Bears steel one

Let's face it as good of a win as this was it wouldn't have happened without two Reed FG misses. On the other hand, getting a W and staying with the defending champions is a lot better than 0-2.

Notes on the game:

• Bears running game: Non-existent. 44 yards? Forte: 13 carries for 29 yards? I'll give them a pass this week against a strong Steelers D, but we need to see the run at some point this season. Aren't the Bears a running team?
• Stopping the run: For the second straight week the Bears have held tough against the run. GB: 76 yards, Pit 105 yards. The Steelers started to run the ball well near the end of the game, but the Bears D stuffed them on a number of plays.
• Lovie's calls: A big difference on D, at least to me, is the play calling. Since Lovie took over the play calling the Bears seem a lot more effective on defense balancing coverage with selective blitzing.
• 1st quarter: The 1st quarter was awful. It look as though the Steelers were going to rollover the Bears on both sides of the ball. Luckily, I left the TV on and was surprised.
• 2 FG missed: I don't know if we can rely on 2 missed field goals every week.
• 3rd Down: Another difference this year with Cutler seems to be the offense's ability to pick up the 1st down on 3rd down. 7 for 14 yesterday is not bad. It always seemed like the offense was able to convert a crucial 3rd down.
• Special teams: Robbie Gould was solid as usual, but some of the coverage on punts needs to be improved. Maybe I'm just spoiled with good coverage, but it seemed that the punt returner got free a couple times. Although nice fumble to end the game.
• Faith in Management: It seems that Bears were justified in having faith in their wide receiving corp despite widespread criticism. So far I think Hester, Knox, Olson, Davis and Bennett have looked very good.
• Hanging around: It ain't too bad to hang around the defending Superbowl champs for the whole game.
• Week 3 preview: Bears @ Sea (1-1). Bears 21-10. Bears finally get a running game semi-going with Forte running for 80 yds and a TD. The Bears D for the most part shuts down Seattle bending a little at times.

Around the NFL

• Jest to Jets: Shutting down two of the best offenses two weeks in a row (Hou 24-7, NE 16-9). Headlines today even have national reporters doubting the Brady's ability after coming back from injury. The Jets have not allowed a offensive TD yet against Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Andre Johnson.
• 49ers: 2-0 victories against two division rivals (Ari 20-16 and Sea 23-10) have the Niners in a strong spot to start the season. The question is how will the do outside the division. Next week is Minnesota.
• Cedric Benson looked good for the Bengals. A week after 76 yards on 21 carries and a TD against Denver, he has a monster game (141 yards on 29 carries) against the same Packers defense that the Bears struggled against (86 rushing yards). A comparison in for the first two weeks looks like this: Forte: 84 yards rushing, 33 yards receiving and no TDs Benson: 217 yards rushing, 32 yards receiving and 1 TD.