Vin+ 3,121 Posted September 16, 2011 TIME: 01:00 P.M. ESTVENUE: Louisiana Superdome Brian Urlacher's leadership of a dominant defensive effort allowed the Chicago Bears to revel in a season-opening victory. The Bears are heading into their next game in a decidedly more somber mood. Urlacher is expected to play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints despite leaving Chicago earlier in the week after the death of his mother. Urlacher scored his team's final points in a 30-12 home victory over Atlanta last Sunday by returning a fumble for a touchdown and set up another TD with a diving interception. He also had a team-best 10 tackles as the Bears held the Falcons to two field goals during a matchup of the NFC's top two squads from a year ago. As it began preparations for this week's game, Chicago got the stunning news of the passing of Urlacher's 51-year-old mother, Lavoyda Lenard, at her home in Texas on Monday. Urlacher left the Bears and missed Wednesday's practice, but he returned to the team Thursday. "Sometimes when you're going through tough times like he is right now you want to get back with your support group, which is here with his teammates," coach Lovie Smith said. "It was good to get him back, see his face and show some support that way. Football is pretty important to him. So you know he's excited about playing the game this Sunday." Even with Urlacher likely to play, it might fall on quarterback Jay Cutler and the Bears offense to carry a little more of the burden while dealing with a raucous Superdome crowd. An improved performance in the red zone could help. Chicago ranked 30th in scoring percentage from inside the 20 last year at 78.4 and had to settle for two field goals in three chances last week. "We've just got to get better in the red zone," Cutler said. "We've just got to hammer out some of these details because we left 14-21 points off the board." The Saints are hoping to keep a few more points off the scoreboard after a 42-34 loss in Week 1 to defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay. "We realize we can be a lot better. We're going to be a lot better," cornerback Jabari Greer said. "It's the first game. It's a long season. ... We're not looking at ourselves and thinking that we are worse than we are. We realize that we have a lot of talented guys in this room." New Orleans' offense generated 477 yards with Drew Brees passing for 419 and three TDs. The Saints, though, missed their chance to tie the game when rookie Mark Ingram was stopped at the 1 on the final play. "You've got to get a yard," Ingram said. "It's goal line to win the game, got to get a yard." New Orleans might have to try to bounce back from that defeat without a pair of receivers, including Marques Colston, the team leader last season with 84 receptions and 1,023 yards. Colston could miss four weeks after breaking his collar bone while making a diving catch in the final seconds of the season opener. Lance Moore sat out that game with a sore groin, and his status is unknown for Sunday. "We feel pretty good about being able to fill in (for Colston) and in the meantime continue the rehab on Marques and get him up to speed as soon as he can," coach Sean Payton said. In his return to New Orleans, former Tulane star Matt Forte, who had 158 total yards and a TD in the opener, will try to help the Bears extend a four-game win streak over the Saints, which includes the 2007 NFC championship at Soldier Field. If history is an indication, Chicago might also need kicker Robbie Gould's help during its first game at the Superdome since 2005. In the Bears' most recent matchup with the Saints in 2008, Gould made a 28-yard field goal in the final seconds of regulation and a 35-yarder in overtime to give his team a 27-24 victory. He also converted a 28-yard attempt with six seconds left during the previous game in New Orleans, a 20-17 win in 2005 that snapped a three-game skid at the Superdome. Copyright 2011 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted September 16, 2011 Hunker down, it's gonna be a long one. 20 24 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WindyCitySports 407 Posted September 16, 2011 LETS GO!!!! The Bears looked great last week and I'm really hoping they can continue to do so. We have a few players out, but we also have Barber returning, which I think will make our run game vicious in addition to a pass game that was fenomenal last week. The defense played lights out against ATL, something NO's defense did not do against Green Bay. Should be an interesting game, but I think we come out on top. 28 20 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AllYouNeedIsLovie 377 Posted September 16, 2011 Should be a good game, but I think the Saints win this one. Would love to see the Bears beat them though and put them at 0-2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SportsMistress 2 Posted September 16, 2011 Rooting on the SAINTS to win... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted September 18, 2011 Roy Williams (groin) is inactive for Week 2 against the Saints. As is Marion Barber, who will miss his second straight game with a calf injury. Matt Forte should handle goal-line work, and will be backed up by Kahlil Bell. Johnny Knox will (finally) start opposite Devin Hester in Williams' absence, and has an excellent matchup in Saints RCB Patrick Robinson. He's a great fill-in for any of the noteworthy receivers sitting out in Week 2, not just Williams. Also inactive for the Bears are QB Nathan Enderle, RG Lance Louis, FS Chris Harris, DT Stephen Paea and DE Corey Wootton. Lance Moore (groin) is active for Sunday's game against the Bears. Moore put in three "limited" practices this week without suffering a setback. While the risk of in-game injury is real, the Bears' Tampa-2 defense often forces passes underneath. That bodes well for Moore, who should see extra targets with Marques Colston out. Consider Moore a WR3. The Saints' inactives are Colston, K Garrett Hartley, RB Joique Bell, CB Tracy Porter, FB Korey Hall, C Matt Tennant, and DL Tom Johnson. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanbrock 1,684 Posted September 18, 2011 Chicago has to have the worst offensive line in the league...and this is coming from an Eagles fan. Our o line is bad, but man every position it seems like they just are terrible. Who's on the bench for these guys? They have to have SOMEBODY who can play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WindyCitySports 407 Posted September 18, 2011 If the Bears don't make the playoffs this year, I want GM Angelo fired immediately. The o-line has been a huge problem for the longest time. Why hasn't Angelo sat down one offseason and said, "Let's clear out the o-line." We have the worst o-line I have ever seen and don't anyone blame this game on Cutler. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
badgers 380 Posted September 18, 2011 Good deal here. Packers BARELY won...lost Nick Collins in the process...We needed the Bears to lose here... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241 Posted September 18, 2011 It's almost as if the Bears ar refusing to make that offensive line better... I know they drafted Carimi but... Wow... lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
