in NFL Articles
Big buzz around the Bears
by Mark Rothstein
This is true in most sports, but no more so than NFL football. Year after year we see great offensive teams tear through the regular season, only to get eliminated early in the playoffs.
There are the odd exceptions, such as the St. Louis Rams of 2000, whom we all remember so well because of the high-flying excitement they brought to the game. That year they scored the most points in the NFL, but also allowed the most points en route to a Super Bowl Championship.
Yet teams that win the Super Bowl usually feature defensive juggernauts. At the same time, they often don’t have dominant offenses. Examples include the Ravens of 2001 and the Bucs or 2003.
This year’s defensive powerhouse, the hyped up Chicago Bears, are constantly being compared to the Super Bowl Champion Bears of 1985, a team which had one of the best defenses of all time.
This year’s Bears are allowing less than 11 points per game, the fewest in NFL. Meanwhile, they’re scoring less than 17 points on average (24th overall), and their offense is averaging a little more than 255 ypg, fifth fewest in the league.
Much has been said about the struggles of pivot Kyle Orton, who has some of the worst quarterback statistics among NFL starters.
The 6-foot-4 rookie out of Purdue is passing for only 133 ypg and completing just 53 percent of his passes. His QB rating is an abysmal 60.2. Last week against
Since Sunday there has been talk about Orton being replaced by quarterback Rex Grossman, who has almost fully recovered from broken ankle which he suffered in preseason.
But making the QB switch might be a bit premature considering Orton has been the Bears’ starter for eight straight wins. The Bears are now 9-3 (
While Orton hasn’t been prolific through the air, he hasn’t had to be thanks to the running back options in the Bears’ backfield.
Thomas Jones has run for more than 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, Adrian Peterson has run for over 300 and rookie Cedric Benson has run for nearly 240. Overall, the Bears are logging more than 130 ypg on the ground, fifth in the NFL.
And it could get better. Benson, the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft, has missed the last couple of games due to a knee bruise, but is expected to be back before the end of the regular season.
The Bears will meet a similarly styled opponent this Sunday when they visit Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (
The Steelers are in the midst of a major slump having lost three straight games, including a 38-31 loss to the Bengals last week at home. They were 3-point favorites in that game.
The Steelers had the top defense in the NFL last year and began this year strong, but they’ve started to slip, particularly against the pass where they’re allowing more than 210 ypg.
While they’ve been stingy on the ground allowing less than 90 per game through their first 12 games, they’ve been giving up more than 110 ypg rushing their last three.
Offensively, the Steelers, like the Bears, are heavily reliant on the run, but they’ve been stymied of late having rushed for less than 85 ypg over their last three.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, last year’s rookie of the year, returned to weeks ago from knee surgery, however, it now appears he has a fairly significant thumb injury on his throwing hand.
Last week against Cincy, Big Ben threw for 386 yards and three TDs, but he also tossed three interceptions and was sacked twice. In his last two games, he has thrown five INTs and has been sacked five times.
Despite their problems on offense and defense, the Steelers are still listed as 6-point home favorites for Sunday’s game.
With two defensive-minded teams, both of whom rely on the rush but who defend well against it, the total in this game has been pegged at a low 31.
