Come to Think of it: Bears Battled Two Foes in Atlanta – Falcons and Themselves
Published by Bob Warja on October 18, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Bears beat the Bears on Sunday night in Atlanta.
Yes, that’s right.
Sure, give the Falcons some credit, but give the Bears mistakes in the red zone a big assist too.
Where do I begin?
First of all, Matt Forte who fumbles about as often as Tom Arnold stays sober, committed the sin twice in the same set of downs; the second of which was recovered by the Falcons.
As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, the defense looked unprepared and disheveled at times. They certainly weren’t ready for the no-huddle late in the first half. Lovie’s Bears seemed dazed and confused and out of position much of the night.
They say a team takes on the characteristics of its coach. Well, maybe that’s true – the defense looked about as lost as Lovie Smith does when they show him on the sidelines after a bad play. It’s like he doesn’t even know what’s going on at times.
That’s a bit too harsh, I know. And, in fairness, the Bears are on their third string signal caller on defense following the loss of Urlacher and Hillenmeyer. Still, mistakes like these were supposed to be avoided now that Lovie is calling the defensive plays.
Speaking of mistakes, what about that offensive line? I don’t care if this sounds reactionary and overdone, but I’m convinced that Frank Omiyale doesn’t belong in the NFL. He was beat more often than Tina Turner by Ike back in the day.
And why do Chicago sports teams seem to get Hall of Fame players after they are washed up? Remember Bobby Orr coming to the Blackhawks? Well, meet Orlando Pace.
Despite NBC commentator Chris Collinsworth’s protests to the contrary, Pace is not playing well. Holding and critical off-sides calls are about the only thing that stood out about Pace’s play on Sunday night.
Look, you can credit the Falcons defense for making some tough, goal line stands. You can give kudos to young Matt Ryan, from whom Jay Cutler can learn a lesson about throwing the ball away, instead of forcing it down the field when no one is open. And yes, Atlanta’s defense created pressure in the fourth quarter without even blitzing.
All that may be true, but I still say we beat ourselves tonight.
A fumble at the one, an interception at the nine and a crucial penalty when they had fourth-and-one at the Atlanta five with less than a minute to go is enough to give a fan an ulcer.
Meanwhile, I think the Bears have had enough of prime time games on national TV. Cutler has thrown six interceptions in the two games on Sunday night football.
You can almost hear fans in Denver crying for joy watching his meltdowns. The Bears are 0-2, while they are 3-0 elsewhere.
Excuses, excuses, I know.
No excuses this time- the Bears simply ran into an opponent they couldn’t beat – themselves, come to think of it.
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