© Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. by Scott Krause

Bears clip the Falcons wings, Beat Atlanta 30-12 on an emotional day In the NFL and America.

This day seemed similar to that fateful day ten years ago.. Bright sunshine, very few clouds and warm temperatures.. But this day was about honoring our heroes and those that protect us from the events that changed our lives forever.

© Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. by Scott Krause

Security was higher today than it ever has been.. Due to the recent threats that our government agencies received during the week. The presence of this extra security was both intimidating, yet reassuring. Nothing would happen today.

The NFL does a great job when it comes to honoring heroes, and today was nothing short of spectacular. The pre game ceremonies were synced in all stadiums at noon. Robert DeNiro gave a short tribute on the video screen and a live simulcast of the trumpeter performing “Taps” .. And a minute of silence followed.

© Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. by Scott Krause

Chicago heroes, Police and firefighters rolled a larger American flag across the field .. Players and coaches from both sides also lent a hand to help.. Unity for a few moments.

Then a resounding rendition of the national anthem done by Jim Cornelison fired up the crowd… ”USA… USA..” And everyone was ready for some football.

9/11 reminders were everywhere today at Soldier Field.. There were large 9/11 ribbons at the 25-yard lines on both ends of the field. Even a special coin was used today for the coin toss. The coin used for the pregame toss had the same ribbon on one side with a Bears “C” on the other

The home team Bears would win that coin toss.

One team would be ready and confident on this most special day, the other would wonder what went wrong.

© Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. by Scott Krause

The Importance of Confidence

Going into the season opener, there seemed to be a lack of confidence among some of the newest Bears players. Today, was a big step in the right direction.

“Big confidence booster for us as a football team. We knew what we can do offensively. We knew what we can do defensively. But to put it together, especially against a good football team in Atlanta, shows what kind of football team we have.” Said Roy Williams.

Williams caught four passes for 55 yards in his Bears debut before leaving with a groin injury in the fourth quarter.

© Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. by Scott Krause

Jay Cutler has arrived.

Jay Cutler wasted no time on Sunday to erase those bad memories from the Championship Game loss against the Packers. He left that game with a knee injury and was heavily criticized for his lack of leadership and being a team player. Not today, this is the Jay Cutler that everyone was waiting for.

Cutler was on target with 22 of 32 passes and was intercepted only once.

He was sacked five times Sunday, but had a 107.8 quarterback rating, but remained tough. Cutler is 23-0 when his quarterback rating is above 100.

Cutler remained humble.. “We still have to play up to the defense’s level,” Cutler said. “They’re still carrying us.”

Let the Contract talks begin..

Maybe it’s time for that new contract.. Matt Forte earned the respect of Jay Cutler and the Bears fans for his impressive performance. Forte showed he is more than a one-dimensional player..

"His ability in this offense is endless," Cutler said of Forte. "He's such a smart player and he's so versatile. This offense really can't run without him back there. The way he's able to take screens and get into the passing game and still run between the tackles, he's a threat all over the field and there are not many running backs who can do what he does.

Player of the game.. Mr. Urlacher.

“It’s a good start,” Urlacher said. “We’ve got a ways to go. We made some mistakes, me included. Our offense played great today. I know they’re going to say they didn’t do this and that, but they kept us on the sideline for the most part.

One would wonder what mistakes Urlacher was referring to?

Urlacher’s interception at the Chicago 29 on a pass intended for Tony Gonzalez and Matt Forte’s big touchdown three plays later—when he caught the screen pass and bounced off Sean Weatherspoon were the two key plays as the Bears built a 16-3 halftime lead.

Urlacher said he was surprised Ryan threw that ill-fated pass.

Ryan said he should have just thrown it away, and on the fumble, he just didn’t protect the ball.

“Brian (Urlacher) made a good play, full extension,” he said. “He made a nice catch. I probably shouldn’t have thrown it there. I definitely shouldn’t have thrown it there. But that’s one of those situations where you need to throw the football away. You have to make a good decision and get the ball out of your hands with somebody in your face. Just a poor decision there, and on the fumble, you just got to protect the football better in the pocket, that’s as simple as it is.”

How Big was it?

"It was big," Urlacher said. "They're a good offense. We gave up some yards on the ground early. Turner's a good back. He kind of gashed us there a little bit. But we made plays. Guys got to the quarterback. Our DBs were hitting as usual, and we got downhill and made some plays.

Under Pressure..

"It starts with that for us as far as getting pressure," said coach Lovie Smith. "We don't get off the bus blitzing. We feel like we can get pressure with our four-man rush."

Julius Peppers and defensive tackle Henry Melton both recorded two sacks, while defensive tackle Amobi Okoye had one.

"We've been talking a lot about Henry Melton and what we thought he would bring to that group," Smith said. "And Julius Peppers is a hard guy to deal with for any offense. But that sets everything up, being able to get that pressure and being able to play a little bit more coverage."

Melton's two sacks Sunday came in his first NFL start.

"We've seen him develop into a pretty good defensive lineman at one of our marquee positions, that under-tackle position," Smith said. "[He possesses] a lot of athletic ability, great power, speed and quickness. Inside he's a tough match-up for bigger, slower offensive linemen.

Making a statement… Period

"It's a great win for us," said center Roberto Garza. "Not many people gave us a chance to go out there and play the way we did. We knew we had to go out there and play the way we did and we knew we had to go out there and make a statement, and we did."

Impressive, yet not spectacular for Turner in his first visit to Soldier Field.

The Falcon’s Michael Turner ran for 100 yards, including a 53-yarder, but it was hardly what you would expect from a player of his caliber.

Disappointment, Very un “Falcon Like”

After having the best record in the NFC last year, The Falcons looked like they had their minds someplace else. But it is only one game, and the first game. Still a bit of a disappointment .

“Disappointed, not discouraged,” Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. “It’s a long season, it’s Week 1. We will work to get this fixed and we will get it fixed.”

Much work to do

"It's not a good defensive game for us unless we can take the ball away," Smith said. "Normally if you have a plus-two on the turnover ratio you're going to win 90 percent of your games. Our players understand that. [The Falcons] weren't turning it over. We were taking the ball away, and we just have to keep that going. It's what we do every day in practice."

The Falcons will head home to face the Eagles. For the Bears, an even harder task at hand.. The New Orleans Saints and then back home to face the Super Bowl Champion Packers.

If today is any indication, these teams better prepare well for the 2011 version of the Chicago Bears..

© Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. by Scott Krause

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