2010 is the new 1961

One thing that was talked about coming into Sunday's game against the Bills was that this was Chicago's first game in Toronto since 1961. Ironically that was the last time the Chicago Blackhawks had won the Stanley Cup before this summer. I had a good feeling that if the Blackhawks could end a 49 year drought with a victory, then so could the Bears. Going up against a winless Bills team, on paper this game should have been a blowout. Buffalo however, has proved the past 3 weeks to be a worthwhile opponent. In the past two games the Bills have fallen in overtime, first to the Ravens, and last week to the Chiefs. They've been smelling their first victory for a few weeks now and I was praying the Bears would be prepared after coming off their bye week.
The difference in this game stood on the visiting team's sidelines wearing a white jersey and a blue 71 on it. Israel Idonije was welcomed back to Canada with an ovation from the crowd and that helped his play. Idonije has become the pass rusher the Bears needed on the other side of Julius Peppers and is quietly piling up the sacks including a 1/2 sack in Sunday's contest giving him 5 total on the year. But the big play from Idonije came after a Buffalo touchdown. The Bills had just answered a Chester Taylor touchdown run with a touchdown run from their own Fred Jackson. On the point after attempt, Rian Lindell kicked it low and Idonije blocked the kick. (I believe that was his second blocked kick this season.) That play was so huge because the Bills scored on their very next drive and were force to go for the 2 point conversion, a conversion that failed.
This gave Buffalo a 5 point lead. After going 3 and out, Tim Jennings intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick on the opening play of the ensuing Bills drive. The Bears marched down the field and scored what proved to be the game winner on a Earl Bennett touchdown reception from Jay Cutler. This put the Bears up by 1 and they figured to go for 2 as well, to make it a 3 point game. On a brilliant play call from Mike Martz, Cutler flipped a short screen to Matt Forte for the conversion. The Bears defense held strong, and we walked away with a "W".
A couple of things I noticed today. First, although the ground attack never really got going, Martz stuck with it and it proved to be very useful in allowing the Bears to use a lot of play-action. Also, Cutler identified the blitzing Bills defense-men on what looked like every play. Once he did that, he was either able to slide away from the rush or get rid of the ball quickly. He also utilized his feet a lot running 5 times for 39 yards (it's actually 4 times for 40 yards but he took a knee to end the game which counts as a rush for -1 yards). If he continues to identify the blitz early, scramble or get rid of the ball quickly, this offense WILL be explosive. Second, the offensive line played very well. They allowed only one sack and gave Cutler time on almost all of his throws. They're not quite there yet, but it's a huge step in the right direction. Third, the run defense is great. The pass defense needs work. We have to get more pressure on the quarterback and we need to start blitzing more.
Next week the Bears face the Vikings in Soldier Field. The Vikings have been all over the place this season and still haven't found their groove. The rallied from 14 down with less than 4 minutes to go, and squeaked out a win in overtime. Stop Adrian Peterson and make Brett Favre beat us through the air. He's just like Cutler in the sense that he loves to throw off-balanced and into tight spaces. As Bears fans we've seen enough of him to know all his tricks. The Viking run defense is still good but it's critical to stay with our running attack. This is a monstrous game, this game should give us a sense of what kind of team the Bears really are. The Vikings are the perfect test and without Sidney Rice and a banged up Percy Harvin, we might just have all the pieces to the puzzle.