Week 3 Preview: Cowboys at Bears [Part One]

The league’s #1 offense gets quite the test this week, as the 2-0 Cowboys go to Soldier Field to take on Brian Urlacher and the Chicago Bears.

Last time out, Dallas scored 27 points and forced four turnovers in the second half en route to a 37-20 win at Miami. The Cowboys picked off four passes, with Anthony Henry getting two of them. Tony Romo threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns, and Marion Barber III ran for 89 yards and two scores. Nick Folk remained perfect through two games, as he nailed three field goals and four extra points.

As for the Bears, they followed a season-opening loss to San Diego with a 20-10 win over Kansas City last week. The Bears, always known for their great defense, have lived up to their reputation through the first two games. But, the offense needs a bit of a spark, as Rex Grossman’s time under center may be on life support.

Last Time They Played…

The last time these two teams played was Thanksgiving Day in 2004, when the Cowboys were the ones showing the defensive prowess in a 21-7 victory.

This game was memorable for two reasons, besides the fact that Dallas held Chicago to less than 150 yards and no offensive touchdowns. The game was Drew Henson’s first and only start as a Cowboy, and it was Julius Jones’ personal coming-out party.

Henson was 4 of 12 for only 31 yards, and tossed an interception that R.W. McQuarters returned 45 yards for Chicago’s only touchdown. Henson was taken out at halftime and replaced by Vinny Testaverde, who was supposed to be sitting out the game with an injury.

Chicago squandered a couple of second-half opportunities. Paul Edinger missed a 48-yarder that would have given the Bears a 10-7 lead, and then, after McQuarters picked off Testaverde, he was stripped during a long return, and the Cowboys recovered the ball.

Testaverde rebounded from the pick, and he and Jones led the Cowboys to the victory, as the ageless wonder going 9 of 14 for 92 yards, and the tiebreaking touchdown to Darian Barns early in the fourth. Jones, who opened the scoring in the first with a 33-yard score, capped off the victory and his big day with a 4-yard run midway through the final quarter. Jones rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries, and would be a bright spot down the stretch for what would be a 6-10 team, rushing for 819 yards and seven touchdowns in only seven games.

Chicago totaled only 140 yards on the day, and a great defensive effort by the Cowboys, along with the Bears just being terrible on offense, was the reason. Eric Ogbogu had a huge day, racking up 3.5 sacks. The Bears would finish 5-11 on the season, and Dick Jauron was out after compiling a 35-45 record in five seasons.

LOOKING AT THE BEARS

Offense

It hasn’t exactly been a dream start for Grossman and the Bears offense.

Grossman was only 12 of 23 with an interception in Week 1 vs. the Chargers, and last week against the Chiefs, was picked off twice. Grossman had his first injury-free season last year and helped lead the Bears to the NFC Championship Game, but was as streaky as they come. He had eight interception-free games, and threw for three or more touchdowns three times on the way to tossing 23 TD passes, but had more games where he threw at least three picks (five). That kind of inconsistency is why you have to be on the watch for him having a huge game this week, and why time might be running out for him as the Bears’ starter.

After playing second fiddle to Thomas Jones in his first two seasons, Cedric Benson is the man in the Bears’ backfield. The former Texas star and #4 overall pick in 2005 rushed for 647 yards and six touchdowns in 2006, and has rushed for 143 yards in two games so far. He notched his second career 100-yard game last week, picking up 101 yards on 24 carries against the Chiefs. He does have yet to reach the end zone, however.

Bernard Berrian is the team’s leading receiver, with 10 catches for 148 yards. Muhsin Muhammad, the marquee name in the receiving corps, has only two catches for 15 yards through the first two games.

Return man extraordinaire Devin Hester, who came into the league as a corner, has made the move to offense (well, duh!) so that the Bears can utilize his talents (read: blazing speed) the most. However, he hasn’t seen the ball on offense in the first two games. But, that should change this week, as Lovie Smith has said that he wants to get the ball in his hands (good thinking, Lovie).

Defense

If the Bears didn’t have a defense (and Hester), they would probably be as bad as they were during most of Dick Jauron’s days. But, they do, and it’s one of the best in the league, so it’ll likely be anything but a piece of cake to move the ball and put points on the board on Sunday.

Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs might be the best 1-2 linebacker duo in the league. Urlacher might be the most intimidating player in the league (it’s all about the bald head), and has recorded 100+ tackles in six of seven NFL seasons (and would be seven-for-seven if he hadn’t missed seven games in 2004). Briggs is a tackling machine, having racked up more than 100 tackles in the last three seasons, including 134 last season.

The defensive line is solid all across, with ends Adawale Ogunleye and Mark Anderson, and tackles Tommie Harris and Darwin Walker.

The secondary might be the best overall unit, however, with Charles Tillman on the left and the duo of Nathan Vasher and Ricky Manning on the right at corner, and safeties Danieal Manning and Adam Archuleta, who has gotten his Bears career off to a good start, with 12 tackles in two games.

Special Teams

Former Penn State kicker Robbie Gould is the Bears’ placekicker. He’s nailed all three of his field goals and both of his extra points this season, and is 56 of 66 in two-plus seasons in the league. Last season, Gould was 32 of 36 on field goals, including 12 of 14 from 40+ yards.

Veteran punter Brad Maynard is questionable, and Dirk Johnson did most of the punting last week against Kansas City. But, Johnson was cut earlier this week, so if Maynard can’t go, Gould will handle the punting duties.

Hester is the game’s top return man, without a doubt. There’s a reason why he’s no longer a cornerback (besides his average cover skills). As a rookie in 2006, he returned six kicks for touchdowns (three kickoffs, including one in the Super Bowl, and three punt returns, including two in one game). And, he took that total to seven last Sunday, as he returned a punt 73 yards for a score against K.C. Soon enough, teams might petition to be able to have 15 guys on the field for his kick returns. Then again, they still might not be able to stop him. In fact, the only person who can really stop Hester is himself, as he has had a history of fumble issues. He had eight fumbles last season, though his six touchdowns made that easy to ignore. He’s held on to the ball so far this season, so maybe that problem has been taken care of.