As far as I know, the Chicago Bears were supposed to play a game on Sunday. They were supposed to travel to Lambeau Field for a key contest that will surely factor in when determining the NFC North champion. Apparently, Lovie Smith’s team decided to take the day off. There is no other reason for only putting three points on a suspect Packer defense while giving up an astounding 200 rushing yards to a team that had an at-best average ground game. The Bears didn’t show up to play and the Packers took advantage.
Kyle Orton wasn’t great. Honestly, he wasn’t even good. Unfortunately, he was placed in that situation on Sunday by his slacking defense. Orton led his team down for a field goal after the Packers’ initial touchdown, and from there Chicago never found points to put on the board. The offense was in a constant sputter for four quarters, never reaching the red zone on their ten offensive possessions. They kicked one field goal, punted six times, fumbled once, and the other two drives were ended by halftime and the game’s conclusion. That makes for one extremely boring drive chart. Matt Forte produced when he was called on, averaging 4.0 yards on his 16 carries. By halftime however, the running game was abandoned because the Bears trailed by two touchdowns and needed to make up the difference through the air. Green Bay was in a position to tee off on the quarterback and protect against the big play. It was over after two quarters.
Orton may have only been sacked once, but he was under pressure most of the game. On a bad ankle, avoiding the pressure wasn’t an option, so Orton checked down to the running back more often than normal. Kyle was pulled in the fourth quarter after his fumble was returned for a Green Bay touchdown. The game was severely out of reach, and keeping Kyle healthy should be this coaching staff’s first priority. Rex Grossman filled in during garbage time, where he showed nothing new. This offense should have a great opportunity to regroup against the lowly Rams next week, and Orton’s ankle will be a week closer to fully healed.
For a defense whose strength is stopping the run, the Bears sure found a way to make it a weakness against the Pack. Green Bay Coach Mike McCarthy brilliantly took advantage of a Bear defense that had clearly decided to sit back in pass coverage. Handing the ball off on their first five plays from scrimmage, the Packers offense imposed their will over the Bear defensive line. Their production running the ball set up the play-action pass and opened up throws downfield. Aaron Rodgers simply recognized where the extra safety was and adjusted accordingly. It the safety was an eighth man in the box, he passed. If there were only seven men near the line, he handed off to Ryan Grant with tremendous success. Rodgers was never touched by a defender thanks to a stellar job by his of-late criticized offensive line. They made sure that Chicago’s awful pass rush stayed that way.
Chicago couldn’t handle either aspect of the Packer’s offensive game plan, allowing them to rack up over 400 yards of offense and conversions on seven of their fourteen first downs. No one can claim this defense is good anymore. Lovie Smith and Bob Babich mixed up their coverage, deviating from their normal 8-man fronts for more traditional cover-2 looks and were burned time and time again. Their schemes aren’t working and their players aren’t performing anywhere near their potential. It is time for a massive overhaul.
Green Bay deserved to win on Sunday, dominating in every aspect of the game. The loss is a much-needed wake-up call to a Bears defense that is overpaid and over-hyped. Too much money is wrapped up in this unit to have outings like this, and Lovie Smith isn’t doing enough to prepare his teams each week. He is supposed to be a defensive minded coach, but that’s been the most disappointing part of the 2008 season. Coincidentally, Sunday was the most disappointing loss this season. Now the Bears are in a three-way tie with the Packers and Vikings at 5-5, and will need every win they can get from here on out.
