JP's Postgame Presser - Bears at Falcons

Posted 6:06 PM October 13, 2014 by Jarrett Payton

In the fall of 1998, a junior in high school, I was playing QB for the 1st time and my dad gave me the best advice about football, “Son if you can take care of the football, you will give your team the best chance to win”. He was right then and it was pretty clear in the Bears win yesterday against the Falcons. There is nothing better than looking at the box score and seeing a big ZERO in the Bears turnover column.

Jay Cutler was everything and then some yesterday under center. Cutler was 26 of 38 for 381 yards and 1 TD. It’s amazing how fluid the offense is when he is on point with his footwork and solid with his reads. Everyone always says “which Jay will we see: Good Jay or bad Jay?” I just want to see the Jay I saw yesterday for the rest of the season. Is that too much to ask?

I did see something that has been evident this season and it is that Matt Forte is Mr. everything to the Offense. When he is heavily involved, the options for the offense are unbelievable. Forte is the x-factor. I understand that the “new” NFL is heading in the, pass first run second mentality, but the old school philosophy still works. Control the ground and you can control the air. Forte ended the night with 17 rushes for 80 yards, 2 rushing TDs and went 10 for 77 through the air. The dude is a beast! #TheAirAndWater show was in full effect yesterday.

Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall came to ball out and oh did they ball! Jeffery had 5 receptions for 136 yards and Marshall went 6 for 113 yards. Both guys had long receptions which showed us something we haven’t seen…explosive plays! This offense heard people talking about them for the past few weeks. When you put up a performance like they did yesterday there is nothing much you can say, but just be in aww of the potential.

The Defense gets the game ball in my opinion. Mel Tucker gets a Standing Ovation from me this week! He came up with a game plan to stop a high powered Atlanta offense with the absence of his starting LB’s. With Lance Briggs, D.J. Williams, Shea McClellin and Jonathan Bostic inactive, Khaseem Greene, Darryl Sharpton and Christian Jones rose to the plate and hit a home run for the defense. To be honest the defense looked a lot faster with those three at LB. The Bears held the Falcons to 98 yards and 1-of-5 on 3rd down conversions in the first half. I hope all the Mel Tucker haters will back off and give this guy a chance. Joe Decamillis special teams unit has struggled all season, but they held the best returner in history in check last night. Pat O’Donnell punted great yesterday and was a big help in Hester not having success in the return game.

Injury report

Chris Conte (shoulder)

X-factors

Marc Trestman

The reason why he was an x-factor this week is because he put together a complete game on the offensive side of the ball. With all the critics talking about how he needs to go and why did we get a coach from the CFL he weathered the storm. He got his team ready to play. He came out conservative in the 2nd half but opened the game plan and let his playmakers go make some plays. Well done Coach T!

Matt Forte

Forte is Mr. Do-it-all for this Bears offense. I know my dad would be proud at how well-rounded he is as a back. He is a student of the game and it shows in his performance every week. His 1st rushing TD yesterday was built up aggression for all the years the Bears would have him run the ball down the field and not let him punch it in. It’s like asking him to go shopping, but not let him pick out the groceries. Guess what Matt… The store is all yours now sir.

Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall

Not much to say but…Glad they are on my favorite team!

Last question

What are taking away from this win?

Like I said all week on JHS, this game was a must win for the Bears. Do you know how hard it would have been for this team to head into the Miami game on 3 game skid? Rough! This game gives the team some confidence. Both sides of the ball showed that they could put together 4 quarters of football. You could tell from the start of the game the Bears had a lil swag about them. Listening to everyone talk about how bad you are for a week lights a fire underneath your feet. One big thing I’m taking away is the defense, with three starters out they could have used that as an excuse if things didn’t go well but that wasn’t an option. The “Next man up” mentality is in the fabric of this squad. Moving forward it will be interesting to see if this team can keep up with what we all saw vs. the Falcons. Next up is the Dolphins in the Chi at Soldier Field. The only Dolphins show I want to see is at Shed aquarium. FinsDown. #BearDown