National Football League

Bears in midst of a bull run

Published Nov. 16, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

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If Donovan McNabb gets up to $78 million, how much is Mike Vick worth?

We give love to Lovie, spew venom toward Todd Haley, talk to a future Hall of Famer, and recognize the best team in the NFL.

All that and more, SCHEIN 9 style ...

1. Bear it

It’s very easy to rip the Bears. I’ve done it here on FOXSports.com, blasting Mike Martz, Lovie Smith, the offensive line, Jay Cutler and Jerry Angelo, to name a few. Phil Simms told me a few weeks ago that “there are things you do in professional football and the Bears don’t do them.” Those things would include blocking and running, also known as the basics.

And I give you the background to give the proper credit. Through bone-head decisions, mind-numbing play calling and horrible offensive-line play, the Chicago Bears have won two straight and are 6-3.

It’s actually amazing. The Chicago Bears have resembled a legit, professional outfit!

Against the Bills two weeks ago, the line allowed one sack. This week against the Vikes, again the line allowed just one sack. This represents incredible progress, stunning when you remember the games against the Giants and Seahawks.

Jay Cutler looked relatively poised for the second straight week, spreading the ball around to nine different receivers, throwing for three touchdowns. Greg Olsen scored a touchdown for the second straight game. Mike Martz using the tight end! Coming up next, pigs may fly!

And Devin Hester was Devin Hester. He was actually part of the passing attack, beating the Vikings defensive backs, scoring a touchdown. It drives me nuts when Hester isn’t back on special teams. His presence makes punters, special-teams coordinators and head coaches stay up all night. And since Brad Childress was foolish enough (insert punch line here) to kick to him, he broke the Vikings' back by averaging 50 yards a kick return and 24 yards a punt return. Devin Hester, ladies and gentlemen!

Brian Urlacher and the Bears defense have been there through it all this year. And the defense was stellar on Sunday. Brett Favre was coming off his best-ever yardage total the week before. He threw for just 170 yards and the Bears forced him into three picks. Adrian Peterson was a non-factor, going for just 51 yards. Urlacher had 10 tackles according to the coaches’ tape. Lance Briggs was all over the field.

Now don’t get me wrong. I still don’t believe in the Chicago Bears as a playoff team. I still don’t trust the staff at all. Green Bay is going to win the division. And have you checked out that schedule down the stretch? It’s brutal.

But, Miami doesn’t have a healthy Chad Pennington at quarterback on Thursday night, so it is Tyler Thigpen against Urlacher and company. And most especially, Jake Long, the best tackle in the NFL, is banged up, suffering labrum damage on Sunday.

Maybe the luck is changing. And maybe the Bears have finally learned how to change their own luck.

2. Pop and sizzle

John Madden told us last Wednesday on Madden Football on Sirius NFL Radio that watching Mike Vick and the Eagles is like watching a video game.

How prophetic those words would be.

What happened Monday night was classic and legendary, and that’s not hyperbole. From the first touchdown pass on the first play on an 88-yard flick to DeSean Jackson, this was like nothing anyone has ever seen. Vick was 8-for-8 with 181 yards and two touchdowns, and ran in a score in the first quarter. Forget the final numbers. This was beyond a stat sheet. Eleven men on defense, an entire coaching staff, had no answer for Vick throwing the ball or running it. And this was on the road in Washington. Wow. Just wow.

Do you think Vick took note of Donovan McNabb’s stunning new deal?

3. The best

You never want to face the Patriots and Bill Belichick after a loss. The Patriots made the statement of the weekend, marching into Pittsburgh and dominating the Steelers in every phase of the game.

Pittsburgh’s defense was shredded. Ben Roethlisberger was totally ineffective. New England was clearly the better and more physical team.

Tom Brady made the Steelers' strong defense look like Swiss cheese, carving them up for 350 yards. Dick LeBeau’s defense had no answers. It was a combination of startling and amazing.

And Jerrod Mayo and the Patriots defense, manhandled by Peyton Hillis and the Browns the week before, were tough. This Devin McCourty is a ball player. Patrick Chung is as well. The game changed when New England knocked out the ultra-reliable Hines Ward.

Don’t mess with Belichick after a loss. In this wacky NFL world, the Patriots should be recognized, at least for this week, as the best team in the NFL.

4. Amateur hour

Two days after penning that the Chiefs were the team to beat in the untrustworthy AFC West, Kansas City made me look like a genius by getting run out of Denver by the previously defunct Broncos.

It was a pathetic, grotesque, hapless display of football.

5. Can’t make it up

I guess we can table that “Eli Manning for MVP” talk for at least a week.

Truth be told, it was Hakeem Nicks’ fault that Eli tossed a pick-six at the Dallas 2 when the receiver quit on a slant. Anyway ...

The real stunner was the poor play of the No. 1-ranked defense, which gave up five pass plays of over 30 yards to Jon Kitna in the first three quarters. Perry Fewell’s defense had given up five pass plays over 30 yards all year coming into the game. It was a humbling and inexplicable performance by the Giants.

6. Backseat coaching

I was thrilled to catch up Monday with Ronde Barber on Sirius NFL Radio. The seasoned veteran and future Hall of Famer (look at the combination of picks and sacks) sounded thrilled about his 6-3 Buccaneers. And he gave Raheem Morris a ton of credit, from taking over the Tampa defense this season to making Josh Freeman the unquestioned leader last year and the carryover of Freeman’s leadership into the offseason program and season. And Barber raved about Morris’ energy, his growth in a new job from Year 1 to Year 2, and how the players on the Bucs keep fighting for him to look good for saying the Bucs are the best team in the NFC. It’s amazing to think how Raheem has improved in a year while changing the culture in Tampa. And amazing to hear how excited Barber was about it and how much he is buying in.

7. My guys

Troy Smith — The Niners have energy and the reason is Troy Smith. I always liked this cat, dating back to Ohio State. And you forget that Smith was supposed to be the Ravens quarterback the year Joe Flacco was drafted until an injury sidelined him. Smith was fantastic against the Rams, completing some huge passes late to Frank Gore to move the sticks and getting a gigantic pass interference call in overtime on a bomb. Smith oozed leadership when we talked Monday on Sirius NFL Radio, giving credit to everyone else. He’s given this team life. And I couldn’t be happier for a guy who stunningly fell in the draft and had bad luck in Baltimore. I really like Troy Smith.

Fred Jackson — The effort of the Bills running back against a formidable Lions defensive line was tremendous, carrying Buffalo to its first win of the year.

Mark Sanchez — He told me on SNY last week that the team would be better on third down. Sanchez also said his rapport with Santonio Holmes was excellent and predicted the receiver would make a big play. Pretty good. And Sanchez dazzled with his elusiveness, avoiding multiple sacks to make key plays in overtime.

Jason Garrett — I didn’t think the Cowboys would have a different approach or intensity to the game after the coaching change. Garrett, who had his team practice in pads during the week, had his team ready to fly around and dominate the Giants.

Kelvin Hayden — The Colts are all banged up on offense. Indy coach Jim Caldwell agreed with my assessment Monday on Sirius NFL Radio that Hayden’s pick-six was a game-changer and confidence builder. It made it 10-0 Indy and put the Bengals in comeback mode early, taking Ced Benson out of the game.

8. My goats

Todd Haley — In addition to his team getting blasted, Haley wrongly took his frustration out on Denver coach Josh McDaniels. I had no problem with McDaniels staying aggressive all game. He’s seen his team lose while giving up 59 points. No lead is safe. Haley should’ve been pointing the finger in his direction, not McDaniels, like he did after the game.

Vince Young — Jay Glazer dropped a bomb with his report on FOX that a hobbled Young eschewed treatment during the bye week to go home to Texas. This is irresponsible yet predictable. Young is not a leader.

Glover Quin — The Jags' Hail Mary was majestic. Quin should’ve made sure it never happened. I could’ve easily made Gary Kubiak a goat as his underachieving Texans fall to last place at 4-5.

Jeff Reed — The Steelers kicker is totally unreliable and continues to cost Pittsburgh. (Update: The Steelers cut Reed on Tuesday.)

Shaun Hill — How in the world do you throw the ball out of bounds on a potential two-point conversion to tie the game at the end? You can’t run it back for a score if you are the defense! The play is dead if a Buffalo player picks it off. You have Calvin Johnson. Let him make a play.

9. Three nuggets of wisdom

• When you make a list of teams that can go to the Super Bowl in the AFC, don’t downgrade the Ravens because of their loss in Atlanta. Matt Ryan, Mike Smith and the Falcons are fantastic, nearly flawless, at home. And it was a short week.

• Dave Garrard couldn’t stop smiling Sunday and Monday after the Hail Mary pass to beat the Texans. And I give Garrard a ton of credit for his approach when he joined us on Sirius NFL Radio on Monday. He was jubilant. He celebrated. But he stressed that by Tuesday it is all about focus for the Browns.

• Nice job by Chris Clemons, Matthew Hasselbeck and Mike Williams in Seattle’s huge win in Arizona. The 5-4 Seahawks are not a great team. But they just might have enough to win nine and capture the worst division I’ve ever seen.
 

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