The Bears Den: October 03, 2012 - Week 5 News and Notes

Brad Biggs: 10 thoughts - Ten thoughts after the Bears' 34-18 romp over the Cowboys on Monday night.

Defense remains key to all Bears success - Steve Silverman: There’s no doubt that there must be a consistent level of production from the offense. But it’s still the defense that must fire on all cylinders for the Bears to reach the heights this season.

Urlacher's range remains a concern coming off knee injury - Gene Chamberlain: After four games, it's unlikely he'll regain of a lot of the speed he had before knee surgery - at least this season.

Peter King's MMQB - Thoughts from around the league, pre-MNF edition. TMQB: reader mailbag.

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Bears-Cowboys

Cutler back to normal with Bears? - The Bears offense appears to be back in sync, even if the same might not be true of the QB and his offensive coordinator.

Bears quotes: Marshall, Cutler, Forte, Hester - Bears' offensive players after their 34-18 win over the Cowboys. Defensive players: Wright, Peppers, Urlacher, Tillman.

24 Hours Later: Laurence Holmes' Breakdown - Holmes' thoughts and observations following the MNF beatdown of the Cowboys.

Moon Mullin's grades: Offense - With 360 yards on one of the top defense in the NFL, converting 58 percent of third downs and balancing the play calling throughout, the Bears put on a superb overall performance on the road from coaching through every position group.

Moon Mullin's grades: Defense - The Cowboys had the No. 1 defense going into Monday night's showdown with the Bears, but Chicago proved who the real No. 1 defense was after forcing five turnovers and returning two for touchdowns.

Dan Pompei's grades - Bears mixed things up with more blitzes that normal on defense to disrupt Tony Romo's rhythm to the tune of five interceptions.

J’Marcus Webb played about as well as he can play - Chicago gave Webb some help at times, but mostly he used Ware’s aggressiveness against him, driving him upfield and allowing Jay Cutler time to step up.

Five things we learned - Jeff Dickerson: Cutler delivers, Tice executes, and Briggs really is fast.

Free Head Exam: Chicago Bears - Kevin Seifert takes a closer look at Cutler's efficient night, Briggs' speed, and how well Webb matched up to Ware.

Just like old times with Brandon Marshall - Marshall made the most of his eight targets against the Cowboys, capping off the night with a 31-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter for a 34-10 lead.

Moon Mullin's notebook - MM's thoughts on the solid play of the Bears' kicking specialists, the recurring issue of the soft defense at the end of the first half, and Kellen Davis.

NFCN Blog: Knee-jerk reactions - Kevin Seifert's look at the knee-jerk reactions to week 4's results.

[Video] Jim Miller: 15 on 6 - Calls Cutler's performance against the Cowboys Monday night his best game of the 2012 season.

[Video] PGL analysis - Jiggetts, Miller, Hillenmeyer break down the Bears' win over the Cowboys.

Devin Hester asks, then receives - Sean Jensen: "That’s the great thing about Tice,’’ Hester said. ‘‘He’s willing to drop his ego and communicate more with the players. When you have a coach like that, the players will do whatever it takes."

Lance Briggs hits it big with quick pick - Mark Potash: Lance Briggs knows how to find the end zone. He once rushed for 320 yards and six touchdowns in a high school game and had a 48-yard touchdown run against UCLA as a freshman at Arizona.

Grizzly Bears and Teddy Bears - Maggie Hendricks' awards for Monday night's game.

[Video] Fox Chicago Bear Down - Lou Canellis and Hub Arkush look back on the game v. the Cowboys. Hub even praises the team's play, but opines that Melton has reached his ceiling. He's not exactly doing a Marcus Harrison out there, Hub.

Play of the game in slo-mo - Dan Pompei breaks down Melton's harrassing of Romo to force the fumble/interception to Lance Briggs.

ProFootballFocus' Team of the Week - JC and BM grade out highest at their respective positions to make the team of the week.

Players appreciate fan support in Dallas - Larry Mayer with Bears players' tweets acknowledging the fans' showing on the road.

Best of the Bears-Cowboys in-game thread - This took 4 hours out of my Tuesday evening. Go take a look.

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Cutler sulkwatch 2012

Cutler lauds offensive line, Mike Tice - Larry Mayer: Jay Cutler spent the first segment of his radio show Tuesday praising his blockers as well as OC Mike Tice following Monday night's impressive 34-18 win in Dallas.

Tice getting along with Cutler? Didn’t look like it - Moon Mullin: Jay Cutler is now 3-for-3. Not in passing. In reaching a flashpoint with Bears offensive coordinators.

Cutler needed break before talking with Mike Tice - Jay Cutler said he needed a break after a frustrating play before talking with offensive coordinator Mike Tice.

[Video] ESPN Hot Button - Does the media make too big of a deal out of Jay Cutler's gestures, or is the criticism deserved? (Warning: Skip Bayless sighting.)

[Video] ESPN Hot Button - Silvy's take on whether the media is too critical of Jay Cutler's sideline behavior.

Cutty does it again: Petulance, not performance, the story - Jim Miller: It is imperative for everyone to be on the same page -- especially the starting QB, who needs to communicate with his OC better than anybody.

Hester: We love Jay because of his fire - Devin Hester said Tuesday that the Bears love Jay Cutler because of his fire, while Brandon Marshall has a theory as to why Cutler is so acutely analyzed.

It’s Jay Cutler’s fault that he’s a distraction after big win - Rick Morrissey: He’s right, reporters do like to write about him. He might as well be an editor the way he inserts himself in the headlines so often. That’s not us doing it. That’s him. He’s the gift that just keeps giving.

[Video] Jay Cutler's Mailbag - Cutler talks to Waddle & Silvy about Monday night's sideline incident with Mike Tice in Dallas.

The Jay Cutler personality debate is over - Kevin Seifert: Fans are bored with the subject, suspicious of the motives for its continued revival and no longer feel illuminated by the discussions; not necessarily defending Cutler's virtues, but believe the point was made long ago and now the media are all just piling on.

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Other Bears news

Bears "Angry Birds" secondary wants rule change - Moon Mullin: The Bears' secondary who now may want to be referred to as the "Angry Birds," want to see an assist rule added into the NFL for DBs who deflect interceptions to their teammates.

Superstar Bears defense doesn’t concern itself with Cutler - Joe Cowley: While Cutler carries the franchise QB title, he has not been the star of the team. The 3-1 record has little to do with Cutler, and everything to do with the 11 guys on the field while Cutler is shoulder bumping his linemen or walking away from his OC.

D-line making all the difference for Bears - Mike Mulligan: Combination of experience and youth, speed and depth on the pass rush complements LBs and secondary perfectly.

PFF's 32 observations - Lance Louis is a much better guard than he is a tackle.

Up next for Bears - Dan Pompei: Jacksonville Jaguars are healthier, but are still struggling.

Tale of the Tape - Comparing Bears and Jaguars.

[Video] Know thy enemy - Tom Thayer previews how the DL will have to play MJD.

[Video] Brandon Marshall on E:60 - Brandon Marshall talks to E:60 about the internal struggles that he has battled, and moving on in Chicago.

ESPN show sheds little new light on Brandon Marshall - To tell the story of a 28-year-old man diagnosed with a mental illness and having lived a past with multiple arrests and accusations of domestic violence — oh, and he plays in the NFL — one might think that you would need more than 15 minutes. And that's the thing with Brandon Marshall. He needs more time.

Bears the 8th most dominant team in the NFL after four weeks - ...though this statistic also has the offense outperforming the defense, so take it with a pinch of salt...

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Everything else

Ex-Bear Tommie Harris arrested in Wrigleyville - Charged with indecent exposure, urinating in public and threatening a police officer, officials said.

Know thy enemy - PFF's three performances of note forVikings-Lions. How often do we see this stat line in relation to Calvin Johnson: targeted 11 times, five receptions, 54 yards with a long of 19 and two drops?

Know thy enemy - PFF's three performances of note for Saints-Packers. Even though he leads the league in accuracy percentage on deep passes, Aaron Rodgers has only attempted 11 deep balls through four games.

Author calls Ditka 'a dolt, a bully, a thug, a moron, an ass and a fool' - Jeff Pearlman didn't endear himself to Bears fans after his tell-all book about Walter Payton. This is an odd way to attempt to win back their affection.

Hannibal Smith and Audrey Hepburn. Great film.