Definitely Not What I Expected
Coming into the Week 2 matchup with the Cardinals, I definitely was not expecting a 48-23 beating. Anytime the opposing team takes the opening kickoff to the house, you should expect a long day.
That was the case against Arizona.
I think the biggest disappointment to take away from this game was the 14 penalties for 170 yards.
Yikes!
That ties the Bears’ franchise-record for penalty yards.
Dear Vic Fangio,
Please get Kyle and Alan fixed, I know that both of them can play better than what they’ve shown. Alan Ball has had a rough last two weeks, getting beat against James Jones in week one and getting beat by multiple receivers this past week.
Maybe I set my level of expectations too high for him already? The veteran corner needs to step up his game and bring Kyle Fuller with him.
There was a slight improvement in the pass rush this week. The Bears had six QB Hits against Carson Palmer… but no sacks.
That makes two consecutive weeks now that the Bears have failed to sack the quarterback.
A really good defense starts up front and so far, the defensive front has been just as bad as the coverage. I’ve seen a lot of people talk about how the secondary is not performing.
The secondary is not performing because the opposing quarterback has ALL day to throw.
Where’s Pernell McPhee? Jared Allen? Lamarr Houston? These three guys are supposed to be some of the best in the business. I’m going to have a really hard time completely blaming the secondary for giving up a loss when the front seven has just as much responsibility to get after the quarterback as the coverage team does covering the receivers.
The Bears defense has given up similar numbers to both Green Bay and Arizona.
The Bears gave up 185 passing yards to Carson Palmer and 189 to Aaron Rodgers. The Bears surrendered 115 rushing yards to Arizona and 133 to Green Bay. They are almost identical stats, but the difference was that Bruce Arians has no problem taking deep shots down the field.
Green Bay stuck to a more conservative, “move the ball down the field shorter chunks at a time.” Take away the pick six and the opening kick off and it’s a 34-23 game, which is very similar to the 31-23 loss the to the Packers.
The Bears defense needs to take that next step and put consistent pressure on the quarterback.
Jay Cutler
Love him or hate him, everybody learned that he is the most valuable piece to this Bears offense.
Yeah he threw a pick, I’m more upset that Tony Jefferson was able to return that interception for a touchdown than I am about Jay throwing the pick. Seriously Bears fans, it is just apart of Jay’s game. I don’t think it is valid to say, “Jay throws them at the worst time possible.
Is there really any good time to throw an interception?
Take a moment and look at the positives from Jay last week.
Prior to him exiting, he was 8 of 8 for 120 yards. He had three rushes for 24 yards and ended up as the team’s second leading rusher last week.
He was able to execute the read option plays pretty well. Plus, he was able to hit a wide open Josh Bellamy for a 48 yard touchdown pass right after taking a hard shot to the helmet.
Now seriously, that’s a pretty flawless game going into the last four minutes of the half. Keep in mind, Alshon did not play in this game.
I think Jay has over stayed his time here in Chicago, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to support him.
I will take Jay over Jimmy Clausen any day of the week. I liked Jay better last year than I did Jimmy when he was the talk of the town, and the year before that when McCown was the headline guy.
I’ll take my fair shot of jabs at Jay, but I have to respect the man.
He’s been through a plethora of different play books and faced a lot of adversity. Chicago fans will definitely let you know when they aren’t happy; I’m sure Jay knows that a majority of us want him out, including myself.
I’ve said it before, the Bears are only going to be as good as Jay can be.
However, I learned last week that Jay plays a very crucial role in Fox’s system. Not only is he the leader of the offense, but it appears that he is focal point of the whole team.
Bear with me, Jay is the guy to stick with in the foreseeable future. While I’d rather have someone else under center, Jay is the current best option.
Looking Ahead
The Bears have to travel to noisy Seattle to face the Seahawks who are are 0-2. Let me tell you, there’s still a lot of work to be done if the Bears plan to pull an upset against Seattle, in Seattle.
The Seahawks offensive line has given up eight sacks to two games this year. This seems like a great opportunity for the defensive front to have a break out game.
Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch are going to shoulder the rushing load. Wilson is a very mobile quarterback and will also more than likely do some scrambling to pick up yards. Expect some read option plays as well.
Keep in mind that Marshawn Lynch has yet to rush for more than 75 yards in a game. Does that trend continue this week?
They have had multiple receivers and backs make big contributions to the receiving game. Jermaine Kearse lead the team in week one against St. Louis with 8 receptions for 76 yards, and Doug Baldwin led the team with 7 receptions for 92 yards against the Packers last Sunday night.
The Bears offensive line needs to work on fundamentals, as they had way too many penalties. Look for Purdue’s own Cliff Avril. He has amounted five tackles in two games this year. I’ve watched him live at Purdue when he was there and he has the ability to create havoc in the backfield whenever given a chance. If the offensive line cannot hold their own, I’m anticipating Cliff to have a solid day.
Keep on eye on Micheal Bennett, who is the brother of Chicago’s Marty Bennett. So far Micheal has a sack and you can bet that he has his eyes on Kyle Long.
Kyle played with that cast on his right hand and he struggled to grab a hold of guys when engaging because of it. Kyle held is own against Arizona for the most part, he had a couple slip ups. Look for that to be a match up that Seattle tries to exploit against Chicago.
It’s unclear right now who the starting quarterback will be come Sunday. John Fox has not yet ruled out Jay for Sunday’s game.One report said Jay will be out for two weeks, Fox says don’t count him out.
I’m going to listen to the coach.
I anticipate Forte getting another workload in the rushing game. Don’t be surprised though if we see more Jeremy Langford against Seattle. I like how he played against Arizona.
The wide receiver position is weak and there’s a lack of depth without Alshon. The Bears should continue to show more tight sets with all three tight ends in the formation.
Seattle has one of the most talked about defenses in the league and has yet to record an interception. Richard Sherman has been the quietest of that secondary. He has amounted only three total tackles. That may be due to the quarterbacks not throwing his way. If that’s the case, expect him to cover either Alshon or Eddie depending on whether Alshon returns to the field or not.
Oh yeah… and Kam Chancellor has announced that his holdout is final and he will suit up Sunday.
The Bears have been consistent in scoring, they’ve put up 23 points in each contest so far. Right now it’s hard to tell how many they will score, with doubt on quarterback will be.
My guess will be that the Bears hover around 20 points again this week regardless of the quarterback.
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