Chicago Bears Week 3 Preview

This week the Bears travel to Dallas to take on the Arlington Cowboys on Sunday night…….check that, reverse it. (That’s my small tribute to Gene Wilder.) Speaking of Wilder, I wish he were still here. There was just something so special about this guy. Bears fans might feel the same way, not only about Wilder, but also about their favorite Bears players that they wish were still here. I’m not talking about the Brian Piccolo’s, the Doug Buffone’s, the Walter Payton’s. Not today. That’s for another column. For now I’m talking about all the Bears currently not playing because of injury.

Jay Cutler, Lamarr Houston, Eddie Goldman, Danny Trevathan, Adrian Amos, Bryce Callahan, Chris Prosinski…..all hurt vs the Eagles. Now there’s news that Alshon Jeffery is questionable as he was limited in practice on Wednesday with a knee injury. What else can go wrong in a short week of preparation as they head down to Texas? Check out the Lake Forest Hospital guest list, courtesy of Rotowire.com: (I’m just kidding about the hospital guest list although there IS a Lake Forest Hospital near Halas Hall, practice home of the Chicago Bears)

As you can see, there are 11 players “questionable” for Sunday, along with one “doubtful” (Trevathan) and two “out” (Goldman & Houston). Two remain on the PUP list (Pernell McPhee & Marquess Wilson). Some of these questionable players we didn’t even know about such as Sitton and Porter while the others were obvious if you watched the game vs Philadelphia. It would be nice to see Kyle Fuller play again at CB so hopefully Chicago will have his services in Dallas. Overall, this list is ridiculous! 14 players on the Bears 53 man roster did not practice (DNP) on Wednesday or were limited. That’s more than a quarter of the team! 6 of the top 12 Bears Defensive Backs in the 3 deep are currently questionable. 10 Bears defenders are either out, doubtful, or questionable for this weeks game. I hope those trainers are getting paid overtime this week at Halas Hall!

Moving on from the injuries, can Chicago compete against a Dallas Cowboys (1-1) team that is counting on plenty of young players also, including their QB and RB? Tony Romo is hurt once again but luckily for Dallas they drafted Mississippi St. alum Dak Prescott, who looks solid so far in his young career. He shows potential as a dual-threat QB for the Cowboys. Dallas is known for their offensive line and that sure helps a QB and a RB look good. Note to Ryan Pace……DRAFT OFFENSIVE LINEMEN and LET THEM GET SOME PRACTICE TIME TOGETHER over the COURSE OF SEVERAL SEASONS to ENSURE COHESION AND CAMARADERIE while at the same time SECURING THE HEALTH OF YOUR QB AND RUNNING GAME. Do NOT switch up personnel at multiple positions on the five man OL on the eve of Week 1…..2 years in a row! There’s no anger there. I get it….but this is getting alarming. Hopefully someday we’ll look back at all this and laugh.

Keep An Eye On:

#93 Will Sutton

I loved Will Sutton in college at Arizona St. This guy was a stud! It’s been a harder transition for him to the professional ranks as the Bears changed schemes since he was drafted for the Bears previous 4-3 defense. Vic Fangio’s hiring evolved the defense to it’s current 3-4 base defense. Sutton seemed like a better fit as a 4-3 DT rather than as a NT in the 3-4. Now that Goldman is hurt and out for several weeks, Sutton steps in. Can he help stuff the Cowboys solid running game starring their rookie RB Ezekiel Elliot? Can Sutton also help collapse the pocket on rookie QB Dak Prescott as a pass rusher? I’m interested to find out how Sutton as well as all the Bears backups fill-in as starters replacing all these injured Bears.

After Monday Night’s debacle, it might be hard to get excited for this game but trust me, when you see Carrie Underwood dancing around on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, you’ll get pumped really fast. While I might be more than interested to see how the Bears respond, I am sorry to say I can NOT pick this team to win this game right now. Too many injuries on a short week of practice on the road in a prime time night game without their #1 Quarterback = Another disappointing performance ending up in a Bears defeat.

Prediction:

Cowboys 20 Bears 13