Stop me if you've heard this one before: Bears shoot themselves in the face in Atlanta

It seems a bit silly going in depth to rehash this one, as I'm sure you already know the story: turnovers + penalties + botched red zone opportunities = another mind-numbing loss in Hotlanta. This should have been an easy Bears win, but instead turned into a team-wide FAIL. From an off day from Cutler to horrible special teams in the fourth quarter, this loss can be pinned on everyone. Orlando Pace didn't blow it. Matt Forte didn't blow it. Ron Turner didn't blow it. The Bears, coaches to players, blew it. They blew it collectively.


This game reminds me so much of Week 1 against the Packers. Both times the Bears played like garbage on the road against a good team. Both times they lost by one score. 4-1 just would have sounded so much better than 3-2.

It takes some time before we can get a read on football teams, but I think I may have the Bears figured out through five games. The 2009 Bears are the 2008 Bears. As I mentioned on Friday, this year's Bears are much different personnel-wise, but the team on the field plays exactly the same. Jay Cutler is great (though he certainly struggled last night), but if he's kept on the Game Manager Plan for three quarters, not much can change. Kyle Orton can throw a nice five-yard out, too. You can't go with such conservative play calling for most of the game and expect to put up lots of points. You have the quarterback (and he has enough weapons) to score lots of points. It's like the Bears concede the fact that every game will be close and opt to try not lose the game early instead of trying to win it.

Four of the five games this year have been decided by one score. Last season, 10 games were decided by one score. I know NFL football is generally a slugfest, but these numbers appear abnormal to me. The Bears always play close games, and it kind of sucks: every win feels unsatisfactory, every loss feels soul crushing. These are the 2009 Chicago Bears.