Chicago Bears VS. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Preview

"If all of this is true, we're screwed."

After reading the interview with Buc ‘em, that’s about all I could think of. Then, I realized that it is my duty to give my fellow Bears fans an objective review of the Bucs. Hopefully, this will calm the angered nerves.

OFFENSE

We will be facing our old nemesis, Brian Griese. I say nemesis, because QB’s are our own worst enemy. Regardless, Griese didn’t do anything to lose the game for the Bucs (18/31, 160 yards, 1 TD). We know what to expect from Griese, so I won’t go any further.

Their running backs are Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn, but Graham’s been getting most of the touches. He put up some pretty good numbers against both the Saints and the Falcons.

Their #2 receiver, Joey Galloway, is questionable and not likely to play this week, so we don’t have to worry about him. Ike Hilliard is their #1, but he only has 86 total yards. Their receiving corp is below average, for sure.

DEFENSE

Well, I guess we could start at the beginning. They run the Tampa 2 under Monte Kiffin, who, in the past couple weeks, has been rushing four and dropping seven. They'll be pressing to stop the run early and then attack Orton.

Their DL is pretty good. Not as good as ours, but good. Their end, Gaines Adams, is a beast. He already has two sacks notched on the year. Their best linebacker is Barrett Ruud, who leads the team with 18 tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Dexter Jackson? Not as good as our Bucs blogger says. He hasn’t done squat, so not looking for him to beat us.

However, if Danieal Manning is returning for us, the Bucs go from a huge problem (Hester) to a pretty big problem (Manning). We all know (and have seen) Manning’s ability in the return game. If Hester isn’t good to go, I expect good things from Manning.

OVERALL

As you can see, we’re pretty damn evenly matched. We’ve given up the same amount of points, and we have scored two more points than the Bucs have.

Griese has seen the Bears defense, and the Bears defense has seen Griese. Griese had 160 yards against the Falcons and not only that, he’s not known for his explosive offense. I feel confident in saying that the Bears defense will get to Griese, and it will not be a happy reunion.

If the Bears can stop the run and force Griese to beat us through the air, we’ve won half the battle. Our defense is healthy and ready to attack, so I doubt Griese will be able to establish any sort of offense through his play.

The other battle the Bucs will have is stopping Matt Forte. No one has really done it to this point, and I don’t know if they have an answer. Granted, they do have a decent DL, so our OL will have to continue to play well. If the OL is solid, that’ll open up some holes for Forte, and the Bears will be in business.

I'll leave you with this note: The Bucs defense got early points off of rookie Matt Ryan's mistakes. I will bet money that a) they don't get to Orton like that and b) Orton won't make those mistakes.

Bottom line: Bears 20, Bucs 13