Breaking down the schedule
Here's the Bears' 2009 schedule, which was announced Tuesday evening:
Sept. 13: at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC. Jay Cutler makes his Bears regular-season debut, but can he outduel another promising young quarterback in the Packers' Aaron Rodgers?
Sept. 20: vs. Pittsburgh, 3:15 p.m., CBS. The NFL's best defense across the board last season no doubt will challenge Cutler and the rest of the Bears' offense. A win over the defending world champions would be huge, but the Bears also will have to work hard to avoid an 0-2 start.
Sept. 27: at Seattle, 3:05 p.m. Fox. The Seahawks were really bad last season, but their home stadium is considered one of the toughest venues in the league.
Oct. 4: vs. Detroit, Noon, Fox. Will the Lions still be searching for their first victory since 2007? Bears defensive line coach Rod Marinelli gets to face his former team.
Oct. 11: bye week. A little bit on the early side, as teams usually hope to be off during the seventh or eighth week.
Oct. 18: at Atlanta, 7:20 p.m., NBC. Out of several heartbreaking losses last season, the worst was the game in the Georgia Dome, when the Bears took the lead with 13 seconds remaining but could not hold on. With quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner, this will be one of the most balanced offenses the Bears face.
Oct. 25: at Cincinnati, Noon, Fox. Bengals running back Cedric Benson no doubt will say something controversial about his former team leading up to this game. Cincy also recently signed defensive tackle Tank Johnson, another guy the Bears know well.
Nov. 1: vs. Cleveland, Noon, CBS. If the Bears are anywhere close to the team they expect to be, they should win this game handily (then again, didn't we all say that about Atlanta last season?). Could be a homecoming for Browns quarterback Brady Quinn, formerly of Notre Dame.
Nov. 8: vs. Arizona, Noon, Fox: The defending NFC champions visit for what could be a fun passing matchup between Cutler and Kurt Warner, two of the league's most prolific quarterbacks.
Nov. 12 (Thursday): at San Francisco, 7:20 p.m., NFL Network. Mike Singletary, coach of the 49ers, faces his former team and that will be the big storyline going into this contest. But how tough is it to make the Bears travel to the West Coast on a half-week's rest?
Nov. 22: vs. Philadelphia, 7:20 p.m., NBC*: One of the Bears' best victories last season also was a Sunday night home game against the Eagles, who had a chance to go ahead late in the game but were thwarted by a goal-line stand.
Nov. 29: at Minnesota, Noon, Fox:* The first of two games against the Vikings in a month, and the first of two meetings between the probable preseason favorites to win the division. Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen already cranked up the hype for this game by promising to sack Cutler, a friend.
Dec. 6: vs. St. Louis, Noon, Fox*: Along with the Cleveland game, this looks like the easiest on the schedule (maybe throw Detroit in there as well). But so much can change. Bears left tackle Orlando Pace faces his former team.
Dec. 13: vs. Green Bay, Noon, Fox*: The Bears hope for a repeat of the exhilarating feeling they felt when they came back to beat the Packers at home last December.
Dec. 20: at Baltimore, Noon, Fox*: Two traditionally stout defensive teams, but both have work to do to ensure they remain at that top level.
Dec. 28 (Monday): vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m., ESPN: Control of the NFC North and a playoff berth could well be on the line here. Any game against Minnesota's Adrian Peterson is tough, but at least the Bears have the clear edge at quarterback now.
Jan. 3: at Detroit, Noon, Fox*: This game could be more dangerous than it looks, with the Lions potentially trying to play spoiler.
* game time and network subject to flex scheduling policy.
