Steelers-Bears Preview

 

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• Countdown Daily Recap: Steelers-Bears

SCOUTING REPORT

Steelers-Bears: 10 observations After breaking down film of both teams, Scouts Inc. offers 10 things to watch in this week's Steelers-Bears matchup. 1. Pittsburgh needs to establish an effective ground game: The Steelers won ugly in Week 1 but will need to run the ball effectively in this road contest. The Bears have an excellent defensive front seven but might be more vulnerable in Week 2 missing All-Pro middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
PIT	6-4	231	184	4-1	2-3	1-2	4-3
CHI	4-6	206	225	3-2	1-4	1-1	2-5
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Pittsburgh Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Roethl... 68.9 2867 17 10 Batch 50.0 17 0 0

Chicago Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Cutler 61.7 2524 15 18 Hanie 50.0 3 0 0

Pittsburgh Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Menden... 134 689 5.1 4 Parker 67 218 3.3 0

Chicago Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Forte 157 516 3.3 3 Cutler 26 122 4.7 1

Pittsburgh Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Ward 63 798 12.7 5 Holmes 50 764 15.3 1

Chicago Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Hester 52 614 11.8 3 Bennet... 40 511 12.8 0

Full Player Stats: Pittsburgh | Chicago

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	PIT	380.0
	CHI	329.0
Yards Passing	PIT	268.1
	CHI	240.0
Yards Rushing	PIT	111.6
	CHI	89.3
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	PIT	277.9
	CHI	320.1
Pass Yds Allowed	PIT	208.7
	CHI	197.8
Rush Yds Allowed	PIT	69.2
	CHI	122.3

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Series tied 1-1
Dec 11, 2005	PIT 21, @CHI 9

Perhaps more than any other franchises, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears have been defined by defense.

One week into this season, they're each scrambling to persevere without their current defensive cornerstone.

Injuries will keep Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu and Chicago's Brian Urlacher off the field Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field, where the Super Bowl champion Steelers will try to build on an overtime win as they face a Bears team hoping to forget a turnover-plagued debut from quarterback Jay Cutler.

Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Mel Blount were the stars of a Pittsburgh defense that helped lead the franchise to four Super Bowls in the 1970s, while Dan Hampton and Mike Singletary led the 1985 Bears' championship unit that was arguably the most dominant defense in NFL history.

All six of those players have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, an honor Polamalu and Urlacher may one day receive.

For now, though, they'll have to settle for watching their teammates in street clothes. Polamalu tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee as the Steelers kicked off the NFL season with a 13-10 win over Tennessee on Sept. 10, while Urlacher dislocated his wrist last Sunday in Chicago's 21-15 loss at Green Bay.

Urlacher -- a six-time Pro Bowler -- is out for the season, while Polamalu, who's been to five Pro Bowls, will miss at least three to six weeks.

"Injuries are a part of football," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "I'm sure they'd prefer to play with Urlacher. They're going to have to find ways to be successful without him; similarly, we'd prefer to play with Troy. ... That's the story of the National Football League."

Hunter Hillenmeyer will fill the void for Chicago at middle linebacker, and the seven-year veteran isn't without experience playing alongside -- and in place of -- Urlacher. Hillenmeyer has made 49 starts at outside linebacker for the Bears, and also played seven games in the middle in 2004, while Urlacher was injured.

"Especially from an assignment standpoint, I feel very comfortable," Hillenmeyer said. "Now trying to fill Brian Urlacher's shoes is another story."

Tyrone Carter will fill in at strong safety for Pittsburgh, something he did previously in 2007, when Polamalu missed five games with a similar injury. It will be the 11th start of Carter's 10-year career.

"Any time he's ever stepped in, he's done as good a job or a better job," Polamalu said. "You couldn't imagine there would be any drop-off."

Carter won't bring Polamalu's freewheeling, blitzing style to the position, but he may need to stay home more often anyway given Cutler's strong arm and the deep speed of receiver Devin Hester.

The two hooked up for a 36-yard touchdown in Green Bay, but the rest of Cutler's much-anticipated debut didn't go well. Billed as the Bears' first franchise quarterback since Sid Luckman led the team to four NFL championships in the 1940s, Cutler threw a career-high four interceptions, including one on the first pass of a potential game-winning drive.

"Jay has to play better and he will play better," coach Lovie Smith said. "Some of the things he did in the game, we can't live with. His first preseason game he didn't play as well as he did his second preseason game. He'll get back off (to) a good start against the Steelers this week."

Ben Roethlisberger didn't get off to an impressive start in his first game since leading Pittsburgh on a game-winning drive at the end of Super Bowl 43. Roethlisberger took two sacks and threw a wobbly interception in the first quarter against Tennessee, but led a game-tying drive in the fourth before marching his team 63 yards in overtime for a game-winning field goal.

Roethlisberger threw for 363 yards -- his third-highest total ever and most in a Steelers win -- but Pittsburgh is concerned with a running game that forced its quarterback to throw the ball an unusually high 43 times.

The tandem of Willie Parker and Chicago-area native Rashard Mendenhall carried the ball 17 times for 25 yards, and the typically run-happy Steelers gained 36 yards as a team, their fewest in a win since 1982.

"I believe, particularly in September football, people make a commitment to stopping the run and it's easier to make the commitment when everybody feels good and you've got all the horses in the stable," said Tomlin, who lost twice to the Bears as the Vikings defensive coordinator in 2006. "... It's usually tough sledding early in the football season. That's been my experience."

Matt Forte averaged 2.2 yards on 25 carries in the Bears' opener.

Pittsburgh and Chicago last met in Week 14 of the 2005 season, a 21-9 Steelers home victory that was the first of eight straight wins on their way to winning Super Bowl 40.

The Steelers haven't visited Soldier Field since a 37-34 overtime victory in 1995, their lone win in 11 visits to Chicago.

Scouts Buzz: Stafford growing up fast

Scouts Inc. examines Matthew Stafford's development, the Vikings' dynamic offense and more.

Steelers QB Batch injures wrist; out 6 weeks

Steelers QB Charlie Batch has a wrist injury that will require surgery this week and will sideline him six weeks, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported.

FBO: Week 11 Quick Reads

Football Outsiders apply their metrics to Week 11. Findings: Even when Wes Welker doesn't find the end zone, he's historic; Mark Sanchez isn't ready; DeAngelo Williams needs the rock more; and T.J. Houshmandzadeh may have saved Minny's season.

Isaacson: Bears' defense comes up short

The Bears' defense came up short when the team needed it most.

Ward helping out young receivers

Wide receiver Hines Ward watched the play unfold in the Steelers indoor practice facility during OTA's and then walked over to first-year running back Stefan Logan and shared a little bit of advice.

Steelers' rookie tries to overcome obstacle

Mike Tomlin knows a thing or two about motivating players. So it probably shouldn't come as any surprise that the Steelers coach regularly tells rookie center A.Q. Shipley, "Man, those arms are looking short." The length of Shipley's arms is a big reason why 225 players were selected before the Moon Area High School graduate in April.

Steelers players brighten some spirits

John Harris is a sports columnist for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached via e-mail or at 412-481-5432. An excited Heather Miller of Bedford got a chance Wednesday to meet her favorite football player, Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton, as part of her Make-a-Wish Foundation request.

Steelers' LB Davis seeking his seat on bus

The BMOC of UCLA has been MIA in Pittsburgh. Linebacker Bruce Davis went from what he called a "rock star" in college football to almost rock bottom with the Steelers.

Mundy impresses Steelers with smarts, skills

Twenty-nine has significance for Steelers safety Ryan Mundy beyond the fact that it is his uniform number.

Former coach sings praises of new Bears LB

Former St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator and Northwestern head coach Rick Venturi never questioned Pisa Tinoisamoa's toughness, but Venturi may have doubted the linebacker's sanity at one point.

Bear facts

LAKE FOREST, Ill. Bears coach Lovie Smith answers email questions from fans: I was so happy to see you thinking out of the box and taking over play-calling duties on defense.

Tinoisamoa signs deal; Bears look at punters

The latest addition in Jerry Angelo's busy offseason arrived Monday at Halas Hall.

Call it signings of the times

In a frenetic day of wheeling and dealing at Halas Hall, the Bears signed a likely starter for their defense, locked up a versatile lineman for two seasons and secured almost all of their draft picks.

Bears hoping Cutler can help get running game in gear

Fact or fiction? Jay Cutler had no running game last season in Denver. Reading through comments left here over the last few days, it looks like the widely held opinion is that the Broncos were running in the slow lane in 2008, you know, when Cutler wasn't chucking it.