Bears Open Season Against Falcons

After their 2-2 record in the preseason, the Chicago Bears are focused for their regular season home opener versus the Atlanta Falcons, despite the contract situations of Lance Briggs and Matt Forte. Significant improvements have been made on both sides of the ball, and with majority of last year’s team returning Chicago is in position to start the season off on the right foot; hopefully leading them back to the NFC Championship Game.

Jay Cutler will begin the process of redeeming himself after the ridicule he received for sitting out virtually the entire second half of last season’s NFC Championship Game. With one year of running Mike Martz’s offense under his belt, Cutler will hope to lead the Bears offense against a Falcons defense that only ranked 22 nd in the league last year against the pass.

Receivers Roy Williams, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Earl Bennett, and rookie Dane Sanzenbacher will have plenty of chances to contribute, knowing how much Martz likes to spread the ball around in the passing game.

Forte will more than likely get the bulk of the load on the ground due to a calf injury to second-string running back Marion Barber.

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The offensive line will look much different from last year. Long-time center Olin Kruetz is no longer with the team, and Roberto Garza has moved from guard to center. The rest of the o-line will have J’Marcus Webb at left tackle, Chris Williams at left guard, Lance Louis at right guard, and rookie Gabe Carimi at right tackle.

The offensive front will have their hands full when they go up against a revamped Atlanta defensive line. The Falcons now have two premier pass rushers on the ends, starting with John Abraham, who was fifth in the league with 13 sacks last season. In addition, the Falcons signed free agent defensive end Ray Edwards, formerly with the Minnesota Vikings.

Defensively, the Bears should have no problem picking up where they left off last year. Ranked second in the league in stopping the run in 2010, Atlanta running back Michael Turner might be in for a long day on the ground. The x-factor in this game just might be the Falcons passing attack versus the Bears pass defense.

Chicago is very thin at the safety position due to injuries in the final preseason game. Craig Steltz (hip) and rookie Chris Conte (concussion) were the two players that were banged up. As a result, Chicago signed former New England Patriot Pro Bowl safety Brandon Meriweather. Meriweather will see some action at the safety position, but he will do so with very limited practice time with the team.

Atlanta just might have one of the best receiver duos in the league with Roddy White, who was second in the league in receiving yards last season, and rookie Julio Jones. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is the type of passer that can take advantage of a situation such as the Bears and their secondary.

This Week 1 matchup is the first of three big tests that the Chicago Bears will face in the first three weeks of the season. Many are saying that the Bears were lucky last season to win the NFC North title and that they won’t even make the playoffs this year. How Chicago handles this first game of the season will tell everyone of how “real” the Bears are this season.

By Clyde Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent