Bears vs. Packers: Week 16 Report Card for Every Chicago Positional Unit

Just when the Chicago Bears finally get their offense going, the defense fails the team and just like that the Bears' playoff hopes end.  That should be the story of this game and that story will be evident in this week's grading.

Who would have thought that the Bears offense would move the ball successfully, Kahlil Bell and the run game would provide 161 yards of offense and Roy Williams would haul in six passes and the Bears would still lose by two touchdowns?

The defense can not blame the offense for their woes this week.  The Bears not only moved the ball well and scored more than 20 offensive points for the first time since quarterback Jay Cutler fell to injury, but they also controlled the clock, keeping possession of the ball for 11:36 more than the Green Bay Packers.

Yes, Bears fans, that's right.  The Packers scored five passing touchdown in just over 24 minutes.  Considering that the Packers didn't even play Aaron Rodgers for nearly the last six minutes of that time as they attempted to run out the clock and show mercy to the Bears defense, that's quite a feat.  And the Bears defense only started defending one of those touchdowns inside their own territory.

To make matter worse, the average scoring drive for the Packers ran 56 yards in six plays over the course of 3:03.  And the four touchdowns that the defense gave up without a turnover preceding it came off drives averaging 75 yards on eight plays that took only 3:33 off the clock.

That is the definition of defensive failure.

So let's take a look at the grades assigned to the performance of each unit this week.

Defensive Line

The defensive line played a good game...for the first half.  In the second half, the line did little to harass the quarterback and gave Aaron Rodgers far too much time to read the secondary and pick his targets.

Julius Peppers had a decent game all the way around, and if there was a defensive lineman in the game that deserved praise, it was him.

Israel Idonije provided the only other real pestering of Rodgers.  But Izzy was just a special brand of awful against the run.

Meanwhile, the defensive tackle rotation was very solid against the run but did little to create pressure on Rodgers, save one QB hit by Henry Melton.

The line just seemed to fall apart in the second half and there was no way for the Bears defense to keep up with the Packers' high-octane offense without some pressure from the trench-minders.

Unit Grade: D

Offensive Line

Despite the score, the offensive line actually played a decent game, allowing no sacks and helping the Bears running backs post 161 yards on 34 carries.

Bizarro World update: J'Marcus Webb had the best game on the offensive line, allowing no pressure and doing well in his run-blocking assignments.

Roberto Garza got props from Cris Collinsworth for doing the one thing he has done respectably this season: pulling.  Garza had an average game, which is an improvement.  

When are the Bears going to stop putting decent guards in positions that set them up for failure?  Recent victims include Garza, Lance Louis and Frank Omiyale and the Bears have a history of this sort of musical linemen thing.  It seems that being barely passable at multiple positions is much better than developing into a good player at one.  Mike Gandy or Terrence Metcalf, anybody?

Lance Louis got help on the outside and allowed no pressures.  Unfortunately, his run-blocking efforts were not nearly as successful.

Edwin Williams continues to be a pleasant surprise.

Unit Grade: A

Linebacking Corps

See that photo?  That would be Aaron Rodgers making Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs look like scout-team members.  If only that was the worst of their performance.

Every unit, regardless of their collective greatness, is going to lay up a stinker once in a while.  The Bears linebackers wish they could take back Sunday's game, for sure.

In spite of the one bad play above, Urlacher actually played a great game.  He was actually the only Bears defender from any position group to post a positive ranking at Pro Football Focus in coverage.

After another bad outing and maybe posting his worst game of the season, do you think Lance Briggs is regretting his preseason shenanigans regarding his contract?  Briggs was horrible in run coverage and added to his team-leading missed tackles total.

Briggs could be playing his last game as a Bear next week.  In this writer's opinion, good riddance.  Briggs has long been an overrated system linebacker who has been more than adequately replaced by the likes of Nick Roach, Jamar Williams and Brian Iwuh when he has suffered injury.

Speaking of Nick Roach, Rodgers exploited Roach in coverage and never missed a target being defended by the linebacker.  Allowing a quick-slant touchdown to Jermichael Finley is excusable for even the best linebacker, though.  

Unit Grade: D

Receiving Group

The receiving corps had a decent day and made quarterback Josh McCown's day a lot easier with solid play.  Other than Earl Bennett's strong run after his lone catch, none did anything spectacular, but they did enough for the Bears offense to move the ball effectively and score more than 20 offensive points for the first time since Jay Cutler fell to injury.

Roy Williams played a nice game and stepped up for the Bears.  He caught six of nine targets and was easily the most reliable target on the field for Bears quarterback Josh McCown.  He was also the only receiver on the field that was consistently capable of getting open.

Earl Bennett continued to show the Bears that he can make things happen when he gets the ball.  Of course, if he could get open more often, it would help.  Bennett was targeted three times resulting in one reception—and one hell of a run after the catch—and one interception.

There was a Dane Sanzenbacher sighting in Green Bay Sunday.  Sanzenbacher caught four of his seven targets and didn't record a drop.  Nice to see.

Tight end Kellen Davis caught all three of his targets, including a beautifully played route in the end zone for the Bears' only passing TD.  Davis also played a fantastic blocking game after struggling in that area for a while.

Unit Grade: B

Secondary

Lovie Smith is about accountability right?  Tim Jennings sat out of the most important game of the season because he had a poor outing against the Seahawks and allowed his first touchdown of the season.  

That's right.  Jennings was sat after allowing his first touchdown of the season.  Only 10 corners and nickles in the league can claim they have allowed one or fewer touchdowns this season, and Jennings is one of them.

Smith benched Jennings for Zach Bowman in what was effectively a playoff game for Chicago and Bowman allowed three of the Packers' five touchdowns and was instrumental in a fourth.

So is Smith then held accountable for a mistake that plays a large part in the Bears' season-ending loss to the Packers?

It was not a good day for the secondary at all.  Of course, it didn't help that Aaron Rodgers had a lot of time to pick them apart, but even when Rodgers was harassed into early throws, the secondary did little to hinder him.

Charles Tillman had a good day in run defense, but allowed four receptions on four targets including a big reception over the middle that helped set up the first Packer touchdown.

Zach Bowman allowed six receptions and three touchdowns, as well as committing two penalties in what was one of the worst performances by a Bears corner in a very long time.

Major Wright had a decent game in run defense, but in coverage showed why he was moved to strong safety before Chris Conte's injury forced the Bears to move him back to free safety.  Wright allowed a 55-yard touchdown over the top to Jordy Nelson.

Craig Steltz continued to impress, allowing just one reception off of three targets and making an impact in run defense, as well.  If there is a Bears backup who has made his value known to the team this season, Craig Steltz is that guy.

Unit Grade: F

Offensive Backfield

Many will think Josh McCown should be the story of this backfield today.  He is not.

Let me make an unpopular comparison.

January 24th 2011: After an overrated performance in a season-ending loss to the Packers, Caleb Hanie is crowned the new Chicago heartthrob (also known as the Bears backup quarterback).

December 26th, 2011: After an overrated performance against in a season-ending loss to the Packers, Josh McCown is crowned the new Chicago heartthrob, even though we, as fans, have years of evidence to the contrary.

McCown played a poor but fairly safe game against the Packers that was shored up—and allowed, even—by a fantastic effort from third-string rusher Kahlil Bell and a good supporting performance by newly promoted practice-squad running back Armando Allen.

Were Bell and Allen not forcing the defense to respect their abilities, McCown would not have moved the ball as well in the passing game, even against one of the worst passing defenses in the league.

And in the end it's points, not yards, that matter.  McCown threw one touchdown to two interceptions that killed momentum at critical times, with the first thrown directly into Clay Matthews' gut when the Bears were knocking on the Packers' door at a time when a touchdown would have tied the game.

Was McCown as bad as Hanie?  No.  He made some good decisions and generally limited mistakes.  Had McCown been the starter over the past few weeks, it is fair to assume the Bears would still be in the playoff hunt, if not already having sewn up a playoff spot.

But before crowning McCown the next Kyle Orton (the last truly beloved backup) let's remember that Hanie looked promising in losing to the Packers in January.

All of that having been said, it should be noted that, from the evidence we currently have, Mike Martz deserves a moment to sit back and smile the "I told you so" grin.  Martz wanted nothing to do with Hanie even last season and wanted McCown dating back to last season to back Cutler up.  Turns out that Mad Mike might know a little bit more about quarterbacks than Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith do.  Imagine that.

Also worth noting in McCown's favor was his awareness and heart on the play in which he recovered a Kahlil Bell fumble.  As Cris Collinsworth pointed out during the game, few quarterbacks would have risked themselves to save that fumble.

Bell made a case for a contract next season as he ran his heart out against the Packers and created opportunities for the passing game.  Bell also added four catches of his own on four targets.

Allen had to be pleased with himself as he put in a strong first impression and almost definitely ensured that the Bears won't be able to stash him on the practice squad again next season.

Tyler Clutts put up another strong game and continued to prove the Bears made a good decision in bringing the fullback to Chicago.

Unit Grade: B-

There you have it, Bears fans, this week's unit grading.  Step up to the soap box below and let us know what you think.