The Bears seem to always be changing game plans as they never seem to have a true #1 WR.  25-year old Johnny Knox has been playing like a #1 WR the last two weeks for the Bears.  In his last two games, Knox has caught 7 passes for 242 yards (34.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs for the Bears.  He has now played in 11 games for the Bears this year and he has caught 28 passes for 622 yards (22.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Knox has now played in 42 games in his first three years with the Bears and he has caught the ball 124 times for 2,109 yards (17.0 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  The Bears need to keep throwing the ball to Johnny Knox as he is the best WR on the team.

The Chicago Bears have waived 27-year old LB Brian Iwuh.  Iwuh played in 11 games for the Bears this year and he had six tackles.  Iwuh played in 27 games in two years with the Bears and he had 32 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 2 forced fumbles.  Iwuh was just taking up roster space for the Bears this year as he wasn’t really doing much.  This is no loss for the Bears.

The Chicago Bears fought hard today but they just weren’t good enough when the chips were down to beat the Raiders in the Black Hole.  Caleb Hanie completed 18 of 36 passes for 254 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs today.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 50 yards (10.0 ypc) in this game.  Marion Barber led the way on the ground for the Bears in this game with 63 yards rushing on 10 carries (6.3 ypc).  Matt Forte pitched in with 59 yards rushing on 12 carries (4.9 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 25 yards (4.2 avg) today.  WR Johnny Knox led the way for the Bears in the passing game today with 4 grabs for 145 yards (36.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Roy Williams (3 rec, 37 yards) and TE Kellen Davis (2 rec, 25 yards, TD) also helped out for the Bears in the passing game today.  The Bears finished up with 172 yards rushing on 27 carries (6.4 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 36 passes (50%) for 229 yards as they had possession of the ball for 29:58.

The defense played pretty solid in this game as they only gave up 1 TD.  Safety Major Wright (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed), LB Lance Briggs (6 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) and DE Julius Peppers (5 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 3 QB hits) and CB Corey Graham (2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way today on D.  The Raiders finished up with 73 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.7 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 37 passes (56.8%) for 268 yards in this game.  The Bears are now 7-4 on the season.

The Bears come into this game red hot, winning five games in a row by a combined score of 161-85!  The Raiders are also hot as of late as they have won their last two games by a combined score of 51-38!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are likely to be more run heavy than usual with Caleb Hanie starting at QB.  Matt Forte could have a huge game as the Raiders are giving up 131.6 yards rushing per game and 5.2 yards per carry.  Marion Barber will also get in on the action wherever Forte needs a breather.  The Bears have played better on the O-Line lately but the Raiders will probably be blitzing a lot to put pressure on Caleb Hanie and force him into making some mistakes with the ball.  Hanie will likely spread the ball around against a Raiders’ D that is giving up 240.1 yards passing per game this year.

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders are a run first team, so the Bears’ front seven better tighten up the chinstraps.  Michael Bush is a power runner who is very hard to take down and the Bears are giving up 4.9 yards per carry so far this year, so this is going to be a big challenge for the D.  Carson Palmer has shaken off the rust and he has been very efficient the last couple of weeks for the Raiders.  The Raiders like to throw deep, so the Bears need to get to Palmer before he can throw it.

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 20, BEARS 17

The Bears have signed 32-year old long snapper Chris Massey.  Massey played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Rams last year.  He has now played in 135 games (1 start) in his first 9 years in the NFL.  Massey has a lot of experience snapping the ball so the Bears are likely in good shape on special teams heading into this weekend’s game against the Raiders in Oakland.

The Bears have signed 32-year old QB Josh McCown.  McCown last played in a regular season game back in 2009 with the Carolina Panthers.  McCown has played in 49 games (31 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 610 of 1,058 passes (57.7%) for 6,584 yards with 35 TD passes and 40 INTs (71.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 127 times for 569 yards (4.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his career.  McCown is 12-19 (38.7%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  McCown will start out as the #3 QB for the Bears behind Caleb Hanie and Nathan Enderle….but he could move up the depth chart quickly.

The Chicago Bears have lost 36-year old long snapper Patrick Mannelly for the rest of the season due to a torn left ACL.  Mannelly played in all 10 games for the Bears this year.  He has played in 215 games in his first 14 years with the Bears.  27-year old fullback Tyler Clutts will get the first shot to replace Mannelly this weekend against the Raiders in Oakland.  Clutts has played in 10 games for the Bears so far this year and he has caught 7 passes for 46 yards (6.6 avg) and has 2 tackles.

UPDATE:  (11/23/2011) – The Bears have signed rookie 23-year old Jake Laptad to a 3-year deal to replace Patrick Mannelly.

UPDATE II:  (11/24/2011) – The Bears have released long snapper Jake Laptad.  That shows just ho much contracts are worth in the NFL.

The Bears will be without 28-year old QB Jay Cutler for the next 6-8 weeks due to a fractured thumb that requires surgery.  Cutler has played in 10 games for the Bears this year and he has completed 182 of 314 passes (58%) for 2,319 yards with 13 TD passes and 7 INTs (85.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 18 times for 56 yards (3.1 ypc) so far this year.  This is a HUGE loss for the Chicago Bears!  They will turn to 26-year old Caleb Hanie at QB and he will be making his first start of his NFL career next weekend against the Raiders in Oakland.  Hanie hasn’t played at all so far this year for the Bears.  He has played in 4 games in his NFL career and he has completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 66 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (39.6 QB Rating).  Hanie has also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard (-1.0 ypc) so far this year.  The Bears will be looking to run more with Hanie at QB.

UPDATE:  (11/27/2011) – The Bears have officially placed Jay Cutler on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season.

The Chicago Bears took it to the Chargers yesterday at Soldier Field.  Jay Cutler played a very solid game as he completed 18 of 31 passes for 286 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 11 yards (2.2 ypc) with 1 TD carry in this game.  Matt Forte had a rough day as he carried the ball 21 times for 59 yards (2.8 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 26 yards (6.5 avg).  Marion Barber pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 6 carries (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run in this game.  WRs Johnny Knox (3 rec, 97 yards, TD), Earl Bennett (3 rec, 75 yards) and Roy Williams (5 grabs for 62 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bears in this game. TE Kellen Davis only caught 1 pass, but it was good for a 4-yard TD.  The Bears finished up with 93 yards rushing on 32 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 32 passes (56.3%) for 286 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:10.

The Bears’ D played pretty solid overall yesterday.  CB Charles Tillman (7 tackles and 1 fumble recovery), LB Lance Briggs (5 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss) and safety Major Wright (3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Bears in this game.  CB Corey Graham pitched in with an interception for the Bears yesterday.  The Chargers finished up with 52 yards rushing on 17 carries (3.1 ypc) and they completed 21 of 31 passes (67.7%) for 280 yards in this game.  The Bears are now 7-3 on the year.

The Bears are red hot right now as they have won four games in a row by a combined score of 130-65!  The Chargers are going the other way as they have lost four games in a row by a combined score of 119-96.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are going to likely get the ball into Matt Forte’s hands a lot tomorrow as the Chargers are giving up 127.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry so far this year.  The Chargers don’t have a really good pass rush, so look for Jay Cutler to throw the ball down the field quite a few times to try to make a big play with his right arm.  Cutler will be fine as long as he steers clear of Chargers’ safety Eric Weddle as he already has five interceptions so far this year.

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers are likely going to try to pound at the front seven of the Bears with RBs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert.  That seems to be a solid game plan as the Bears’ are giving up 106.7 yards rushing per game and a stunning 5.1 yards per carry so far this year.  The Bears need to get to Chargers’ QB Philip Rivers early in the game, as he gets skittish and makes bad throws when under a heavy rush.  Rivers does have a good set of targets in Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates, Vincent Brown and his RBs out of the backfield.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 31, CHARGERS 21