Defensive end Julius Peppers runs down Mike Vick from behind and strips the ball…one of many defensive plays the Bears made at just the right time to derail the Eagles in the “Pink Zone”…
I must tip my hat to the Chicago Bears… they outplayed the Eagles in nearly every phase of the game. Now 8-3, the Bears are everything Jonathan Carroll (Bears Headquarters) said they would be: speedy and relentless in pursuit on defense, outstanding on special teams, and with a new-improved big-play mentality on offense.
Did the Eagles (7-4) come into Chicago with an overconfident approach only to find out how good the Bears really are? Head coach Andy Reid seems to think so… The Wilmington News Journal has just reported Reid gave wideout DeSean Jackson such a tongue-lashing in front of the whole team after the game that Jackson was left sobbing in his cubicle for at least 20 minutes, and had to be consoled by several teammates. Reportedly, Reid was upset with Jackson’s “lackadaisical approach” to pre-game drills —that, and the apparent reluctance of Jackson to finish clear-out routes or to extend himself for several tough receiving opportunities.
During the game, Jackson was held to only two catches for 26 yards, and also suffered at least one apparent TD drop… it seems Djax was pressed and knocked around early and mentally evaporated from the game. Reid is obviously concerned this is becoming a pattern.
But this is by no means an effort to take away from the superior effort of the Bears. Julius Peppers and his defensive line was as disruptive and fast-of-foot as anything the Eagles O-Line has seen this season. Peppers and company literally stole this game away from Vick at every meaningful opportunity for the Birds in the Red…er, I mean “Pink” Zone. Yes, the Eagles are having trouble finishing drives inside the 20 again, and Vick, who had a great game otherwise, couldn’t have thrown his first INT of the season at a worse time when he got picked off at the 4 with the momentum of the game on the line and the score still Chicago 14, Eagles 13..
But I digress. Jay Cutler reinvented himself for the Eagles yesterday. Remember last season, after Cutler stunk up Soldier Field with a terrible game and McNabb hugged him after the game in a weirdly poignant scene with Donovan whispering parables of encouragement into Cutler’s ear? Apparently, some of the advice must have stuck.
It was a new Jay Cutler who controlled the offensive side of the ball for the Bears for the entire game: 247 yards passing on only 21 attempts, 4 TD’s, no interceptions… and masterfully controlling the clock with one sustained drive after another. He used running back Matt Forte (6-2, 216, third year, Tulane) to great advantage, slowing down the Eagles’ pass rush with handoffs to Forte, who responded with a great game of his own. It was Cutler’s best game of the year… and possibly the performance that sparks the Bears into the playoffs.
Lovie Smith and OC Ron Turner deserve a lot of credit for the reinvention of Jay Cutler. They changed the “pocket philosophy” of the Bears offensive scheme and it has worked. Instead of a stable pocket with a straight drop-back, the Bears now use a rolling pocket that moves Cutler’s protection to the strong side of the field. The Eagles seemed somewhat befuddled by the new pocket philosophy.
And as for the Eagles’ “old shoes”? Can we blame this loss on the Eagles equipment manager?
No, not really. The Eagles were slip-sliding away all evening on the Soldier Field surface, missing tackles, falling on coverage and routes, overshooting their lanes of pursuit… while the Bears were keeping their footing just fine. Now, it seems there had been a high-school football game played on the same field earlier, and the turf was in apparent disarray, a real mess, for sure… and the theory has been raised in the Philly media that the Birds did not have the proper cleats for conditions.
Maybe it was a factor…but a small one. My own observation is: the Bears are a much faster and quicker-cutting team than the Eagles remember from last year. And if you take away the tipped-pass interception and the dropped passes that should have gone for big completions, noboody would be talking about the Eagles’ shoes today.
The Eagles’ depleted secondary was probably slipping more out of fooled coverage than bad shoes. Missing injured CB Asante Samuel and veteran Ellis Hobbs, and featuring rookies Nate Allen, Trevard Lindley and vet Joselio Hanson, the defensive backfield struggled mightily in containing Cutler’s aerial bombardment, which included long completions and scoring connections to Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, and Earl Bennett.
Strangely, Vick and his offense had a collective effectiveness that should have been good enough to win most games. LeSean McCoy had a nice outing combining for over 100 yards receiving and rushing, Vick put up 333 yards in the air, most of those to Jason Avant, Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek. But it just wasn’t happening in the “Pink Zone” with control of the game on the line. Peppers, the rejuvenated “man-child” of the Bears’ defensive line, seems to have the knack of leading his unit to a hope-crushing stop of an opponent when it counts the most.
And the Eagles defense did have several bright spots: outside linebacker Ernie Sims (five tackles), defensive end Trent Cole (two sacks), and rookie Brandon Graham, who stepped in for an injured Juqua Parker and notched three tackles and his third sack of the year.
With Houston coming to Philly for a Thursday night game , the Eagles will dwell on this tough loss for about twelve hours… although the fans will be commiserating about it right up to kickoff time. Did Philly fans really think the Bears would be an easy mark on the way to padding their NFC East shot at a division title? Were the Eagles players somewhat distracted by the earlier news of a Redskins loss (5-6) and a Dallas heartbreaker (3-8) ?
Whatever the emotional variables, the Bears have proven themselves a very tough roadblock to any NFL team’s dreams of glory right now. Both players and fans of the Eagles need to accept that reality, deal with it and move on… the Giants (7-4) are still in it big-time with a sweet come-from-behind win over the Jags, and the Birds need to go through Houston, New York, Dallas twice and Minnesota to make their divisional dream a reality. If they were counting on the Battle of Midway for an easy win and an 8-3 springboard into December, all they need to do is remember the post-game chew-out and sobbing caused by da Bears…nothin’ and nobody’s gonna win easy in the NFC this December.
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