Esposito: Bears Gave Seahawks No Chance
By Mike Esposito--
Soldier Field was rocking before kickoff, and for much of the first half, but then, the crowd became strangely quiet, almost as if they were bored by the Bears domination of Seattle. The Bears got off to such a hot start with leads of 21-0 at the half and 28-0 in the 3rd quarter that they took their own fans out of the game, as much of the pregame excitement quickly became Packers anticipation, despite the fact that the Seahawks were still on the field playing. The thrill of a playoff win was enjoyed at halftime, and most of the crowd had probably already mentally advanced the Bears past this round. The first "Green Bay Sucks" chant started at the 8:28 mark in the 4th quarter, later than I anticipated. Even in the postgame locker room, most of the questions from reporters were about the Packers and the upcoming NFC Championship Game, not the Seahawks.
The fourth quarter did leave room for concern, however. Seattle scored 21 points and made the final score look close at 35-24 even though it really was never a game. My main thought from the second half centered on Mike Martz - specifically, why in the world are you throwing halfback passes with Matt Forte, from the Wildcat formation no less, while nursing a 28-3 lead? I'm pretty sure the Pack knows that this play won't be coming in the NFC Championship Game. Isn't that when you're running the ball every down, making first downs, and killing the clock? I know its a minor point, but a 28-3 blowout became a closer game after this play, which was intercepted and led to Seattle's first TD. I'm sure he had his reasons for the play, and again, I'm quibbling here, but why run that play? Just run out the game which you have dominated so thoroughly.
The positives far outweighed the negatives. Jay Cutler accounted for 4 touchdowns (2 rushing and 2 passing), Greg Olsen was a huge factor in the first half, and the running game / offensive line looked good. Charles Tillman shut down Mike Williams, who had 10 catches in the first meeting of these 2 teams. The "D" deserved better than 24 points against it today, but if the Bears can beat the Packers next week and advance to the Super Bowl, no one is going to care about points allowed in this one. The city, and for that matter, the country, will get what it wants next Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field - the oldest rivalry in football for all the marbles in the NFC and a trip to the Super Bowl. Its going to be a fun week.
