In the second game of the preseason, the Bears got mauled by the Giants 41-13 on Monday Night Football. Despite the crooked score, there were bright spots to take away from the game. The Bears were aggressive on offense and quarterback Jay Cutler was sacked only once. The Bears also abstained from any major injuries.
Cutler played the entire first half and completed 12 of 21 passes for 171 yards. His numbers would have been even better, if it weren’t for the two drops by wide receiver Roy Williams. It appears Williams is the same inadequate player that he was in Dallas. Cutler did connect with Hester on a 37-yard bomb and a 42-yard screen pass to Forte.
Beats me why Johnny Knox is not getting more playing time?
The Bears offensive line made some nice improvements from the nice sacks they gave up to the Buffalo Bills in the first preseason game.
The Lance Louis experiment at right guard might be coming to an end soon. Louis got beat by his man on numerous plays and was the lineman responsible for Cutler getting sacked.
Lovie Smith, m ay need to think twice and bench Louis, by moving Roberto Garza to right guard, and play Chris Spencer at center. The rookie, Gabe Carimi, was able to hold his own against Pro Bowl Justin Tuck, but Jamarcus Webb did not fare as well and got called for a false start.
Chicago’s running game definitely needs to improve. Marion Barber had a decent game with 13 rushes for 49 yards 31 yards receiving, but that was mostly against the Giants’ back-ups. Forte did not do much besides his long reception, but hey its only preseason .
Usually the Bears two strengths are their defense and their special teams, but Monday night both were pretty atrocious. Not only did they get a punt blocked, but the coverage team struggled to tackle anybody on returns. Robbie Gould connected on field goals from 42 and 23 yards, but was wide right on a 55-yard attempt.
The defense started off good, but then fell apart late in the first quarter. Brandon Jacobs practically broke Major Wright’s ankles on a juke and gave a free piggy-back ride to Chris Harris on an 18-yard touchdown. The Bears also had issues stopping Eli Manning on third down passing plays. Fortunately, Julius Peppers looked like the same monster he has always been and linebacker, Brian Iwuh, did an honorable job for filling in for Lance Briggs.
SUMMARY
Not, exactly sure what to make of the Giants. Knowing Tom Coughlin is at the helm, they will be competitive, but not necessarily dominating. The running attack will be tough to stop with Bradshaw and Jacobs, but the loss of wide receiver, Steve Smith will hurt them. The defense suffered a horrible injury after defensive back, Terrell Thomas, tore his ACL 30 seconds before halftime. That’s not good news for a secondary that already lost their first round pick, Prince Amukamara, to a broken bone in his foot. Despite their injuries, don’t count the Giants out winning the NFC east.
The Bears next game will be Saturday night at the Tennessee Titans. The question is… Will Roy Williams be able to catch a football?
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