0 Comments

Season in Freefall: Reactions to Packers Loss

| December 17th, 2012

Here are my rapid fire thoughts from a depressing afternoon on the Lakefront.

  • I believe we have seen the end of the Gabe Carimi era in Chicago. His benching at guard after struggling mightily era should spell his release this spring.
  • This game completely changed on Cutler’s mindless interception at the end of the first half. He can not throw that pass. Simply can’t throw it. And he certainly can’t act surprised because Devin Hester did something wrong.
  • I’m frankly getting tired of the Jay Cutler sideline show. Nobody on this offense seems to have any clue what’s going on and Cutler kicking and screaming on the bench isn’t making an impact. Just go to the sideline, shut your mouth and wait for your next shot.
  • I have never seen offensive pass interference called on one player like that in my life. Refs didn’t decide this game but Alshon Jeffery is owed an apology.
  • And the only reason Jeffery saw man coverage all afternoon was because Dom Capers decided to do everything possible to take Brandon Marshall away. And Marshall STILL scored a touchdown. Jeffery had to step up and I thought he did.
  • Was Kellen Davis targeted a single time yesterday? Was any tight end?
  • Nice start to the game for Corey Wootton and Julius Peppers but where were they in the second half?
  • Charles Tillman has not stopped being great all year.
  • Tim Jennings has been the most meaningful injury suffered by the Bears this year.
  • Other than Lance Louis, is there a single Bears offensive lineman that should return in 2013? Maybe you could sell me on Roberto Garza – who commits false starts like he invented them – but I’d argue the Bears need four new bodies.
  • The cross-field throw on the punt return was the single dumbest call of the season. How can Mike McCarthy think the Bears were alive in this game? Why would he toss them a lifeline? That play was legitimately insane.
  • At some point Lovie Smith is going to take DJ Moore off Randall Cobb right? Was the game plan really to leave Moore on whomever is in the slot even if its the opposition’s best receiver? (I’m going to make this the centerpiece of my conversation with Cam Worrell this week.)
  • I actually thought Devin Hester had a bit of a burst yesterday on returns. Bears should let him keep doing those.
  • You see how the Packers run their passing game behind a bad offensive line? They make quick drops and take the 3-5 yard completion. They take their shots down the field, of course, but those shots are catalyzed by success underneath. The Bears do none of this stuff. Their entire game seems predicated upon sitting Cutler into a deep pocket. And it’s terrible. The passing game was far more dynamic under Mike Martz. I don’t see how the Bears allow Mike Tice to call plays in Arizona.
  • It didn’t matter but burning time outs early in the third quarter is the act of a coach who doesn’t seem to mind he may be fired.
  • Joe Anderson played special teams like he has no interest in visiting the practice squad again. And he shouldn’t. He should also be given a chance to catch some passes before the end of the year.
  • The play calling at the goal line…wow. That was the definition of unexciting. Why not just take knees and kick the field goal?

I’d like to see the Bears win these final two games, finish the season at 10-6 and figure out this offense in the spring (with or without a coaching change). But I have not seen enough from this team over the last few weeks to believe they’re capable of winning back-to-back road games. We shall see.