Here are a few miscellaneous points I observed in the Chicago Bears’ 48-24 victory over the Detroit Lions yesterday:
- Detroit’s first touchdown drive essentially consisted of one big play to Calvin Johnson. After that play, the Bears stopped the Lions in their tracks at the 22 yard line. A dumb offside penalty on the ensuing field goal attempt extended the drive. A phantom facemask penalty on a 3rd down play where the Bears had successfully stopped the Lions a second time extended the drive again. The defense couldn’t stop the drive a third time, and the Lions eventually got into the end zone. I can’t hang that touchdown on the defense; a dumb penalty and a phantom penalty were the keys to that one.
- If Earl Bennett doesn’t make an exceptional leaping catch on a Jay Cutler fastball to end the first quarter, the pass is intercepted. It wasn’t a poor pass, but it was a ballsy one. Cutler put the ball in the only place where Bennett could catch it, and he must have had a ton of faith that Bennett would. It has been remarkable to see Bennett’s development this season with Cutler around.
- Cutler did not have a lot of passing yards. Even though the defense gave up a few scores, they combined with an excellent special teams effort to put the offense in outstanding field position all game long. Cutler simply wasn’t forced to drive long distances for his scores in this game.
- Coach Lovie Smith seemed to be outsmarted by the Lions when he called for a replay review of a Calvin Johnson sideline catch in the second quarter. After the play was initially ruled a catch, the Lions no-huddled and tried to run a play, which would seem to indicate that they believed there was a chance the play could be overturned. Either they simply didn’t think that the catch was legitimate, or they bluffed Smith into throwing the challenge flag without proper review. It took me exactly one replay angle to see quite clearly that the catch was legitimate. Good job by the Lions to get Lovie to use a challenge (and timeout) unnecessarily.
- On the Cutler fumble that was recovered by Desmond Clark, at first glance it would appear that the pressure was caused by Garrett Wolfe insufficiently blocking the defender who would eventually strip Cutler. Upon closer review, Wolfe actually made a very good block on the outside rusher, but because of penetration by an inside rusher who escaped the block of Orlando Pace, Cutler was forced to his left and directly into the recovery path of the same rusher Wolfe had successfully blocked. That nearly-lost fumble is on Orlando Pace, not Garrett Wolfe.
- Not only wasn’t Johnny Knox touched on his kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half, he had to make only one (somewhat subtle) evasive move and then hit the gas peddle. Unbelievable blocking by special teams coordinator Dave Toub’s unit all day long, and especially on that play.
- Israel Idonije seems to make at least one big play every week. He forced a key second half fumble this week.
- Brad Maynard is one hell of an asset. He twice placed punts inside the 5 yard line, and all four of his punts landed inside the 20.
- Taub earned his pay yesterday. The Bears’ return game is consistently one of their best components, Maynard and Robbie Gould are both at the top of their game, and their kick coverage teams are consistently solid. Gould gets an honorable mention for his career-long 52 yard field goal.
- The offensive line played better on running downs, as evidenced by Matt Forte’s big day on the ground. Cutler is still getting hammered too frequently for my comfort, however.
- On the TV broadcast, Brian Billick was quite enjoyable. He is skilled at communicating the intricacies of what he sees to the viewer. I’m usually a big fan of former coaches doing that job rather than former players. Coaches who have had a measure of success tend to have that success because they can effectively communicate football theory, strategy and logic to their pupils. This skill is quite evident in the broadcast booth.
Overall Week 4 notes and my power rankings will follow after Green Bay-Minnesota tonight.