Sunday, October 21, 2001
Who's got the edge?
Quarterbacks:
Bears. Jim Miller won the job from Shane Matthews and responded by completing 66 percent of his passes for three touchdowns. A downside is five interceptions. Miller has brought stability to a position destabilized in the Cade McNown Era.
Bengals. Jon Kitna has thrown six touchdown passes in five games, the number thrown by Akili Smith and Scott Mitchell all of last season. Kitna has been good enough to balance the running game, and, at times, he has been outstanding.
Edge: Bengals.
Running backs:
Bears. James Allen has a 2.9-yard average, but doesn't like sharing time with Anthony Thomas, who averages 5.0. Whatever the combination, it adds up to the league's 28th-ranked run offense.
Bengals. Corey Dillon and Brandon Bennett combined for 181 yards against the Browns, 140 for Dillon. He should have another big game against a rush defense that's not as good as its No. 7 league ranking.
Edge: Bengals.
Wide receivers/tight ends:
Bears. Marty Booker and Marcus Robinson are big targets for Miller, but the pass offense isn't much better than the running game. Booker has 24 receptions and can catch the deep ball.
Bengals. Chad Johnson and his seven third-down receptions are out for a month because of a broken collarbone. Ron Dugans will be the third receiver. Pressure will be on Darnay Scott to get open deep.
Edge: Bengals.
Offensive line:
Bears. Last week marked the first time in more than three years that the Bears opened a game with the same starting 11 on offense two games in a row. They have had 36 different starting lineups in the last 38 games. That helps most on the line.
Bengals. Tackle Willie Anderson said the line was concentrating on pass protection and taking its run blocking for granted. Linemen dedicated themselves to re-establishing its run blocking, and it showed with 199 yards last week. They have allowed just seven sacks.
Edge: Even.
Special teams:
Bears. Fresh off his Super Bowl-record 11 punts with the Giants, Brad Maynard is averaging 41.4 yards. Kick returner Glyn Milburn was cut this week.
Bengals. Peter Warrick is a threat to break a punt return, especially now that blocking has improved. Dugans is making an early bid for the Pro Bowl as a special teams player.
Edge: Bears.
Defensive line:
Bears. Tackles Keith Traylor and Ted Washington were free-agent signees. End Phillip Daniels has four sacks in past three games. The line is good against the run, but hasn't faced an A-list back yet. It will today.
Bengals. At home, the line has dominated. Justin Smith gets his first NFL start today, and he and Reinard Wilson will be turned loose on passing downs if Bears can't get pass game going.
Edge: Even.
Linebackers:
Bears. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher humbly says he doesn't belong in class with Bears greats Butkus and Singletary, but Urlacher's well on his way in only his second season. He was Pro Bowler as rookie.
Bengals. Emotional leader Takeo Spikes is back. Adrian Ross returns to backup role after leading team in tackles last week. Linebackers are deep, fast, strong, among league's best position groups.
Edge: Bengals.
Defensive back:
Bears. R.W. McQuarters and Walt Harris give Chicago a pair of solid cornerbacks. But Bears are ranked 26th against the pass at 227.5 yards a game.
Bengals. Mark Roman will probably get start for injured Rodney Heath. In spite of some problems on third down, Bengals are ranked 11th in pass defense at 192.6 yards a game, as secondary has made strides.
Edge: Bengals.
Coaching:
Bears. Bengals players and coaches commented this week how disciplined Bears defense looks. Head coach Dick Jauron played for Dick LeBeau in Bengals secondary, and their teams have similar looks, but Bears can't win four in a row.
Bengals. LeBeau regained team's emotional edge last week, even without three defensive starters (Spikes, Heath, Tony Williams). Coaches have apparently ironed out communication problems in pass offense.
Mark Curnutte's prediction:
Cincinnati 20, Chicago 16.
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Who's got the edge?
