Cutler's awesome helicopter TD run
After last Sunday’s Redzone meltdown against the Atlanta Falcons, the Chicago Bears hope to go on the road and get a win against the Cincinnati Bengals. With the season more than a quarter of the way finished, the glaring problems of the Chicago Bears are becoming obvious. One of the problems is that the Bears can not run the ball, and it is not all of Matt Forte’s fault either. After a very good rookie season, Forte is struggling to get yards but the difference between this year and last year is the offensive line. The Bears O-line is just not run-blocking very well. My pre-season observations led me to believe the Bears O-line would struggle protecting Jay Cutler but instead the O-line is struggling to get any push in the run game. An indication that the offensive line is to blame rather than Forte is that opposing teams have been hitting Forte in the back field (that’s my personal observation). Running lanes have been scarce so far. The biggest problem – and unfortunately one that is out the Bears control – is the injury bug that has hit the Bears. The linebackers corps has been hit the hardest but the defensive tackles have been injured as well. Last week in the fourth quarter of the Atlanta game, Pisa Tinoisamoa suffered a season-ending injury to his right knee. The linebackers unit has already missed star MLB Brian Urlacher (out for the season) and all the other Bears linebackers except Lance Briggs have been injured at some point of the season and missed time (that includes pre-season and regular season). The latest high-profile Bear to be injured is Tommie Harris, who will not suit up for Sunday’s game. Israel Idonije has already missed time but did come back to play last week against Atlanta.
Are these problems worrisome for Bears fans? Surprisingly not yet. The Bears have been competitive in every game so far, but football adage says that the great teams win the close games. The Bears are 2-2 in their close games and 1-2 on the road. Not bad for a pretty tough starting season schedule. Despite the injuries to the defense, the unit has hung in there with good play from the fill-in linebackers of Roach, Williams, and Hillenmeyer. ‘Peanut’ Tillman has played very well, and Briggs is playing like Briggs – which is always good. Yes, there have been some defensive lapses here and there (evident last week when the Bears struggled with the no-huddle). Hopefully, the injuries are over as the unit can not afford anymore losses as then it would become worrisome (thankfully, the Bears are deep at both the linebackers and D-line). As for the O-line run-blocking I just can’t see the Bears turning on the switch permanently, but now would be the time to do so as the Bears enter the “softer” part of their schedule. The Bears can not put it all on Cutler’s shoulders and that became clear last week when Cutler threw an interception in the redzone. Had a running game been established, that crucial INT might have not happened.
These are only two obvious problems, while there are a lot more positives for the Bears. For one, Jay Cutler has been pretty damn good, and while he has not been flashy he has been a big part of the reason the Bears have been competitive this year. Another positive is the play from the wide receivers this years. I’m not quite ready to jump on the Johnny Knox bandwagon just yet, but it is not hard to see he has been pretty special so far. While Devin Hester has not come up on the stat sheet as fans would like, he has done the ‘little things’ that has impressed me. Hester route running is pretty good not playing the position for too long, and I’ve seen him make some big time blocks that most receivers don’t make. Plus, Hester has made some pretty tough catches in traffic. Aside from the Green Bay bomb and Calvin Johnson nearly having a field day, the Bears secondary has been the third positive in the Bears early season. In pre-season I really thought teams would pick the secondary apart but they have not been as bad as I expected. Lastly, the special teams – specifically the punting of Maynard and the kicking of Gould – have been awesome. Maynard especially impressed me with his punts landing inside the 20 yard line. Hey, its not pretty but field position goes a long way.
Gould & Maynard
Knox & Hester
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