JD's Keys Week 12; Rams v. Bears

Key #1 - Where's the D? It certainly seems odd to implicate the Chicago Bears in this discussion, but as of late, neither of these teams have demonstrated the ability to stop opponents from scoring. The Bears surrendered 37 points in a blowout loss last week; the Rams only gave up 35, but they were all in the first half. The safe money lies with the pride of linebacker Brian Urlacher, defensive tackle Tommie Harris, safety Mike Brown and the rest of the Bears defensive unit to bounce back from last week's performance and take out their frustrations on the hapless Rams offense. Key #2 - Welcome Home Lovie! For the second week in a row the St. Louis Rams will be facing an opposing coach that was once a member of their own football family. Bears head coach Lovie Smith was a well respected and loved defensive coordinator during his time in St. Louis, thus his ascendancy to the head coaching spot of the Bears where he has produced wonderful results year in and year out, including of course a trip to the Super Bowl in 2007. Smith's expertise on the defensive side of the ball just spells even more trouble for the Rams since they will be playing against a clever defensive scheme with motivated, to say the least, players. Key #3 - DO NOT kick to Devin Hester! - Even though the kick and punt returner/ receiver is having a down year by his standards (no returns for touchdowns, but averaging about 22 and 6 on kickoff and punt returns respectively), the Rams special teams ought not challenge this exciting player. Hester is to be feared more than the Rams very own Dante Hall was in his heyday. The matchup between Hester and St. Louis' kicker, Josh Brown, and punter, Donnie Jones will certainly be one of the highlights to watch in this game, because as sad as it sounds, Jones and Brown have been two of the most consistent and flat out best players on this team. Key #4 - Try to Score... In the First Half. The Rams offense has been abysmal this season, so much so that I'm quickly running out of different words to describe how terribly they have played. But, even with that said, this team has shown the ability to score points in bunches, namely in the victory over the Cowboys. A healthy Steven Jackson was a major cog in that offensive romp, and he has been either banged up or out of the lineup all together in most of the games since then, all of which, the Rams have lost. Jackson is out yet again this week as is mammoth, but declining offensive tackle Orlando Pace; center Richie Incognito also joins the pair on the injured list for Sunday. Antonio Pittman posted very solid numbers (95 yards on 14 carries) against the 49ers and the Rams will need an even better performance if they want to have any chance of scoring points in the first half and giving themselves a chance to compete as the game comes down to the wire. The Rams are on life support. This team looks like they used to when they first got to St. Louis, putrid. They were just blown out by a division, and historical rival, who had a record equally as bad coming into the contest. I just hope that the Rams can muster some sort of pride or cohesion and bring home a couple more wins to close out this season; give themselves something to build from going into the offseason. I just do not think one of those wins will come this Sunday. My Prediction: Rams 12 - Bears 42