Fine-tuned O-line leads Bears
A lot has changed for both teams since the Lions whipped the Bears 24-13 in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football a month ago.
That dominant victory propelled the Lions to 5-0, but they’ve lost two of three since then. The embarrassing MNF loss dropped the Bears to 2-3, but they’ve since won three straight to climb to within a game of Detroit for second place in the NFC North.
That loss left the Bears’ offensive line at ground zero. The line was flagged for 6 of the team’s 9 false start penalties, and it allowed Jay Cutler to be sacked three times and pummeled on several other occasions.
After that game, right guard Lance Louis was moved to right tackle to replace struggling Frank Omiyale, and Chris Spencer was inserted at right guard. Sunday will mark the fourth straight game that the same players start in all five O-line spots, and the improvement has been noticeable.
Behind the new alignment, Cutler has been sacked just three times in three games. In the most recent contest, Monday night’s victory over the Eagles, Cutler was not sacked at all for the first time this season.
“I was thinking about that halfway through the game,” he admitted. “I was like, ‘Let’s not jinx this yet.’ I didn’t want to say anything, but it was looking pretty good. Those guys played well. They’re getting better and better.”
After Thursday’s practice, offensive line coach Mike Tice gave his group a C-plus grade for the first half of the season.
“I think that’s fair,” Tice said. “We’ve had really good moments, some of which have gone unnoticed. We’ve had some really bad moments, most of which have been noticed, and we’re coming off a string of a couple solid games. But we have to get better because there are some things in that game that irked me that we have to clean up.”
Safety first:Another change in the Bears since their first meeting with the Lions has been the reduction of big plays that the defense has permitted.Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford torched the Bears with a 73-yard TD toss to Calvin Johnson, and running back Jahvid Best had an 88-yard TD scamper and a 43-yard jaunt in the last meeting. The longest play the Bears have allowed in the three games since then is a 33-yard run by the Eagles#146; LeSean McCoy.Young safeties Chris Conte and Major Wright have been instrumental in preventing game-changing big plays.#147;We#146;re very pleased with them, especially Chris Conte,#148; coach Lovie Smith said. #147;He#146;s doing a great job for a young guy, a rookie coming in, and that#146;s hard.#147;It#146;s hard first to be accepted. The veterans want to see what you can do, (but) they#146;re letting him hang around a little bit with them now. Major Wright, also. They#146;re eager to learn, and they both have talent. They#146;re not there yet, but they should get better each week they play.#148;Injury report:Wide receiver Devin Hester (ankle), defensive end Julius Peppers (knee), defensive tackle Matt Toeaina (knee), offensive tackle Gabe Carimi (knee) did not participate Thursday, when practice began outside but moved inside to Halas Hall after light flurries became a bit heavier. Tight end Kellen Davis (shoulder) and strong safety Major Wright (ankle) were limited.Follow Bob#146;s Bears reports via Twitter @Bob LeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.