 Nobody is quite sure how the Chicago Bears are 3-1. Brian Urlacher is out for the season, running back Matt Forte has just 271 yards in four games, and Jay Cutler has a less than amazing quarterback rating of 89.3. The Bears have just managed to stick around until the end of games and then let Jay Cutler work his magic. Before these game winning drives the other team seems to find a way to shoot itself in the foot. The only game the Bears have won convincingly is the 48-24 win over the Lions. The offense has sputtered along with just 305.3 yards a game. Thanks to a pretty good special teams and a pretty stingy defense as the opposition approaches the red zone that meager yard total still manages to score 26.3 points a game. Of course if you take away the one blow out win, the Bears are averaging just 19 points a game. Cutler has an 89.3 quarterback rating overall for the 2009 season, but the chief culprit for that low number is the Green Bay Packers game in the first week of the season. In every game since, he has a triple digit rating and has thrown just one interception against seven touchdowns. Forte has been nothing like he was last year for the Chicago Bears. He averaged just 2.2 yards per carry through the first two games. He broke out in Week 4 thanks to a couple of long runs. He really needs to have a few more strong games to get out of this sophomore slump he has been in. The main criticism going into the season was that the receivers were not good enough to take advantage of Cutler's talents. The collective proved those critics right in Week 1, costing Cutler two of his four picks that game. Since then some of the receivers have found a rhythm with the quarterback. Earl Bennett has been the most consistent receiver, but Johnny Knox is the exciting playmaker everyone was hoping Hester would be as a Bears receiver. The defense is doing a very admirable job, allowing just 19.5 points a game. They are a top ten unit against the run, but a second tier team against the pass. The Bears ball hawking tendencies have helped them stay in those close games by taking away the football at key moments in the fourth quarter. The upcoming schedule gives them a break in Week 5 with a bye, but then starts with two tough games against the Falcons and the Bengals. After the Bengals the Chicago Bears get to play two hopefully easy games in a row against the Browns and the Cardinals.
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