Week 12: Oakland Raiders

The Bears headed into their game against the Oakland Raiders with some uncertainties with their team. It was the first game the Bears would play without Jay Cutler, who injured his thumb on a touchdown saving tackle against the Chargers. The Bears were also trying to extend their winning streak to five games and continue the roll they had been on for much of the last month. Things however did not start off well for the Bears and many Bears fans were worrying that the Bears season may be over since Cutler was out. On the Bears first offensive drive, Caleb Hanie looked very uncomfortable and after a few stuffed runs and an errant pass, punted the ball away on a three and out.  On the following Bears possession, Caleb Hanie once again looked uncomfortable in a pretty decent pocket and rolled out and should have simply thrown the ball away, but tried to float a pass over a defender to Matt Forte and was picked off. Throughout the entire first half, Hanie looked very scared in the pocket and that turned into two more interceptions for a total of three. It was a blessing however that the Raiders could not punch the ball in for a touchdown when they were in the red zone and the three interceptions only cost the Bears 6 points. One of the key plays in the first half came as the second quarter was ending and the Bears were in the red zone. A backside slip screen to Kellen Davis was called and the play never developed, however Hanie decided to throw the ball. The ball was tipping and intercepted and was marched down the field, and the touchdown saving tackle came from right tackle Lance Louis. That was arguably one of the biggest plays of the game because it could have easily been a 10 point swing. The first half was an overall disaster for the Bears offense because of the bad decision made by Caleb Hanie and Mike Martz's inability to call enough running plays. The offense did however begin to show signs of awakening in the second half. One of the more impressive things in the game was the resilience of Caleb Hanie, who at no point in the game ever truly gave the impression the Bears were out of the game. Even with his three first half interceptions, Hanie showed some skill and poise in the second half as he lead the Bears to three late score in the fourth quarter. Even though the Bears were never truly out of the game, Hanie's mistakes and turnovers ended up costing the Bears the game. He did have some good plays along the way, but overall needs to clean things up. He possess all the skills and talent needed to keep this Bears team above water until Cutler comes back and simply needs to spend more time in films and on the practice field to build more of a repertoire.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears did many good things to keep the team in the game and even potentially win the game. On numerous occasions, they would allow the Raiders to have long drives down the field, only to stop them in the red zone and hold them to field goals.  The defensive line had a very good game, compiling four sacks, five tackles for losses and consistently putting pressure on Carson Palmer. If the defense is going to carry this team, they are going to need performances like this from the defensive line. Julius Peppers had a huge game, which was a good thing to see. He lead the team with two sacks and it looked like he was consistently in the backfield disrupting plays. Peppers is arguably one of the toughest players to defend and if he continues to play this well, this Bears defense should be able to do good things. Tim Jennings also had a very good game, even though he got beat on a double move at the end of the game, on what ended up being the winning touchdown. Throughout the game, he consistently seemed to know what routes the receivers were running and simply beat them to the ball. He had a few dropped interceptions but overall had one of his best games of the season. The special team, which is usually one of the Bears strongest assets, simply got outplayed by one of the league’s best kickers and punters. Besides the 53 yard kick return Johnny Knox had, the special teams unit could never seem to get anything going. Raider’s punter Shane Lechler consistently pinned the Bears within their own 10 yard line and on one occasion boomed an 80 yard punt over Devin Hester. This unit is one that needs to be consistently making play in order to help the Bears offense.
All in all, this game was lost on the arm of Caleb Hanie and his poor decisions, but don't expect that to happen again. Oakland is a tough place to play and hopefully Mike Martz will use the running game more to help Hanie. Next up for the Bears is the Kansas City Chiefs, which many could argue is a must win for the Bears in order for them to keep their position in wildcard spot. So until next time fans, Bear Down Chicago.