The abortion of talent that is the 2012 Jacksonville Jaguars will give an overall swell effort on Sunday, as they attempt to not look like a Pop Warner team attempting to play with their older brothers against the 3-1 Chicago Bears.
Chicago enters this impending throttling as a 5 point favorite, following an impressive win on Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys. While that may seem somewhat low considering the last two home appearances by the Jaguars have resulted in two losses by a combined score of 54-17, keep in mind Vegas generally spots the home team 3 point home field advantage, so in actuality the true spread is a much more deserving 8 points. Don't be surprised to see that spread go up though, once Vegas actually watches tape of the 2012 Jaguars.
There's not much that can be said about this game, that hasn't already been said about Afghanistan, but since we've made this a weekly series on with it we go. Without any further adieu, here are three things to pay attention to for the Bears as they toy with the Jaguars for a couple of drives, before inevitably destroying them.
1. Fifty Shades of Jay
Quarterback Jay Cutler's play on the field and his perceived whiny attitude off it, have left Bears fans wondering on a week by week basis which guy they're gonna see every Sunday. Is it the guy who completed 75% of his throws for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns, as he did against Dallas this past Monday? Or will it be the train wreck who completed just 40% of his passes for 126 yards and 4 interceptions while being sacked 7 times against Green Bay three weeks ago, while blowing up at his offensive linemen on national television? While even teams like the Rams have been able to give the Bears qb fits this season, he will face a Jaguars defense on Sunday that couldn't put pressure on themselves if they tried. The key to throwing Cutler off his game is pressure, and the Jags simply don't play that type of defensive scheme....or so says the team's broadcasters anyway. Look for Cutler to have a huge day as the flat footed thrower will be able to watch reruns of "The Hills" with his fiance' Kristin Cavallari in the pocket, while waiting for his receivers to come open against Team 'We Play A Cover 2 So Obviously That Deters Us From Being Aggressive Even Though We Finished Ranked 6th With This Very Same Scheme Last Year".
2. The Guy You Should've Given the Money to But Your GM's a P****
The Bears bring to town one of the most dominating defensive players of our time in defensive end Julius Peppers. The former first round pick has been a sack machine since he arrived in the league, and he continues to be the anchor on what is a very talented defensive line. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli loves to use Peppers in different ways in order to get him the best match up possible, including lining Peppers up as a defensive tackle at times. If I were Marinelli, I would line Peppers up at defensive tackle all day long, as the Jaguars interior line will likely allow him to seal his Hall of Fame ballot on Sunday. Heading into the game, Peppers has recorded 10 tackles with 2.5 sacks, or 5 less than he'll wake up with on Monday morning. Jaguars fans don't have a lot to be excited about for this game, but from a purely football perspective, be excited at the opportunity to watch Peppers play in person.
3. Peanuts!, Get Your Peanuts!
Charles "Peanut" Tillman leads a Bears secondary that can flat out shut down the opponent's receivers with relative ease when at their best. Through the first quarter of the season, Tillman has 16 tackles, an interception and a pass defended. While those don't seem like gaudy numbers, according to Pro Football Focus teams are completing just 13% of passes thrown to his side of the field. Tillman was a Pro Bowler in 2011 and that level of play has yet to diminish so far in 2012. I don't expect Gabbert to look much towards Tillman's way as the Jaguars still try to explore the secrets of the forward pass, but should he decide to get nuts with it and do so, it may lead to a catastrophic play for the Jaguars offense or as Jaguars fans like to call it, "3rd down".