FALCONS VS. BEARS

[DrReality]

Healthier Bears look to ease painful memory

By ANDREW SELIGMAN,

AP Sports Writer

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) Rested after a much-needed bye, the Chicago Bears had some time to heal over the weekend.

Good thing for them.

They're a little healthier now after absorbing their share of bumps and bruises in the early going as they head to Atlanta, the site of one of their most painful losses a year ago.

Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa appears ready to go after tearing the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the opener against Green Bay. So does receiver Devin Hester after leaving the previous game against Detroit with a strained muscle in his neck, although middle linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer sat out practice on Monday with a rib injury that sidelined him against the Lions.

So the bye came at a good time even if the Bears (3-1) had won three in a row. Now they'll try to ease that lingering sting from last year's loss at Atlanta, one of several that saw them blow leads and ultimately helped cost them a playoff spot.

The Bears had gone ahead with 11 seconds left after Kyle Orton found Rashied Davis in the corner of the end zone and Robbie Gould kicked the extra point. Then, in a flash, the Falcons erupted in a playoff-like celebration after Jason Elam's field goal gave them a 22-20 victory.

"We still talk about it, 11 seconds on the clock and how we lost that game," Hester said Monday. "On this Sunday, we don't want to have that feeling again when we walk off the field."

The loss to the Falcons wasn't the first or last bitter one for the Bears, who blew late leads while falling to Carolina and Tampa Bay on back-to-back weekends earlier that season. Against the Panthers, they were up by 14 before going down and they couldn't close out the Buccaneers.

In that one, they let a 10-point advantage slip away in the final six minutues and fell by three in overtime, and the season ended in the final week after the Bears blew another lead against Houston.

They needed to beat the Texans to make the playoffs and appeared to be on their way after scoring the first 10 points. Instead, they fell out of the postseason for the second straight year, losing by seven to finish 9-7, but that Atlanta loss still sticks out.

"What happened last year? It's about this year," coach Lovie Smith said.

Here's a refresher.

After the touchdown catch by Davis, the Bears decided to go for a pooch kick rather than boot it deep. Harry Douglas returned it 10 yards to the Atlanta 44, and Matt Ryan, showing the poise of a veteran, threw a perfect 26-yard pass to Michael Jenkins along the left sideline.

The receiver got his feet down and fell out of bounds with 1 second left before Elam booted the winning 48 yarder, the ball clearing the crossbar with plenty of room to spare.

"With 11 seconds in the game, I'd love to have the lead again," defensive end Alex Brown said. "I'll take our chances. They made a great play. I think Tommie (Harris) was hanging all over him when he made the throw."

He also credited Elam.

"Their kicker made a heck of a kick," Brown said. "They did some great things at the end of that game. They made the plays they needed to make to win."

When he looks at the video, Brown said the motivation will be education and not revenge. He wants to see how the Falcons stopped him, what he could have done better.

"I want to see how (left tackle) Sam Baker blocked me, how he approached that game, and I want to see what I can do to try to beat him this time," Brown said. "I know they'll change some things, but that's what I want to see. I want to see the schemes that they ran last year."

And he wants to see a different result.

[coachx]

Will be a huge game !

2 teams who are 3-1 and each has reason for revenge.

The Bears want revenge on us b/c of how we beat them on the Ryan / Jenkins play that lead to the 48 yard, game winning field at Soldier Field.

We want revenge on Jay Cutler for being the only QB to beat us at home last year (when he was a Bronco).

It will be great to see the Falcons on the national stage thisSunday night.

[APE]

Will be a huge game !

2 teams who are 3-1 and each has reason for revenge.

The Bears want revenge on us b/c of how we beat them on the Ryan / Jenkins play that lead to the 48 yard, game winning field at Soldier Field.

We want revenge on Jay Cutler for being the only QB to beat us at home last year (when he was a Bronco).

It will be great to see the Falcons on the national stage thisSunday night.

I'm pretty sure it was at the Dome last year?

I want Jay Cu*tler to be eaten alive my John Abraham..

[coachx]

I'm pretty sure it was at the Dome last year?

I want Jay Cu*tler to be eaten alive my John Abraham..

Your right.

Its pretty wierd for the league to make Chicago play us in Atlanta for 2 years in a row. Normally they try to make it even when it comes to home and away games vs. common opponets.

[DrReality]

It is a huge game and the dome should be rocking. We have been getting press like never before with Ryan showing his stuff. It is a national stage and I think we'll beat them.

[APE]

Listen to Gonzo's intro, when they show the starting lineups...

[DrReality]

Falcons preview packageBy D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

.1. The Bears have an elite pass rush: Chicago has recorded 14 sacks, which is tied for fourth in the NFL behind Minnesota (18), Denver (16) and Pittsburgh (15). Cincinnati, Seattle and the New York Giants also have 14 sacks.

Story continues below ↓

The Falcons' offensive line has given up two sacks, none over the past three games.

Bears left defensive end Adewale Ogunleye leads the team with four.

"The front four is the strength of their team," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "[Defensive lince coach] Rod Marinelli, I think is without a doubt one of the best defensive coaches in the league. He's got those guys playing hard."

2. Falcons' coverage units will be challenged: The Bears have a stable of dangerous returners.

Rookie Johnny Knox and Danieal Manning both average more than 30 yards on kickoff returns. Knox, a fifth-round pick from Abilene Christian, has a 102-yard return for a touchdown.

Devin Hester and Earl Bennett are the punt returners.

"Devin Hester has 11 returns for touchdowns, and he's only been in the league three years, and that's fourth all-time right now in the history of the NFL," Smith said. "Johnny Knox, the rookie, is very fast."

The Falcons held the Bears to no yards on punt returns last season.

3. Cutler has won in the Georgia Dome: The Falcons are 9-1 in the Georgia Dome under Smith. The only loss was to Jay Cutler and the Denver Broncos last season.

He tossed the game-winning touchdown to tight end Daniel Graham with 5:35 to play in a 24-20 game. He was traded to the Bears over the offseason after becoming disgruntled with first-year Broncos coach Josh McDaniels.

"It's been good for him," Chicago coach Lovie Smith said. "It's worked out very well for Kyle Orton out there. I feel like there is a perfect place for everyone. Hopefully the perfect place for Jay is here."

He has thrown eight touchdowns and five interceptions for the Bears, but he has been a hit with the team.

"When you have a guy like that coming into the locker room, everybody has a history, a record of what you've done and Jay's was good," coach Lovie Smith said. "The players got a chance to see him throw the football. More than that, we knew about his arm, but his leadership skills."

4. Wide receiver Roddy White has the Bears' attention: The Bears give up 226 yards passing per game. White had nearly that much last week against the San Francisco 49ers, when he had eight catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns in a breakout game.

"He's a great player," Lovie Smith said. "He's being paid that way for a reason. He's physical. He'll block ... has very good speed. It's just his overall game."

The Bears cornerbacks are Charles Tillman and Zackary Bowman. They'll likely get help on White from Manning, who's the team's free safety.

5. Don't get stage fright: The Falcons will be making their return to national television. The league ignored them last season after while they were rebounding from the messy Bobby Petrino and Michael Vick 2007 season.

"It's a little bit more intense playing those prime-time games," running back Michael Turner said. "That's what makes this game fun. All of the people are going to be watching."

Quarterback Matt Ryan doesn't believe the Falcons will wilt under NBC's bright lights and with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth in the Georgia Dome.

"It's great to be on the national stage," Ryan said. "It's where we want to be as a football team. We want to be in these situations throughout the year. Coach Smith since he's been here, he's done a great job of implementing a positive culture."

Three key matchups

Falcons MLB Curtis Lofton vs. Bears RB Matt Forte: The Bears finally have a bona fide quarterback again, but coach Lovie Smith said they'll always be a running team on his watch. So they'll try to establish Forte, who ran for 121 yards against the Detroit Lions in his previous game. Lofton leads the Falcons with 52 tackles and one forced fumble, according to the coaches' stats.

Falcons RT Tyson Clabo vs. Bears LE Adewale Ogunleye: Ogunleye has 60 sacks since 2002, which ranks him ninth in the NFL. He has at least nine sacks in four of those seasons with a high of 15.5 in 2003. He has 4.5 this season. Clabo and his linemates have not allowed a sack over the past three games.

Falcons DE John Abraham vs. LT Orlando Pace: This one should be two old war horses going at in. Pace is in his 13th season and a seven-time Pro Bowler. Abraham is in his 10th season.

Falcons win if ...

They win the war of special teams:Tthe Bears are the No. 1 ranked team in "composite" special-team stats, according to Falcons coach Mike Smith. The Falcons' units were special last season, but the key could be the directional kicking of Michael Koenen on kickoffs and Koenen getting great hang time on his punts to neutralize the Bears' returners.

Shut down the Bears weak rushing attack: The Bears are hanging their hats on the fact that they ran the ball well against the Detroit Lions. They are averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Matt Forte and the diminutive Garrett Wolfe are the key ball carriers. If you take away Forte's 61-yard run against Detroit, their numbers don't look nearly as gaudy. Last season the Falcons held Forte to 76 yards on 20 carries.

Keep Cutler under control: The Bears took notice of how often the Falcons blitzed San Francisco. The Falcons likely will need to figure out how to get some pressure on the strong-armed Cutler without blitzing so they can stay sound in coverage. John Abraham and Kroy Biermann, who lead the team with three sacks each, will need to rattle Cutler's cage.

[APE]

Jenkins left his good gloves somewhere else tonight

[DrReality]

Huge win for us and our defense has come along nicely. Line putting preasure on the qb.

Should do wonders for our confidence.

[AHF]

The line was strong down the stretch. I attribute the two false starts, in part, to the good play of the line.

[APE]

Nice win by the Falcons. It was even better to see Jay Cutler get his face stuffed, I just can't stand him. :super:

[EazyRoc]

Matt Ryan got off to a slow start, but played pretty good. He's still got a probably with overthrowing receivers. He struggles with the throws downfield. Babineaux is quietly having a tremendous season, and Bierrman is playing extremely well too. DeCoud is looking like a solid piece of our defense for years to come. He makes tackles and now is making plays in coverage. Weems will be back next year as our returner, he is doing very well. Our CB corps is still weak, but Williams is very solid. Houston wont get much better than he is now, and that says a lot. Jenkins made that one bad drop that cost us a first down, but that was just out of character. That pick wasn't his fault, as he was overthrown by Matty Ice. Gonzalez was..Gonzalez. Overall, I think our defense is a whole lot better than what we thought it would be. It'll only get better as the younger players get more experience.

[APE]

That pick wasn't his fault, as he was overthrown by Matty Ice.

He could've just let it go instead of trying to make a one handed catch.

[EazyRoc]

He could've just let it go instead of trying to make a one handed catch.

It would have been a pick if he let it go anyways. In fact, the defender would have caught it in stride and probably got a decent return from it.

[coachx]

Our CB corps is still weak, but Williams is very solid.

Any news on how bad the injury was ?

I could not go to the game last night...................for people at the game, was Williams able to walk aound on the side line after his injury ? We really need him for the Cowboys and Saint game coming up.

[frosgrim]

Any news on how bad the injury was ?

I could not go to the game last night...................for people at the game, was Williams able to walk aound on the side line after his injury ? We really need him for the Cowboys and Saint game coming up.

I read a poster on the AJC board saying it's hyper extended. If that is the case, then we dodged a huge bullit. Guy was by far the best CB we have. He still could miss the Cowgirl game, but better than an ACL tear or some such.

Hope that Chevis or Chris Owens get some PT soon.

The game last night was great to watch. For someone who has watched the Falcons all my 41 years, that was good to see. Finally a win on primetime. The defense really came to play last night and that was great to see. Having Zombie play NT is just what the doctor ordered for the team. Biermann is really turning into a beast both on the line and on ST. Did you guys see him make that last tackle on the last KR? Dude's like 260 and is making a tackle at the 14 or some such.

[coachx]

I read a poster on the AJC board saying it's hyper extended. If that is the case, then we dodged a huge bullit. Guy was by far the best CB we have. He still could miss the Cowgirl game, but better than an ACL tear or some such.

Hope that Chevis or Chris Owens get some PT soon.

680 The Fan is reporting that Brian Williams did tear his ACL and is done for the season.

Ouch !

Either Tyre Hill, Chris Ownes or Chevis Jackson will have to step up.............Please do not start 5'8'' Brent Grimes.

The trade deadline is tomorrow at 4:00 PM. I know Dimitroff hates to give up draft picks but one of the no win or 1 win teams may give up a legit starting CB for a 4th round pick.

Edited October 19, 2009 by coachx

[DrReality]

If he pulls off a trade he is a miracle worker. I think they have some talent for someone to step up, but it also means that the DL and LB have to step up too.