Getting to Know Caleb Hanie

             After Jay Cutler's season-ending injury to a finger on his throwing hand after chasing after Antoine Cason, who intercepted Cutler in the fourth quarter, it will be back-up quarterback Caleb Hanie who will look to lead the 7-3 Bears into the playoffs.

Courtesy of http://planbphilosophy.blogspot.com/2011/01/are-you-prepared-for-opportunity-caleb.html

             The last we saw of Hanie was when he replaced Cutler after an "injury" in last year's NFC Championship Game. Hanie was 13-20 for 153 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, which for a replacement QB in the biggest game of his life, was by no means a bad performance. Hanie is in his fourth NFL season after playing at Colorado State. He is almost the same size as Cutler, at 6'2" and 222 lbs. Luckily for both the Bears and Hanie, the team is capable of winning without relying too much on the play of the quarterback. As we saw against Detroit last week, Chicago managed score with its defense, special teams, and dual running back system under Mike Martz. As long as the defense can limit the scoring opportunities of their opponents, Hester gives the offense good field position, and Matt Forte and Marion Barber are able to carry the offense, Hanie will be gradually re-introduced to the offense. If he is able to lead the Bears over the Packers in Week 16, he'll become a living legend in Chicago.

It's Hard to Lose with Chicago's Defense

                The Chicago Bears got revenge at Soldier Field today after losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 5 at Detroit. The Bears were able to score in four different ways today and what is most promising for Chicago is that they were able to win despite Jay Cutler having a mediocre game. Cutler went 9-19 for 123 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. Matt Forte also had a bit of an off-night with only 64 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. However, the Bears defense and special teams carried the team against the Lions. Detroit never got into an offensive rythm after turning the ball over on their first two possessions in both halves. Detroit's fumbles, both lost by wide receivers, turned into ten easy points for the Bears and they never looked back. The second quarter started with a Robbie Gould field goal and less than a minute later, after the Lions went three-and-out, Devin Hester returned his NFL-leading 12th career punt for a touchdown. Despite being questionable leading up to the game he turned a mishandled punt into his third special teams touchdown this season. The Lions went into halftime down 20-6 and their woes continued when quarterback Matthew Stafford threw two pick-sixes on consecutive possessions to Major Wright and Charles Tillman. After Stafford's third interception to Tim Jennings, he took his anger out on Bears defender D.J. Moore, tackling him by his helmet, setting off a chain reaction that escalated along the Lions' sideline. Moore ended up charging back at Stafford before getting pummeled by two Lions players. Moore ended up getting ejected from the game, but that was the least of his worries since his team was up 37-6 in an absolute rout of Detroit.

Courtesy of  http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/14112011/5/photo/14112011004810.html (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

                     The Lions picked up a touchdown in garbage time, but seven more points could not heal Detroit after such a bad loss. While I wasn't thrilled with the Bears' offense, this was the type of game I love watching Chicago play. They didn't rely on Cutler trying to throw the ball across the field and be Tom Brady, but their defense forced six turnovers and they scored three touchdowns while their offense was on the sideline. Chicago definitely has a long way to go to make it to the playoffs, but having such a potent defense and special teams that can both limit their opponent's scoring opportunities and find their way to the endzone will give them an extra advantage against most of the Bears' opponents. As seen by Stafford's temper tantrum, a defense as good as Chicago's gets in the heads of their opponents and causes them to make more mistakes later in the game.The Chicago Bears are in great position at 6-3 in second place in the NFC North behind the Super Bowl Champion Packers. With a few more stellar performances by the Bears defense and if Hester can continue to tear it up on special teams, Chicago has great chances at making it to the playoffs, hopefully after finishing first place in the NFC North.