Bear Down Baffa

The Bears took their shit international again Sunday, playing on British soil for the first time since a preseason victory over Dallas after winning the ’86 Super Bowl.  And they made their 16-hour round-trip flight worth the effort by moving their record there to 2-0.  But that didn’t alleviate the annoyance of American commentators using English terminology and brutalizing British accents all week.  If I hear one more person say we went “across the pond,” I may go postal.  It’s an ocean people, not a pond.  You’re not cool, clever or funny.  Now if you said “the pond would be good for you,” then you’d be all three of those things.

Wembley plays host to Bears for first time in 25 years

So much for Tampa moving to London 3 weeks ahead of the game and the Bears flying in on Sunday morning.  We came out looking sharper and more prepared.  Tampa punted 4 times in the first quarter, and on 5 of their first 6 drives, as we ran out to a 14-2 lead halfway through the second quarter – right about the time Forte crossed the 100-yard barrier.  And Tampa only had 60 total yards before their final first half drive, which went 77 yards and led to a FG with time expiring, cutting our lead to 9.

Bears take field – well-rested and ready to rumble

Despite starting the fourth quarter up 21-5, Tampa made it interesting.  They scored 2 fourth quarter TD’s after starting in Bear territory on both drives.  And with 4 minutes left and a 3-point lead, we had a first down at Tampa’s 4.  Game over, right?  Uhm, no.  Cutler threw 2 incompletions and got sacked at the 12.  But Tampa got a Taunting penalty, giving us a first down at the 5.  Now it’s really game over, right?  Not so much.  After failing to put the biscuit in the basket on 6 plays inside the red zone, we settled for a FG.  But we left Tampa less than 2 minutes and the ball on their own 28, and they couldn’t score their third TD in a row.

Gratuitous hot cheerleader photo

Back and Forth
It was a sloppy game to say the least.  There were 6 interceptions, including back-to-back picks and a safety on 3 consecutive plays.  And at the end of the first quarter, there were 4 penalties called 4 plays in a row, and a fifth called 2 plays later.  At one point, Tampa was looking at a 2nd-and-26.  That’s not something you see everyday.  And neither is this:

Apparently someone lost the coin from the coin toss

After Tampa started the fourth quarter at mid-field, we gave up two 10-yard passes and committed a Late Hit penalty, giving them a first down at our 14.  On the next play, Urlacher made another of his standard leaping interceptions, but he fumbled on the return at the 19.  There was a Tampa Hands to the Face penalty on the play before the pick occurred, which we accepted, so Tampa got the ball back but at the 29 instead of the 19.

Two McCaskey’s, a tight wallet and a porn mustache – where’s Lee Harvey Oswald when you need him?

But then Lovie “I Should Have My Red Flag Privileges Revoked” Smith (he’s 1 for 8 on challenges over the last 2 years) challenged the Urlacher fumble call.  He stunningly got the call right, and with the penalty, gave us the ball on our 32 – and Urlacher credit for his 3rd pick this season.  Now THAT’S the kind of play you challenge, Lovie – a possession change in the red zone.  But despite all that, Cutler threw a pick of his own two plays later.  This gave Tampa a new set of downs on our 21, and led to their first TD four plays later.  Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

Lovie explains “Super Bowl plan” as Goodell tries to contain laughter

Offense
Forte continues to justify a long-term, high-paying deal by racking up the yardage.  And while not typically flashy, he started the scoring on a phenomenal, multi-cut, 32-yard TD run on our second drive.  He did get tackled in the end zone for a safety soon thereafter, but he finished the half with 108 yards on 15 carries (a 7.2 average), and went on to set the NFL record for rushing yards in London, amassing 145 on 25 carries (5.8/run).  He has 553 yards on 89 runs over the last four games, (6.2/rush), and is the first player since 2004 to go over 1,000 total yards after seven games.  Even signs in Britain’s native tongue requested we pay him.  Come on man, re-sign that bitch!

I could run for 100+ yards too if defenders stood around and watched me

Overall we had 395 yards and averaged 5.9 yards a play with a well-balanced attack (33 runs, 32 passes).  We had 11 plays of at least 15 yards, 6 over 20, and scored once in each quarter.  Though we did allow 2 sacks, our line did another great job of run blocking and protecting Culter.  The Butler started luke warm, completing only 5 of his first 10 passes for 54 yards.  But those 5 completions were to 5 different receivers, and included a TD that put us up by 12 midway through the second quarter.  He finished 17 of 32 (53%) for 226 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT’s, 2 sacks and a 60.2 QBR.  But one of those picks was Barber’s fault as he tipped a screen right into a defender’s hands.  It should come as no surprise, as he’s only got 2 more receptions this year than Virginia McCaskey’s “virginia.”

Barber should stick with the run – he leads Bear RB’s with 3 TD’s

But Barber made up for it with a 29-yard run on third-and-short during our second TD drive, and a 12-yard TD run on our first drive of the second half.  He finished with a season best 39 yards on 6 carries (6.5/run).  Roy “First Down” Williams also made up for dropping an early pass with a 25-yard TD catch of his own (his longest reception in almost a year).  After being tackled in the end zone, he looked confused because he couldn’t signal for a first down.  I’m not sure if he knows the signal for a TD since it’s been over a year since he’s been there.

Williams struggles between First Down and TD signals

Defense
We pretty much kicked the crap out of Tampa’s offense for three quarters.  We held them to 30 rushing yards, and 280 total yards – our fewest allowed this season.  Tampa punted 8 times and threw 3 INT’s before scoring their first TD.  We finished with only 1 sack but it was for 14 yards.  It was Amobi Okoye’s third of the season (as many as he had all last year), and he’s on pace to pass his career high (5.5).  Nick Reed, playing only his second NFL season in 3 years, should have been credited with his first sack of the year (and second of his career) as well.  But alas, the white man can’t never catch a break.

Bears get first (unofficial) sack from a white D-lineman in 20 years

We also got 4 takeaways, as we held Freeman to 29 of 51 (57%) for 264 yards, 2 TD’s, 4 INT’s and a 51.4 QBR – well below his 32-game career average of 80.  Peanut Tillman again led us with 10 tackles.  And rookie Chris Conte got his first career pick when he ripped the ball out of a receiver’s hands as he was catching it at the goal line.

Conte rips ball away from Tampa’s Williams

Special Teams
Seven Hester was a non-factor in this game, but we didn’t need him because we out-played Tampa’s O and D.  Surprisingly, Robbie “I’m One of the Most Accurate Kickers in NFL History” Gould missed a FG from 41 yards – right after the commentator said that he would tie for the highest FG percentage in NFL history if he made it.  The one time he can become “the” instead of “one of” the, and he blows it.  And so he inevitably remains known only as “one of” the most accurate kickers in NFL history – at least for another couple weeks.

In addition to his pick, Conte also copped a satchel feel on Williams

The 4th Phase
There was plenty of hype surrounding this game in London.  Travel debates, team sight-seeing adventures, the Bears playing cricket before practice at The Oval, a pep rally in Trafalgar Square, and the Goo Goo Dolls playing before kickoff.  And this was all before the appearance of a squirrel on the field, and the “partial streaker” running around high-fiving players before finally being taken down by security like he was Muammar Gaddafi.

We’re going streaking!  Through the quad and then to the gymnasium!

And then there was this guy:

Black Batman keeping it real with a tilted cap

Optimistically Optimistic
After the Bears almost gave this game away, we moved to 4-3.  Same as last year.  And with Detroit losing 2 in a row, we only trail them by a game.  And we’re now tied for the second Wild Card spot with the Bucs and Atlanta – both of whom we’ve beaten.

Even across the pond they appreciate a Chicago legend

On the Docket
With our bye-week next week, we don’t play again for two weeks when we go to Philly on Monday, Nov. 7 (leave your dogs at home, folks).  But after this inter-continental victory on a grand stage, you better use the extra time to start making your Super Bowl plans…

New Wembley finally earns street cred by hosting Bears

Super Bowl, Super Bears!

© 2011

This entry was posted on Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 12:52 pm and is filed under j) 2011 Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.