Chicago Bears: 10 Things We Learned Against Seattle
The Bears went into their game with the Seattle Seahawks with high hopes that they would be able to get their passing game back on track with quarterback Jay Cutler back in the mix.
But it wasn’t meant to be, as the Bears fell to the Seahawks 23-20. This game featured breakdowns on both offense and defense, breakdowns that led to their loss, and the Bears aren’t looking that good heading into their next game against the Redskins.
Let’s take a look at 10 things that we noticed with the Bears in their game against the Seahawks this Sunday and see what they are doing wrong and what they are doing right.
The Coaching Staff Needs to Leave the Line Alone
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Any good NFL offensive line is a line that will have been together for a period of time before becoming “good.”
No offensive line that has been thrown together is a good offensive line. The Bears have gone through several different line combinations in the past few weeks, and none of them seem to be working right.
They have to stick with one and allow them to grow and develop together. If they keep on making changes, they will never be a solid unit.
Jay Cutler Looked Sloppy
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Perhaps it was the fact that he was a little rusty after missing a week of action.
Or perhaps it was the fact that he was under constant pressure and felt that he had to do something special with the ball every time he had it. But quarterback Jay Cutler looked a bit confused and threw some less than accurate passes.
Perhaps he was still a little bit “skittish” after the nine sacks he suffered two weeks ago against the Giants, but Cutler was not himself and it really showed.
The Bears Need to Run Run Run!
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The Bears did really well using the run last week against the Panthers.
But in this game, they only had 12 rushing attempts which gave them no relief from the pass pressure that was felt the entire game. The Bears need to try to run the ball, and even though it may not have worked at the outset, they should have still kept on trying to run.
It would have kept the defense off balance and not allowed them to put so much pass pressure on Cutler. When you show other teams that you are one-dimensional, you aren’t going to win too many games.
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Special Teams are Special
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It was another good day for the special teams group, as they kept two of the most dangerous return specialists in check for this game (Leon Washington and Golden Tate).
They even helped add a punt return for a touchdown (by Devin Hester) and what would have been a kick return for a touchdown (by Danieal Manning), but there was holding penalty called that wiped it out.
The Bears Miss Lance Briggs
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When it comes to defending against the run, there is no better combination than middle linebacker Brian Urlacher and outside linebacker Lance Briggs.
Briggs missed the Bears game this Sunday with an ankle injury, and Brian Iwuh took his place. Iwuh didn’t do too bad, but clearly wasn’t the kind of guy that Briggs has been defending against the run.
Hopefully Briggs is back soon.
The Pass Rush Means Everything!
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The Bears got close to Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasslebeck.
But in the end, he was able to complete a bunch of passes for quite a few yards, and the Bears ended up losing the game.
It seemed as if Peppers has disappeared in this game, as he was pretty much taken out of it by rookie left tackle Russell Okung. Without the influence that Peppers has, the other members of the defensive line were unable to do much against the Seahawks.
Without the pass rush, this defense suffers a lot.
The Bears are Predictable
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This kind of goes along with not running the ball, but the Seahawks pretty much had the Bears figured out coming into this game.
They knew that if they could shut down the run even the tiniest bit to start the game, the Bears would immediately revert to their passing game. Sure enough, that’s what they did.
And reverting to the passing game really didn’t work. The Bears have to keep up with that added dimension (the running game) in order to stay in games and eventually win them.
The Tight End Position is a Dinosaur
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After starting the season on a high note, the tight ends have been virtually non-existent in the Bears offense.
And the old adage about a Mike Martz offense is coming true.
Tight ends are blockers and not pass catchers. This presents a real problem for Greg Olsen, who is not a blocker by any stretch of the imagination.
We have watched him miss blocks or make feeble attempts at blocking, so he is clearly out of his element. Kellen Davis is purely a special teams player, while Desmond Clark hasn’t been active too much and Brandon Manumaleuna has not really shown anyone that he is worth the money that the Bears paid him this offseason.
So will the tight ends be used again?
The Bears are Not Using Chester Taylor as much as They Should
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This is clear.
Chicago spent a lot of money on the three free agents that they brought in this year, and only one of them (Peppers) has really produced. Manumaleuna is just a “dud,” but Taylor is a guy that isn’t being used as often as he should be in the offense.
Perhaps the coaching staff will realize that he’s an asset on third downs—running, catching and blocking—and they will use him more often.
The Bears are Better than They Appear
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This is true.
The Bears are a much better team than they were on Sunday, but it doesn’t matter how good they are if they can’t execute when they play games. The Bears' two losses have come with a failure to execute the basic fundamentals of any football game, and that’s blocking.
Protecting the quarterback is No. 1, and until the Bears figure that out, they aren’t going to win many more games this season.
Want More?
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If you want to read more about Chicago's loss to the Seahawks please click HERE:
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