Lions vs Bears - Pregame Week-4

After a win against the Washington Redskins, our beloved Detroit Lions travel to Chicago to face the Bears on hostile territory.

In the early going, Detroit's running game has actually been better than the Bears has. Forte, one of last years top rushers, as well as being one of the top receiving backs in the NFL, has had a very slow start. With four less carries, than Forte, Kevin Smith has 54 more yards. Unfortunately for the Lions Kevin Smith is not healthy this week.

Kevin Smith did take part in practice but Schwartz has said he will be a game time decision. If Smith cannot handle the load on his shoulder, we can expect to see more of Maurice Morris again this week. Personally I believe that there would be a higher upside to playing Aaron Brown with his better top end speed, but I would not expect to see a lot of him either way.

However much any fan may like or dislike Matthew StafFORD, any intelligent human being would have to admit that at this point of their careers, Cutler is leaps and bounds better. It will take one of StafFORD's better weeks to beat the Bears Sunday. He started right last Sunday when he hit Bryant Johnson early and often. He will need to do the same again to force the defense to leave Calvin Johnson a little more open. Any time Johnson is one on one with any defender though, StafFORD needs to go his way.

The Lions defense will be hard pressed to stop the Bears. As good as the Lions have looked in stopping the run at times, they have not done so well against the pass. Even though Forte has had a slow start, they will have to keep a close eye on him. The Lions defense will have to worry about keeping Forte reigned in while trying to stop the speedy receivers whom Cutler will be throwing to.

With Forte starting off slow this year, the Lions will have to take advantage of that. They will have to make sure they disrupt the passing game to keep Cutler from hitting Hester deep too often. It is in my humble opinion that this would be the optimal week for the Lions defense to come hard with the blitz. Until Forte shows he can make us pay for blitzing, the Lions have to get to Cutler quickly and they need to get to him early. They cannot afford to allow Cutler to get into any kind of groove.

I didn't believe the Lions would beat Washington last week, but in all due respect, the Redskins have not looked good this season. The Bears will not play as sloppy and I do not think the Lions will play as well against them. Until I actually see the aggressive side of Cunningham for myself, I will not believe he will come with a lot of blitzing. Higher confidence or not, the Lions don't really match-up to the Bears.

Chicago Bears 24
Detroit Lions 16