Chicago Bears: 5 Things the Bears Learned in Week 1

The Chicago Bears kicked off the 2011 season with a bang. The Bears steamrolled the Atlanta Falcons at Solider Field.

On Sunday, the Bears were clicking on all cylinders, the offense, defense and special teams were equally spectacular. 

This win made a statement to the NFC and the entire NFL. The Bears announced that they came to play, and that they plan on repeating as the NFC North champions.

If the Bears play as well as they did in Week 1, they will be a force to be reckoned with all season long.

Here is what we learned from the Bears win.  

Jay Cutler Is Going to Be an Elite Quarterback

Prior to the season, I explained why Jay Cutler is going to be an elite quarterback, and in Week 1 he proved me right.

Against the Falcons, Cutler threw for 312 yards, completed 68.7 percent of his passes, and threw two touchdowns. He did have one interception, but it was a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage.  

Cutler looked great on Sunday. He stood poised in the pocket, did not throw off his back foot, and had great mechanics. 

He still had few issues. Cutler got lucky a few times with some forced passes that could have been intercepted, and missed a wide open Kellen Davis for a touchdown.

This was still the first game with a lot of new components, I expect Jay Cutler to have a phenomenal season.  

The Wide Receivers Are Better Than We Thought

The Chicago Bears wide receivers have gotten a lot of grief from the Chicago media (myself included), but on Sunday they shut all of us up. 

Maybe it was the great play of Cutler, or maybe the wide receivers are just better than we thought.

The ball was spread well between eight players; five wide receivers, two tight ends and a running back all caught passes from Cutler.

Matt Forte led the way with 90 receiving yards, with Johnny Knox and Devin Hester each chipping in with 60 yards apiece.

Even Roy Williams contributed, racking in 55 yards and converting more than one big play.

The most impressive receiver of the day was Devin Hester. He made great catches and made defenders miss all day. 

Overall, the receivers had a great game, and their play will determine how well the Bears as a whole will do for the remainder of the season.  

The Bears Defense Is Top 3 in the NFL

The Chicago Bears defense was incredible in Week 1. The Bears defense forced three turnovers, sacked Matt Ryan five times, scored a touchdown, and limited the Falcons to just 12 points. 

All this was against an Atlanta Falcons team that was fifth in points scored in 2010 and won 13 games. 

Brain Urlacher showed that he is not too old to play, and he is still one of the best defensive players in the NFL. Urlacher had what will be one of the best plays of the season for the Bears.

With the Falcons marching down the field Urlacher made a heroic diving catch to intercept the Ryan's pass, and shifted the momentum to the Bears, which they never relinquished.  

The defensive line was led by Julius Peppers and Henry Melton, who started his first NFL game. They each recorded two sacks. 

This was a classic Lovie Smith defensive game. The Bears gave up some yards, but they got takeaways and kept the Falcons out of the end zone.

My biggest concern is their health, the Bears defense is getting older and is more susceptible to injuries. But as long as no key Bears defenders get hurt, these Monsters of the Midway will be scary good in 2011.  

Matt Forte Needs to Get Paid

Since Matt Forte has came into the league, he has been one of the most underrated players in the NFL. Forte is just spewing talent, and on Sunday he piled up 158 total yards and two touchdowns.

He did all this with limited minutes in the fourth quarter. His limited fourth quarter minutes might have been done in an attempt to control his stats so he will not have as good of a case for a new deal, but that is another issue.   

The Bears need Forte, he is almost as important as Jay Cutler, and is the perfect back for Mike Martz's offense. 

He can run, he can catch and he can block, and, if the Bears don't pony up, we will see that he can walk. 

Forte is a guy that every team in the NFL would want. He has outstanding character, which has been evident throughout the preseason. 

Forte wanted new deal before the season, but he came to camp and participated. He played through the preseason even though he did not have a new deal, and now he is not going to hold out in the regular season even though he is only making $550,000 this season.

I don't know what is more impressive, his on field play or off-the-field actions. 

The Bears need to lock Forte up as soon as possible, or he will be suiting up for a new city in 2012. 

The Offensive Line Is Going to Be an Issue

The Bears offensive line did a respectable job against the Falcons, but they still gave up four sacks.

That is just too many, and puts them on pace to give up 64 sacks, which would eclipse their league worst 56 sacks from a year ago. 

But the sacks they gave up are misleading, because, at times, the offensive line looked great.  Most of the game they gave Jay Cutler ample time to throw the ball, and created good passing lanes for Matt Forte.

Sunday's game should give Bears fans some hope of what the O-line is capable of, but it might take them some time to get there.