Bears vs. Lions: 5 Halftime Adjustments Chicago Should Make

The Bears and Lions face off Monday night in a game that, for the first time in recent memory, actually means something.

The Lions come in at an impressive 4-0, the Bears 2-2.

Chicago is fresh off of a win against the Carolina Panthers and will be looking to roll momentum over into what is looking like a hostile Detroit environment.

The first half has been shaky—shaky for both teams.

The Bears offense was on the field for the majority of the first quarter, but they were by no means perfect.

Here are five halftime adjustments I'm looking for the Bears to make going into the second half.

Pull Kellen Davis

Please. I'm begging you, Lovie Smith.

On the first drive alone Davis was responsible for two of the three false-start penalties.

He added one more on the second drive.

Yes, I made myself clear. Three false starts from one player in two drives!

I know the Bears aren't deep at the tight end position, but they should be seriously considering giving another TE more playing time in the second half.

3rd-and-Long/Short

The Bears were 0-3 on third down in the first quarter. The only one they escaped from, they were bailed out on a questionable penalty.

Two of these third downs were long-yardage situations—3rd-and-16 and 3rd-and-13, to be exact.

If the Bears have any shot of being competitive and keeping the defense off the field in the second half, they're going to have to not only convert their third downs, but keep them short.

What they need to do is keep the play calling simple for Cutler and Forte to get into easy second-and-short or third-and-short situations.

Not like they're that efficient on 3rd-and-short, either.

How Do You Stop Calvin Johnson?

I know that this is much easier said than done, but the Bears need to do something to stop Calvin Johnson.

Double coverage. A lot of extra safety help.

What can you do?

We'll see, but Rod Marinelli needs to do something.

Mentality

Multiple times in the first half I noticed the offensive line do something unsettling. Something more than repeated false starts and holding calls.

They don't pick each other up and that is directly connected to the intensity and mentality of the coaches.

Forte keeps getting hit hard and pounded into the ground. He'll get up and have a few words in disgust about the hit and not one offensive lineman is there to his defense.

Same thing with Jay Cutler. The man gets rocked more than any other quarterback in the league. So why do I see him picking himself up sometimes?

Mike Tice and Lovie Smith need to light a fire underneath this offensive line. They're bad, but with a little intensity we might see some results.

That might also help with the obnoxious amounts of the false starts the line has, too.

Quarterback Pressure

The Lions offense hasn't been on the field a long time, but when it has, there is one thing I've noticed.

When the Bears get pressure on Matthew Stafford, he's made some glaring over-throws.

I want to see the Bears dial up some blitzes from the linebackers to get extra pressure on Stafford, because when he has time—well, you've seen what he's done.

If Peppers is hindered in any way from his knee injury, the Bears will have to adjust accordingly.

Pressure on Stafford will be the key to a Bears victory.