Well that was a hot mess. I’m just glad to have that one behind me now. I’m writing this article as fast as possible just to get the taste out of my mouth.
A positively putrid performance was put on by the Chicago Bears offense in what ended up being a defensive battle. Like it goes in the NFL, the quarterback is going to get most of the blame. Jay Cutler threw four interceptions in Chicago’s 21-15 loss to the rival Green Bay Packers Sunday night.
To his credit, three of those interceptions came in the first half, and the Bears were still only down eight points. Ron Turner’s play-calling did nothing to stop the bleeding, as he completely abandoned Matt Forte and the running game in the first half. Maybe Turner didn’t realize that you should take the ball out of your QB’s hands when he’s throwing interceptions? You let him settle back down with some hand-offs and then ease him back into throwing. Cutler is not Tom Brady; he gets emotional and needs to be reigned in every now and again. Deal with it.
Not all of Jay’s picks can be exclusively blamed on him, however. Cutler tossed a final interception to seal the game that can be put on rookie Johnny Knox. Knox was cut off on a slant route, which is unforgiveable on that type of play. Never let the defender get in front of you. Other picks can be attributed to miscommunication between Cutler and his receivers. Note that I’m not vindicating Cutler for some of his decisions, but interceptions aren’t always as simple as the quarterback making a “dumb throw.” Also, the offensive line was completely obliterated in the first half and never let Cutler get his feet set. Every QB falters under that kind of pressure.
Photo courtesy ESPN
Defensively, the Bears showed up ready to play. Cornerback Charles Tillman returned with a solid outing, despite having missed all four preseason games. Adewale Ogunleye played like a man possessed and sacked Aaron Rodgers twice and hit him on at least two other plays. He completely owned Packer guard Allen Barbre. Sacked a total of four times, Rodgers was under pressure most of the night and was held to fairly pedestrian numbers, causing the Packer offense to stall until late in the fourth quarter. Danieal Manning registered a safety on Aaron Rodgers, giving the Bears two desperately needed points and a much-needed spark in the second quarter.
Things broke down a bit in the second half, as Brian Urlacher remained on the sideline with what was revealed to be a dislocated wrist. (*UPDATE* ESPN reports that Urlacher will hage surgery on his wrist when the team returns to Chicago. No timetable has been set for his return.) Green Bay took advantage and ran the ball right up the middle at back-up Hunter Hillenmeyer with a great deal of success. Capping their comeback, Rodgers hit Greg Jennings on a 50-yard score after Jennings burned past Nathan Vasher, who was sucked in on a fantastic play-action fake. It was a horrible ending for Vasher, who made six tackles on the night.
Photo courtesy ESPN
On the same end of the sucky spectrum, the bone-headed play of the night came from veteran long-snapper Patrick Mannelly, who tried to catch the Packers with too many men on the field on a punt, normally a sound idea. Here’s where things go horribly awry. He direct snaps the ball to little Garrett Wolfe, who seemed shocked as he ran for six yards before he was tackled to turn the ball over on downs.
Lovie then throws the challenge flag, hoping that linebacker Clay Matthews didn’t get off the field in time. Replays not only show that Matthews was off the field, but that he was on the sidelines for at least 2-4 seconds before Mannelly snapped the ball. Wolfe even made a motion indicating the defender was off the field before the snap. So not only did the Bears gave the Packers great field position (with which they scored a field goal), but Lovie wasted a challenge and lost a timeout. That came back to bite the Bears later.
In his postgame press conference, Lovie Smith said linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa suffered a knee sprain and tight end Desmond Clark had a back bruise. If Tinoisamoa or Urlacher are out for an extended period of time, the Bear rush defense will suffer greatly.
In the end, we can take away some positives from this almost complete meltdown. It could barely have been a worse outing and the Bears still only lost by six points. A game for a Bear defense without creating a turnover is an aberration, so that is sure to change. Earl Bennett sure impressed me with his team-high seven receptions, and Devin Hester scored on a play that a number one wide receiver should make. Forte will touch the ball earlier and more often in subsequent games, as Ron Turner should be eased off his recent “pass-happy” nature. Chicago outgained the Pack 352 to 226 and held them to only 76 yards rushing. Feel good about that.
Finally, no one should jump off the Jay Cutler bandwagon (or a ledge) yet. Yes he’s a gunslinger. Yes he’ll make bad decisions and throw into triple-coverage. But he’ll make more good plays than bad this year. You can take that to the bank.
I’m going to eat dessert now. I need it.
