Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Chicago 14 at Atlanta 13 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Chicago Bears: Jim Miller looked downfield much more often today. His check downs led him to throw the ball downfield rather than into the flat. He took some vicious hits as the Falcons had decent pressure on him all day. Spread the ball around to 7 different receivers. Marty Booker is still the money receiver when the Bears need to move the ball. David Terrell is a popular red zone target and he uses his body well to shield the defender when the ball is in the air. He had just one catch but it was for the touchdown. Anthony Thomas salvaged another weak rushing performance by scoring. The offensive line doesn't seem to open many holes until the second half. It's probably a function of grinding the DL down as the game wears on. 26 carries netted 84 yards and a TD. Atlanta Falcons: Mike Vick looked solid for the second week in a row. Lots of big gains on called QB draws. He enjoyed great protection for most of the game. Looked comfortable in the pocket for the second week in a row. Led the team in rushing for the week with 56 yards. Warrick Dunn is still the featured back in the red zone and between the 20's. Duckett performed well when he got the ball but his opportunities were limited to just 5 carries and zero catches. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Chicago Bears QB: Jim Miller looked downfield more instead of just dumping the ball into the flat. He spread the ball around well hitting seven different receivers. Marty Booker was still his main guy. He took some vicious hits from the Atlanta pass rush. It seemed like there were a lot of slow-developing pass plays that gave the Atlanta defensive line a chance to shed their blocks and get good shots on him. Something to keep an eye on, as Chris Chandler is one big hit away from being the starter. RB: Anthony Thomas had trouble again getting off to a decent start. The whole Chicago offense struggled and didn't get a first down until the middle of the second quarter. He did have some nice runs in the second half after the Atlanta defensive line had been softened up a bit. Is an active part of the passing game and did have two catches. Backup Leon Johnson was ejected after a kick return for throwing a punch. He was not a factor in the running game. WR: The primary target is Marty Booker. He's Jim Miller's security blanket whenever he needs to move the chains and he's a terrific deep threat as well. David Terrell is a big red zone target. He was looked to and scored on his only catch of the game. Marcus Robinson didn't have any catches but was looked to in third down situations. Dez White only had one catch but he did gain 21 yards on a reverse. TE: Too many wide receivers on the roster to really have a tight end of note. John Davis did have a big 37-yard reception. Pass Defense: Performed well given the fact that Mike Vick is a threat to run every time he drops back to pass. By shadowing him with a linebacker they were able to limit some of his effectiveness as a runner. Vick was sacked 4 times and lost one fumble. Rush Defense: Held strong against both Dunn and Duckett. They were susceptible to called QB draws and bootlegs. Special Teams: A special note, Chicago was terrible today. They kept letting Atlanta in the game by giving up big kickoff and punt returns. Travis Jervey had a 67-yard return and they were constantly giving up good field position by committing stupid penalties. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Atlanta Falcons QB: Mike Vick continues to impress as the starter, this week against an aggressive Chicago defense that had him shadowed much of the afternoon by Brian Urlacher. Despite taking some big hits both on the run and in the pocket Vick showed poise in delivering the ball, often in stride, to his WR's. He made terrific 'hot reads' to his receivers on blitzes. Started to throw the ball away instead of taking a sack, which is progress from last week. Had terrific gains on called QB bootlegs and draws. Is able to make a decent gain on a broken play because he is such a talented runner. Did have a fumble in the game but it was a good defensive strip of the ball, not due to how Vick was carrying it (he tends to carry the ball away from his body when he runs). RB: Warrick Dunn is the featured back in Atlanta. He didn't have a great YPC (2.7 yds.) but was effective when it counted against a stingy Chicago rush defense. He was more effective rushing to the corners than up the middle but again, not a surprise given the defense. Had one pass attempt to Brian Finneran that fell incomplete. T.J. Duckett seems to be used to give Dunn a breather on occasion. He wasn't the short yardage or goal line back. WR: Brian Finneran led all WR's with 6 catches. No other WR had more than 2. Willie Jackson had a big completion called back when a review showed he had trapped the ball. TE: Alge Crumpler seemed to be regularly targeted by Vick. Dropped a TD pass. Pass Defense: Good pressure on Miller but only one sack. Really let Miller have it when they got a chance. Didn't seem to suffer too much from the suspension of Ray Buchanan. Rush Defense: Contained Anthony Thomas in the first half. Softened a bit in the second half where Thomas gained over half his yards.