The Chicago Bears defeated the Detroit Lions 13-7 at Soldier Field to improve to 5-1 and 3-0 at home this season.

The Bears defense did an outstanding job limiting the the Lions and creating turnovers to preserve the victory. Cornerback, Charles Tillman, locked up Lions star receiver, Calvin Johnson; holding him to three catches for 34 yards. Johnson and quarterback, Matthew Stafford, have only connected once for a touchdown through their six games.

The Lions had a very difficult time punching in a score inside the 20 yard-line. In the 2nd quarter on Chicago’s 18 yard-line, running back, Mikel Leshoure, was stripped by linebacker, Lance Briggs, and the fumble was recovered by defensive lineman, Julius Peppers. Also in the 3rd quarter, running back Joique Bell was stripped at the one yard-line trying to extend the ball for a touchdown, and the fumble was recovered by linebacker Brian Urlacher. Their third red-zone turnover came in in the 4th quarter when Stafford threw an interception to cornerback D.J. Moore on Chicago’s three yard-line.

Detroit, is atop the NFL for most turnovers in the red-zone this season with five.

Towards the end of the first half, Bears fans held their breath after Jay Cutler exited the game after he was thrown to the ground by Lions defensive lineman, Ndamukong Suh. Cutler returned to the game in the 2nd half and finished the game, completing 16-of-31 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown.

Cutler connected with number one wide receiver, Brandon Marshall. Marshall had six receptions  for 81 yards along with his score. Marshall leads the Bears in all receiving categories by significant numbers.

Running back, Matt Forte had a productive game on the ground. Forte had 22 caries for 96 yards along with three receptions for four yards.

Stafford completed 28-of-46 passes for 261 yards one touchdown and one interception. Stafford’s lone touchdown pass was to rookie Ryan Broyles in the 4th quarter for his first career touchdown. Broyles caught three passes for 51 yards and was featured after wideout, Nate Burleson, left the game with an injury. Burleson’s injury has been diagnosed as a broken leg and he could possibly miss eight months. Wideout Titus Young led the Lions receiving core with six receptions for 81 yards.

The Lions will have another tough matchup next weekend as they welcome the Seattle Seahawks to Ford Field. As for the Chicago Bears, they will remain home at Soldier Field and play the Carolina Panthers. Chicago will look to maintain a divisional lead as they currently sit atop the NFC North.

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The Chicago Bears made several offseason moves to improve offensively, including reuniting wide receiver Brandon Marshall and quarterback Jay Cutler, and adding more running back depth with the addition of Michael Bush. Both were important aspects in their 41-21 victory over a rebuilding Indianapolis Colts team/organization.

Bears fans held their breaths early after Jay Cutler was intercepted by linebacker Jerrell Freeman and scored to give the Colts their only lead of the day. However, the Bears offensive finally settled down and routed the Colts defense. Cutler threw for 333 yards, completing 21 of 35 passes for two touchdowns and one interception. Cutler and his number one wide out, Marshall made it seem they never stopped playing together. Marshall had nine receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown. Cutler targeted Marshall 15 times, several times in which were effective and others very risky passes into double coverage.

However, once the Colts began to attempt to cover Marshall better, Cutler began to spread the love. Rookie wide out, Alshon Jeffery caught three passes for 80 yards and also scored a touchdown. Jeffery will be a big target for Cutler especially when defenses are keen on covering Marshall. In addition, wide out Earl Bennett caught three passes for 50 yards.

As for Chicago’s run game, their duo consisting of Matt Forte and Michael Bush were also on point. Forte had 16 carries for 80 yards and one touchdown. Forte also caught three passes for 40 yards. As for Bush, he had 12 carries for 42 yards and punched in two goal line touchdowns. The Bears offense compiled 428 total yards, which thus far is in the top five for performances during the first week.

Defensively, the Bears forced five total turnovers, three interceptions and two fumbles. Cornerback Tim Jennings had two interceptions, and safety Chris Conte has one interception. Cornerback Kelvin Hayden and defensive lineman Julius Peppers had fumble recoveries.

Indianapolis rookie quarterback, Andrew Luck will want to forget about his first NFL start. Luck completed 23 of 45 passes for 309 yards, one touchdown, and threw three interceptions. In Luck’s defense he was up against a tough Bears “D”, but was very “unlucky.” Luck’s favorite receiver Sunday was veteran, Reggie Wayne. Wayne caught nine passes for 135 yards, and was targeted 18 times. Also rookie tight end, Coby Fleener had a busy day catching six passes for 82 yards. Fleener and Luck have a past history after playing together at Stanford University.

Chicago will be back in action on short rest, Thursday, Sept. 13^th at Lambeau Field against divisional rivals Green Bay Packers. Alex Smith had a fairly easy time passing the ball against the Packers weak secondary, Jay Cutler and the Bears offense could light up the score board once again come week two.

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The Bears finished last season with a record of 8-8 and just missed the playoffs after a late season collapse, which saw them lose five out of their last 6 games, but will be hoping for a much better showing in the 2012 NFL season.

Chicago reunited quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Brandon Marshall this offseason. Both played together in Denver and were a very successful offensive duo. Cutler will hope for a bounce back season after only playing in 10 games due to injury, yet still managed to throw for over 2,000 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Brandon Marshall recorded over 80 receptions and over 1,000 yards in his last two seasons in Miami and will excite Bears’ fans who have been longing for a star receiver. Not a single Bears’ receiver last season recorded more than 52 receptions and no one had over 727 receiving yards. The addition of Brandon Marshall will make the Bears’ passing game more dangerous and help Cutler get back to his usual 3,000-yard passing season.

Matt Forte led the Bears in rushing last season, running just shy of 1,000 yards and scoring 3 touchdowns, but also suffered injury problems like Cutler. The Bears brought more running back support in, signing ex- Oakland Raider, Michael Bush. Bush played in 16 games and ran for 977 yards and 7 touchdowns last season, shining during Darren McFadden’s injury induced absence. The running back duo of Forte and Bush could possibly be the best one-two punch in the NFL.

Although the Bears have a multitude of offensive weapons, their biggest offensive concern is their offensive line. Chicago’s offensive line allowed the 6th most sacks in the NFL last season, 49, and also was 5th in the NFL for allowing quarterback hits, 87. A weak offensive line could mean trouble and lack of full production from the injury-prone Cutler and the rest of the Bears’ offense.

The Bears defense is led by veteran linebacker, Brian Urlacher. Urlacher has not featured at all this preseason because of knee trouble and has reportedly been in Europe seeking specialist treatment. However, he should be ready come the opening regular season game and after recording 102 tackles and 3 interceptions last season, will be eager to replicate those kind of numbers this season. Julius Peppers, Chicago’s defensive line anchor, is also coming off a great season in 2011, registering 37 tackles, 11 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles.

Overall, Chicago has the potential to win 10 or more games this season and will likely be back in the playoffs providing they can hold their own against divisional rivals the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

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The Chicago Bears took on the Denver Broncos under the lights at Soldier Field to kick off their preseason play. Not only were Bear fans fortunate enough to see their team play, they also got a glimpse of Peyton Manning in his first game with the Broncos.

Manning completed 4 of 7 passes for 44 yards and threw an interception in the 31-3 victory. It was evident that Manning was grateful and excited to be back under center for the first time since missing all of last season. Manning connected with three different wide receivers within his first four pass attempts, already spreading the field and keeping defenses guessing. Denver’s offensive line kept Manning protected very well and did not allow him to get hit once. Peyton’s leadership and experience definitely makes the Broncos a team to look out for once the regular season comes along.

As for the Chicago Bears, their starting quarterback, Jay Cutler, warmed up, but did not play because of the birth of his first child on Wednesday. As a result, Jason Campbell started for the Bears and completed 4 of 5 passes for 13 yards. In addition, running back Matt Forte sat and watched from the sideline, giving the start to newly acquired Michael Bush.

Bush carried the ball three times for two yards and also fumbled. Also, wide receiver, Brandon Marshall, caught one pass for four yards in his Bears debut. The addition of both Bush and Marshall makes the Bears become an offensive threat this upcoming season. Not to mention that Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall are already very well acquainted with each other after playing together in Denver.

However, the only positive offensive note for the Bears from Thursday’s game was rookie receiver Alshon Jeffery. Jeffery led the Bears receiving core with four receptions for 35 yards. The former South Carolina Gamecock was drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft and signed a four-year deal in early May. Jeffery has been playing extremely well during training camp and is showing a ton of potential.

Defensively for the Bears, Julius Peppers also watched from the sidelines. In addition, linebacker Brian Urlacher did not play for reported personal reasons. However, Urlacher has been suffering from some knee soreness.

Chicago will welcome RGIII and the Washington Redskins Saturday, August 18, for their second preseason game. As for the Broncos, they will also be in action August 18 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Although the Bears finished last season with an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs, their offseason additions could possibly help make them the second best team in the NFC North Division behind the Green Bay Packers.

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The Chicago Bears displayed their defensive dominance as they defeated their division rival the Detroit Lions, 37-13. The Bears defense went to work immediately, forcing a fumble on the Lions first offensive possession of the game.

Julius Peppers stripped the football from star receiver Calvin Johnson around midfield, and Brian Urlacher was there to scoop up the loose ball and give the Bears possession deep inside Lions territory. With the short field provided by the defense, Matt Forte was able to score the only offensive touchdown of the night for the Bears.

However, that single score would be more than enough as the Bears would go on to force a total of six turnovers and turn them into 24 points. The Bears secondary managed to pick off Matt Stafford four times, matching his season total in one game. Each interception was caused by a different defensive player, and both Major Wright and Charles Tillman returned theirs for touchdowns.

There was speculation by Fox commentator Brian Billick on what may have caused Stafford’s horrendous performance. For the first time in Stafford’s career, he had on gloves, a fact he attributed to the cold weather, but with the game time temperature around 55 degrees, another explanation seems likely.

In the Week 8 game against the Denver Broncos, Stafford’s hand collided with cornerback Champ Bailey’s helmet mid-throw. Stafford was noticeably bothered by the incident during that game, but no reports of an injury have surfaced from the Lions organization.

As Stafford reeled, the Lions tried to rely on the run game, but with Jahvid Best absent, still suffering from concussion-like symptoms, they only managed 80 yards on the ground. With the run game fairing even worse, the Lions went back to the passing attack. And just when the Lions offense would start to gain momentum, a Bears player would disrupt the play or cause a timely turnover.

The rout was on early in this game and, as is customary in divisional blowout wins, emotions started to run high. Players on both sides started to deliver hits after the whistle and, after a Stafford interception, all that hostility culminated into a team scuffle that will likely bring fines from the league office.

Between the Bears outstanding defense and team “fight” that lost in the shuffle was Devin Hesters’s 82 yard punt return for touchdown, usually the most exciting play of the game.

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Espn recently took on the hard task of naming their top ten defensive players in the NFL.  Now I’m sure they came up with this list after months of research, watching film and talking to other players in the league; I’m sure that’s what they did.

I think any list of the best players in any sport needs to be done with the votes of other players in order to be a credible list.  With that being said, I’m not going to sit here and bash the list makers, the reporters or the sports writers who came up with the list; which unlike any black list, you as a player would love to be on.

I respect the voters and I would have loved to know the criteria used to determine who belongs and who doesn’t… but any list would be subject to ridicule and debate no matter what, so we must dig in ourselves and evaluate these players on the list.

The list is for the best overall defensive players in the NFL; not just focusing on any particular position…at the same time though, if you value linebackers, then they would automatically receive more votes in terms of impact over corners for example.

I have some problems with the list that I will talk about in depth later on.

However, I want to start by saying that I have no problem with the guy who holds the number one spot on that list, as I’m sure many fans in the league wouldn’t object either.

Troy Polamalu is arguably the best player in the NFL and the reigning defensive player of the year so it only makes sense that he tops the list.  Troy is a versatile, relentless playmaker who flies all over the field risking life and limbs for Pittsburgh and their fans, so he is there until he is dethroned next season.

The list continues with Demarcus Ware whose stats and toughness speak for themselves.  Followed by Darelle Revis who occupies Revis Island, which has been home to many unsuspecting visitors.  To me it’s somewhat hard to determine who among the two best corners belong higher on this list, Revis or Nnamdi Asomugha… yes, it took a while to spell that name correctly; but 7 is a good spot considering the injury issues he faced.

Patrick Willis and the man with the golden long hair Clay Mathews round out the top 5.  Great top 5 for some but I think Clay Matthews being this high speaks to a larger problem with the way the league is.  In a  3-4 scheme, Matthews rushes the passer almost relentlessly but not while being blocked by elite linemen; he faces tight ends and backs out the backfield and his effectiveness is more so a product of scheme and a lot of athleticism.  I believe a player like Mario Williams belongs higher on the list than Clay Matthews because he is a true D End with consistent numbers in this league; still at a very young age by the way.

Although I’m not a big James Harrison fan, his trophy several years ago can’t be overlooked…so as much as I despise in between players like Harrison and Mathews, his numbers and impact is undeniable.

Julius Peppers is a freak athletically and I’m not sure where he belongs on this list. Aside from replacing him with a player like Charles Woodson, maybe we should leave him where he is for right now.  The rest of the list being Ed Reed and teammate Haloti Ngata; two great players one being a future hall of fame inductee, so no problems on that end.

I do feel however that although Ray Lewis is nearing the end of his career and using his spare time to give us his opinions on crime and crime prevention, he as much as anybody belongs on the list of best defensive players;  after all, Ray Lewis is the epitome of great.

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