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Bears must run more or Cutler will remain a sitting duck
By Bob LeGere Two of the most basic rules of coaching are: 1. Don't ask players to do something they're not capable of, and 2. Don't put players in a position to fail.
Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz broke both rules Sunday night. He continued to call for pass plays that the offensive line had no chance of supporting with adequate protection, thereby giving quarterback Jay Cutler and the Bears' offense no chance for success.
You don't enter the Bears' team bus in the Indy 500, even if Mike Ditka is driving, and you don't subject your franchise quarterback to a defensive line that resembled a piranha tank at feeding time.
In the previous two games, Martz made brilliant adjustments when the offense started slowly. But those adjustments were nowhere to be seen against the New York Giants.
Sometimes, in the face of an aggressive pass rush, teams can continue to throw the ball, as the Bears did against the Dallas Cowboys with great success. Other times, you have to admit that your guys can't block their guys in pass protection.
Maybe they couldn't have blocked the Giants any better on run plays, but it's difficult to tell because they never had much of a chance.
On the Bears' first 20 plays, Cutler was sacked seven times, fumbling on three of them, and he was intercepted once.
But even after watching all of that, when the Bears got the ball back after Julius Peppers stripped it from Eli Manning and Brian Urlacher recovered near midfield, what did Martz call for?
Another pass, which resulted in the eighth sack of Cutler, killing that possession.
That's when a running game would have come in handy.
But if the running game has been buried in a corner of the closet and never used, it's unrealistic to expect it to function smoothly right out of the box.
It was only a matter of time until the Bears' refusal to develop a running game came back to haunt them, and the bill came due during Sunday's nationally televised nightmare.
In a game in which it was clear the Bears could not keep the Giants' linemen off Cutler, they still only ran the ball 16 times.
And it wasn't as if they had to abandon the ground attack because they had fallen hopelessly behind. The Bears were never more than a touchdown away from taking the lead or tying the game until less than five minutes remained.
It makes you wonder why they spent $12.5 million in the off-season on running back Chester Taylor to complement starter Matt Forte if they're not going to use either of them to run the ball.
Taylor picked up 22 yards on just 3 carries Sunday, which isn't enough attempts to make a recommendation. But it's clearly superior to the minus-13 passing yards the Bears accumulated in the first half.
Only two of 32 NFL teams have run the ball less frequently than the Bears, who average 21 carries per game. They've attempted to throw an average of 34 times, although a total of 18 of those have resulted in sacks by far the most in the league.
An increased emphasis on the run game will benefit the air attack. Play-action passes only work against a defense that has to respect the possibility of a run.
“Unless there's a threat of the run, they're not really going to take it seriously, Forte said. “The play-action only works when you're running the ball effectively.
And defensive linemen who only have to worry about rushing the passer are a lot more dangerous as the Bears, and especially Cutler found out Sunday night.
Follow Bob LeGere's Bears reports via Twitter@BobLeGere. Check out his blog, Bear Essentials at DailyHerald.com.
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2...ts/710069974//
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Where things stand with Jay Cutler
By Sean Jensenon October 6, 2010 7:12 PM |
It's a positive sign that Jay Cutler practiced today, even if it was on a limited basis.
Cutler missed the second half of Sunday's game against the New York Giants with a concussion. His mere participation in the practice means he passed an important step, giving doctors enough confidence to let him even exert himself. Now, after his limited work, Cutler will be evaluated again to see how he handled the physical exertion.
At some point, though, as Bears coach Lovie Smith pointed out, an independent doctor will have to give him the green light in order to play.
"Before he goes back out onto the football field," Smith said, "he'll have to be checked out by an independent doctor, independent physician before he's completely released to play in the football game."
So, there is reason for optimism, but he's not out of the woods quite yet.
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Originally Posted by
The Benjamin 
This.
I really don't think that Bear fan can be that angry with Martz. Martz is what he is. Even with Marshall Faulk, the Rams were never mistaken for a running team.
In 1999, the Rams won the Super Bowl while being the NFL's leading passing team and their 5th best rushing team. In 2000, when Martz took over with, essentially, the same roster, the Rams fell from 5th best in rushing to 17th best.
Even while the Rams were best in the league in rushing in 1999, they were 15th in rushing attempts. When Martz took over in 2000, the Rams fell to 25th in the league in rushing attempts.
In 2001, the Rams were 22nd in the league in rushing attempts and 5th in the league in rushing yards.
In 2002, the Rams were last in the league in rushing attempts and 30th in yards.
I could go on until Rams terminated Martz but it is much of the same. He just isn't fond of running the football. He prefers to pass the ball.
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Running game real shame
Running game real shame
There's frustration all around as Bears just can't seem to get started on ground
by sean jenssen
The Bears' run offense has been grounded in the first quarter of this season, ranking second to last in the NFL, and the disappointment of players and coaches appears to be at a tipping point.
''It's frustrating to the nth power,'' running back Matt Forte said. ''It's very disappointing and frustrating. I'm a running back; you want to run the ball.''
Not only are they averaging a modest 3.3 yards per carry, the Bears are hardly even trying to run the ball with 84 attempts, the third-fewest among teams that have played four games this season. Conversely, the Atlanta Falcons lead the league with 149 run attempts and are fourth with 579 rushing yards.
The Bears have been sacked a league-high 17 times this season -- double the NFL average -- and quarterback Jay Cutler has absorbed all but one of those. While he was under siege during the first half on Sunday night against the New York Giants, the Bears averaged a respectable five yards per carry yet only attempted seven runs on 27 plays.
When asked about the scant number of attempts, coach Lovie Smith suggested his staff considered numerous factors in carving out their game plan.
''What we thought we should go with we did [Sunday night],'' Smith said.
''It didn't work. This week, hopefully, we'll have better results.''
Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice said running the ball better is ''very important.'' Besides, his players are more to scale when going in the right direction.
''I've said this many, many times: Big guys aren't big when they're going backwards,'' Tice said. ''They're big when they're going forward.''
Lineman Frank Omiyale, though, doesn't care whether he's run- or pass-blocking.
''I enjoy seeing the ball moving down the field," he said.
Forte has pushed the ball forward as a receiver out of the backfield; he's third in the NFL with 209 receiving yards. He also has scored three receiving touchdowns, tops among running backs. But while he has the team's longest run of the season -- a 17-yarder -- he's averaging just 2.7 yards per carry. In addition, he's had seven negative-yardage runs, tied for ninth most in the NFL.
Asked what he can do to help the run offense, Forte said, ''The only thing you can do as a running back is break tackles. When they block the play and there may be a guy in the hole, you break that tackle, and you get more yards.''
Veteran Chester Taylor has had just 19 carries, and he has averaged 3.5 yards per carry. Smith hinted that the team may ''be able to get him a few more [carries],'' referring to Taylor.
When asked about the need for more balance, players point to the team's 3-1 record.
''It's just important for us to win games -- and whatever it takes to win games, that's what we'll do,'' center Olin Kreutz said. ''Running game, passing game -- that's for other people to talk about. Winning the game -- that's for us to talk about.''
But former Bears receiver Willie Gault said time is of the essence.
''When the wind is blowing and it's cold, it's going to be difficult,'' Gault said of passing the ball.
''But that's Chicago. They have to be balanced, with the screening and running and drawing.''
Forte acknowledged the elements in his offense's urgency.
''When it gets colder and you can't throw a lot, we've got to get this going,'' he said. ''We don't have a choice.''
Guard Roberto Garza simplified the Bears' issues.
''We just have to block better,'' he said of the offensive line. ''We have to get the push and create the holes for the running backs.''
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I was wondering why we didnt run more screen plays against that pressure. And you cant just run just to run it has to be effective. Difference between running the ball with Rams and now is Rams had a real oline that can open up holes. Plus Faulk was a more dynamic runner then Forte ever will be. Forte is a guy that needs an oline to open up the holes first then he will take care of the rest-he wont create on his own. But again what is the common theme here and is getting redundant for the past three years.......the damn oline
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Originally Posted by
motownbear I was wondering why we didnt run more screen plays against that pressure. And you cant just run just to run it has to be effective. Difference between running the ball with Rams and now is Rams had a real oline that can open up holes. Plus Faulk was a more dynamic runner then Forte ever will be. Forte is a guy that needs an oline to open up the holes first then he will take care of the rest-he wont create on his own. But again what is the common theme here and is getting redundant for the past three years.......the damn oline
Forte has room to grow. I am not excited about his past season and 1/4. But he can still improve and it would help if the o-line gets better. Martz should have known the Bears history and he needs to open his mind and try to balance his play book. The only thing is if He does balance the run and pass it will be a weak offense if there is no blocking.
Without weaponz it's just another airline!
I am here to chew bubble gum and kick butt and I am all out of bubble gum!
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"Run more" sounds great. However when you average 2.2 yards per carry, you can only "run more" 3 times until you have to punt.
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Junior Member
I think that if da Bears actually TRY running the ball more, things will develop. And I'm not talking about giving the ball to Forte as the lone back as he gains 1 yard up the middle. Use the running game intelligently. Use imagination. Get Chester Taylor involved. If we stick with the "pass 90% of the time" strategy that Martz is so high on, we become obscenely one-dimensional. And the play-action, another good weapon, will never work.
Even though the rushing may not work at first (especially if it's only Forte), we absolutely have to use it more. We need balance. Let's just hope that Lovie and Martz don't think that implementing "a running game" involves only Forte up the middle. If that happens, all bets are off.
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The Bears need a couple things to get this running game on track. O-line, an able FB and Mike Martz to open up to the run more. Forte can get better and if he don't we got Taylor.
Without weaponz it's just another airline!
I am here to chew bubble gum and kick butt and I am all out of bubble gum!
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Originally Posted by
go4bears The Bears need a couple things to get this running game on track. O-line, an able FB and Mike Martz to open up to the run more. Forte can get better and if he don't we got Taylor.
I dont think they need a FB to have a successful running game.
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