Joniak's Journal: Protecting Jay Cutler Top Of Mind Against Vikings
By Jeff Joniak--
(CBS) The Bears (1-6) host the Vikings (5-1) on Monday night at Soldier Field. Here are my observations leading into the game.
First impression
Brian Hoyer's broken left arm healed Jay Cutler's sprained thumb. Medically cleared to start Monday night in Minnesota, Cutler is the only choice for coach John Fox's 1-6 team.
"He doesn't have a choice I guess at this point," Cutler said. "Brian's out, so I got to go. I've had good conversations with Foxy this week, last week, the week before. There's never been any strain in our relationship."
What becomes of Cutler beyond this season is up for debate and speculation. He's aware but doesn't care, not right now anyway.
Second thought
It's possible Cutler's starting guards could be Eric Kush on the left side and Ted Larson on the right against the dangerous front seven of the Vikings. They both handled their business pretty well against the Packers last Thursday night in replacing Josh Sitton and Kyle Long, respectively. When Cutler started the season, Cody Whitehair was breaking in as the rookie center with no experience and Sitton was just signed. Protecting Cutler from the interior out is a significant key for the Bears. The Vikings get after it up front.
Third degree
There are signs of growth on the Bears special teams unit, which has been one block away on a couple of occasions of breaking a big one on the kick return. The Bears' coverage units feature Sherrick McManis and Josh Bellamy. They're spirited and hungry to make an impact.
The number of core players on the unit is starting to grow. Undrafted rookie tight end Ben Braunecker is drawing praise for his work, and veteran Chris Prosinski has been a steady performer. It would be nice to see some development and impact from draft picks Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson before the season ends as well. Punter Patrick O'Donnell is having a good season, delivering excellent hang time and forcing a high volume of fair catches. He needs to have a great Monday night given the dynamic excellence of Vikings punt returner Marcus Sherels.
Fourth-and-short
As great as the Vikings defense is this season, the Bears actually have forced more plays for negative yards, albeit playing one more game than the Vikings. That total of 37 has led to 145 yards in losses. The Vikings have made 30 such plays, adding up to 174 negative yards.
Here's another stat: The Bears are tied for seventh in producing plays of 10-plus yards, with 96. The Vikings are last with 66. However, this next stat says it all about the plight of the Bears' low-scoring offense. The Atlanta Falcons have 116 plays of 10-plus yards and a league-best 15 touchdowns. That's only 20 more 10-plus yard plays than the Bears, yet Chicago has scored the fewest 10-plus yard touchdowns this season with just three, tied with Baltimore.
Jeff Joniak is the play-by-play announcer for the Bears broadcasts on WBBM Newsradio 780 & 105.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter @JeffJoniak.
