So that almost happened. Despite being out-played, out-coached, and out-classed in the first half, the Chicago Bears mounted a valiant comeback before falling to the Arizona Cardinals 41-21.
The first half looked painfully similar to the first half of the Bengals disaster, with Chicago’s defense unable to provide opposition to Kurt Warner and the explosive Cardinal offense. With four first half touchdown passes (two to Larry Fitzgerald), Warner all but obliterated any chance of a second straight win for Lovie Smith. Chicago looked lost defensively, as if they did not expect Larry Fitzgerald to be Warner’s top target. Nice job guys. With Anquan Boldin a late scratch, Fitzgerald caught 9 passes, most of which were 8-12 yards in length. The Cardinals didn’t need Boldin, with Warner finishing the game with 5 TD’s through the air. What didn’t help was losing corner Charles Tillman and safety Al Afalava through the course of the game, leaving an already struggling secondary without key performers.
So... you do know about Larry Fitzgerald being awesome, right Lovie?
The real shocker was that Arizona ran as effectively as they did behind Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower, racking up 182 yards on the ground. Contributing to Chicago’s pathetic defensive effort was the most idiotic play of the day, credited to Tommie Harris. On the fifth play of the game, Harris punched Arizona’s Deuce Lutui in the helmet while the two were on the ground. The officials wasted no time in ejecting Harris from the game for his unsportsmanlike conduct. That left a hole up the middle in the Bears’ defense that allowed their rushing attack to succeed most of the day. Harris has failed to show up this season and his bone-headed play gave him another excuse to not make an impact.
Yeah, just leave the field Tommie, its better that way.
After giving up 31 points in the first half, Chicago’s defense “held strong” by giving up only ten points in the second, but I’d argue that Arizona wasn’t calling its most aggressive calls anymore. They even put in back-up Matt Leinart for a series, but pulled him after an interception led to another Bears score. I’m not giving Lovie’s D too much credit. Their awful half was wholly responsible for this loss, just like in Cincinnati.
Jay Cutler and the offense moved the ball fairly effectively for most of the game, but penalties and bay play-call’s prematurely halted drives early, leading to punts instead of scores. Cutler played almost as well as he has all season, completing 29 passes for a whopping 369 yards and three scores, all to Greg Olsen. Unfortunately, an interception with a little less than seven minutes to go sealed the victory for Arizona. He was under pressure all day again, sacked four times and hit eight more. At this rate, Cutler won’t last all season, especially if the Bears have to keep abandoning the running game.
Cease and desist all Jay-roughing and Jay-roughing-related activities.
Besides the defensive issues, it didn’t look as if the Bears were serious about making a comeback until late in the fourth quarter. Pardon my “not-informed” opinion, but if MY team was down 24 points at halftime, I’d run some hurry-up offense to throw the defense on its heels, thus leaving more time on the clock at the end of the game when I need it most.
There were some positives to salvage out of today’s loss, but they were few. Devin Hester is really starting to come into his own as a wide receiver and will be a great complement to any incoming veteran or established number one down the road. Greg Olsen had his best game of the season, with three grabs in the end zone. Earl Bennett continues to impress me with his acrobatic catches in the midst of traffic. Despite this season’s less than memorable start, some playmakers can be found on the roster, answering one of the questions going into this season.
This near-horrid loss will seriously call into question the coaching staff’s ability to prepare their respective units and Lovie’s defensive play-calling. If his strength is defense, it hasn’t shown since he fired Ron Rivera as coordinator.
I know ownership isn’t prepared to fire Lovie Smith with nine million left on his contract, but another loss like this will force them to reconsider their stance. If you know me, I’m simply waiting for a clean-out of this regime. Sorry, I’m done with Smith and his “I’m going to be as uninformative as possible during my interviews because I know football and you don’t” answers. Few head coaches are allowed that privilege, but those that are (Bill Belichick) earned the right by winning. Lovie hasn’t earned that right, nor has he earned another season at the helm in my eyes. But what do I know?
Happy Jay Cutler Day everyone! And if all else fails, just remember we’re not as bad as Detroit!
