Chicago Bears Report Card Week 9: Grading Each Unit

The Chicago Bears conquered a "Dream Team" in Philly on Monday night to put themselves on the inside track to the playoffs.  The Bears are now ahead of some rivals in the wild-card race, such as the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles.

The win was an important one, but arguably more important was the improvement that certain units showed in the contest with the Eagles.  A fluke win would have helped the Bears.  But this win was anything but a fluke.

The Bears came out of their bye week looking significantly improved and far more consistent.  And that consistency is the most important development coming of the bye.

If the Bears can take this week's performance and build it into a model for their future execution, the Bears have a legitimate chance to make a deep playoff run.

Today we're going to grade that execution on a unit-by-unit basis.  So let's get started, beginning with...

The Offensive Line

Notice that I didn't call them the "Matadors of the Midway" or even the "Truly Offensive Line/"

That would be because they went a long way towards putting those monikers to bed.  They aren't there yet, but they are certainly getting there.

In a week where Chris Williams earned a spot on Shutdown Corner's All-Underrated Offense, the entire line stepped up and played a very solid game.  

Especially J'Marcus Webb and Lance Louis, who held arguably the best defensive end tandem in the league sack-less.

In fact the entire unit allowed a total of zero sacks, zero quarterback hits and 10 hurries.  Those are stunning numbers for this unit.

Additionally, the unit ground the way for the Bears running backs to average 4.8 yards per carry.  

Grade: A+  (Who would have believed that a month ago?)

Defensive Line

If you look at the sack line and didn't see the game, you probably think the line didn't have a great game.

They recorded all of one sack and six tackles combined.

But in reality, the line performed their job nearly flawlessly, especially against the passing game.  It's in the complex statistics that their real effort is found.  Added to that one sack and six tackles are five quarterback hits and nine pressures in addition to three batted passes and five stops.  

The line harassed the hard-to-contain Mike Vick all day and made the secondary's job a lot easier than they have in previous weeks.  Had a less-mobile quarterback been in the Eagles backfield, the Bears likely would have come away with a few more sacks.

The line was a part of allowing 4.4 yards per carry and 75 yards on 17 carries to the Eagles running backs, but given the prowess of LeSean McCoy and the fact that the Bears contained him for 48 yards on 15 carries aside from his 33-yard TD run, the Bears did a better job than most in dealing with the Eagles' ground assault.

Grade: A-

Receiving Corps

The Bears' receiving group got a huge boost with the return of Earl Bennett, who caught five passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.  The chemistry that exists between Cutler and Bennett is something that has been sorely missed in the five weeks that Bennett recovered from his chest injury.

The rest of the receiving group had their ups and downs.  Roy Williams, Devin Hester and Dane Sanzenbacher all recorded drops and Hester, Sanzenbacher and Kellen Davis all had very bad games, combining for just two reception in 10 combined targets—though it should be noted that Davis had a fantastic game blocking.

But Bennett, Williams and the rest of the receiving corps combined for 16 receptions on 21 combined targets.  Tight end Matt Spaeth played well, catching both of his targets and scoring a touchdown.

There was some progress from most of the members of the receiving corps, but there is still a long way to go.

Grade: C

Linebackers

It was kind of an odd game for the linebacking group.  But in the end, they all played pretty well.

Urlacher recorded 11 tackles, including four stops to go along with a batted pass and a quarterback pressure.  He also recorded a missed tackle.

Briggs was relatively quite but was a part of the lone interception in the game, tipping a ball up for Major Wright to grab.

And Nick Roach made some plays.

The vast majority of Michael Vick's completions targeted the linebackers, but those same linebackers limited receiving yardage and played the coverage game plan very well.  

Traditional metrics don't always do a good job of evaluating coverage performance in Chicago's scheme.  The Bears allow receptions in their scheme.  The idea is to trade easy underneath receptions for lesser yardage and interception opportunities.  That tends to help the opponent's stat sheet, but limits their ability to score while maximizing turnover opportunities.

In all, the linebacking corps had a good but not great game.

Grade: B-

Running Backs

Matt Forte had an uncharacteristically bad day in the ball-control department.  Forte was responsible for both of the Bears' turnovers and 14 of the Eagles' points.

Aside from that, Forte had a great day, adding 150 yards from scrimmage to his league-leading total and averaging 5.54 yards per carry.

Marion Barber and Tyler Clutts continued to prove themselves to be the best offseason acquisitions the Bears made this year.  Barber has absolutely solved the Bears' short-yardage woes and added another touchdown to his season total.  Tyler Clutts provides the Bears with a solid lead blocker who can catch the ball, something that the Bears have missed since Jason McKie left the Bears after 2009. 

Grade: B

Secondary

Led by Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings, the Bears secondary quietly had their best game of the season. 

Tillman and Jennings were targeted 13 times and only allowed five receptions.  The Bears allowed Tillman to play to his strength—press coverage—most of the game.  The Bears' starting corners allowed only six yards after the catch and a 48.55 quarterback rating on passes targeting them.  

The starting corners also played the run the way the system requires.  It was an all-around fantastic day for the starting corners.

DJ Moore, Chris Conte and Major Wright all had decent days in coverage, and Wright recorded the game's sole interception in a heads-up play where Lance Briggs missed an interception and tipped the ball up.  Conte and Wright both recorded a missed tackle, though.

Grade: A-

Quarterback

Cutler's stat line doesn't look all that impressive, and there were things he did in the game that he needs to spend time working on.  But overall, Jay had a good game.

There were some errant passes as well as some of his receivers hurting him.  

But Cutler showed poise and confidence in his line in a way that hasn't been seen from him since his days in Denver.  

With a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions, Jay had a relatively mistake-free day.

Grade: B

And now it's your turn, ladies and gentlemen.  Step up to the soapbox below and let your voice be heard!