Thread: Rapid Reax

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nf...meId=320909003
Jay Cutler leads rout as Bears spoil Andrew Luck's NFL debut


CHICAGO -- Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall weren't about to let Andrew Luck upstage them in their first
game back together.
Cutler threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns, Marshall added 119 yards
receiving with a TD, and the Chicago Bears
spoiled Luck's debut, beating the 41-21 Sunday in the season opener.

Andrew Luck vs. Peyton Manning

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck posted similar statistics in his NFL debut to
Peyton Manning, the legend he is trying to replace.

	Manning	Luck
Passing yards	302	309
Passing TDs	1	1
Interceptions	3	3
Result	Loss	Loss
-- ESPN Stats & Information

Matt Forte ran for 80 yards and a touchdown
to go with 40 yards receiving. Newcomer Michael Bush added two TD runs, and the
defense did its part, holding Luck in check.
He was 23 of 45 for 309 yards with a 4-yard TD pass to Donnie Avery early in the fourth. But Luck
also got picked off three times -- twice by Tim Jennings -- in an up-and-down start for
a rookie with huge shoes to fill. All he has to do is prove the Colts were right
to take him with the No. 1 pick in the draft and part with Peyton Manning after he missed last season
with a neck injury.
Reggie Wayne, one of Manning's old targets,
caught nine passes for 135 yards. But it was a familiar result for a team with
new management and a new coach in Chuck Pagano after winning just two games.
Then again, it was hardly a surprise.
The Bears are aiming high, and they wound up with their highest point
total since they scored 48 in a win over Detroit on Oct. 4, 2009.

With their Pro Bowl running back and strong-armed quarterback leading the
way, they racked up 428 yards -- 287 while building a 10-point halftime lead --
in their first game with Mike Tice as coordinator.
Forte's 6-yard run early in the third quarter and Robbie Gould's field goal after LaVon Brazill fumbled away the ensuing
kickoff made it 34-14.
Cutler shook off a rough start and completed 21 of 35 passes. He got
sacked by Robert Mathis for a 12-yard loss on the
game's first play from scrimmage, a familiar site for the Bears, and had an
interception returned 3 yards for a touchdown by Jerrell Freeman on the second possession.
But Chicago caught a big break when the Colts' Dwight Freeney sprained an ankle in the
first quarter.
The Bears are eyeing a playoff run after injuries wrecked a promising
season a year ago, sending them to an 8-8 finish. New general manager Phil Emery
revamped the roster and brought in a go-to receiver, reuniting Cutler with his
old friend from Denver in Marshall in that blockbuster trade with Miami.

One big concern is Brian Urlacher's left knee after he
initially injured it in the finale last season and had it scoped last month. The
eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker practiced this week for the first time since July
31 and got pulled from this game after things got out of hand.Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Tillman limped off the field and
appeared to be favoring his right leg after Indianapolis punted on its first
possession. He came back for the next defensive series but sat out the rest of
the way.
The Colts were missing receiver Austin Collie, who was held out because of
a concussion, and their defense took a hit when Freeney rolled his ankle on a
low block early in the game.
That happened on the Bears' first scoring drive, which wiped out a 7-0
deficit and quieted the groans that were rumbling through Soldier Field.
That sack on Cutler was an all-too-familiar sight, and Freeman's
touchdown return on a short swing pass intended for Forte to start the second
possession wasn't what the Bears had in mind.
They quickly erased that deficit, with a 32-yard run around the left end
by Forte and a 15-yard spin through the middle leading to Bush's 1-yard scoring
run. And they grabbed a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter on Cutler's 3-yard
pass to Marshall. That came after a neat one-handed grab by Forte, who
leapfrogged a defender while turning a short pass into a 31-yard gain.
A deep pass by Luck intended for Donnie Avery got picked off by a leaping
Tim Jennings. That led to a field goal by Gould, making it a 10-point game,
before an 18-yard run by Donald Brown late in the half pulled
Indianapolis within 17-14.
Bush's scoring run from the 1 in the closing minute of the half made it
24-14 and it stayed that way when the Colts' Adam Vinatieri missed a 37-yard field goal
in the final seconds.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The
Associated Press

Ya' gotta hand it to Culter and the receivers. He came back from a 1-10 to go 20-25 for the rest of the game. Decent blocking; 122 yards rushing, 333 passing 5 tds. Good play calling. All pretty good for a first outing.

I expected the team to look rough in this first game. They started out that way, but surprised me with how good they played. I do expect this team to improve each game for the next 3 or 4 games.

Green Bay looks pretty rough today (so far). Their defense looks very ordinary at best. We need a win Thursday. We'd start out 2-0 with a win over the reigning NFC-N champs. That would be an ideal beginning to our 2012 season.

I want a win Thursday night against the Packers. There is no excuse why the Bears can't pull it off so long as the offensive line plays half way decently. We can spread out the Packers' secondary all over the place with our receivers and with Cutler's cannon for an arm. I fully expect that we'll run better too.

I hope that Peanut is back for the game. We're going to need him, though Kelvin Hayden did a fine job filling in for him.

Sunday, the Bears faced a Colts team with a rookie QB playing his first regular season game, playing a "hybrid" (sometimes 4-3 others 3-4) defense just installed this off season. The Bears faced a team that is in transition on both offense and defense. The good thing is that the Bears shook of their jitters and went on to take care of business. This was a game that the Bears were heavily favored to win. I am not satisfied that this one game is a strong indicator of how the Bears will perform in every game the rest of the season. Thursday will be the real test.

All of that being said, I'm thrilled with the offensive performance of the Bears. I can't remember the last time I saw the Bears put up this many points.

I guess I'm not quite ready to drink the kool-aid yet.

My rapid reax was that our defense looked pretty good without any LB play at all really. Ok, they were in on a few tackles and help force a sack, but otherwise....absent.

The defense has been so very LB dependent for years it seemed strange, but if we get something out of them a bit more substantial, we should be in very good shape.


Oline settled down nicely after the craptacular first drive. Yes, I realize we were keeping folks in to help, but that is fine w/ me. Actually, it's what we all expect and as long as Cutler doesn't get too dirty, all is well. He wasn't hit too often yesterday, so I'm just a little proud.

Oh, and regardless of what anyone thinks, that Colts team is better than most have given credit. They won't win bunches of games, but they will be in them. I'd say they win 6 games and play several others fairly close.

What I don't liked: Cutty forced too many passes to Marshall. I know he trusts him and he is good, but many times there was no chance for Marshall to catch the ball. Cutty has to see this