Caleb Hanie got a rude welcome to the NFL in his first start. Throwing three picks that led to 6 points. While completing 50% of his passes and throwing for 254 yards. It was not all bad after Hanie settled down he did throw two TD passes one to Johnny Knox on third down for a 24 yard score, and another to Kellen Davis from 9 yards out. Hanie also ran 5 times for 50 yards.
The real killer came in the second quarter with the Bears moving in for a score. The Bears drove down to the 7 yard line when Mike Martz called for a throwback screen pass that was tipped by Aaron Curry and picked by Kamerion Wimbley who took it 83 yards the other way before the saving tackle by Bears right tackle Lance Louis. This was at the very least a 6 point turnaround that ultimately cost the Bears the game.
This is the NFL you can not expect to turn the ball over on three picks and expect to win. Yet the Bears had the chance to do just that thanks to the play of the defense.
Oakland needs to buy their kickers something nice for winning this game for them. Sebastian Janikowski kicked a Raider record 6 field goals from 40,47,42,19,37 and 44 yards. While punter Shane Lechler had 5 punts with a 54.6 yard average, including an 80 yarder (60 net) keeping Devin Hester at bay all day.
Game Balls
While I was reluctant to give any out this week with the loss, that would overlook some very good performances so here they are:
Defense
While I realize that this is somewhat general, I thought that breaking the play of each area would be a little much so I am going to sum it into one. The defensive line was a beast today. They recorded five sacks while only yielding 73 yards rushing. The Raiders were 1 for 5 in the red zone. All of which were inside the 10 yard line. That is impressive stuff. While I am sure that the players will say they need to play better they were not put in good positions today. They also picked off a Carson Palmer pass. The Raiders were just 3 for 15 on third downs, another eye popper.
Marion Barber and Matt Forte
The pair combined for 122 yards on 22 carries. That is a 5.45 average.
Johnny Knox
Knox had 278 all purpose yards, including 4 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. Knox also had 133 return yards with the Raiders too worried about Hester.
While this game played out pretty much the way I expected, with Hanie having a hard time. It was different in the regard of how he had that hard time. Bottom line with this game is the Bears coaching staff did not put Hanie in a position to succeed. Mike Martz called a bad game plan and simple. He gave Hanie too much too soon and it bit them in the end. While I give my kudos to the defense, I also have to give them my apologies they played good enough to win. Take away the turnovers and they do just that while giving up 9 less points at the minimum. With all that being said lets not get out our hooks just yet. We have to remember this was Hanie's first start, so now that this is out of the way let us regroup and comeback next week against K.C. with a chip on our shoulder. The Bears play better that way anyhow. Put down the razor blades, pick up a beer its only one game. Let me know what you think and as always BEAR DOWN!!
To be clear when I said that the Raiders were 1 for 5 in the red zone that was touchdowns not overall with the 4 field goals.
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