Bears Blitz

Published by Bear Heiser on September 18, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Marc Trestman affected change in the Chicago Bears organization when he took over as head coach prior to the 2013 season.

The Bears historically have been a team that found success on offense through running the ball. While it would be far too reaction to say that those days are over, the ground game certainly could use a little TLC as the season progresses.

Last season, the Bears ran the ball 41 percent of the total snaps, with the other 59 percent coming in the passing game. It was a role reversal from the previous season, when Chicago nearly was at a 50/50 split. And it’s been even more lopsided this season.

Through the first two contests, the Bears ran the ball just 35 times, passing the ball an eye-popping 83 times.

You don’t have to be a math whiz to understand the disparity there. That comes out to 29.6 percent run to 70.3 percent pass.

The likeliest reason for said disparity is the fact that the Bears have trailed for most of the first half against both the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.

Regardless, the offense needs more balance. We don’t yet know if Mel Tucker’s defense will be able to sustain the success it had in the Week 2 win in San Francisco. So it would stand to reason that more balance on offense could help keep the defense off the field.

Running back Matt Forte was great against Buffalo, carrying the ball 17 times for 87 yards, an average of 4.8 yards per carry. Seven of Forte’s carries came in the first half and 10 came in the second. Not a terrible balance from first half to second half.

But the fact that quarterback Jay Cutler threw the ball 49 times in the game is troublesome. The Bears also turned the ball over three times in the passing game, two interceptions and one fumble.

Look at the turnovers; two occurred in the first half and the other in the second. When the game was tied at 17, Trestman once again relied on the pass to move the ball down field, to the tune of four run plays to six pass plays, the last being an interception that essentially ended the game.

When the passing game commits two first-half turnovers, perhaps then would be a good time to change gears a bit. No gears were changed, though, as Trestman called seven rushes and 23 total passes, three of which were negated due to penalties.

Seventeen carries is a good number for Forte, because he’s getting touches in the passing game. But that doesn’t mean Trestman can’t spell Forte with rookie Ka’Deem Carey, whom the Bears chose in the fourth round. Carey received one carry against Buffalo. That’s just not enough when the starting back is touching the ball 25 times in total.

The only way to keep a defense on its heels is by offering it something new and different.

And then San Francisco happened.

“I was embarrassed,” second-year Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long said Monday in reference to the ineptitude of the run game against the 49ers, via ESPNChicago.com.

The Bears ran the ball a total of 17 times for a measly 46 yards, an average of 2.7 yards per carry. Forte wasn’t even the Bears’ leading rusher, either; it was Cutler, who rushed five times for a whopping 25 yards. It’s probably worth mentioning that Cutler picked up 25 yards on one scramble.

The Bears had only one drive that lasted longer than 3:53. In comparison, the 49ers had three drives of 14 plays, lasting 7:44, 9:04 and 5:44.

But surprisingly enough, though, the Bears’ offense featured more balance against the 49ers than it did against the Bills.

“We’re going to throw that away and try to work off where we got started in the Buffalo game and try to continue to progress and get better there,” Trestman said, via ChicagoBears.com. “That’s a very difficult defense to run against. But nonetheless the tape certainly showed us that we have some work to do and it got our guys’ attention, which is a good thing.”

San Francisco’s defense is as stout as they come. Pro Football Focus rated the 49ers’ rush defense in the top 10 in each year dating back to 2007 (subscription needed), the first year PFF started collecting data.

If you’re looking for a reason as to why the Bears struggled, look no further than the health of Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, who both were battling injuries, ankle and hamstring, respectively.

San Francisco’s secondary was sitting on Marshall and Jeffery all game long, giving the NFL’s best wide receiver duo every opportunity to make plays if their bodies would allow them to. But neither Marshall nor Jeffery could explode down field, which kept the entire 49ers defensive unit within a stone’s throw of the line of scrimmage.

Forte got stacked at the line virtually every time he took a handoff. You can’t really even put the onus on the offensive line, either. Three of the five starters graded positively, too, according to PFF’s metrics. Something to consider is the two new faces who found themselves in the starting lineup, center Brian De La Puente and left guard Michael Ola.

“We need to run the ball,” Long said. “I know we got the win on the road, and it was big. I’m sure everybody else in our room will echo that. So will Matt. You need to run the ball in the National Football League, and we’ll be better at that.”

Throwing the tape way, as Trestman suggested, is one thing, but actually learning not to throw the run game away when it’s not working is something entirely different.

The Bears definitely are a pass-first team nowadays, but a more concerted effort needs to be made moving forward to create a little balance. A 60-40 pass run split would suffice. It also wouldn’t hurt to take some pressure off Marshall and Jeffery given their injuries.

Monday night against the New York Jets will be a great test for a Bears team that really couldn’t be riding higher after what happened Sunday night in San Fran. The Jets are tough.

Rex Ryan‘s defense is one of seven teams that have yet to give up a rushing touchdown, according to ESPN Research. PFF rated the unit as the fifth best so far this season.

So the task at hand will not be easy.

Stay tuned Friday for a look at how the Bears’ offense match up with the Jets’ defense.

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