Bears grades

Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson deserves it, no? Especially after that whole catch-no-catch fiasco on Opening Day last season at Soldier Field. The Lions#146; large, athletic, sure-handed wide receiver hauled in a 73-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford on third-and-7 early in the second quarter, and the Lions were on their way to their best start (5-0) in 55 years.

QUARTERBACK (3.5 footballs)

Jay Cutler#146;s overall numbers (28-of-38 passing, 249 yards, TD) don#146;t do him justice. Under pressure all game (heard that before?), he kept the Bears in the game and had them up 10-7 at halftime. He scrambled, threw darts backpedaling, lofted perfectly thrown balls, knew when to flee the pocket to give himself more time to play makes, and he did. Tons of courage demonstrated by No. 6.

RUNNING BACKS (3 footballs)

Matt Forte didn#146;t rush for 200 yards again, but he turned in another strong effort, gaining 116 yards on 22 carries (5.3 average). Included were bursts of 19, 23 and 17 yards. He also failed to gain a yard on back-to-back fourth-and-1 runs up the middle from the Detroit 26 in the first quarter. Blame the coaches. When will they learn that this is not Forte#146;s forte?

RECEIVERS (1 football)

Roy Williams started, but was invisible. Again. Like Williams, Johnny Knox didn#146;t catch a pass until the fourth quarter. Devin Hester had a perfectly thrown pass by Jay Cutler slide off his finger tips, negating what would have been a long gain. Li#146;l Dane Sanzenbacher had a 15-yard grab and a couple of drops. Cutler was looking for Sam Hurd (4 receptions). That tells you how sad the receiving corps is.

OFFENSIVE LINE (0.5 football)

J#146;Marcus Webb and tight end Kellen Davis each had a hat trick (3 false starts apiece). Frank Omiyale started in place of the injured Chris Spencer and showed again that it#146;s amazing he#146;s on an NFL roster. Cutler was never able to set his feet when he dropped back to pass.

DEFENSIVE LINE

(1 football)

Israel Idonije had a sack, but Julius Peppers tweaked his knee at the end of the first quarter, and although he returned, it was hard to tell if he was at full strength. Anyone seen Henry Melton?

LINEBACKERS

(2 footballs)

Replays showed that the officials blew it when they flagged Brian Urlacher for a helmet-to-helmet hit on the Lions#146; Tony Scheffler. Unfortunately for the Bears, it led to an 18-yard TD catch to Brandon Pettigrew. Urlacher and Lance Briggs didn#146;t make any plays, and the Bears can#146;t win if they#146;re just average.

SECONDARY

(1.5 footballs)

Safety Chris Harris returned from missing three weeks with a hamstring injury and was clearly rusty #8212; or just slow. How do you like your Cover-2? The defense that doesn#146;t allow the big play surrendered another one early #8212; a 73-yard TD pass from Stafford to Johnson. Jahvid Best had an 88-yard TD run, too. D.J. Moore had another interception.

SPECIAL TEAMS

(3 footballs)

It#146;s good. Robbie Gould was Robbie Gould. Two field-goal tries. Two made kicks (44 and 49 yards). Devin Hester tried to play wirewalker on one kickoff return and stumbled, fielding the ball at the 4 and stepping out of bounds at the 7.

COACHING

(0.5 football)

By the end of the first quarter, the Bears were out of timeouts. The final one was the result of Lovie Smith unsuccessfully challenging the spot on a fourth-and-1 run by Forte. Nine false-start penalties. The Bears looked unprepared to play in Ford Field#146;s hostile environment.