The Fluky:
The Calvin Johnson non-catch...
In the offseason leading up to the 2010 season, NFL officials made a rule that stated that when catching a pass, the receiver has to maintain possession throughout the catch if he falls. During the Bears and Lions week one game, Calvin Johnson, the star wide receiver of the Lions, made a leaping catch in the endzone with less than a minute left in the game that would have given the Lions the win. Instead, the referees interpreted the new catch rule a bit too literally as they said he didn't maintain possession throughout his fall. It was ludicrous. Johnson jumped straight up, grabbed the ball and fell onto his rear end in the endzone. He then rolled over and used the ball to prop himself up onto his feet. As he was doing this, the ball squirted out and Johnson began his celebration. He had clearly scored. Here's the play:
After deliberation, the officials ruled this a no catch and the Bears magical season was underway with a bang.
The schedule...
The Bears schedule turned out to be a big factor in their season, not that they didn't play well against the opponents they faced, but they ran into a lot of teams that were in a funk when they played. In week two, the Bears got to face off with a Cowboys team that had an incredibly slow start to the season. They won that game 27-20 when Tony Romo threw his second pick to seal the victory for the Bears. After the Packers came to town in week three and committed a franchise record 18 penalties (another break for the Bears), the Bears got crushed by the Giants and lost two very winnable games to the Seahawks and Redskins, but then put it into cruise control as they won four in a row against the Bills, the struggling Vikings, the Dolphins and the Eagles. They won the Eagles game in a hard fought battle on a horrible Soldier Field turf. The playing conditions may have been the great equalizer for Michael Vick, another lucky turn of events for the Bears. Two more cream puff games against the Lions and Vikings followed before the Bears played the Patriots and Jets as well as making a trip to Lambeau. The Bears went only 1-2 in those games. Looking back on the schedule, the Bears could actually have been better this year. They probably should have won against Seattle and Washington, which would have given them a ridiculous 13-3 record.
The Seahawks...
The final, ultimate fluky thing about the Bears season is their playoff matchup. The Seahawks finished the regular season at 7-9, pretty much making the playoffs on a formality. Sure, the Seahawks did pull off an awesome win against the world champion Saints last week, and Marshawn Lynch went absolutely ham, but the Bears have to be excited. I actually wonder who is more excited... the Seahawks for being in the divisional round? Or the Bears for getting them?
The not-so-fluky:
Special teams...
The Bears looked like the 2006 super bowl run Bears on special teams this year. The mid-season decision to let Devin Hester return to focusing primarily on punt returns was an enormous move and you have to credit Lovie Smith for having the footballs to make it. Once again, opposing punters were scared to kick to him and that really helped the Bears in the field position game all throughout the second half of the season. When he did get his chances, he made the most out of them. Hester broke an NFL record this year with the 14th return TD in his career. Anyone just madly in love with this guy like I am? Serious bro-crush...
That play was the first return touchdown Hester had taken back in two years. It was a huge turning point in the season for them when Hester got his groove back.
Mike Martz...
Early in the year, it looked like Mike Martz may not make it through the season. He was calling his typical 50 passes per game and the offense had zero balance. After the Giants game in which Cutler was sacked an amazing ten times and concussed in the process, I really thought the Mike Martz experiment was going to be over in a hurry. But coming out of the team's Halloween weekend bye week, the Bears suddenly got more balance. I'm not sure if this was Martz smartening up or Lovie forcing the strategy on to him, but either way, I give Martz credit for executing it. The Bears all of a sudden were looking like the Bears of old, running the ball a ton with Matt Forte, who had one of the more productive second halves of any back in the league. In the seven games before the Bears week eight bye week, Forte averaged 50 yards rushing a game. In the nine games after their bye week, the Bears got Forte going for 79 yards per game. Getting the ground game really working was a big turning point and it opened up space for Martz to work his passing genius.
Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher...
The two "new" additions have played well. Yes, Urlacher has been a Bear for forever but he was injured for the entire year last year after fracturing his wrist in the season opener. So getting him back has been an instant boost to the defense.
When the Bears got Peppers this past offseason, I thought it would improve the team, but I had no clue how nasty Peppers was going to be this year. I guess I kind of underestimated him, even though he has always been a huge favorite of mine. I used to watch him in Carolina and drooled over him, but the past few seasons I think he was a bit bored down there. The Panthers have been slowly melting down the last few seasons and it has got to be hard going out every week, knowing you're going to lose, and still playing at a pro-bowl level. I'm not saying he was taking plays off or anything, but I do think that playing for a contending team raises the level of play of an elite player. Peppers is an elite player, and he seems reinvigorated. Because of his elite play, he has been drawing double coverage in the run and the pass game all year, which has opened up lanes to attack opposing offenses in their backfields. He keeps you in games and he is the difference between a good defense and a dominant one. Now with Urlacher's sideline to sideline speed back on the field and Peppers causing hell at the line of scrimmage, the team improved their team defense significantly from the 2009 season. The defense has risen from 17th to 9th in yards per game against, and from 21st to 4th in points allowed.
No comments:
Post a Comment