Come To Think of It...Chicago Bears Tame the Lions, Move into First Place

The say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If so, then perhaps the success the Bears are starting to find is a reflection on the success of the Cubs and White Sox.  Before the playoffs, that is.

Before this NFL season began, many (including myself) were predicting doom and gloom for this Bears team. Without a proven running back, following the Cedric Benson bust, and with Kyle Orton throwing to a less-than-stellar receiving corps, it appeared that a three or four-win season may be in the offing for the Monsters of the Midway.

Instead, with the 34-7 trouncing of the disheveled Detroit Lions, the Bears moved to 3-2 and are atop the NFC North division. No, you don't need to adjust your eyeglasses, you read it right: first place! As amazing as that is, it is early, so let's not count our chickens just yet.

Even so, the Bears look so much better than we expected. Kyle Orton threw for 334 yards on Sunday. Sure, it was against a really bad team, but good teams are supposed to beat up bad teams. And Matt Forte has been running and receiving well all year, though he only averaged 2.6 yards per carry against the Lions.

While we watched the Cubs flame out against the Dodgers, and the White Sox stand on the brink of elimination against the Rays, here come the Bears to save our sports-loving day. Maybe we will have something to cheer for after all.

The Bears' defense has played well, forcing two turnovers against the Lions on Sunday. And their only two losses this season could easily have gone the other way, as the Bears blew late leads in both games.

Orton is leading a take-what-they-give-us offense. With Forte established as a legitimate threat, the Bears are seeing more run-oriented defensive looks. Orton has responded by throwing for 801 yards and seven touchdowns over their last three games.

It's true that the Lions looked like a team trying to get its head coach fired. Still, before this season started, the thought of a Bears offense, behind what was supposed to be a very suspect offensive line, producing 34 points would have been ridiculed. Nevertheless, there it was.

Looking forward, the Bears get the return of Tommie Harris this week. Harris should be sufficiently motivated after being suspended by the team for one game. Motivating the entire team are all the naysayers, like myself, who said that this would be a really bad team this year. I'm happy to report that I am wrong, at least so far.

Perhaps this is the tonic Chicago sports fans need. Hey, it's not the Cubs in the World Series, but we'll take it. Come to think of it, these Monsters are scary good right about now.