Bears vs. Dolphins, a Preview...

Just a few short weeks ago, this week's game looked as if it would be a tough one for our Beloved Bears. But if we have learned anything in this crazy NFL season, it is that things CHANGE from one week to the next, and that what you think you know for sure absolutely without a doubt this week may be COMPLETELY wrong after another week's worth of games.  The two items that I feel most strongly about this week are 1) the Bears are playing with a confidence level that we haven't seen all year, and 2) the Dolphins are down to their 3rd string QB.  This will by no means be a walk-over for the Bears, however, and with that in mind here are some items that inspire hope and others that inspire fear:

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things":

• Jay Cutler had arguably the best performance of his career on a Thursday night with the Broncos early in his career, throwing 3 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lead his team to a win.
• The Dolphins aforementioned injury issues--not only are they missing their top 2 quarterbacks, they are playing with their best offensive lineman (and possibly their best player) Jake Long and their best defensive lineman (Cameron Wake--who has 8.5 sacks) at less than their best as both are playing through the pain.
• The Bears match up well against the Wildcat package based on their team speed on defense and their solid tackling as of late (see below, however, as they are lacking in preparation time).
• The Dolphins fired their Special Teams coach earlier this year after a DISASTROUS performance against the Patriots.  Devin Hester is 1 return TD away from the record, AND is going to his hometown, AND is returning to the scene of the biggest play of his career (returning the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI).  Watch out here, Fins....

"Hey Lady, You're Scaring Us!"

• Pisa Tonoisamoa will miss this game with a knee injury, which will hurt but not as much as if the Bears didn't have a capable backup in Nick Roach.
• Jay Cutler had arguably the worst performance of his career last year on a Thursday night, when he threw 5 interceptions against the 49ers in San Francisco.
• Mike Nolan, the Dolphins Defensive Coordinator, is a big believer in the utilization of exotic blitzes. Often he'll bring his secondary and is adept at disguising who is coming after the QB.  The Bears have struggled throughout the year both with blitz identification and pickup.
• The Bears are going on the road for a Thursday night game, which is never easy as they haven't gotten in a lot of preparation for this game (only had one full practice on Tuesday).  This could be especially problematic since the Bears will have to deal with the unique Wildcat offense, which could be utilized extensively due to the Dolphins being on their third string QB.

The Verdict: I look for a somewhat crazy, higher scoring game than normal due to the short week and injuries on the Dolphins side.  Bears 28 Fins 17. Ya Heard Me!