Chicago Bears: What Went Wrong for Jay Cutler and the Team Against the Saints
Published by Joseph Goode on September 19, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears were suppose to play inspiring football in the wake of linebacker Brian Urlacher losing his mother this past week. The new Cutler was suppose to be the new leader with positive body language. What went wrong in this game?
The game looked even in the first half, and the New Orleans Saints had a tough time with the cover two scheme. I really thought the Bears had a chance to win this game.
Then the injuries came. The Bears lost first-round pick Gabe Carimi, who is arguably the best lineman the team has. With Carimi out, the offensive line fell apart, and Cutler was very unsteady in the pocket. A weak offensive line along with the Saints’ blitz package had Cutler running for his life.
Already without Roy Williams, the team then lost their next biggest receiver in Earl Bennett. To make thing worst, they lost their free safety Major Wright for the game, which didn’t matter as Devery Henderson was running pass the coverage team all game.
At the start of the second half, the team began to fall apart and so did Cutler. He resorted back to his old ways—scrambling when he felt uncomfortable and throwing off his back foot. When he got taken down and fumbled the ball, Cutler pouted to the sidelines. The cameras were pointed right at him, and you literally saw him blaming his line for the turnover. At this point, his mind was not in the game.
No matter what happened or what the score was, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning would never complain, and would always find a way to fight back. Cutler never had that fight the rest of the game. He separated himself from the team and was very disconnected.
He felt a little pressure and stopped trusting his protection. He also did not trust his receivers, which isn’t saying much or Martz’s play calling, and decided to only pass to Forte on the dump offs. It became blatant that Cutler would only look for Forte, which was not good because there was no balance.
Martz also fell victim of not running the ball with only 11 carries throughout the game. With no run game, the Saints stayed in a pass coverage, adding a variety of blitzes to pressure Cutler. The NFL is about balance and the Bears had none.
Another factor into the collapse of the Bears was that they seemed uninspired. The team captain’s mother just passed away, and you mean to tell me that these guys couldn’t pull out a win for him.
The defense was very slow and the cover two had holes throughout the field. The Bears intentionally hold players with the ball up just so they can strip the ball, but you never saw that in this game. I had really hoped that they could pull this one off for Urlacher. What a shame.
One week after looking like a Super Bowl contender in demolishing the Falcons, the Bears looked horrible, out of sync and the injury toll kept rising. I really hope Cutler and Martz do not resort back to their old ways. The Cutler of today is suppose to be better and motivated, and Martz is suppose be balanced just as he was with the St. Louis Rams.
The road does not get any easier as the Bears take on their rival in the Green Bay Packers. Look for the Bears to play a great game and beat the Super Bowl Champs in Week 3.
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