According to Sports Illustrated :
Can the Bears protect QB Jay Cutler? The line struggled when the teams met Oct. 17, surrendering six sacks in a 23-20 loss at Soldier Field. Cutler finished with a season-low 43.6 completion percentage and failed to throw for a touchdown in arguably his worst outing of the season.
A lot has changed since then. After experimenting with four different starting lines in the first eight games, position coach Mike Tice settled on the group that will take the field Sunday. What's interesting is center Olin Kreutz is the only one playing the same position he did in Week 1. Frank Omiyale has moved from right tackle to left tackle, Chris Williams from left tackle to left guard, and Roberto Garza from left guard to right guard. Rookie J'Marcus Webb, who joined the first team the week before the Seattle game, is the right tackle.
Can the Seahawks handle life on the road? The Seahawks have been awful away from home, losing 14 of their past 17 -- each by at least 11 points, with six by 21 or more. The numbers are even worse in the postseason, where Seattle has lost seven in a row away from Qwest. It's fair to recognize that Seattle's recent hot streak has come at home, where the crowd allows the defensive line to get a head start at the snap of the ball, and quarterbacks have to rely on silent counts and hand signals. Can the Seahawks carry the momentum out of state?
Matt Hasselbeck, who was sensational in the Seahawks' defeat of the Saints last week, throwing a franchise postseason-record four touchdowns, is 0-3 as a road starter in the playoffs. A big issue has been pass protection; he has been sacked seven times in those games and managed just two touchdowns in 111 pass attempts.
In their October meeting, the Bears were on the short side in time of possession by nearly nine minutes. The primary reason was they failed to convert on any of their 12 third downs. Some of that could be attributed to their inability/unwillingness to run the ball. Matt Forte, who ranked ninth in the NFC in rushing with 1,069 yards, carried just eight times for 11 yards. His 1.4 yards per rush was 3.1 below his season average and prompted coach Lovie Smith to seek more balance offensively
This game will be closer than people think. Personally I think that the Seahawks will cover the 10 point spread but it will be tough for them to pull the upset. Your Thoughts?
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