Week 3: Green Bay Packers

Coming into week 3 against the Packers, the Bears were trying to get the bad taste out of their mouth from the beating they received from the New Orleans Saints. However, thing seemed all too familiar in Sunday's game against Green Bay and many issues come to surface in my mind. The Bears came out and looked very lethargic on offense. The unit seemed to have no real flow or feel for the game. I can point in a few directions to why I think this is happening. First off, what Mike Martz likes to do and is trying to do just isn't working with this Bears offense. We all know Martz helped orchestrate the "Greatest Show on Turf" when he was in St. Louis, but his style is simply not working in Chicago and needs to change. He needs to realize that he doesn't have Kurt Warner, Marshal Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt running out there every game, with Orlando Pace anchoring a dependable line. (No disrespect to Jay Cutler and Matt Forte but Warner and Faulk are hall of fame players) Martz needs to take a step back and realize that his offensive line just is not good enough for him to call play that require 5-7 yard drop backs, and takes 4,5 or 6 seconds to develop down field. If he continues, he will basically have a dead quarterback and an angry mob waiting for him daily after work. Martz needs to realize that he needs to simplify things on offense so this unit can start to gain confidence in itself and succeed. He also has to put more emphasis into a more simplified running game, even though it has struggled these last few weeks. In order for the Bears to be successful in running the ball, I believe every running play shouldn't consist of two linemen pulling in order to set blocks. He needs to let his offensive linemen fire off the ball a few time and just hit someone so that they can start gaining confidence, and in the long run this will help the team. Besides Mike Martz, I feel like offensive line needs to come out angry and hit someone in the chin. The unit simple looks scared to hit someone, even though they have the personnel and size to be a very good running team. I think things may turn around in the running game whenever Lance Louis is able to return, because I feel like he has a nasty side that will rub off on the other linemen. Throughout the game, Jay Cutler did show some promising signs in making the correct reads on certain plays and hitting his hot routes when the Packers blitzed, but fell victim of dropped passes. Roy Williams, Johnny Knox and Kellen Davis all had big drops, which simply cannot happen week in and week out. One thing I believe is contributing to the struggles of the Bears on offense is the fact that the receivers are not making the big plays when they need too. Jay Cutler and his receivers need to do whatever it takes to develop the chemistry needed to trust each other and make the plays needed to get this offense on track.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears were lead by linebacker Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs who made all the big plays when necessary. On consecutive defensive series in the 4th quarter, Lance Briggs forced James Strack to fumble the ball and Brian Urlacher intercepted a ball intended for Jermichael Finley. The Bears played a good game on the defensive side of the ball, but did miss the presence of starting safety Chris Harris on a few key passing plays throughout the game. Look for the Bears defense to come out and make a stand next week against Carolina to help prevent the team from going 1-3. So until next time Chicago, Bear Down.