The Bears usually win their first game of the season and the city of Chicago erupts into a sea of champagne-soaked celebration. Then the rest of the season happens. This year the Bears have lost their first game and Rahm Emanuel announced all restaurants, bars, churches and public toilets are closed until further notice.

Said Rahm: “May the streets smell of hobo urine until the Bears are in the win column!”

Why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

WHY ELSE?

• Let me think…
• The Cowboys had a ton of success running the ball against this 49ers front but suffered from Tony Romo’s complete unwillingness to make the football game competitive. Expect the Bears to take the same approach. Forte, Forte and more Forte. Slow the game down. Take the crowd out of it. This should be a thirty rush attempt night for the Bears and if their adjusted offensive line holds up they should be able to keep things close.
• Niners offense was non-existent in second half against the worst defense in the league.
• I think the Bears secondary matches up well with the 49er options on the outside, especially if they use Jennings inside on Vernon Davis. (They can’t expect to cover Davis with any of their linebackers or safeties. It isn’t possible.)
• The Bears outside threats, if healthy, match up well against every secondary in the sport with the possible exception of Seattle. San Fran is down to second and third-stringers so a healthy Marshall/Jeffery combination could be in line for a big night.
• Is it even possible Mel Tucker’s primary (and perhaps only) point of emphasis this week won’t be containing Colin Kaepernick in the pocket? If Kaepernick is gouging the Bears defense for huge chunks of yards and first downs serious questions can be asked about what happened Tuesday through Saturday in the defensive meeting rooms. If Kaepernick beats them from the pocket, so be it.
• These games are the reason Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston and Willie Young are in Chicago. They are not only talented rushers but also smart, disciplined ends.
• Bears actually have two linebackers with the speed to spy Kaepernick: Bostic and Shea. I’d expect both to play that role Sunday night, with Bostic getting a majority of the snaps.

A THOUGHT ON JAY CUTLER

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NEGATIVITY OVERLOAD

Let me point you in the direction of two Tweets, both catching my eye in the last twenty-hour hours.

First…

I’ve come to terms with the media covering the Bears. They prey upon the inherent desire of Bears fans to go negative by feeding the negative beast. But I applaud the fan who believes. I applaud the fan who’ll be sitting on a bar stool or couch Sunday evening believing the Bears will beat the 49ers and set their 2014 back on the right path. I applaud the fan who understands, win or lose, watching the Chicago Bears play their 16 guaranteed games a season is still one of life’s greatest joys.

Many don’t realize until it’s too late in life but what I’m about to say is true. Being negative is easy. Being jaded is a cop out. It is the people who put themselves out there and believe – in their lives, careers, sports teams, anything – who experience the great joys in life.

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No picture. Nothing fun. Let’s get right to the thoughts…

• Don’t blame the defense for this one. The Bears should never lose a game at home wherein they allow 20 points in regulation.
• Jay Cutler was exhausting and terrible, I don’t care how many yards and touchdown passes he throws. (1) The interception to Kevin Williams is inexcusable. You don’t throw a pass halfway across the field, across your body, into traffic, when you need ONE YARD! You simply don’t do it if you’re a championship level quarterback. (2) The way he managed the end of regulation was deplorable. Why on 2nd and 1 from the Buffalo 19 is he throwing jump balls to covered receivers? Move the ball closer. Get the clock stopped. Give yourself three solid chances in the end zone. Instead he played like there was a twenty-five foot stone wall erected at the Bills 19. (3) He should have had 2-3 more interceptions over the course of the game.

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Five Final Thoughts

1. If the Bears manage a push from the interior of their offensive line they could be looking at an even more productive offensive outing. Success in the run game early will open up the whole of the play book.

2. If Bears commit more than four to the rush look out for E.J. Manuel hitting Scott Chandler quickly over the middle. This is still an area of the field where the Bears are susceptible to attack.

3. With the strength of the Bills offensive line being Cordy Glenn at left tackle, look for Lamarr Houston to make a greater impact today than Jared Allen.

4. There are only two ways to limit Sammy Watkins damage: tackling and pass rush. Tackling contains him in the screen game. Pass rush restricts his ability to do damage over the top.

5. Remember, no style points in September. I predicted the final score to be 31-16. 3-2 would be just as acceptable. September and October are about one thing in the NFL: stockpiling wins.

As always you can follow my (sporadic at best) in-game commentary on Twitter by following me @DaBearsBlog.

Running to the window, he opened it, and put out his stirring, cold cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, glorious. Glorious!

“What’s to-day?” cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in Sunday clothes, who perhaps had loitered in to look about him.

“Eh?” returned the boy, with all his might of wonder.

“What’s to-day, my fine fellow?” said Scrooge.

“To-day?” replied the boy. “Why, Christmas Day.”

“It’s Christmas Day!” said Scrooge to himself. “I haven ‘t missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can. Hallo, my fine fellow!”

-A Christmas Carol

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Sunday, for the NFL diehard, is Christmas Day. It is the only experience that can mirror the anticipatory excitement we felt as young children, sneaking silently down the stairs to catch a glimpse of what new thing waited for us beneath the tree. We have our routines and rituals. We have our family. And while we might think we know what will be found under the layers of wrapping by the shape of the box, we can never be sure until the paper is removed and the box is opened.

With all that mystery, why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

But why else?

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A little different conversation with Trent than normal as we discuss the whole of the NFL, not just the Chicago Bears.

A bold statement to start.

If Jared Allen has a great year, great meaning relentless pressure week-to-week and somewhere around fifteen sacks, the Chicago Bears defense can be the NFL’s most surprising side of the ball and one of the league’s better units. That’s how important an elite edge rusher can be in the modern game.

Since Richard Dent walked away (and finally into the Hall of Fame) the Bears have never had the 4-3 pass rushing threat Allen is capable of being. Think of the names. Alonzo Spellman. Philip Daniels. Bryan Robinson. Alex Brown. Adewale Ogunleye. Israel Idonije. Good players, all of them. But nobody is confusing them with Derrick Thomas. And while the Julius Peppers signing would be deemed an overall success, his failure to ever be a consistent, dominant pass rusher manifested itself in failing to eclipse the 11.5 sack mark in any season in Chicago. Allen has only had less than 11.5 sacks once since 2007.

Sacks are not the only measure of a pass rusher. But they sure help.

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Does anyone reading a football blog not understand the importance of the quarterback position? Does anyone reading a Chicago Bears blog not understand the importance of Jay Cutler? Both answers are unquestionably no. Here are four specific things Cutler must do in 2014:

• Stay healthy. So if he could do this, that’d be terrific.
  

• Accept the check down. The check down in the Marc Trestman system is not a give up play, especially with Matt Forte being the primary threat. But too often Cutler’s eyes are so focused on his gigantic wide receiving threats down the field he misses an opportunity to extend drives and gouge the defense for big yards. (As a side point, the more Cutler takes these check downs the higher his completion percentage and yardage totals will go. Quarterbacks won’t admit it but they really, really care about these numbers.)
  

• Throw the ball into the third row. I have no problem with Jay Cutler believing in his arm’s ability to fit the football into places normal human quarterbacks would never consider. But one element of Cutler’s game he must improve upon is his oft-reckless attempting to execute the courageous throw when the play has broken down and there’s nothing on the field. In these moments he tends to cock back the shotgun and fire when the prudent move is to select a fan in the lower tier and aim for their chest.

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From 2006 to 2013 one could argue the three most stable roster positions on the Chicago Bears were kick returner, kicker and long snapper as each were manned by players ranking as the franchise’s best ever at the spot. Special teams, especially in the Dave Toub era, were the frothy foam head at the top of a perfect pint of Guinness.

Since Jerry Angelo decided to make Adam Podlesh one of the best paid punters in the history of the sport, that position has been infamously (at least around here) unstable. Podlesh capped off his Bears career with a dreadful 2013 performance, ranking dead last in almost every important statistical category. Their worst-ever defense was hamstrung by more than injuries and poor play. They were hamstrung with short fields to defend due to Podlesh. They had no shot.

Phil Emery sent Podlesh packing and drafted Miami’s Pat O’Donnell in the sixth round. O’Donnell, as a rookie, is the Bears most important special teams player in 2014.

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