Time for Bears to rewrite MNF history

By Paul Eide  |   Monday, October 16, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Chicago Bears
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As successful as the Chicago Bears have been this season, their performance on Monday Night Football for the past 16 years has been anything but. The Bears are a cumulative 6-14 in their last 20 Monday night games dating back to 1990.

Chicago's timing to face the struggling 1-4 Arizona Cardinals couldn't be any better, as the Cardinals are as close to imploding and throwing in the towel as any franchise in the league.

Starting running back Edgerrin James vocalized his displeasure after last week's 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

"We just got away from the run," said James, when asked what caused the Cardinals to lose a game they should've won.

"That's the stupidest thing. You have to be able to finish the game. You got to give us a chance, you know."

James finished with 71 yards on 24 carries and is averaging only 3.1 yards per rush. The Cardinals' struggles running the football are well-documented, but will be exacerbated even further thanks to the loss of wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

Originally listed as out for two to five weeks, head coach Dennis Green stated Fitzgerald was "Doubtful" for Monday night's game. It was seen by many as a move meant to disrupt the Bears' defensive game plan, but it will take more than that to do the trick.

With Fitzgerald out, fourth-year wideout Bryant Johnson will look to pick up the slack. Johnson is currently leading the NFL with his 22.7 yards per catch average and has been a steady producer in his previous three seasons. Once the 17th overall selection in the 2003 draft, Johnson has been overshadowed by the brilliance of Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin thus far in his career. He will need to seize an opportunity that exists as for only as long as Fitzgerald sits out.

But it won't be an easy task for Johnson or any of the Cardinals' receivers, as the Bears' success against the Seahawks showed what the defense can do to a passing team stocked with playmakers at the WR position. The Bears' front seven shouldn't have any trouble applying pressure on rookie quarterback Matt Leinart and will ease the necessity for a strong performance by the secondary, even more than usual.

Notes:

-Kicker Robbie Gould is quietly putting together one of the best seasons in NFL history for a kicker. Since 2005, Gould has made 19 straight field goal attempts, the second-longest current streak in the NFL, trailing only Baltimore's Matt Stover, who has connected on 30 in a row. Gould hasn't missed a kick all year, converting a total of 32 combined field goal and extra point attempts, and is the NFL's leading scorer with a total of 66 points.

-Starting defensive end Adewale Ogunleye will probably miss his second straight game this week with a strained hamstring. The Bears' defense hasn't missed a beat without him, thanks mostly to the success of rookie Mark Anderson. The fifth-round pick in last April's draft has already accumulated 5.5 sacks, 2.5 short of Brian Urlacher's team rookie record.

Original Chicago Bears insight, courtesy of RealFootball365.com
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