Amid a slightly higher-profile arrival this
weekend at Soldier Field - in the form of Tampa Bay coach Lovie
Smith visiting his former Chicago home for the first time since he
was fired two years ago - there's also one Josh McCown.
McCown appeared in 11 games and started seven times across three
seasons (two under Smith) with the Bears before heading to
Buccaneers on a two-year, $10 million contract after Chicago
displayed its allegiance to Jay Cutler in the form of a seven-year,
$126.7 million deal.
His first three games with his new team yielded three losses and a
thumb injury that subsequently kept him out of action for six
weeks, but McCown returned to his starter's role in Week 10 and has
since thrown for 589 yards and four touchdowns against just two
interceptions.
He finally earned win No. 1 for the Bucs last week, throwing for
288 yards and a pair of scores in a 27-7 road defeat of Washington
that ended a five-game losing skid.
The momentum comes just in time for what he concedes will be an
unusual experience this week.
"It will be neat, weird, all those things. I'm sure for Coach Smith
it's the same thing," McCown said. "But for us, we've got to win
ball games, it doesn't matter who we play."
His return has coincided with the emergence of first-round draft
pick Mike Evans, who's caught seven passes in three straight games
for 458 yards and five touchdowns. The Texas A&M product accounted
for 209 receiving yards against the Redskins, making him the first
rookie with a 200-yard game and two scores since Anquan Boldin did
it 11 years ago.
The defense did its part in Washington as well, registering three
takeaways and six sacks while yielding its lowest opposition point
total of 2014. Tampa Bay had averaged 30.2 points allowed through
its initial nine games while accounting for only 12 turnovers and
14 sacks.
"Hopefully we can build on this and see where we go from there,"
Smith said.
As it turns out, the tumult-wracked Bears could use a little
building of their own.
Lest he be reminded that Smith was 18 games over .500, reached the
playoffs three times and appeared in a Super Bowl once during his
tenure in Chicago, second-year coach Marc Trestman is enduring
daily questions about why his star-studded team isn't performing
anywhere near expectations.
Trestman was 8-8 in his first go-round last year, following Smith's
dismissal after he went 10-6 in 2012 and failed to reach the
playoffs. And several of his holdover players are still fans of
their old boss.
"(Smith) was the type of guy that you really wanted to run through
a wall for," Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said. "And you didn't
want to see him go."
Inconveniently, Chicago's offense is more than six points a game
off of the NFC-best 27.8-point clip it posted under Trestman last
season, and his defense had allowed 50 points in two straight games
before a circle-the-wagons 21-13 defeat of Minnesota in Week 11
ended a three-game losing streak.
Chicago allowed 243 total yards, but the Vikings were just 30th in
the league in total offense coming in.
Smith's defenses for the Bears averaged better than two takeaways
per game, permitted less than 20 points and only surrendered 40 or
more four times. Chicago has allowed 40 points six times under
Trestman and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, while surrendering
29.5 points per game overall.
"We're going to talk to our team truthfully about every aspect of
this game," Trestman said. "The thing I can tell you about Lovie is
that I've watched him for years and played against him for years
and I know him as a person and I have tremendous respect for him as
a person in all areas. That's the only thing I can speak of at this
point, and I truly mean that."
As for offense, Cutler is expecting his former boss to supply a new
defensive wrinkle or two.
The QB passed for 330 yards and three TDs against Minnesota, but he
was intercepted twice and has six INTs in his last four games.
Running back Matt Forte had 117 rushing yards against the Vikings
and is third in the league with 1,308 total yards.
"It's going to be challenging," Cutler said. "We are going to be
familiar with their defense, they've got some really good players
on that side of the ball."
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Rookie on Rookie
First-year man Evans comes into the game for the Bucs full of
pass-catching momentum. He's scored seven touchdowns since missing
Week 5 with an injury and uses his 6-foot-5, 231-pound frame with
surprising speed and agility. He'll be the focal point of rookie
corner Kyle Fuller, picked seven slots after him in April, who's
6-foot, 190 pounds and will need to create disruption at the line
of scrimmage.
Facing an Old Friend
On the flip side, Chicago's Brandon Marshall comes in after his own
seven- catch, two-touchdown performance against Minnesota and will
presumably be matched with veteran Alterraun Verner, who's been
inconsistent in his first year with Tampa Bay. Marshall could have
a big day if Smith employs soft coverages with Verner, especially
if the receiver can escape initial contact and extend plays.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
If it were solely a match on paper, the Bears would win easily. Of
course, if they'd all been solely matches on paper, the Bears would
probably be 8-2 instead of 4-6.
Expect Tampa Bay to be plenty revved-up for its popular new coach
and for Smith to confound Cutler with a look or two, but in the end
the advantages in personnel still reside with the hosts in Chicago.
If he loses this one, Trestman's done.
Today's game can be heard on Newstalk 1060 with the Pre-Game Show at 11:30.
