Bears Head West to Battle Raiders

Since Jay Cutler will be out for a significant amount of time, the Chicago Bears will now have to put their faith in fourth-year pro Caleb Hanie when they travel to face the Oakland Raiders. Hanie is best known for his performance in last season’s NFC Championship Game when he stepped in for an injured Cutler and an ineffective Todd Collins, and almost led the Bears to a NFC championship over the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. This game will be the Colorado State product’s first career start.

With Hanie’s lack of experience, most of the focus will be put on Chicago’s offensive line and the running game. The Bears’ o-line has shown major improvement as the season has progressed, giving up only five sacks in the past five games. They will need to keep Hanie upright against a Raiders defense that is tied for eighth in the NFL with 28 sacks.

As for the running game, this has the potential to be another big game for the league’s fourth-leading rusher Matt Forte. Forte has been held under 100 yards the past two games, and going against Oakland’s porous run defense (25 th in the league with 131.6 ypg) Forte and the Bears hope that that streak will end. This will definitely take some of the pressure off Hanie.

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On the other side of the ball, Chicago’s defense has shown some improvement as well. The Bears haven’t given up a 100-yard rusher in their last five games, and is now ranked 10 th in the league in stopping the run (101.2 ypg). The Raiders’ third-ranked rushing attack (156.8 ypg) will test the Bears when they step on the field. Even though Oakland’s Darren McFadden my still be out with a foot injury, his backup Michael Bush my still be a problem for Brian Urlacher and company. Over the last four games, Bush has rushed for 461 yards and two touchdowns.

Despite being ranked 30th in the league in pass defense (270.7 ypg), Chicago still has managed to be tied for second in the NFL with 15 interceptions. Hopefully, the Bears can continue their takeaway tear behind safety Major Wright, who has had interceptions in the last three games for Chicago.

This is without a doubt the most crucial point of the season for the Bears. With Cutler out, and a quarterback with very little experience in, Chicago will really have to lean on their running game, defense and special teams to keep their winning streak going. With two of their last six games against teams with winning records, the Bears still can get a firm grip on a playoff spot. All of this will depend on the play of Hanie and the rest of the Chicago Bears.

By Clyde Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent