Bears head coach Lovie Smith decided to bench DT Tommie Harris for the Packers game last Monday night and it seems like it was the right decision. The defense didn’t really miss a beat with Matt Toeaina and Anthony Adams taking over for Harris.

Harris has been disappointing this season and his work ethic isn’t the greatest. Lovie Smith was trying to send him a message by saying practice harder or you won’t play.

Harris was once a dominant defensive player, he is still young but he has been very disappointing the last couple of years. Harris will likely be dressed for this Sunday night’s game against the New York Giants.

Harris might want to step his game up on Sunday because he could find himself without a job in the next coming weeks. The Bears aren’t paying him seven million dollars a season to disappoint. It’s make or break time for Tommie Harris.

Zackary Bowman who was named the starter at left CB after a successful 2009 campaign was benched in favor of veteran CB Tim Jennings on Monday night. Jennings brought a spark into the game that Bowman lacked. Bowman was missing tackles left and right and wasn’t doing the greatest job covering WR Greg Jennings.

Bowman is still a great athlete, but he needs to improve his tackling and I’m sure he will be working on that in practice this week. Lovie Smith still has confidence in Bowman, but Jennings proved what type of spark he can bring in the game. This Bears defense is made up of a lot of hard hitters and Jennings was playing like a hard hitter Monday night.

I expect Jennings to get the nod over Bowman on Sunday night, but because Bowman is a big corner he will eventually work his way back in the lineup.

Another disappointing player is Devin Aromashodu. Aromashodu flashed what kind of player he could be at the end of the 2009 season. He started week one against the Lions and had a solid game,  but he doesn’t want to play in the slot.

The slot receiver is currently Earl Bennett, who might be the most consistent receiver on the team, he seems to catch everything that comes his way. Aromashodu should be disappointed that he is not playing, but he has to show coaches that he is willing to learn new things in this offense.

Aromashodu will be utilized sometime this season, I don’t know if it will be this Sunday night, but he is a big receiver and the Bears need one of those. Coaches know Aromashodu is a good player, but he has failed to learn the new offense, which makes it hard for him to get playing time. Hopefully he learns quickly because it could be a long season for Devin Aromashodu.

Lastly, I hope you enjoyed watching the Bears wear the 1940 throwback jerseys on Monday night because I did. They were awesome. I would rather the Bears wear those as their alternates over the orange jerseys. Hopefully the next time they put on those throwback jerseys they have the same spark out on the field.

Here are the week four Bears power rankings from various sites around the web:

ESPN: #6 (Last week: 12)

Analysis, “Back-to-back wins over Dallas and Green Bay show the Bears are a force in the NFC.”

CBS Sports: #5 (Last week: #8)

Analysis, “Who would have imagined they’d be the last undefeated team in the NFC? Once that line settles down in protection for Jay Cutler, they will be even better.”

Fox Sports: #6 (Last week: 9)

Analysis, “Color me surprised. In fact, I thought Chicago would struggle to an 8-8 record this season, so the Bears are off to a great start at 3-0. While Jay Cutler didn’t have a great game against Green Bay, he still made plays when he had to.”

Pro Football Weekly: #10 (Last week: 11)

Analysis, “Catching the Giants when they are vulnerable.”

Pro Football Talk: #8 (Last week: 16)

Analysis, “The only stat that ever matters is points scored versus points allowed.”

USA Today: # 7 (Last week: 13)

Yahoo Sports: #5 (Last week: 12)

Analysis, “Think a healthy Brian Urlacher makes a slight difference?”

SI.com: #7 (Last week: 13)

Analysis, “Let me pre-empt the howls of protest by Bears fans that are sure to come from the sight of Chicago being ranked two notches below the just-vanquished Packers: As well as Chicago’s defense played in the key moments Monday night, that was mostly a case of the Packers self-destructing. All those penalties and dropped interceptions decided the outcome. Now, I did bump the undefeated Bears up six spots and knocked 2-1 Green Bay down from second to fifth. So there’s that.”

The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers will meet for the 179 time tonight. The Bears lead the series 91-81-6. Last season the Packers swept the season series, but the Bears have had great success against the Pack.

Week two games showed the Bears and Packers can be good teams. Both sides of the ball for these teams have being playing well. The Bears beat the Cowboys and the Packers destroyed the Bills.

The Cowboys clearly have more talent than the Bills, but the Packers showed how lethal they can be on offense.

The Bears are 4-1 in their last five “Monday Night Football” games. Cutler is  5-10 and has 24 touchdown passes, 24 interceptions and a passer rating of 78.8 in his career at night. Cutler showed last week against Dallas why the Bears traded so much for him.

The offensive line was struggling on the first three possessions, but a great change on the line by the coaches settled Cutler down and helped the offense succeed. Frank Omiyale replaced the injured Chris Williams at left tackle and veteran tackle Kevin Shaffer played the right side. Those two will play on the line tonight against the Packers, Chris Williams is out with a hamstring injury. The Bears activated J’Marcus Webb to be the swing tackle and brought up G/C Edwin Williams from the practice squad.

The Bears also lost third round pick Major Wright last week to a hamstring injury, he will miss about a month and half of play. Chris Harris and Danieal Manning must deal with Aaron Rodgers and the high flying Packers offense. Julius Peppers, Mark Anderson and Israel Idonije could have great success against the Packers tackles because they haven’t done a great job of protecting Aaron Rodgers this season.

The Bears offense seems to be in sync and that is why the Bears are playing so well right now, the receivers, running backs and tight ends seem to know where Cutler will put the ball. That should be a factor for success tonight.

The two keys of the game for the Bears tonight are shutting down Clay Matthews and converting on third downs on offense. Clay Matthews is a beast for the Packers, he has 12 tackles, six sacks and one forced fumble in two games this season.

Even though he looks ridiculous with his long hair, Matthews is a force to be reckoned with and the Bears must keep him in check. Matthews might be the scariest defensive threat in the NFC North, ahead of the Vikings Jared Allen, the Lions, Ndamukong Suh and the Bears, Julius Peppers. Shutting Clay Matthews down will be a key to success for the Bears tonight.

The offense will need to convert on third down to be able to keep the ball in their hands because if the Bears can’t stay on the field, the Bears could be in for a long day. The run defense isn’t a concern, but the pass defense that gave up over 350 yards to the Cowboys last week could be in trouble. Mike Martz needs to come up with solid plays, so the offense can keep the clock running and Aaron Rodgers and the Packers off the field.

Players Who Must Step Up:

1) Matt Forte- Forte will be a factor in the screen game because of Mike Martz’s coaching style, but Forte must step up on the ground and it might be tough against Green Bay. The Bears need to win the time of possession battle and if Forte can have success on the ground, than that will only help.

Prediction: 20 carries, 76 yards, one rushing td. Five catches and 55 yards.

2) Chris Harris- Harris had some big hits last week and he needs to continue to make solid hits like that. The secondary with Harris and Manning is not making flashy plays right now, but their not making big mistakes. Look for Harris to be on his game tonight.

Prediction: Eight tackles, one interception.

3) Lance Briggs- Briggs will be pumped up for this big game. Look for him to continue playing solid tonight.

Prediction: 10 tackles, one sack.

Who will win?

Prediction: Bears 31, Packers 27.

Fun Fact: The last time the Bears and Packers played each other when both were undefeated in Week 3 or later was in 1962.

Bear Down!

D.J. Moore won the starting nickelback spot on the Bears this season over veteran Corey Graham. Bears coaches seemed to have made the right decision because Moore made three big plays last week against the Cowboys.

Moore picked off Cowboys QB Tony Romo two times and was tackling WR Roy Williams when teammate Charles Tillman forced a key fumble to seal the win for the Bears.

Moore seems to be thriving in the nickelback role right now, he is playing to the speed of the defense. Moore reminds me a lot of Ricky Manning Jr. a couple years back. If Moore can get as many interceptions as Manning did in 2006 (5), then he could be a huge factor in this defense’s success.

This whole defense is much improved, having Brian Urlacher back is clearly a huge reason why, but players like D.J. Moore playing great helps a lot as well.

Look for Moore to keep playing well. Head coach Lovie Smith works with Moore during practice one on one, helping Moore understand the defense more and more. That tactic by Lovie Smith seems to be working, because Moore is making flashy plays.

Where did D.J. Moore come from?

When Moore came out for the draft in 2009 out of Vanderbilt, he was ranked as the sixth cornerback by scout.com. Moore was said to be too small to cover the big receivers. At 5’9″, Moore does seem small, but he plays big which helps him be aggressive. Moore was a solid punt returner at Vanderbilt and could be used this year if Devin Hester continues to struggle.

What should we expect from D.J Moore the rest of the season?

Expect solid play from Moore, he is thriving because the rest of the defense is flying around. Being in position will be key to Moore’s success and with Lovie Smith coaching him up one on one during practice that can only be positive. Look for Moore to get better as the season goes along.

Good luck D.J. Moore, keep up the solid play.

Here are the week three Bears power rankings from various sites around the web:

ESPN: #12 (Last week: 22)

Analysis, “The Bears are one of several surprise 2-0 teams.”

Yahoo Sports: #12 (Last week: 17)

Analysis,“Think Brian Urlacher’s return to health makes a slight difference?”

Pro Football Weekly: #11 (Last week: #20)

Analysis, “Fixing pass protection in-game allowed Jay Cutler to shine.”

Pro Football Talk: #16 (Last week: 21)

Analysis,“Beat the Packers, and the Bears will move to the top 10.  Maybe the top five.”

CBS Sports: #8 (Last week: #20)

Analysis, “The Bears get their chance to really make a statement if they can beat the Packers. It’s a prime-time chance for Cutler to shut up even more critics.”

Fan House: #9 (Last week: 21)

Analysis, “Jay Cutler carved up the Dallas defense Sunday and looks more than comfortable in the Mike Martz offense. The offensive line deserves credit, too, because it was able to keep Cutler upright more effectively as the game wore on. No question the Bears can be very dangerous if they continue to play like this.”

USA Today: #11 (Last week: #20)

SI.com: #13 (Last week: #25)

Analysis, “Hail, hail the 2-0 Bears! It took a horrendous NFL rule and an imploding Cowboys team to help get Chicago to 2-0, but the Bears deserve credit for playing tough and smart in Dallas. And let’s all salute Jay Cutler for persevering through all kinds of heat from the Cowboys pass rush to post a second consecutive impressive showing. But Monday night’s home game against Green Bay should tell us if the Bears intend to stick around all season in the NFC North race.”

Fox Sports: #9 (Last week: #19)

Analysis, “The Martz-Cutler marriage is off to a good start. Martz is managing Cutler well with three-step drops. The strong-armed passer will face another 3-4 defense on Monday night against the Packers.”

The Bears upset the Cowboys yesterday and they looked good doing it. The Bears moved the ball pretty well in this game, but the offensive line struggled mightily in the beginning of this one.

Jay Cutler was on the ground more than his feet on the first three drives. The Bears lost starting left tackle Chris Williams early in the game and they brought veteran tackle Kevin Shaffer to take his spot. Shaffer was whistled for two false start penalties and the Bears made a slight adjustment to the line. They moved Frank Omiyale from right tackle to the left side and put Kevin Shaffer on the right side.

The coaches made a great move by switching the tackles on the line. They also used all three tight ends for blocking in this one, Brandon Manumaleuna, Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark. The tight ends did a solid job protecting Cutler and if the Cowboys line did get pressure on Cutler he was able to step up in the pocket and hit his receivers.

Cutler had a great day throwing three touchdowns, completing 21 of 29 passes for 277 yards. Cutler finished with a QB rating of 136.7. Cutler has posted four straight games with QB rating of 100 dating back to last season. Two of the four games came against the Lions, which we all know the Lions just aren’t that good.

The marriage of Jay Cutler and Mike Martz has looked great so far. Cutler seems like he knows where all of his receivers will be when he throws the ball. Martz has him utilizing his running backs in the passing game and his speedster receivers, Knox and Hester.

Speaking of Johnny Knox, he looked very good with his four catches for 86 yards. But his biggest play came when he caught a big 59 yard pass from Cutler, which helped the Bears put more points on the board. Devin Hester who was invisible last week, showed up this week and brought his A game. Hester had perhaps the best catch of his career. Earl Bennett got his first playing time of the year and he brought consistency to the game, making five catches and reeling in the onside kick try by the Cowboys in the 4th quarter. The leading receiver from last week Devin Aromashodu only played on special teams and no one really knows why Bears coaches benched him in favor of Bennett. It might be because Aromashodu dropped some catchable balls last week and they wanted a consistent receiver who could help them upset the Cowboys.

Hopefully will get some answers about the benching of Devin Aromashodu later this week.

The Bears were only 1-11 on third down conversions, but put up points in the red-zone and they scored off two of the three Cowboys turnovers.

Matt Forte and Chester Taylor were effective in the passing game again, but not so much in the running game. They averaged 2 yards per rush which was actually better than the Cowboys. Greg Olsen made the only catch by a tight end, when he took a short pass and run all the way into the end-zone in the first half.

Overall the offense surprised a lot of people by playing like they wanted to win. They played in sync and they took advantage of all the mistakes the Cowboys made. They were able to convert in the red-zone and because of that they looked they offense they dreamed of having with Jay Cutler running the show. They improved in both of the areas that they struggled in against Detroit, turnovers and red zone mistakes. They need to improve on third down, but besides that this offense has what it takes to be an elite offense in the NFL.

The Bears shut down the Cowboys three headed running attack. They allowed only 36 total rushing yards, but they allowed Dallas to convert six of 13 third downs and Tony Romo threw 374 yards. The defensive line was able to break up passes, but they didn’t get as much pressure as they wanted. Julius Peppers was close at times to bringing down Romo, but Romo was fast enough to scramble away. Israel Idonije and Mark Anderson didn’t get to Romo either, but they played conistent in the run game and they were able to break up some pass attempts. The line played well enough to stop the Cowboys, but they need to take it to the next level next week against Green Bay if they want to stop Aaron Rodgers.

The linebackers played great once again. Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Pisa Tinoisamoa combined for 18 tackles. Urlacher recovered a fumble late in the fourth quarter and Lance Briggs was able to deflect a big pass stopping a drive by Dallas. This unit just seems in sync and they are helping the rest of the defense play well. Urlacher and Briggs played well in coverage and that took the heat of the secondary, who lost Major Wright (hamstring) for the game.

Safeties Chris Harris and Danieal Manning played well they both had some big hits in this one, they didn’t do anything flashy per say, but they didn’t make the big mistake the Bears were used to seeing last season from their secondary. Urlacher’s presence has really brought this defense back to life. It seems like they might be back to the level they were at in 2006 and if they are it might be good for all the veterans on the defense. Those veterans don’t have many more years in the league and if they can put it together this season that could be a dream come true for them.

Again consistent cornerback Charles Tillman made a big play. Tillman forced a key fumble in the fourth quarter and we are used to seeing plays like that out of him. Tillman is just a crafty veteran, who consistently makes big plays when the Bears need one. Zack Bowman made eight tackles and he looked like a very solid corner back. Bowman didn’t completely shut down Miles Austin, but he didn’t let Austin take that next step and break one for a touchdown.

The biggest surprise of this defense came from nickelback, D.J. Moore. Moore was a third round pick last season out of Vanderbilt and was considered raw when the Bears drafted him. They let learn the playbook last year and this season they chose him over veteran Corey Graham for the starting nickelback spot and it looks like that was a great move. Moore works one on one with head Coach Lovie Smith everyday in practice and it showed against the Cowboys. Moore had two huge interceptions and he made the tackle on the Charles Tillman forced fumble. Look for Moore to get better as the season goes along, he is small, but he is fast and he knows where to go on defense. Moore was a big reason the Bears won this game.

They defense was able to force turnovers something we are used to seeing from the Chicago Bears. Lovie Smith always says if they can win the turnover battle they should be able to win the game. The defense was able to force three turnovers and the offense was mistake free. This defense looked like they were flying around all day and getting to the ball. If they made a mistake they were able to make the receiver pay by jacking them up. Chris Harris, Lance Briggs and D.J. Moore were all able to deliver big hits.

Consistency seems to be helping this defense, but they need more pressure from the defensive line next Monday night against Green Bay. Green Bay is relying on their passing game more than ever because running back Ryan Grant was lost for the season in week one. Peppers, Idonije, Anderson and Harris need to get pressure on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers if they want to secure a victory and improve to 3-0. Harris by the way was invisible this week and he needs to step his game up or he might be replaced by Henry Melton or Marcus Harrison pretty soon. Overall, this defense was good enough to shut down Dallas, they should be able to do the same the rest of the season if they can be consistent as a unit.

Robbie Gould, who is always solid, made field goals from 38 yards and 40 yards out. Gould had some long kickoffs and that helped the Bears defense contain the Cowboys offense. Earl Bennett had a big catch in the fourth quarter on a onside kick try by the Cowboys. Devin Hester was pretty bad on punt returns and Danieal Manning did average on kick returns. The coverage unit on the other hand gave up a huge touchdown to rookie Dez Bryant in the first quarter. Bryant flew past safety Josh Bullocks and the rest of the Bears special teamers right into the endzone. Overall the special teams was pretty average on the day.

This might have been the best coaching performance of Lovie Smith’s career. With three former head coaches on staff with him, he was able to make the correct changes on offense to settle down the team. With Chris Williams being lost for the game, Kevin Shaffer was brought in at left tackle, but he struggled there so they moved him to right tackle and brought Frank Omiyale over to the left side.

They used tight ends more than ever to protect Cutler. They called zone plays on defense and blitzed just enough times to force Romo to make errors. The coaches are huge reason why the Bears were able to upset the Cowboys and they might be why this team will succeed this season. Look for another solid game plan for next week against Green Bay.

The Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys will meet for the 22nd time today in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys lead the series right now 13-8. The last meeting in 2007, the Cowboys beat the Bears 34-10.

Week one games ended in controversial calls for both teams. The Bears won an apparent Calvin Johnson, it was overruled and called incomplete and the Bears survived.

The Cowboys on the other hand lost to the Redskins on Sunday night, when offensive lineman Alex Barron was called for a holding call on the final play of the game taking away a game winning touchdown.

The Cowboys are the favorites in this game at the new Cowboys Stadium. The Cowboys would start the season 0-2 if they lost and they would be a big hole. The Bears on the other hand would start 2-0 which would be a great start to their season.

This is a big game for the Bears if they can compete and possibly win this game they will show the league and all the analysts that they are for real.

Players Who Must Step Up:

1) Johnny Knox- He caught three passes for 52 yards last week against Detroit, but I expect him to have a big day on the artificial turf. With Knox’s speed he should be able to get through the Dallas secondary.

Prediction: Five catches, 74 yards, and one touchdown.

2) Danieal Manning- He did well in the final drive last week stopping the Lions offense. I expect him to be a factor in the secondary and in the return game. Look out for Danieal.

Prediction: Six tackles and one interception.

3) Mark Anderson- He did alright last week recording three tackles, he should get more playing time today and I think if he can win his matchup he should do well.

Prediction: Four tackles and one sack.

Who will win?

Prediction: Bears 24, Cowboys 21.

I truly believe the Bears can win this game, the Bears showed me last week that their offense and defense is capable to compete with a team like the Cowboys. They just need to limit their turnovers and play much better in the red-zone. I think this weeks practice will show if they fixed those two areas.

According to TMZ.com, Jay Cutler flew Monday morning to New York  to have a lunch date with former Hills star Kristin Cavallari.

It’s ironic that Jay Cutler is official with Cavallari now because he will be heading to Dallas where Tony Romo knows to much about dating movie and tv star women.

Maybe Romo can give Cutler some tips on how on how to make it last. Just kidding, Romo couldn’t make it work with Jessica Simpson or Carrie Underwood.

I think Jay Cutler will be just fine if he just keeps his work up on the field.

Cutler might have too much pressure now though. Trying to win every Sunday, dating a TV star and trying to impress her will be on his mind.

I hope this doesn’t distract Cutler from his main objective winning football games. Kristin Cavallari is hot, I give him props for dating her, but Cutler needs to focus on the game of football or a lot of Chicago fans will quickly turn there backs on him. Good luck Jay.

When QB Jay Cutler has a 100-plus passer rating, his teams are 16-0.

Bears DE Julius Peppers has seven sacks in six career games against the Cowboys (including the playoffs).

The Bears trail the all-time series with the Cowboys 13-8, which includes a 3-7 mark in Dallas.

The Bears have lost their last three games in Dallas: in Mike Ditka’s final game as coach in 1992 and again in 1997 and 2004.

The Bears’ last win in Dallas came in 1986.