What I learned from the Bears' 17-9 win over the Rams

After a still-ongoing bevy of computer issues, I'm back with a classic-text version of my Bears blog. I may have missed a Gameday Preview, but let's face it, did you need one? Every Bears fan knew their team HAD to beat the lowly Rams or face the embarrassment of losing to one of the worst teams in football. Thankfully, that didn't happen as the Bears put up 17 points at Soldier Field, more than enough to dwarf the offensively-challenged Rams. So what did I learn from this much-needed win?

Unfortunately, not much. Jay Cutler injured his hand during the contest but it certainly doesn't look to be anything overly serious. Ron Turner put an obvious emphasis on running the ball, force-feeding the ball to Matt Forte and Kahlil Bell 38 times for 120 yards. Cutler only threw 18 times, a sure side effect of an injured hand. Still, the Bears went downfield early, attacking a porous St. Louis secondary. Devin Hester made his best catch of the season and Earl Bennett caught his first career touchdown.

Despite the win, the Bears only beat the Rams by eight measly points. They failed to score in the second or fourth quarters and simply held off a completely inept offense. If Marc Bulger had been under center for the Rams, the outcome would have been significantly different. That's something to remember. Kyle Boller was awful and couldn't help out running back Steven Jackson one bit. I can't say much about the defense. They sacked Boller three times and held him to under 100 yards passing. Jamar Williams was the stand-out of the day, racking up 18 tackles in place of Lance Briggs.

Areas of concern came from unlikely places. Dave Toub's special teams unit did play up to their typical high standard with costly penalties and a poorly executed fake field goal. (Which looked putrid.) Chris Williams was... alright in his first start at left tackle. ESPN has the Bears credited with six fumbles, one of which was lost. Lovie better nip that problem in the bud and fast. (Matt Forte, I thought we were past your case of fumblitis.)

It wasn't the the embarrassing loss I was semi-hoping for, but hopefully this poor performance against a supposedly inferior foe will spur the overhaul that must be rapidly approaching. We all know Ron Turner won't be back for next season. Most of the offensive staff will be gone as well. Beyond that, these last four games will help decide.

Rumors have abounded about coaching changes for Chicago, including one mentioning Bill Cowher. As I understand it, someone in the McCaskey family reached out to the Rooney family (who owns the Steelers) to inquire about Cowher and what it may take to acquire his services. With an abundance of McCaskeys entrenched in Bears management, there's no telling how serious an overture this was. I won't pay much attention to it until Lovie is positively on his way out.

What I will pay attention to is the offensive coordinator rumors, one of which will almost surely take place. Charlie Weis has expressed his interest in the job (I don't want to see him on my sideline) as has Mike Martz. The newest  tidbit has former Broncos O-coordinator and current USC coordinator Jim Bates heading to the windy city. This makes a lot of sense because Bates was the coordinator during Jay Cutler's Pro Bowl season. Cutler loves working with him and it could make tremendous strides in improving an under-performing unit.

Well, there you have it. I'll be back later in the week with a Gameday Preview! Have an awesome week.