Chicago Bears Hibernate Against Detroit Lions: Lessons Learned on Monday Night

A false start.

A 73-yard reception.

A false start. 

A helmet-to-helmet hit that was really shoulder-to-shoulder.

Another false start.

An 88-yard burst.

Yet another false start.

A referee that likes to see himself on the jumbotron and hear himself over the PA speakers.

A chance to win in the fourth quarter, despite all efforts to fail.

A field littered with yellow hankies.

An offensive line that plays two-hand touch.

What else? A false start.

As a Bears fan, what do you take away from this effort?

Lessons Learned on Offense

We know Frank "The Gate 68" Omiyale can't play tackle.

We learned Matt Forte is easily the best option on offense, running or throwing. But we know Jerry Angelo isn't planning to pay him anytime soon.

We acknowledge Nick Fairley can blow up the backfield if he's on the field. Especially against the Bears. 

But we are more certain than ever if Cutler had time to make a decision, he would be fine. Scrambling and panicking, Jay was as sharp as can be expected. Especially on the run.

We believe we can break open the bank against the Lions secondary if we had ANY MORE TIME TO THROW.

We discovered Dane Sanzenbacher can run clean routes and create space against nickel backs and dime backs. We are curious about what he might do against starting cornerbacks. We don't know what we have to lose...we think it may be nothing.

The fact that Sam Hurd was targeted so often terrifies us. Where is Knox? Where is Williams? Where is Hester? Where is anyone else?

Lessons Learned on Defense

We are afraid the linebackers are showing their age.

We suspect Brandon Meriweather was cut from the Patriots for a reason. (Possibly because he goes for the hit and doesn't follow assignments.) 

Major Wright at SS and Meriweather fighting for a backup job wouldn't hurt our feelings.

We're sure Chris Harris is still suffering from his hamstring tweak. He was in the backfield and missed a big play. He couldn't catch up to the speed of the game. We're worried he came back too soon.

We think Jahvid Best is fast but not great. The Bears were eyeing Calvin Johnson all night and content to let Jahvid beat them if he could. The Bears went for the turnover, he went for the touchdown. We doubt he can do that again in 10 more chances.

We fear Peppers was hurt more seriously than it appeared.

Overall

We are content to let a few teams run away with playoff spots if it means we can still contend for the wild card.

We look forward to watching Green Bay and Detroit beat up on each other, no matter what.

We can't wait to see the Lions on our turf.