Week 8: Midweek Report

Heading into week 8, the Bears welcome their bye week with open arms. The bye week will allow the Bears to heal as a team from the physical abuse they have endured over the season and also will allow them to review the first half of the season. The bye week couldn't not have come at a better time either, they are coming off two wins and are riding high with confidence even though they have the same record as last year when they entered their bye. Even though the Bears confidence is high, there are still aspects of the game the Bears need to address and I will try and point some of those out.
Offensive the Bears have a few areas they could improve in to help insure a run towards the playoffs. The first thing I would suggest is keep leaning on Matt Forte. He has shown year in and year out that he can handle the load and seems the get better the more he touches the ball. This not only will cater to the strength of the Bears offensive line, but it will also keep the pressure of Jay Cutler, who has basically been a battering ram since coming to Chicago. The second thing the Bears need to continue working on is the offensive line. It is expected that Gabe Carimi is expected to be back in practice during the week and it is important that the Bears ease him back in. Not only is he coming off a partially dislocated knee cap, but he is also a rookie and does not have much game experience. I think it is going to be important to ease him back in and if need be bring him into the game as a backup for some plays so he doesn't have the pressures with starting. Also, the Bears need to improve on the things the line has been able to do so far this season. This includes establishing a run game which eventually helps out the pass protect and passing game. The final thing the Bears need to do on offense is clean up Mike Martz's playbook. After Jay Cutler publicly called out the coordinator and asked to help him out, it seems like the offense has had more rhythm. It’s unrealistic for Mike Martz to call plays that require seven step drops and the offensive line to block for four, five or six seconds as the route evolve down field. There are very few lines in the NFL that can be asked to do that and the Bears aren't one of them. Continue to do the quick three step drop back with the occasional bootleg or play fake to open up the passing game. This will allow the offensive line to protect Jay Cutler and the offense will be able to move the ball down the field. 
On the defensive side of the ball, there are also a few things that need to be address to help continue the dominance the Bears have had the last few weeks on defense. One of the first things that need to happen is their needs to be more consistent pressure on the quarterback. This can come from multiple areas and should start with the defensive line. Whether it is Rod Marinelli implementing new rotations on the defensive line to try to spark something or Marinelli teaching some new techniques the line needs to be better. When you have a player like Julius Peppers on the line, it is expected that either he or other player will be able to create pressure. If it doesn't come from the defensive line, Rod Marinelli should consider dialing up more blitzes to create pressure. As we saw in the Buc's game, when the Bear brought linebacker pressure they were able to get to the quarterback and cause some problems for him. Another area the Bears need to shore up is the safety position, which just today saw the release of Chris Harris. It is expected that rookie Chris Conte and Major Wright will be the starters at safety for the remainder of the season and if they should falter the only replacements they have is Brandon Meriweather and Craig Steltz to fill the safety positions.
Overall, the Bears are heading into their bye week on a high note and should be able to fix some minor problems to better themselves for the rest of the season. I know this weekend is going to be a long one with no Bears football, but until next time, Bear Down Chicago.