Sunday, September 20, 2009

Gameday 2: Chicago Bears



4:00pm
Soldier Field
CBS

Today is one of those days where you get to watch the 1:00 games and hope that they actually get over with as quickly as possible. Is there anything more annoying than missing the start of your game because an earlier game hasn't finished yet? Probably not.

The Steelers come into this game with a lot to prove. They need to prove they can get their running game going, particularly against a decent defense like Chicago. We all know Parker will go off next week against Cincinnati, because Cincy just sucks like that. But for now, a solid effort by the running game will give Ben more time and less pressure. Brian Urlacher, the anchor of the Bears defense, is out for the season, making them thin at linebacker, which gives the Steelers

Chicago's opener was characterized by pretty-boy Jay Cutler trying to be Brett Favre. And in Brett Favre fashion, he threw 4 interceptions, including one with under a minute to play when the Bears were down by 6. The Bears biggest weakness, as we detailed in our Season Preview, is their lack of wide receivers. Devin Hester is the #1 target, but he isn't a great route-runner. He does have the speed to kill you though. You have to believe Cutler is going to be taking some shots downfield in this one.

Steelers-Bears History
All Time: Bears 19-7-1
In Chicago: Bears 11-1
Last Five: Steelers 3-2
Mike Tomlin: 0-0
Current Streaks: Overall - Steelers 3, In Chicago - Steelers 1

What you didn't know about Chicago: Running back extraordinaire Matt Forte averages 3.4 ypc on grass, 4.7 ypc on turf. Soldier Field is a grass surface that is very similar in conditions to Heinz Field (aka sloppy).

What you did know about Chicago: Despite popular belief (and all of last season), they are actually Barack Obama's favorite team.
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Where we'll be

John will be churning butter with the amish.

Ian will be at his favorite bar, Hough's in Greenfield.

Ian will also be live-blogging the game with Cotter and Steve from One for the Other Thumb and Slash and Tommy Gun from XFLMVP.

Check back around gametime for a link to the CoveritLive blog.

The last word goes to Stephen:

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Godless Killing Machines
www.colbertnation.com




Go Steelers!

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