Chicago Bears Do Their Best to Lose, And Succeed As They Fall To Falcons
Published by Max Kienzler on October 19, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Initial reactions from the Chicago Bears 21-14 loss at the Atlanta Falcons…
Jeff Joniak said it best on the score postgame “Bears lose in a very frustrating way.”
The Bears played miserable. While Jay Cutler had over 300 yards passing and two touchdowns, he also threw two ugly interceptions.
Running back Matt Forte couldn’t get it going on the ground game and while a lot had to do with the offensive line, his back-to-back fumbles inside the two yard line really just makes you want to scream. You would think after the first one, he may be a little more protective the second time around.
The Bears wide receivers didn’t have many drops and made some plays when Cutler got them the ball, but the offensive line was unimpressive at best and at worst, just plain awful at times. Cutler was sacked twice and the running game accumulated only 83 total yards (that includes a 34 yard scramble by Cutler).
And the penalties…Dear God, the Bears shot themselves in the foot on that final drive more than once. False starts and clippings. And then Orlando Pace, on a 4th and 1, he jumps early making it 4th and 5. UNACCEPTABLE! Pace is a 13 year veteran and he made a mistake.
While the defense did come out and play lights out for the first quarter, they then went on a stretch where they did not force a three and out until the third quarter came around.
Heck, even when the defense forced a turnover, they tried giving it right back to them. On interceptions by Zachary Bowman AND Nathan Vasher, both fumbled the ball and were very lucky that Danieal Manning was able to recover it both times.
For the offense and their three turnovers, two of them were inside Atlanta‘s redzone; Forte’s previously mentioned fumble and Cutler’s first interception at Atlanta’s 12-yard line.
The other interception occurred at the Atlanta 30 yard line on an overthrown pass intended for Greg Olsen.
Center and captain Olin Kruetz said it best in his postgame interview on 670 The Score, “We played like sh*t… We, as an O-line, just didn’t get it done today.”
Injury Note: Pisa Tinoisamoa left the game with an injury to the same leg that had him miss the previous three games. He did not return.
There were positives. Nick Roach showed he is a solid option at the middle linebacker position. The receivers continued to impress, including Johnny Knox with another touchdown and Earl Bennett with a couple clutch receptions.
Cutler still threw for over 300 yards and they did force a couple of turnovers and another fumble on Michael Turner that Matt Ryan managed to recover.
And Devin Hester made Bear fans hearts skip a beat on more than one punt return, especially the first one when a Falcon defender just managed to get his hand on his foot to trip him up.
But overall, it was a sloppy and embarrassing performance and it made one thing very clear to this writer, the Bears are not ready to be a playoff team.
Grades to come tomorrow.
Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com
