Looking for the Bright Spots in the Bears loss to the Raiders

The best and worst from Saturday night

Who were the best and worst performers among the Bears squad in their 32-17 loss to the Raiders at Soldier Field on Saturday?

Stars -- The players who lit up Soldier Field with their play.


Julius Peppers -- Peppers had the sort of game against the Raiders the Bears hope he'll have all season. After having a quiet game in San Diego, Peppers was all over the Raiders. He notched a sack, broke up a pass and had four tackles in one half of play. Two of those tackles came in the red zone. Bears fans all held their breath as medical personnel attended to him early in the game for what turned out to just a scratch on his eye.

Matt Forte -- In five carries, Forte had 109 yards. Eighty-nine of those yards came on a touchdown run that showed Forte's knees are in much better shape than last season.

Charles "Peanut" Tillman -- The interception he grabbed from mid-air reminded Bears fans of the Peanut of old, before injuries took a toll on him. A healthy Peanut picked off Jason Campbell for five yards and made three tackles. Is it possible that we'll see the player who made five picks for 175 yards in 2005?

Black holes -- The players who sucked all the air out of Soldier Field

The offensive line
-- Jay Cutler played one half of the pre-season game, and was sacked five times. Two sacks in a row came on the very first offensive series. Play after play, the O-line was being manhandled by the Raiders. The run-blocking improved, opening up the hole for Forte's touchdown, but Mike Martz's offensive scheme is passing-based. The quarterback needs to be safe and healthy for it to work.

Special teams -- If you thought last week's special teams play was as bad as it could get, you were sadly mistaken. Desmond Clark, filling in for long-snapper Patrick Mannelly, showed just how important that position is as he botched several snaps. The Bears gave up two safeties, both in special teams situations. Eric Peterman fumbled a punt return for one of those safeties; Brad Maynard's punt was blocked in the end zone for another one.

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