There We Go! We're 2-0!

After winning last week against the Lions on a technicality, almost everyone on this planet who watches football picked the Bears to lose Sunday. Even me. With an offensive line that struggled throughout all of last season and in week 1 of this season, it was hard not to pick against them. In the early stages of the game it appeared the offensive line would play the same way we had all gotten used to watching. Jay Cutler was getting thrown to the ground on every snap and it started looking like there was just a few more plays before he started forcing the ball into tight spaces just to get rid of the darn thing which would lead to interceptions or even attempt to avoid the rush thus leading to fumbles. But it didn't stay that way. With the addition of Brandon Manumaleuna, the poor offensive line play was able to somewhat righten the ship. But the key came when Mike Martz dug deep into his own playbook and pulled out some not-so-Martz-like plays. In a typical Martz offense the quarterback will have to drop back 4-7 steps after taking the snap, however, due to the constant pass rush Cutler went to 1-3 step drops. It gets the ball out faster and it makes the receivers do more after the catch.
The Cowboys seemed to have no answer offensively for the Bears defense. Tony Romo was intercepted twice in the first half including one on the Cowboys opening drive. The defense held strong for the second straight week allowing just 36 yards on the ground. More impressively 56 total yards on the ground combined this season. That's as much as Jamaal Charles had on his second rush of the season.
Another impressive play came in the second quarter. The Bears were faced with a long 3rd and 15. Jay Cutler stepped up in the pocket and heaved the ball deep down field to hit Johnny Know in stride. The play picked up 59 yards and lead to a Cutler to Hester touchdown (which by the way was a spectacular one-handed grab and Hester dragged his feet to keep them both inbounds).
So all in all, here's what I've taken away from both games. The offensive line needs to get their act together quick because you cannot allow Jay Cutler to keep getting hit. Also, we need to start getting to the quarterback faster. As you saw Sunday, Romo had enough time to sit back in the pocket on several occasions and then throw the ball against Charles Tillman who was falling all over the place. Once that is taken care of, the Bears may be a sleeper in the NFC. With the explosive offense just starting to bloom and a defense that hasn't given up more than 40 yards on the ground to an entire team....Well let's not get carried away just yet.
Green Bay will be tough. They always are. But put pressure on Aaron Rodgers and pick up their pass rush I don't see why the Bears can't pull off an upset, especially at home. The key to the big win Sunday was the fact that the Bears did not turn the ball over once, stay on the positive side of that equation and good things will happen.