Yes, an ugly game on the lakeshore that should have been an easy route by the Bears. While you were probably on the edge of your seat for the fourth quarter and overtime, you have to be at least satisfied that the Bears escaped (narrowly) with a win and clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Good teams know how to find ways to win a game and the Bears did just that in a 34-31 OT win. Here are my thoughts and key plays of the game:
“Dez Clark, not White”: It was definitely nice to see TE Desmond Clark resurrect himself in the offensive scheme again (7 receptions, 125 yards, and 2 touchdowns). Oddly enough, the Bucs defense couldn’t figure out a way to match up with Clark on passing downs the entire game. Clark was open on a majority of passing plays, which made things a lot easier for Rex Grossman on check downs. The Bears excelled in the passing game by offering the Bucs defense with backside TE passes off bootlegs and slant down pass protection by the offensive line where Clark would go the opposite direction or would go one-on-one with a Bucs linebacker in coverage. Clark has good speed in the open field, while his ability to block, make harder than average catches, and holding on to the football are in question. While Clark had two touchdowns, he had one big play that left all Bears fans wondering why he has been “missing in action” for so long. With the Bears in a no huddle offense at the Bears 45 yard line, Grossman felt pressure, moved up in the pocket and found a wide open Clark for 25 yards. What was so impressive was Clark’s ability to reverse his route behind Shelton Quarles in the zone defensive coverage. Clark should be regarded as a pure asset in the Bears passing game.
“Devin Who?”: After last week’s spectacular performance on Monday night against St. Louis, Devin Hester was pretty much a non-factor during the entire game. It seemed as if he did better when he didnt catch the ball or when P Josh Bidwell directed the punt away from him or out of bounds. Probably the most costly play of the game was when Hester fumbled the ball on a kick off return to Wesly Mallard which gave the Bucs the ball at the Bears 16 yard line. It only took the Bucs 3 plays to the put the ball in the endzone with a Tim Rattay pass to TE Alex Smith. Not to worry, Hester is true to his form and will be one of the biggest factors if the Bears make it deep into the playoffs and eventually the Super Bowl.
“Lucky in Cover One”: Not much to get excited about in Tampa these days, but if you’re a Bucs fan, you had to like the way that Tim Rattay conducted the offense. He had decent time in the pocket (with Tommie Harris and Tank Johnson out) and did a great job of just managing the game and offense. The Bucs put Rattay in good situations and took what the Bears gave them in coverage’s. What frustrated me was that the Bears did not do a good job blitzing Rattay and when they did blitz, they sat in a cover one defense which the Bucs and Rattay severly exploited. First, Rattay exploited S Danieal Manning when he hit WR Joey Galloway on deep post route that went 64 yards for a touchdown. Figuring that the Bears saw this coverage get exploited, the Bucs still did it again when Rattay connected a short slant route to WR Ike Hilliard for 44 yards after both Danieal Manning and Ricky Manning Jr. were left in his dust. Suprisingly, defensive coordinator Ron Rivera seemed to be a bit out of sorts in coverages against a team who last scored a touchdown on Thanksgiving. Keep in mind that things will be back to somewhat normal with the return of CB Nathan Vasher and S Todd Johnson come playoff time.
“Offense on the Go”: The Bears offense has done well in the last two games while the defense has stuggled. Grossman did quite well (29-44, 339 yards, and 2 touchdowns) running the offense and has been able to fend off the media wolves for the last 2 games. The running game still continues to be a bright spot with a collaborative effort from Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. It was a sure nice sight to see Ron Turner throw a wrinkle in the game taking advantage of FB Jason McKie’s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. When the Bucs blitzed or offered multiple attacks in pass coverage, McKie was able to get open in the flat and give Grossman a last ditch look in the passing game.
Well, the Bears have clinched home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, which means the NFC representative in the Super Bowl will have to come through Chicago. Yes, this team is 12-2, but that means absolutely nothing in the NFL. With Romo and the Cowboys and Brees and the Saints still looming large lately and with the Eagles freakishly hitting stride late in the season, the Bears need to shore up some issues on offense and defense quickly against Detroit and Green Bay before expecting an automatic birth in the Super Bowl. Dallas, New Orleans, and Philadelphia could easily come into Chicago and stun the Bears on a cold January day and leave us all waiting till next year.
What was your thoughts on the game?