Gather round Buc 'Em community members, its time for another addition of: 'Know thy neighbor' The Buccaneers travel to Chicago this weekend to take on the Bears, Adam from Windy City Gridiron, SBNation's Chicago Bears Blogger, has agreed to give us some inside information about his Chicago Bears. Below you'll find his insights:
Buc ‘Em:
Matt Forte.... mystery man.... what kind of back is he and can he be the Bears' next great running back?
Windy City Gridiron:
Next Great running back, I don't know, but he can definitely be the running back for the foreseeable future. He runs hard and is always fighting for extra yards. He has good vision and understanding of where the defense is supposed to be. He is mainly a north and south runner. Once he gets clear of the line he does have the speed to out run anybody to the end zone.
Buc ‘Em:
The Bears defense has looked impressive after the first 2 games following up a dismal 2007 performance. What's been the difference? Mike Brown is a great player when he's on the field. How important is it to the Bears' D that he stay healthy? Or at this stage is any contribution from the veteran a good thing?
Windy City Gridiron:
Last year the Bears were hit with a lot of injuries, it made it hard to get used to any one person. That accompanied with some bad play (Archuleta) and always having to be on the field due to a bad offense just wore them down. They are back and healthy. We finally got Dvoracek on the line and playing. Urlacher will tell you that he is the most important piece for his own success. Brown is healthy. We got Alex Brown back in a starting role. Ogunleye is picking up where he left off the second half of last year. And it looks like we finally have found our hard hitting safety in 2nd year man Kevin Payne. ( great name for a defensive player).
Brown is important. A little less now that we have some options with younger players getting used to it. He hasn't been playing the line as much as he usually would, in an attempt to keep him healthy, but there isn't a smarter guy on that field.
Buc ‘Em:
The Bears are like the Bucs in that neither team can seem to find a long term quarterback. We are very aware of the frustration of Bucs' fans, but how do Bears' fans deal with never really having a handle on who your signal caller will be from year to year?
Windy City Gridiron:
We have been dealing with it for 30 years now, so we are pretty used to it. We do have moments where we think we have turned the corner, only to have our hopes dashed the next week, but overall we just expect them to put a good run game and defense and we will go from there. Chicago is not likely ever going to have a Peyton Manning type QB. We are and will always be a run first team. Home games in the winter are just too cold and windy for a big pass game. Likewise, divisional games in GB in the winter aren't setup for big time QB play.
Buc ‘Em:
Why haven't the Bears gotten Devin Hester more involved on offense?
Windy City Gridiron:
Mainly, because our run game has been working so well, we haven't had to throw the ball much, especially in Week 1. Week 2, he was hurt, so he wasn't on the field when Orton had to start throwing. This is only Hester's second year as a receiver, so the Bears have to find creative ways to get him the ball. He is still learning the position, so they cannot always expect perfect routes out of him. They need to create opportunities to get him the ball.
Buc ‘Em:
Give it to us: Predicted outcome complete with a score…. Don't forget we're going to hold you to it!!!
Windy City Gridiron:
Bears win 16-13. At least one TD will be scored by a defense (hopefully ours)
Adam, thanks a lot for the information!! Be sure to head over to Windy City Gridiron and check out the beating I received for providing my insights, man oh man, I hope the Bucs punch the Chicago Bears right in the mouth. Remember if you want to know something specific about a Buccaneers opponent leading up to that weekend's game, put your request in the comments section and we'll be sure to get your question(s) answered...