The Bears lost a squeaker of a game yesterday, but once again, Kyle Orton looked great out there compared to what Rex would have been. And it’s largely due to that no huddle style.

For decades the Bears have had a reputation as a difficult defense to get around. They crash into the O-line like a wall, ferret out gaps, and home in on whatever poor loser has the ball as if by instinct. We could keep pressure on those QBs and watch them crumble. Nowadays the defense is getting older and their effectiveness is going down. So the offense, for the first time since the lade 80’s, is stepping up.

How? Orton puts the pressure on the defense instead by no-huddling. Frankly, it’s brilliant. During the brief period I was a hockey fan the first thing I learned was that all hockey strategy was about keeping pressure on the other team. Don’t let up, keep them suffering, keep them struggling to keep up with you. That’s what Orton has been doing with this offense. Who knew it would work so well?

If Orton had been playing like this in the 2006 Super Bowl, with that lively and worthwhile defense, we’d have won it. It would still have been close, because the Colts were a solid team themselves, but we’d have won.

Yesterday, though, the defense just let the Falcons offense get too far, too often, before clamping down and properly stopping them. It’s good to see Mike Brown out there again, he’s clearly having an effect. But our defensive backs are slowing down, our cornerbacks are making silly mistakes, and what the hell was with that fumble with Tommie Harris? The announcers kept saying “he fumbled it,” but it would be more apt to say he tossed it away like a moron. Lot of defensive restructuring needed in the offseason this year.