• Four out of the five experts at ESPN.com predict a Chicago Bears victory.  The Bears are going to need their starting cornerbacks in order to stop top Lions receivers Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson. The Lions had two weeks to prepare for this match up after a bye in week 4.
• At Yahoo.com, the Bears got a clean sweep for victory from all three experts and fan votes.  The fan votes at Yahoo! give the Bears a 88% chance of victory.
• The guys at CBSSports.com split the match up between the Bears and Lions at 4-4.  Six of those picks were against the spread, Lions +3.5.  The Harmon Forcast points to Matt Forte’s running abilities against the lousy Lion’s run defense.  Pete Prisco, who picked the Bears to beat the Eagles, picks the Bears to get upset this week.  His pick is based on the Lion’s bye week and the beat up Bears.
• At the Chicago Trib, the Bears got a clean sweep.  All four predictions went to the Chicago Bears, and none of the scores were that close.

Here at BearsHQ we also predict a Chicago Bears victory. Matt Forte’s presence out of the backfield, both as a runner and receiver, has given opponent defenses a headache during the first month, and shouldn’t change in week 5.  The Lions have the worst rush defense and the Bears are short at wide receiver, so look for Forte to get plenty of touches.  The Bears take the game 27-17.

The Lions go into week five without a win and hope the firing of Matt Millen will produce some positive change. Look for Rudi Johnson and rookie Kevin Smith to split the carries until one shows they can break the Bears defense. Jon Kitna and Calvin Johnson will need to have some big hook ups, if they hope to match up against the Bears.

The Bears are the promising team in this match up and if they can limit the amount of turnovers, they will prevail. Look for Matt Forte to destroy the Lions defense and and possibly have a career day. For the Lions to have any chance, they will need to get the run game going early, which will open up the passing lanes for Kitna.

Green Bay Packers (2-2): Lost 30-21 at Tampa Bay Bucaneers

The Green Bay Packers may have lost more than just the game in week 4, quarter back Aaron Rodgers sprained his throwing shoulder during the fourth quarter and missed a series. He returned, but did not look like himself. Rodgers wasn’t the same he had been the previous three weeks, as he threw his first interception in the game, which was one of three he three. The Packers run game wasn’t much either, as Ron Grant ran fur just 20 yards on 15 carries. Packers fans must be cringing after Brett Favre thew 6 touchdowns for the Jets. Next week the packers host the Atlanta Falcons at home.

Minnesota Vikings (1-3): Lost 30-17 at Tennessee Titans

The Minnesota Vikings may also have lost more than just the game, as quarter back Gus Frerotte left with an injury during the fourth quarter. Star running back Adrian Peterson continued to run over defenders as he rushed for 80 yards and two scores, but also lost two costly fumbles. Former Bear Bernard Berrian has 5 catches for 78 yards. Defensively the Vikings gave up 74 rushing yards and 3 rushing tuchdowns to Lindale White and rookie Chris Johnson combined. Next week the Vikings travel to New Orleans to face the Saints on Monday Night Football.

Detroit Lions (0-3): Bye Week

The Detroit Lions had a bye in week 4, but made news by firing general manager Matt Millen early in the week. The Lions will host our Chicago Bears in week 5.

Lets take a look at how the Bears did, position by position.

Quarterback- 18/34, 199 yrds, 3 td, 2 int- Rating: 3/5

Kyle Orton started off great.  Taking the Bears down the field in three plays, all passing, on their opening drive resulting in a 19-yard pass to Greg Olsen.  Orton would finish with three touchdowns, a career high.  All three touchdowns came in the first half though.  The second half was a different story though.  In the third quarter Orton turned the ball over three times, one interception and two fumbles.  All three turnovers came on three consecutive possessions.  In the end, Orton turned out a pretty good performance, but needs to play like he did the first half more consistently if the Bears are going to make a run at the division.

Running Backs-  26 carries, 78 yrds, 3.0 avg- 6 catches, 43 yards- Rating: 3.5/5

This was not the best rushing performance by the Bears run game, but it did the job.  They picked up yards in key situations.  Matt Forte carried the ball 19 times for just 43 yards.  Kevin Jones spelled him three times for 16 yards.  Devin Hester gained 15 yards on an end around, and Marty Booker picked up three yards on what looked to be a wide receiver option.  Forte continued to be a reliable receiving option for Orton out of the backfield though, as Orton found him five times when he was getting into trouble.  In the end, you would like to see the ground game pick up more yards, but in a game where Orton shined in the first half, the ground game was able to eat away the clock in the fourth quarter.  Forte turned in a total 24 touches for 88 yards.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends- 12 catches, 157 yrds, 3 TDs- Rating: 3.5/5

The Chicago Bears reveiving core looked great as a group, but no one stood out alone.  Hester, Booker and Olsen all caught touch down passes.  Hester also dropped a pass over the middle of the field that would proably have ended in a touchdown.  He redemed himself with a 20 yard grab down the sideline for a second quarter touchdown that put Chicago up 21-14.  Olsen had three catches, and zero turnovers! Booker also got his first touchdown back with the Bears.  Brandon Lloyd, last weeks leading wide out, had two catches for 33 yards before leaving with an injury, which he did not return from.  Besides the dropped catch by Hester, the wide outs performed well.

Defensive Line- 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks – Rating: 4/5

The Chicago Bears were without pro-bowl defensive lineman Tommie Harris and did not have to face pro-bowl running back Brian Westbrook or pro-bowl guard Shaun Andrews.  They held running back Correll Buckhalter to just 66 yards rushing but he averaged 4.1 yards per carry.  The were able to keep Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb on the run though, sacking him 1.5 times.  The line made a huge stop in the fourth quarter though.  As the eagles drove 75 yards down the field with hopes of tying the, the Chicago Bears stopped them at the one yard line on 3 consecutive plays, yielding a turn over on downs.

Linebackers- 11 tackles, 1 sack- Rating: 3.5/5

The Bears linebackers played a great game Sunday, although not putting up huge numbers.  Lance Briggs was continuosly chasing guys around the field, and had two crowed ‘awwing’ hits.  Hunter Hillenmeyer sacked McNabb once, and Brain Urlacher was all over the field as usual, picking up 8 tackles.

Defensive Secondary- 22 tackles, .5 sack, 1 int- Rating 4/5

The Chicago Bears secondary played very well Sunday, allowing the least amount of passing yards and touchdowns by McNabb for the season.  Danieal Manning got into the back field to assist Ogunleye in a sack.  Kevin Payne tied Urlacher for the team lead in sacks with 8 tackles, he also returned an interception for 49 yards, almost scoring a touchdown.  The secondary had a touch time trying to cover speedy rookie DeShawn Jackson who scored the only receiving touchdown for the Eagles.  Charles Tillman left in the fourth quarter after being in obvious pain after missing a tackle.  The Bears secondary was able to prevent any really big plays, something usually tough for the opposing teams to do against the Eagles offense.

Overall Team Rating: 4/5

The Chicago Bears were the clear underdogs against the Eagles, as nobody was really giving them a chance.  The Bears showed early that they were a team that should not be looked over.  The second half play by the Bears offense, mainly Orton,  was clear to why they blew second half leads the last two weeks and are only 2-2.   The defense showed its true character with their goal line stand, which was definitely the focal point of the second half.

While it was first half offense that got the Bears going in week 4, it was traditional Chicago Bears defense that finished of the game in the second half.

The Eagles on the other hand weren’t the same without Westbrook and I’m sure they would contribute his absence to their loss. The starting running back, Correll Buckhalter, had 16 carries for 66 yards and two catches for 24 yards. McNabb threw for 262 yards with one touchdown and one interception. McNabb’s only touchdown went to rookie DeShawn Jackson in the first quarter.

The Bears went into the fourth quarter with the lead and finally managed to hold it. After two huge defensive stops at the goal line, the Bears walked away with a 24 to 20 win. It was a lot closer than many fans would like to have seen, but a win is a win.

The Bears will travel next week to Detroit to face the Millenless Lions.

After three weeks, rookie running back Matt Forte leads all NFL running backs in carries with 73 touches. Forte has carried the load for Chicago early in the season, which should cause teams to bring more men into the box opening up the passing game. Forte’s 304 rushing yards ranks him fourth in the league, and he ranks second in yards from scrimmage behind Frank Gore with 405 total yards. And Lovie Smith says his work load isn’t going to decrease anytime soon, “He’s young right now with a lot of energy. Whenever Matt isn’t on the field, it isn’t really good for us.”

First round draft pick Chris Williams returned to practice for the first time Wednesday since his surgery. Williams put the pads on and everything, but was limited to individual and conditioning drills. No time table is set for Williams return, and Run Turner believes it will take a while for the rookie to get into full team practice as he had no training camp or pre-season.

In other news around the division, the Detroit Lions have finally let go of general manager Matt Millen. During Millen’s tenure with the Lions, the team finished has more loses than any other team.

The releasing of Bradley doesn’t do a whole lot to the roster. The Bears have a long list of receivers, none of whom have stood out (except Brandon Lloyd in week 3).

What this should do though is give Devin Hester extra snaps, when healthy, to improve his receiving skills.

Source: ProFootballTalk.com

The last two games have been a big disappointment to Bears fans everywhere. During the last two games against the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Bears have managed to let a significant lead disappear late in the game. Week two was gut wrenching in week two, but to have the same outcome in week three was heartbreaking.

If the Bears hope to have any chance this Sunday, Kyle Orton can’t afford to make any careless turnovers and Matt forte will need to average over five yards a carry, as in week one. If Chicago can get the run game going, look for Orton to take some chances deep to his favorite receiver Brandon Lloyd and hopefully find his tight ends Greg Olsen and veteran Desmond Clark.

Bears fans should be nervous this week, but hope for a week four turnaround.