Week Six: What We Learned About The Chicago Bears
Published by Christopher Murphy on October 28, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Although I just realized it is technically week seven and actually game six, I am sticking with my mistake and am going to carry it out until the end. That’s the American way.
As for the Chicago Bears, what we learned about them after week seven and game six is they are extremely mediocre at every position except quarterback and linebacker in the forms of Jay Cutler and Lance Briggs.
Unfortunately no help around both positions, no matter how good the positions are, leads to losses.
The Offensive Line and Matt Forte Do Not Exist
With the Broncos, Cutler was sacked every 57 snaps. With the Bears, Cutler is sacked every 18 snaps. Not good.
Matt Forte had 24 yards on just six carries as the Bears had to pass most of the game. He did have four catches for 25 yards. You’d like to see the Bears get Forte going in the passing game more considering there is no run-blocking up the middle.
With the receivers the Bears have, having no running game is unacceptable and impossible to win with. The Bears are not the Patriots or the Colts.
Notice how Hunter Hillenmeyer and Nick Roach bit on the play-action by Carson Palmer, who then threw to J.P. Foschi for a three-yard touchdown pass. That is what a running game will do for your passing game.
The play-action worked all day for Palmer because Cedric Benson was having his way with the Bears.
Two Weeks in a Row Without a Sack
After starting the season scorching hot, the defensive line has been nowhere to be found the last two weeks for the Bears.
Benson ran for 189 yards and Palmer had all the time in the world to throw.
This could be why the Bengals didn’t punt until midway through the fourth quarter.
Secondary Scorched
This is hard to pin on the secondary due to the fact the defensive line and blitz packages just didn’t work on Sunday. Give any quarterback time to throw and he will find someone.
However, I bring this up because herein lies the difference between the Bears and other NFL teams. Give a quarterback time and players like Chris Henry, Laveranues Coles and Chad Ochocino will find you; players like Devin Hester, Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox will not. They just aren’t that experienced with Cutler nor are they that good.
Jay Cutler is our Quarterback
Cutler doesn’t get completely off the hook for the offensive line, Matt Forte, and his lack of good receivers. Cutler knew what he was getting himself into when he came to the Bears, so his three interceptions cannot go without comment.
What I notice when watching the Bears passing game, however, is that if you notice when Cutler looks off his first option, the play is done for. In other words, if the play doesn’t work to perfection, it’s essentially dead because the line will not hold nor are the receivers good enough to get themselves open on a broken play.
Hester, however, had a solid game hauling in eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown, but he fumbled on the first drive the Bears offense seemed to have any type of rhythm and essentially ended their chances of a comeback.
Coaching
Coming off a bye week and looking awful in your first two games does not help your coaching staff look too good.
Now, I hate pinning losses on coaches because if the players don’t execute, there is nothing they can do. However, you chose to make Frank Omiyale a starter, you chose to bench Tommie Harris, you chose to invest a lot of draft picks and money into the defensive line that can’t get pressure on the quarterback, coaches.
You are choosing to not use Forte in the passing game, you are choosing to send Hester and Knox deep when the offensive line cannot give Cutler enough time, and you are choosing not to use a double tight end set.
Coaches must get part of the blame because a lot of what you see on Sundays stem from their choices.
However, I hate to sound like the typical idiotic fan and blame everything on play-calling and what not due to the fact the Bears just aren’t executing the two main features in a football game: blocking up front on offense and getting pressure on the quarterback on defense.
Without those two factors, no coach in the world can win. However, the other side of that argument is the coaches choose the offensive line, the defensive line and blitz packages.
Essentially everyone is to blame…ESPECIALLY YOU, THE READER. This is all your fault.
Stop reading blogs and go buy a newspaper, you bastards, I’m tired of working for free…sorry, I got a little side-tracked.
The Bears look awfully mediocre and the fact they already lost to the Falcons and Packers, who they most likely will be fighting for a wildcard spot with, is not a good sign for tiebreakers. They also physically cannot beat the Vikings in any way shape or form at this point.
Ladies and Gentlemen, they are playing and looking like a third-place team.
Even third-place teams, however, should beat the Cleveland Browns, so this would be a good week to get the Bears back on the positive note and above .500.
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