In an interesting turn of events, it was the Bears offense who were the stars of last night’s pre-season game against the San Francisco 49ers.  The defense…well thanks to them the Bears are now 0-3 in pre-season play.  Even with the Bears starters seeing extended action last night, some major gaffs by the defense resulted in the 49ers winning 37-30.  There were, however, some positives that the Bears can take away from this week:

Orton Impresses

So far so good for Lovie Smith’s starting QB selection, Kyle Orton looked very impressive last night, going 10/17, 147 yards, with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.  Within the first four possessions, the Bears had 2 touchdowns and 2 field goals (courtesy of solid K Robbie Gould).  Orton played over half the game, before being replaced by T-Rex Grossman and Caleb Hanie.

A note on Hanie, this guy is really making a push for himself, as he was 3/7 with 59 yards, and a huge 51 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Rideau.  Even with Hanie’s impressive pre-season, don’t expect the Bears to release Grossman, because if Orton goes down, they will need someone with knowledge of the offense to step in.

Davis Continues to Make His Case

Now with the QB position decided upon, it is time for Lovie Smith to decide on the running game and receivers.  WR Rashied Davis continued his pre-season dominance, bringing in 2 touchdowns and leading all receivers with 58 yards.  I didn’t give him much consideration early on, but it is now clear Davis is almost a lock for a starting position come opening day.

As for the other potential starters, Brandon Lloyd and Marty Booker were non-existant last night, and multi-million dollar man Devin Hester….1 reception for -2 yards.  Hopefully this changes…and soon.

Bears Develop A Running Game!

Yes it’s hard to believe, but the Bears running game last night looked very strong last night.  Rookie Matt Forte had a much better week, leading all backs with 11 carries for 44 yards, and veteran-looking-to-make a comeback Kevin Jones also woke up, gaining 30 yards on 3 carries.  Garrett Wolfe, the longshot faltered this week, only getting 12 yards on 2 carries.  Adrian Peterson was given the night off, as this was Kevin Jones’ pre-season debut.

There are many questions to be answered this week in regards to the Bears defense, always the core of this team, they looked very week last night, allowing 2 touchdowns in the span of only 2:50 minutes.  Hopefully Urlacher and the boys can rebound in their final pre-season match-up next week.

It’s also interesting to note, Kickoff Returner Danieal Manning had 3 solid returns of 75, 60, and 36 yards last night.  The next Devin Hester anyone?

From the deep dish pizzeria,

Will

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