Well, if this third preseason game was any indication of how the regular season will look, Bears fans are in for a bumpy ride. The Bears' offensive woes continued against the Cardinals as the first-team unit failed to score any points. Here are my notes from Saturday night's 14-9 loss to the Cardinals.
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-Mike Martz's offense couldn't finish off drives. Too many times the Bears made it into the red zone or enemy territory and failed to put points on the board. While they did show some flashes on a deep pass to Johnny Knox and screen passes to Matt Forte and Chester Taylor, it wasn't enough. For every one or two good plays, Chicago consistently followed-up with a poor one. They never appeared to be completely in-sync, ensuring some long film sessions during this short turn-around before Thursday's final preseason game.
-Chicago's run-blocking did improve over the course of the game, opening up holes for Chester Taylor, who gave plenty of justification for his offseason signing. Unfortunately, the line did little to improve its pass protection troubles, giving up four sacks on Cutler on the night. Unacceptable.
-Dave Toub needs to whip his special teams unit into shape. A blocked field goal and another miss by Robbie Gould left six points on the board, which can't happen during the regular season if the Bears expect to win. Add these troubles to the snapping issues and punt snafus over the past few weeks and you can't feel great about the third phase.
-Defensively the Bears started strong but wavered on a couple of series, giving up a TD drive to both Derek Anderson and Matt Leinart. On Leinart's drive, safety Chris Harris whiffed on three separate tackles. They struggled to get the offense off the field on third down, even in obvious passion situations. It was a problem last year and there hasn't been noticeable improvement so far this preseason.
-Look at Cutler's two interceptions, the first thrown in Knox's direction is as much on the receiver as it is on the quarterback. Knox needs to come back to the ball on that throw, even if it was late. On the second, Jay completely under-threw Aromashodu when he needed to lead him as much as possible. D.A. had the defender beat and had three inches on him. Cutler will know better next time.
-On the injury front, Lane Briggs' ankle issue is concerning for a line-backing corps that never got healthy last season. Chicago was still without three of their safeties for the second straight week (Steltz, Wright, Bullocks), but Daniel Manning got on the field as a free safety, corner and kick returner. No injury seems too serious though, so the opening game should feature most of these players on the field.
-Playing the rest of the game after Cutler was taken out, Dan LeFevour finally got into a rhythm this preseason, leading the Bears to their only touchdown of the game. He showed poise in the pocket and good decision-making abilities on his dump-off throws and a scrambling toss to Juaquin Iglesias.
-Speaking of wastes of space, Iglesias did manage to have his most impressive game as a Bear receiver. Though a two catch and one touchdown performance isn't exactly a job-saver.
There's plenty to work on in Chicago before preseason closes this Thursday, so let's hope Lovie Smith's staff can
