Chicago Bears 2010 Year in Review: Top 12 Moments From 2010 Season
The holiday season has us all in a giving mood and let's face it, as Bears fans, our team has given us a better gift than many of us ever had expected to receive in 2010: a trip to the playoffs.
What a year it has been for the Chicago Bears. Left for dead in the preseason by many prognosticators (including yours truly), the team surprised us by winning the NFC North division and making the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
Prior to the season, the three main brain-trust of the Bears, Ted Phillips, Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith, held a press conference taking the blame for last season and promising better things ahead. There was even a veiled threat that Lovie and Jerry's jobs were on the line if they didn't make the playoffs, though that was later denied by Phillips.
Still, it was apparent that fans and management alike had seen enough of the failed expectations. So, the Bears went out and signed three free agents on the first day of the free agency signing period—the biggest of which was DE standout Julius Peppers.
Well, the results have spoken for themselves, as the Bears currently sit at 11-4 and in position to take the number two seed in the playoffs. What a turnaround from last year.
Meanwhile, the journey back to the playoffs has not always been a smooth ride, but it certainly has been exciting. While I can't afford to send each of you readers a present, I can give you, in the spirit of the holiday season, a look back at the biggest highlights from the season.
Get ready to "Bear Down."
12. Bears Acquire Safety Chris Harris
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The Bears traded a strength to fill a weakness when they moved LB Jamar Williams for Safety Chris Harris.
In addition to helping shore up the secondary, Harris has had a far greater impact than Williams ever could have.
Harris is sometimes soft in coverage, but he hits hard and he makes plays. He leads the team with five interceptions and last Sunday had a terrific game, leading the team in tackles to go along with an INT and a fumble recovery.
On the season, Harris is fifth in tackles for the Bears and only Brian Urlacher has recovered more fumbles.
11. Bears Hire Mike Martz
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Love him or hate him, Mike Martz has certainly had an impact on the Bears' season.
Early on, Martz had the reputation of being inflexible with his offensive scheme, preferring seven step drops and passes with few runs.
But the truth is that Martz has been anything but inflexible, as he has been willing to balance the attack and max protect for Jay Cutler and the results have been admirable.
When Martz was hired, many Bears fans, including myself, felt this could either be a spectacular success or a spectacular failure. But in truth it has been neither of those extremes.
The Bears have scored 40 and 38 points the past two weeks while limiting mistakes and—gasp!—running the ball.
10. Todd Collins Wins First Start As a Bear
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This moment, in truth, is really a credit to the Bears' defense more than anything else, but it shows that the Bears can win a game when the QB isn't named Jay Cutler and is playing as bad as a QB possibly can.
With Cutler concussed and the Bears needing a victory badly following a rough Giants beating, they won a game when their offense had to rely on the running game; something that Mike Martz supposedly despises.
Only four QBs since 1970 have thrown four INTs with an average of just two yards per reception. And guess what? Only Todd Collins won the game.
Collins was historically bad, with a QB rating of 6.2 and four INTs with no TDs. But Israel Idonije had 2.5 sacks and Matt Forte rushed for 166 yards.
This game was also critical because it proved that Martz was willing to run the ball, even if it was mainly because his QB was on the shelf.
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9. Tommie Harris Benched
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When Lovie Smith benched Tommie Harris for the Packers game in week three, it showed he was serious about winning and was willing to hold players accountable, something that hadn't been obvious in previous years.
Look, Harris wasn't benched for personal conduct as he was the previous year, he was sacked for poor performance.
With just one tackle in his first two games, a healthy Harris was scratched due to a "coaches decision."
"We have good players on the sideline right now," Smith said, according to the Daily Herald. "We'll go to practice next week and see who gives us the best chance to win."
Playing the guys who give you the best chance to win certainly sent a message to the team that: a) winning is important; and b) lousy performance will not be tolerated.
8. "The Process Of The Catch" — Bears Win Opening Game
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In the first game of the season, the Bears beat the Detroit Lions in a game that was known for a Lions' catch in the end zone that should have counted; except for a questionable rule that was correctly enforced by the refs.
Again, the call was right, but the rule is stupid. Still, the Bears will take it. Imagine if they had lost that game? The rest of the season may have been entirely different.
With 31 seconds left in the game, Calvin Johnson made a leaping grab in the end zone that would have given the Lions their first road win in three years. Instead, Johnson's potential game-winner was ruled an incomplete pass by the officials.
Referee Gene Steratore said, "The ruling is that in order for the catch to be completed he has got to maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire process of the catch."
Johnson was "shocked" by the call, saying, "I figure if I got two feet and a knee down, to me that is a catch that's why I got up and took off," he said.
7. Bears Beat The Packers To Go 3-0
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The Bears started the season 3-0 by beating the hated rival Green Bay Packers 20-17 in a game that was defined by an incredible 18 penalties committed by the cheese heads.
Not only did the Bears defeat a team that many expected to compete for the title, they did it on Monday night on national TV in a game that stamped them as legitimate contenders.
Robbie Gould's 19-yard field goal won it for the Bears with four seconds left. Prior to that, Brian Urlacher hit the Packers' James Jones and forced the fumble in the final minutes.
At that point, the Bears were the only undefeated team in the NFC.
6. The Bye Week Adjustments
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Following consecutive lackluster losses at home to Seattle and Washington, the Bears came out of the bye week a new team.
While no one knows who said or did what, the formerly stubborn Mike Martz suddenly started doing things that played to the strengths of the Bears' offense, instead of forcing passes that the offensive line couldn't block for.
Many feel that Mike Tice may have told Martz that his line will get Jay Cutler killed. Regardless, following the bye week, the Bears started balancing the play calling equally between pass and run. Furthermore, Martz abandoned his preference for seven step drops.
Martz likes his QBs to stay in the pocket, but after the bye week, Cutler started rolling out and throwing quick, high percentage passes.
The result was profound.
The Bears won their next five games, in large part by limiting their offensive mistakes.
5. Bears Beat Mike Vick and the Eagles
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Until the Bears beat the Eagles in Week 12, many said that the Bears were lucky and weren't a real contending team. But enter a red-hot Mike Vick and a good Eagles team and this was the Bears' chance at respectability.
At this time, Vick was the talk of the NFL and the hottest QB. But Jay Cutler threw four TD passes on national TV, and the Bears scored a season-high 31 points in the victory over the Eagles.
Until that point, the Eagles had won three straight, but Vick threw his first INT of the year and the Bears had its' first signature win of the season.
Vick had thrown 238 passes without an interception prior to the Chris Harris pick.
Matt Forte ran for 117 yards, which was the most the Eagles had allowed all year.
4. Bears End Brett Favre's Career
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Now look, this isn't a celebration of an injury. Sure, the Bears may have given the Vikings' Brett Favre the injury that finally ends his long and storied career, but he shouldn't have started the game in the first place.
Favre has been such a huge pain in the ass of Bears' fans that this simply had to make the list.
Favre was declared "out" in the final injury report, yet he started against the Bears in Week 15 as the Bears defeated the Vikings 40-14.
Favre's surprise start ended with a concussion that will probably end his career. He finished 5 of 7 for 63 yards before the big hit by Corey Wootton.
The Bears have a huge rivalry with the Packers, and Favre has killed us so many times throughout his Hall of Fame career, that this is a fitting end to his season—and perhaps his career.
3. Bears Sign Julius Peppers
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The Bears signed three free agents right away, with DE Julius Peppers the biggest fish hooked.
In addition to Peppers, TE Brandon Manumaleuna and RB Chester Taylor were inked by the Bears in what proved that the team was serious about winning.
While Manumaleuna was out of shape and ineffective and Taylor has been used somewhat sparingly, Peppers has been a difference maker on defense and worth every penny.
Sure, he hasn't had the sack totals everyone expected (he has eight), but he has been all over the field and has been an impact player for the Bears.
2. Devin Hester Breaks the All-Time Return Record
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Devin Hester set the NFL record with his 14th career return for a touchdown, returning a punt 64 yards in the third quarter on Monday night, giving the Chicago Bears a 27-7 lead over the Minnesota Vikings in a game that the Bears would eventually win, 40-14.
When the Bears gave Hester a contract that valued his receiver results more than his return yards, it affected Hester's results as a kick and punt return man. But since encouraging number 23 to focus on getting back to the glory years as a return man, Hester has been ridiculous.
Hester recorded the historic moment on Monday night against the Vikings in a Bears' win.
1. Bears Clinch Division
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With the win over Minnesota, the Bears clinched the division and a playoff berth for the first time in four years.
On a frozen field in Minnesota, the 63,000 Bears ticket holders saw their team clinch a spot in the playoffs.
Their heroes play postseason football for the first time since 2006.
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