Come To Think of It: Jay Cutler and the Bears' Red Zone Efficiency a Red Flag

The inept Bears finally met an offense worse than theirs in the Cleveland Browns, who literally turned the game over to the Chicago on Sunday.

But don't let one win against the worst offense in the NFL, and one of the worst teams in football, make you think the Bears don't have serious problems on offense. The Bears may have won by a wide margin, but the final score should have been a lot more lopsided.

Jay Cutler came to Chicago with a reputation as a QB who couldn't get it done in the red zone. And though I'm still glad we have him, I'm beginning to see why that reputation is deserved.

Cutler's tendency to force the ball into coverage has resulted in 11 interceptions already this season. While the horrible play of the offensive line has certainly had something to do with this, it can't be blamed entirely on the line play.

For even in Denver, where the line play is much better (just watch Kyle Orton do his laundry while waiting to throw the ball), Cutler often threw interceptions at critical moments.

Key mistakes, such as offensive linemen jumping offsides, or running back Matt Forte's fumbling in Atlanta, have combined with the constant pressure in Cutler's face to create a tough situation for any QB to be successful.

Still, Cutler is just learning that he needs to throw the ball away, or take off and run instead of throwing recklessly when no one is open. His pocket awareness needs to improve too. He often will move to avoid the rush, but doesn't keep moving and the defender ends up hitting him anyway, sometimes resulting in a fumble.

Cutler was damn lucky that the fumble call in the third quarter was overturned by replay, because one could argue that was a fumble. It's as if Cutler thought that stepping one foot to his right meant that the defender was going to give up. 

Look, I'm definitely not trying to put all of the blame of the bad Bears offense on Cutler's shoulders. Forte is good, but he will never be a special back. He's not running like he did last year, although on Sunday he got some good runs against a Cleveland defense that ranks dead last against the rush.

Any discussion of how inept the Bears are at scoring in the red zone has to go back to the offensive line. Orlando Pace may have had a Hall-of-Fame career, but he looks to be just about done now.

And the Frank Omiyale Experiment has run its course. He still can't play guard, despite having had sufficient time to adjust by now. Likewise, Chris Williams is just learning to play and doesn't appear to be a quick learner.

Even center Olin Kreutz isn't performing at a Pro-Bowl caliber level any longer. Maybe a change of scenery is the main reason, but getting better blocking in Cincinnati has to have helped Cedric Benson.

Meanwhile, the Bears rank near the bottom of the league in red zone efficiency. Whether you personally believe that there is a red zone, or even if you think it is just random chance, teams historically perform less efficiently inside the 20 yard line.

The compressed field and added pressure may be a factor, but I don't believe there is really anything that happens inside the red zone that isn't symptomatic of problems that are occurring within the other 80 yards.

However, mistakes are magnified when they happen inside the 20, and the Bears came away with field goals in their first three trips there on Sunday. Field goals are certainly better than not scoring at all, but you have to score at least one touchdown in three tries if you're going to be competitive with the better teams in the league.

Speaking of better teams, the next four games will be much more of a test for the Bears than what they faced today. Hopefully, they will score when they have the opportunity, come to think of it.