Chicago Bears Week 4 Report Card

The Chicago Bears squeezed out a win against the Carolina Panthers, with emphasis on the word “squeezed." Chicago’s defense put up a less than stellar effort against a quarterback that had played just three regular seasons games before Sunday. They also struggled against the Panthers' previously anemic rushing attack.

So how do each of Bear’s four units stack up after the Panther’s game?

Let’s find out as we grade each of the four units on team for their game against the Panthers this past Sunday.

Offense

Running Game: A+: Offensive coordinator Mike Martz finally realized that the running game would be a key to winning the game, so he ran the ball a lot. With that, Chicago had success. Running back Matt Forte had a career day, and Marion Barber earned his first touchdown as a Bear. If the Bears can run like this the rest of the season, they will win a lot more games.

Passing Game: D+: The Bears didn’t have to pass the ball too much, but when they did, it didn’t work out well. Chicago still has problems converting third downs using the passing game, and they looked like they were still a preseason unit. The Bears can’t win on just running the ball, and they have to us their passing game to help them convert those long third downs and keep the offense on the field. They still have a lot of work to do there.

Defense

Rushing Defense: D+: The Bears' rushing defense, usually one of the best in the league, suffered on Sunday, allowing the Panthers to rush for 169 yards. This is not Bear football. What can be wrong with the rush defense? 

One problem is that their defensive linemen and linebackers are getting blown off of the ball by the opposing offensive linemen. This means that no one is able to make the play until the runner gets into the secondary. The Bears have to get better at defending against the run.

Passing Defense: C+: Even though the Bears let Newton pass for 374 yards and a touchdown, the big key here was that they didn’t allow him to throw for more than one score. The cover two defense allows for a lot of yards in between the 20s, but is supposed to keep opponents outside of the end zone, and that is what they did. It’s still scary that they allowed a rookie quarterback to have such a big game (in yards) against them.

Special Teams

Overall: A++: The Bears special teams were excellent, as Hester had two nice returns, including one for a touchdown. They also had a blocked field goal by Julius Peppers. When the special teams units needed to shine, they did in this game, and hopefully, they will be able to help the team out much more in the future.

Coaching

Overall: C (no minus): The Bears coaching staff did realize what it takes to win in this game, and they did what they had to do. The passing offense was virtually non-existent, and the Bears will have to get better with this to ensure that they are capable of winning games in the future. The Bears can’t run their way to wins every single week.

Overall

Overall Team Grade: C (no minus): The Bears proved that their way to win is on the ground, but that’s only going to go so far.  Their passing game has to get better, and it didn’t look any better in this Sunday’s game. The defense was scary as well, allowing well above their average in rushing yards, and this came from a team that had been horrible rushing the ball before this game.

This team isn’t going to win a lot of games if they can’t get that passing game going.