Bears seek improvement in second test

By Edward Kensik  |   Saturday, August 22, 2009  |  Comments( 0 )

Chicago Bears
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The word out of New York City is that many of their defensive starters will not be suited up and play in Saturday's preseason game (7 p.m. Central Time) in Chicago.

The meaning behind that for the Bears and Jay Cutler is a no-win scenario for the team when commentaries get their hands on the game. Even if Cutler plays well and the rest of the Bears, commentators will say, well, the Giants didn’t have all their starters in Chicago.

In addition to being the second preseason game, it is the first game for Cutler on Soldier Field soil and as the saying goes, first impressions are lasting impressions.

A nice game by Cutler, even though it is a preseason game, could give the Bears fans something more to chew on.

Instead of wondering who is on the field for the Giants, the Bears offense should worry about how they are progressing. How Cutler is clicking with his receivers and for the first time, tight end Greg Olson.

The second game again will be another test to see if there is a wide receiver on the team who can be across from Devin Hester You also want to see how Olsen and Cutler work. This is the first game for Olsen.

For Hester the Bears would be good for not to put the entire load on receiving and give him some time in bringing back returns.

The Bears would like to see some improvement from wide receiver Earl Bennett along with top rookie wide outs, Johnny Knox and Juaquin Iglesias. In addition Matt Forte is expected to play, but you want to see how Kevin Smith plays in this second preseason game. The Bears want to not run Forte as much and are looking for Smith to pick up some of the load.

Also in the backfield, Garrett Wolfe has had a good camp while Adrian Peterson (the other one) has not and might be released.

Defensively on the line, you would like to see some pressure on Giants quarterback Eli Manning. Bills quarterback Trent Edwards went 10-for-10 and you would like to see the first team defense give Manning some problems.

Also, it will be interesting to see if defensive end Mark Anderson returns to his sack-happy days of a couple of years ago when he was a fiend at getting to the quarterback. It was also be the return of Tommie Harris on the line.

Defensively the will still be short in the backfield with Zack Bowman and Danieal Manning at cornerback and safety still out and expected to miss Saturday's game.

The Bears are hoping for another strong game from rookie Al Afalava who played well against the Bills in the preseason opener.

Another question will be backup quarterback Caleb Hanie. Hanie has appeared to already beaten out Brett Basanez for the backup role. Hanie though needs to prove to the coaching staff that he could play in a regular season game if Cutler goes down. A good game against a backup defense for a quality team like the Giants will go a long way to securing that spot.

What to look for Saturday night:

1. Cutler and his wide receivers - Keep an eye on one of the myriad receivers to see who will break out of the pack. The Bears could still go for a veteran wide receiver before the start of the season if none of the current crop works out. There is Marvin Harrison, but there has been no talk about the former Colt being linked to any team.
2. Pressure on Giants quarterback Eli Manning - New defensive line coach Rod Marinelli’s schemes will get a nice test in this game against Manning.
3. Defensive backs’ play against Manning - Veteran Nathan Vasher needs a good game or you can say goodbye. Some of the young defensive backs have played well in the absence of Charles Tillman and Daniel Manning.
4. Kickoff, punt returners - The Bears will be helped if somebody breaks out on special teams as they can have Manning concentrate on defense and Hester on offense.
5. Stay healthy - The outcome does not matter (just ask Lions fans), but injuries do. The Bears were basically injury free against the Bills and head coach Lovie Smith would like to keep it that way.
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