First of all, I know that I was just giving credit where it was due to Mike Martz last week, but that's ALL over with after the Week 2 performance. I'll have more on that below.
Da Bears traveled down to DREW Orleans, LouBREESiana where they literally got stepped on (QB Jay Cutler got stepped on or kicked in the throat) and lost 30-13.
In one of the loudest stadiums on the planet, Cutler, with a hoarse voice, struggled to call the cadence at the line of scrimmage. It was the Saints' home-opener and the venue was a factor. Unfortunately, this was the least of Cutler's problems.
Week 1's play-calling balance, protection, and production was non-existent against the New Orleans Saints. Martz called 52 passing plays to 11 rushes (that's nearly a 5:1 ratio for those of you doing the math at home). And although they only trailed by six to end the first half, Martz called 29 passing-plays to just TWO run-plays in the second half.
That is inexcusable.
I understand that football is a finite game and that if you're trailing, you'll revert to more passing plays to gain more yardage and save some clock. But good God man, run the damn ball. It'll probably make the 3rd downs more managable. It will also give the defense something else to consider. Defenses TRY to make offenses one dimensional and predictable. Martz gets off the bus and voluntarily makes Da Bears one dimensional.
Everybody knows the Saints' Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams likes to gamble and bring pressure. Cutler was sacked six times for a loss of 58 yards all in the second half. Although he wasn't sacked in the first half, Cutler was pressured and hit several times (which made him uneasy in the pocket, if one was actually created).
The pressure on Cutler became the turning point of the game. Da Bears were trailing 16-13 when Kellen "Revolving-Door" Davis let Turk McBride destroy Cutler on a sack-and-strip. This gave Breesus Christ and the Saints offense aspicious field-position, which led to a four-yard touchdown pass to Robert Meachum to take a 23-13 lead.
Trailing by 10 points down in DREW Orleans LousBREESiana means GAME OVER in Cajun.
Da Bears ran 35 plays in the second half (including punts). 21 of those plays resulted in either a turnover, negative yardage, no gain, or an incomplete pass. EMBARRASSING.
All of the blame doesn't fall on Mad-Martz and his offense though. The defense didn't play paricularly well on Sunday either.
Da Bears have five safties that seemingly don't understand the Cover 2 defense. They were in the perfect defense to avert the 79 yard touchdown pass from Breesus Christ to Devery Henderson, but Major Wright was late getting off of his landmark and allowed Henderson to get behind him. YOU CANNOT GET BEAT DEEP! You have a 20-yard cushion, so you can't let anybody get behind you. It's that simple.
Julius Peppers.
I think that was the first time his name has been said or written since Week 1 because he sure wasn't mentioned in Week 2. He was consistently getting dominated, IN ONE-ON-ONE SITUATIONS!
Everybody thought Brian Urlacher was going to have the game of his life after his 51 year-old mother passed away suddenly last Monday. It was tragic. So were his three tackles.
Hank Melton recorded seven hits on Matt Ryan in Week 1. He's not even listed in the defensive boxscore on chicagobears.com.
It was a bad day for General Manager Jerry Angelo. The team's weaknesses were glaring on Sunday, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Da Bears have a terribly low talent-level with the exception of a handful of players.
The front office has put Da Bears in this position. This is why I've been pining for losing seasons, so that the McCaskey Crew has no choice but to wipe the slate clean, starting from the top on down. (See previous posts for a reference). I'm pining for the day that a news release states that Ted Phillips and Jerry Angelo are no longer a part of the Chicago Bears' organization.
Earlier this week, Jerry Angelo said in reference to the offensive line being a top-priority in the offseason “We did everything you could possibly do to that position. Nobody did more than the Chicago Bears."
WHAT?! Okay, you drafted Gabe Carimi in the first round, but then you traded up in the draft to get Stephen Paea (he was healthy and not even on the active roster on Sunday). You signed a rather inexperienced Center who is now playing Guard because the Director of Player Personnel Tim Ruskell told you to do so. You didn't sign a journeyman offensive lineman to fill in as your rookie and sophomore book-ends develop. And you can't even use the salary-cap as an excuse since you're millions below the cap limit.
For Jerry Angelo to say that and insult the fans' intelligence is indefensible and pathetic.
Kind of like the team's performance in Week 2. You know, the one in which he has assembled.
Tune in to the Chicago Sports Fix radio show with Josh Catlow and me, Rob Zielinski this and every Monday evening from 6 to 8pm only on http://www.chicagolandsportsradio.com/
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