Next Sunday's game against the Packers might be the most important non-playoff game in recent Chicago sports memory. If the Bears lose, and remember it's in Lambeau, they aren't winning the division and probably aren't making the playoffs. If they can find a way to win, and I think they will, then they still have a shot. Sunday's game is absolutely critical- if they lose, they may as well tank the season to try to get Jake Long, Brian Brohm, or Darren McFadden, because God knows they need all three right now.The Lions game was atrocious, and that fourth quarter comeback is the kind of stuff that destroys seasons. Griese replaced Grossman and was bad. Sure he moved the offense a little better, but two redzone interceptions and a pick returned for a touchdown isn't going to cut it. Neither will the Grease-Man throwing 52 passes which is just fucking insane. I said before the game and I'll say it again: can we please find out if Cedric Benson sucks. With Griese at quarterback you have no choice but to be a running team- that means Cedric has to get more then 15 carries. Give him 25 and see what happens, the Bears owe it to themselves for taking the guy fourth overall, and for giving him Thomas Jones' job, who was beloved by the fans and more importantly the players.
The problem is that this offense which looked so explosive in training camp, and at times in the preseason, is downright awful. Now with so many defensive players hurt, the Bears are extremely vulnerable. But how good did the secondary play yesterday? Most third and fourth cornerbacks in the NFL trip over their own feet when they backpeddle- the Brothers Manning were about as good as you could have hoped for yesterday against the pass happy Lions. But the defensive unit that was on the field yesterday- even though I thought they played pretty well- certainly won't win you any games. They can keep the Bears in a game, but they won't win it.
As for the offense, everything is just going so wrong. Grossman sucks, Griese sucks, Benson probably sucks (please no more fumbles), Moose sucks, Berrian sucks (please no more drops), and the entire offensive line sucks. And when Olsen is hurt and Hester is too dumb to play offense, the team has a serious lack of weapons. It kills me because this offense and this team just looked so promising. Imagine how that game would have turned out yesterday without Hester- who is officially the best return man in NFL history and has the opportunity to be the best specialist in the history of sports. An ode to Hester is coming soon, but I can't bring myself to write it with everything else going so wrong. It just feels inconsequential.
Here's the point: the Bears have been horrible this season, but they're only 1-3. Start next week in Lambeau and prove to you are a competent football team. The Packers certainly aren't "5-0 good", but it may just be their year. Either way, the Bears need to win on Sunday, and I think they will. It's getting harder to be optimistic, but this really is the Bears last stand, and it happens in week 5. Make it count boys.
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Comments
Yeah but you have to give him a chance. Fumbles are the worst thing in the world, and Benson has one in like every game, but the Griese-Man isn't going to beat you, so give Ced a solid chance. 25 or so carries and see what happens, because Griese throwing 52 times will never work. Peterson isn't a feature back either so you have to find out what Cedric can do. Right now, it doesn't look good. But he's a power runner and power runners get better with more carries as the game goes on. Just give the guy one solid chance.
It seems as if every issue the Bears have this year on offense stems from another larger issue. Besides Benson dropping the ball, he isn't exactly getting any holes to run through. Defenses are slanting down to the strong side and a hole never really seems to open. One of Benson's biggest strengths is running back/weak side and taking on a defender one on one. Still, I do agree that he just looks plain lazy and seems to be easy to take down. As for Griese (and Grossman), they both suffer from an old offensive line that cannot stop the blitz and receivers that cannot catch. I think its going to get worse before it gets better, but you're right, the Bears do have a shot to win next weekend. Let's all pray that they can get a huge win and move ahead in a positive manner.
Yeah who could have predicted the downfall of this offensive line. We all knew they were getting older, but they got real old real fast. The o-line has been horrible so far, and now John Tait has a high ankle sprain. That's an injury that could take up to 4 weeks to heal- imagine how bad its going to get with St. Clair in there now.
About Cedric Benson.....I can't stand him, he runs with no authority and he just looks flat out lazy on the field. It's as if he wants everything given to him and 10 foot wide holes to appear every play.