This week represents an opportunity for the Bears to get back on track.  Celeveland is awful.  So the Bears have a chance to work on things and feel better about themselves.  Getting over .500 is important if they want to make any real run at the playoffs.

When the Bears have the ball:  The Browns are giving up 171 yards on the ground per game.  They give up a total of 416 yards per game.  There isn’t anything that they do real well on Defense, with the acception of that big monster Shaun Rogers, who sits in the middle of the Browns Defensive Line.  This seems like the game where Matt Forte can get sustained yards…4 and 5 a crack, not just the big plays.  I actually think that might be better for the psyche of Forte and O-Line.  Expect to see Josh Beekman get some playing time. 

Jay Cutler talked about not forcing balls on Wednesday.  I don’t think that he’ll have too much to worry about.  The Browns don’t create the type of pressure to force mistakes.  There should be time to go down the field if that’s what Ron Turner wants to do.  I joked with Earl Bennett earlier this week that this could be a week where we see him get into the endzone.  He’s averaging 13.3 yards per catch, but doesn’t have any touchdowns.  Perhaps he’ll get a redzone chance on Sunday. 

When the Browns have the ball:  This offense is a mess because they don’t have leadership at the QB spot.  Derek Anderson has turned in some embarrassing performances this year, but he’s still expected to start.  He’s mistake prone and easily confused.  His TD to INT ratio is 2:7.  His overalll rating is 40.6 and he has 4 fumbles on the season. 

The run game is sluggish, but Jamal Lewis still has big play ability.  The Browns will try to run “Wildcat” with Joshua Cribbs who was a college QB at Kent State.  The Browns O-Line is decent.  Look for Hunter Hillenmeyer to be back at MLB and Nate Vasher to get some work at Safety in Nickel situations.

Special Teams:  Overall, the Bears are better because they do every phase of ST right.  That being said, Cribbs is terrifying as a return man.  He averages over 16 yards per punt return and has taken 1 to the house.  On kickoffs, he’s even better averaging almost 27 yards per return and has taken 1 to the house.  If there is a fear about this game, it’s Cribbs returning the ball.  The Bears will have to bring their “A” coverage game.

The Browns are BAD.  Even with the Bears losing 45-10 last week, they’re not a bad team.  Bears players were annoyed with me professing that they should take Cleveland out to the woodshed, but they should!  As bad as the Bears have looked, they’re at least 2 touchdowns better than this rag-tag bunch, that’s already ready to go home for the winter.  If they can contain Cribbs in the return game, it should be a walk in the park. 

Lots of motivating factors for the Bears:  1)  2 tough losses (1 humiliating) back-to-back.  2)  A GM that is looking for changes to be made.  3)  A coach that has to be concerned about his job.  4)  Staying in the playoff race.  5)  Being at home.  6)  Honoring the memory of Walter Payton on the 10th anniversary of his death. 

This one is a lock.  Bears 31 Browns 10.