Halfway there: Bears strong half means victory

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Not everyone is ready to crown the Detroit Lions, 4-0 start or no 4-0 start.

They can very easily be 1-3 if you look at their games, said wide receiver Roy Williams, not a renowned football analyst, granted, but still. But they fought so much and been in that situation so many times, theyve finally overcome it in that situation and thats why theyre 4-0.

Are they beatable? Yeah. Youve seen it. Teams have beaten them in the first three quarters, but thats why you play four quarters. Thats what theyve been dong is playing a full game.

Of note here, however, is that the Bears under Lovie Smith are 44-8 when they lead at halftime. If the Bears are up after two quarters, the likelihood of a lapse like those of Minnesota and Dallas the past two weeks against Detroit is very, very small.
Road Woes

The Lions once were the standard for inept on the road. The Bears are far from that level but they are finding it increasingly difficult to beat good teams in their houses.

This is not a good thing for a team going to visit the 4-0 Detroit Lions.

The Bears havent beaten a winning team on the road since the Week 1 upset of Indianapolis in 2008. Since the 2006 Super Bowl season, their only other road win against a team with a winning record that season was Green Bay in 2007.

They lost to their only winning-record opponents on the road last year (Green Bay, NY Giants) and to New Orleans this year. Their combined points in those three games was 19.

And at right tackle

One expectation is that the Bears will open with Frank Omiyale at right tackle and provide the shaky veteran with help in the form of tight ends to that side and backs chipping on the Detroit defender to Omiyales side.

Omiyale has struggled mightily, to the point of being benched against Carolina. But with Chris Spencers fractured right hand in a plastic castsplint, the need is for Lance Louis to open at his usual right guard spot as a matchup against Ndamukong Suh and the inside pressure of the Lions front four. That leaves Omiyale as the presumed better option at right tackle.

At a certain point a guys got to earn his check, line coach Mike Tice said last week, without referring to Omiyale directly.

John "Moon" Mullin is CSNChicago.com's Bears Insider and appears regularly on Bears Postgame Live and Chicago Tribune Live. Follow Moon on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bears information.

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