I am sure some people might be in a frenzy after seeing the Bears score 51 points in a game against the crappy Titans. Yes, there were many good things to talk about but at the same time, many of the same problems were observed by myself and I am sure, many others. Regardless, the Bears are 7-1 and they have a two-game lead on the division with the season at the halfway point.
Offense: Damn Mike Tice. Does he not enjoy running the football? I saw some drives where it would be obvious that the right thing to do would be to run the football. First, the drive that lead to the safety. Instead of running the ball to try to get some breathing room, he has Cutler drop back in the endzone. He nearly gets sacked but got away but then, a penalty for illegal hands to the face. Another one of those drives came after the two-minute warning in the first half. The Bears are up 31-2 and are about to score again. What does Tice do? He sets up an empty backfield for Cutler only to have him fumble the ball and the Titans take it to mid-field and end up getting a field goal. I am thinking to myself that if they scored again, maybe Cutler and some of the other starters would be out of the game to rest and instead, they are playing into the fourth quarter.
This offense has to get going. They still have problems in the end zone. Matt Forte did get over 100 yards rushing but only after getting a couple big runs. They need to have efficient and long drives that eat up the clock and keep the defense rested on the sidelines. The defense and special teams can’t always give them great field position in which they only need a few yards or so to score. Brandon Marshall, believe or not, never had a three-touchdown game until now. For the fourth game this season, he had over 100 yards receiving. Even Lance Louis had a catch. With Cutler depending on Marshall more than he should, they really need to get Bennett going and for crying out loud, get Devin Hester off the field. Alshon Jefferey is another two weeks or so away from returning.
Defense: This defense still has some flaws letting the Titans drive down the field a few times and racking up over 300 yards (again) but damn, who are these guys? Better late than never (nine seasons), but Tillman finally is playing like an NFL cornerback. He forced four fumbles. I certainly do not want to get punched by this guy. Urlacher took one back for a touchdown also in this game as well as forcing another fumble. The defense forced six turnovers in this game with four fumble recoveries, an interception and a turnover on downs. Even though the front four only had a sack or two, they forced pressure on Hasselbeck the entire game which lead to that interception and having the Titans punt quite a bit.
Special Teams: They kicked ass once again. Sherrick McManis blocked a punt that lead to Corey Wooten picking it up and running it in for the touchdown. Devin Hester nearly took one back but that set up the offense nicely for a touchdown. Robbie Gould nailed three field goals but it could have been four if Lovie Smith would have just taken the points late in the game instead of having the offense go for it on fourth and goal. Oh well.
Next up, the Bears play an actually good football team in the Texans on Sunday night. Go ahead Chicago Bears. Impress me.
Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Matt Eberflus 
November 4, 2012 at 4:01 pm
Evidently, you’re not alone about your thoughts about the offense. Doug and OB are saying pretty much the same thing. Somebody is getting kicked in the goddamn nuts if Webb is on this team next year.
Leave it to the fucking Bears to score 51 points and force people to justifiably pick them apart. Guess what? They need to do better if they hope to win next Sunday night.
November 4, 2012 at 4:07 pm
NO DEFENSE SHOULD EVER LET A TEAM DRIVE ON THEM!
November 4, 2012 at 5:53 pm
The Fire are done for the year, and so is my support for soccer on this site.
Another strong litmus for the Bears next Sunday night. If Tice could actually run the ball on a consistent basis and provide some consistent pass protection for Cutty, more people would ne more confident in this team.
All that said…it was nice to see a 28 point first quarter today.
Also, the Bulls are 2-0. Not that it’s gonna last, but winning is winning…
November 4, 2012 at 6:06 pm
Actually, they lost yesterday to New Orleans 89-82. They’re 2-1 now.
November 4, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Yeti, what’s next? Are you going to tell us we are idiots because we have no faith in the offensive line? Carimi and Webb were both terrible in this game and Kellen Davis still can’t block either. Cutler could get killed in these next two games when they play the Texans and 49ers.
DVX, I am trying to refrain from any Bulls talk this season. They’ve played like crap in two of their first three games and to be honest, it doesn’t matter anyway. They aren’t going anywhere. It’s going to be the same story about these guys: They are going to miss a ton of free throws, take a lot of dumb shots and commit a plethora of turnovers. What else is new?
November 5, 2012 at 10:54 pm
I will say that some of the criticism is not deserved. Some people expect a score on every set of downs. Not even NO or New England is that good. Other teams have had shaky starts offensively this year as well.
Having said that, the concern I have is Red Zone efficiency. They get down field but do not score TD’s. Third Down conversion needs to be better too.
Their O-Line sucks, but Phil could not do anything this year.
Big test coming up. Even against the Seahawks and Vikings (even though they are crashing back down).
If they go two out of the next four, it will be a win. Even if they lose against SF and Houston, they are probably playoff bound.
November 6, 2012 at 8:28 am
Tony…unless the O-Line allows Cutler to get killed out there. That line is the biggest problem they have right now. If Cutler gets hurt, it’s all over, just like last year.
I understand your point about the red zone. And I agree.They do need to do better. But right now, the defense and special teams are picking up the slack there. The problem with that is they can’t keep playing like that every week. The schedule is pretty tough for the rest of the year. I hope they can keep it up, but I don’t see how they do it.
November 6, 2012 at 10:40 am
It’s not over Chucky if Cutler goes down. The black Todd Collins will rise up to the occasion and take the Bears to the promised land!
November 6, 2012 at 11:00 am
Hey man why you comparing Jason Campbell to Todd Collins? That’s racist man. Jason Campbell = Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers.
Damn racist bastard.
November 6, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Sorry Warren. We can never forget you, the greatest quarterback to ever come out of Canada.
November 6, 2012 at 12:39 pm
You know what Fro. I forgot something else too. That would be the greatness of Lovie Smith. He’ll win this thing because he’s the greatest coach ever and I’m just some dumb, whiny little bitch.
Fuck you Greg.
November 8, 2012 at 10:18 am
“Sorry Warren. We can never forget you, the greatest quarterback to ever come out of Canada.”
Ahem. Was Warren ever dropped kicked a PTA?
2,975 completions out of 4,844 attempts, for 41,355 yds, 270 TD’s, and 155 INT, with an additional 66 TDs ran in. 7 years of dominance in the CFL, includding winning the equivalent of three superbowls, Six MVPs, and going to two conference championships. Jeff Garcia was the backup.