Grading the Bears

GAME BALL

Tom Brady

Like a gunslinger in the Old (Mid)West, Tom Brady pulled his right hand out of his warming holster just long enough to riddle the Bears with passes that moved New England up and down snow-covered Soldier Field. Brady threw for a season-high 369 yards as he hit 27 of 40 passes for 2 scores and no picks.

QUARTERBACK (1.5 balls)

Once the Patriots took a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, Jay Cutler didn't have much time to throw and didn't use what time he had well. His interception near the end of the third quarter didn't seem to have a target, and he plain didn't see safety Brandon Meriweather waiting in the end zone for his fourth-quarter pick.

RUNNING BACKS (1.5 balls)

Matt Forte said the footing wasn't as good as an 80-degree day, which clears up something everyone understood anyway. Forte and Chester Taylor combined for 26 yards on 12 carries, though Forte earned 20 yards on 5 first-quarter carries before the game became lopsided.

WIDE RECEIVERS (1 ball)

Cutler showed frustration more than once by his receivers' inability to catch a ball. Johnny Knox lost a fumble for a TD when his butt landed on cornerback Devin McCourty's shoe instead of the ground. Devin Aromashodu lovers surely noted he notched his fourth catch since the season opener when he caught 5 passes against Detroit.

OFFENSIVE LINE (1 ball)

When the game still mattered, the line was dinged for a pair of holding calls (Matt Garza and Manumaleuna) and surrendered a pair of sacks. One sack became Cutler's second lost fumble at the 9-yard line in as many weeks. The good note? Chris Williams executed a solid kick-out block on Pats safety Patrick Chung to key Chester Taylor's easy 1-yard TD run in the third.

DEFENSIVE LINE (2 balls)

Even though the Bears posted 3 sacks and 3 quarterback hits, you never got the feeling Tom Brady worried about the pass rush one iota. Julius Peppers contributed 1 sack, 2 TFLs, 2 pass breakups, 1 quarterback hit and drew one holding call. Anthony Adams added a sack in the fourth quarter. Rookie Corey Wootton (2 tackles) played more in the blowout than anyone anticipated.

LINEBACKERS (3 balls)

All seemed well on New England's first possession when Brian Urlacher mauled Benjarvis Green-Ellis for a 2-yard loss and followed that with a 2-yard Brady sack. He added another TFL and a tip on the Pats' second series. From there, the pickings got slimmer. A lot slimmer. Urlacher finished with 11 tackles, those 3 TFLs and 3 pass breakups.

DEFENSIVE BACKS (1 ball)

Deion Branch and Wes Welker are checking the future NFL schedules to see when they might get to face the Bears again. They combined for 16 catches and 266 yards against a group that struggled with footing, tackling and coverage. Of course, their job was made harder by the unusually ineffective pass rush.

SPECIAL TEAMS (2 balls)

Devin Hester nearly popped his record-setting return, but settled for a 61-yard kick return as the Bears averaged 39.6 yards on the 5 returns the guys actually fielded. The punt coverage team surrendered a 42-yard return and had a touchdown return called back on a penalty. Robbie Gould never had a chance to try a field goal with or against the wind.

COACHES (2 balls)

Everyone said Lovie Smith offered a moving speech to the team, but it takes more than words to take down the NFL kingpin. Even the perfect schemes with prescient calls probably couldn't have swung this into the Bears' win column. It's how the coaches use this going forward that matters the most.