Chicago Bears Season Is over with the Loss to the Lions
Published by Joseph Goode on October 12, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Monday night’s matchup against the Detroit Lions was probably the biggest game of the season for the Bears and they needed the win. The Bears have two teams ahead of them that are undefeated and destined for the playoffs and to keep pace, the Bears needed to give the Lions a loss.
It just so happened that the Bears put up a lackluster effort and lost. The offensive line was horrid, with more penalties then I can remember for a line in a long time. Ndamukong Suh and the rest of the Lions defensive line had their way Monday night, penetrating on almost every down. I had not seen a defensive line so dominant in quite a long time, and they did most of it without the help of the other guys blitzing.
Tight end Kellen Davis looked very uncomfortable blocking at the line,and he had three false starts in the first quarter. Davis is not being used correctly in this offense and should be used as a safety release receiver for Cutler with his 6’7” frame and soft hands.
The strength of the Bears team is usually the defense, but against the Lions, they looked old, tired and slow. The defensive line was not able to get to Stafford and he torched the Bears secondary because of it.
The Jahvid Best 88-yard run was unreal for the fact that he was untouched. Briggs and Urlacher completely lost him and were on the sidelines shaking their heads. I don’t think Briggs is going to get the contract that he wants if he continues with this type of performance. Father time is finally catching up to the Bears linebackers.
I know that Calvin Johnson is probably the best receiver in the game, but couldn’t the Bears have some sort of scheme to at least slow him down? There were numerous times when Johnson was covered by one guy and this was unacceptable. I seriously would keep at least two guys or have the cover two shift towards Johnson throughout the whole game. He had five catches for 130 yards and a score. Can you say MVP?
The only bright spot in this whole game was what quarterback Jay Cutler was doing in duress. He was hurried and sacked numerous times because he has no offensive line and the Lions have such a great defensive line, but he did some great things out of the pocket. When Cutler used his legs and scrambled around, he was very effective. There should be plays where Cutler is rolling out, but Martz does not allow his quarterbacks to leave the pocket. All I have to say is that Martz needs to be fired. He is an offensive genius, but he doesn’t fit on this team.
So after highlighting how awful the Bears were Monday night, I want to explain why their season is over.
There are two undefeated teams in the NFL and they happen to be in the same division as the Bears. The Bears are already three games behind the Lions and Packers who they already lost to in their first matchups.
There are 11 games remaining and the Bears will have to probably win nine of the remaining 11 games to make it. That means they have to beat the Lions and Packers in their second meeting, which is definitely a difficult task. The Bears also have to face the Chargers, a solid Buccaneers team and an Eagles team that should be firing on all cylinders when they meet the Bears. There have been teams in the past who got hot at the right time to make the playoffs, but It just seems too difficult for this team to accomplish this feat.
The defense is not what it used to be with the players aging and looking really slow. They are ranked 27th in opponents passing yards and 28th in rushing, which means they cannot stop anybody. The offense isn’t much better with running back Matt Forte being their sole provider on offense and Cutler struggling to stay alive.
The Bears should scratch this season and look forward to next season. They should also do some spring cleaning by firing Mike Martz, cutting the incumbent Roy Williams and signing a whole new offensive line.
GM Jerry Angelo has made some costly mistakes this offseason and it has shown in this 2011 season. The Bears mountain is too steep to climb even after Week 5 and the Bears should just throw in the towel. This season is over and fans can only wish the Bears can sneak into the playoffs. This is sad for Chicago Bears nation, but I know we will come back stronger next year.
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