Saints’ offense.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears should copy the Packers’ gameplan on offense.  They should throw the ball all over the field.  They can be effective throwing the ball as long as the O-Line holds up as Jay Cutler was sacked 5 times by the Falcons last weekend.  WRs Johnny Knox, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett and Roy Williams will give the corners and safeties of the Saints’ fits this Sunday in the Big Easy.  The Bears are also likely to give the Saints’ D a heavy dose of RB Matt Forte in both the running and passing game.

When the Saints have the ball:  I’m thinking that MLB Brian Urlacher is going to play inspired ball this Sunday to honor the death of his mother.  That’s probably really bad news for Saints’ RBs Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas.  The Saints will have an edge on the Bears’ D though when they attack the edges of the D with Darren Sproles.  The Bears are going to need Julius Peppers, Israel Idonije, Henry Melton and Matt Toeiana to get after Drew Brees.  If he has time to throw the ball, he’s going to have success.  WRs Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and Lance Moore are all solid players.  The secret weapon of the Saints’ is TE Jimmy Graham, so Major Wright and Chris Harris better be ready for him.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 27, BEARS 23

24-year old DT Henry Melton was a solid backup as a rookie in 2010.  He played in all 16 games for the Bears last year and he had 16 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  But, against the Falcons last Sunday, Melton had 5 tackles and 2 sacks.  If the Bears can get production like this out of Melton in addition to another great year from Julius Peppers, opposing QBs are in trouble this year.

The Chicago Bears looked awesome today on both sides of the football as they dominated the favored Atlanta Falcons.  Jay Cutler was outstanding most of this game for the Bears.  He completed 22 of 32 passes for 312 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  His interception was returned 50 yards for a TD by DE Kroy Biermann of the Falcons.  Matt Forte led the way on both the ground and the air for the Bears in this game.  He carried the ball 16 times for 68 yards (4.3 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 90 yards (18.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Kahlil Bell pitched in with 24 yards rushing on 10 carries (2.4 ypc) today. WRs Johnny Knox (3 rec, 60 yards), Devin Hester (3 rec, 60 yards) and Roy Williams (4 rec, 55 yards) all had decent games as Cutler moved the ball around in the passing game.  The Bears rushed for 88 yards on 27 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 32 passes (68.8%) for 289 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:19.

The Falcons had a lot of yards today but they didn’t score much as the Bears’ D had a lot of big plays.  LB Brian Urlacher led the way for the Bears today with 10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception and a 12-yard fumble return for a TD.  CB Tim Jennings also had a good game as he pitched in with 8 tackles.  DEs Henry Melton (5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 7 QB hits) and Julius Peppers (3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit and 1 forced fumble) were chasing Matt Ryan around all day long.  The Falcons finished up with 110 yards rushing on 14 carries (7.9 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 47 passes (66%) for 276 yards.  The Bears start off the 2011 season with a 1-0 record.