Bears aren't facing cold, frustrating facts
Bears aren't facing cold, frustrating facts
Offense is in worse shape than it was a year ago
Coach Lovie Smith said the Bears just need to "tighten up" some of the things that have gone wrong during a stretch in which they've lost three of four games.
Offensive coordinator Mike Martz went from talking about small "technical" breakdowns in Sunday's 17-14 loss to the Redskins and segued right into the "exceptional" performances the offense had.
Quarterback Jay Cutler was asked with so many areas to clean up, where do the Bears start?
"That is a very negative question," he replied.
The only person who wasn't heard from Wednesday at Halas Hall, when the Bears held a training camp-style practice, was general manager Jerry Angelo, who will not have his traditional off week news conference.
No one seemed interested in embracing the cold facts — this offense is in worse shape than it was a year ago. After seven games, nearly half the season, the Bears rank at or near the bottom in many crucial offensive statistics. They're 32nd on third down, 32nd in sacks, 32nd in interceptions, 31st in the red zone, 30th in yardage, 29th in rushing, 29th in passer rating, 27th in time of possession, 26th in points and so on. It's a cavalcade of offensive meltdowns.
The Bears cannot score from the 1-yard line, or at least they haven't in 10 tries. They set an NFL record with nine sacks allowed in one half. Cutler tied another record by throwing four interceptions to the Redskins' DeAngelo Hall.
They're not just failing. They're failing spectacularly. They've converted 5 of 53 third downs since halftime of the Green Bay game Sept. 27, the last time they played winning football against a decent opponent.
How exactly was this Ron Turner's fault again?
The first-place Bears practiced without Cutler, who was given the day off. Martz explained it's like finding rest for a baseball pitcher. Cutler is expected to make some throws on Thursday before the team breaks for a three-day weekend. The Bears will return to work Monday in preparation for the Bills (0-6), who they play Nov. 7 in Toronto.
The Bears continue to praise the development of offensive tackles Frank Omiyale and J'Marcus Webb. Cutler's timing has been off since the sacks began piling up at a record-setting rate Oct. 3 against the Giants. Martz's system is predicated on the quarterback delivering the ball to a spot, and that became an issue when his timing and footwork were thrown off in the pocket. If the line is making consistent progress, it should allow Cutler to get back on track.
"This is a critical point because the play of the offensive line was substantially better from even the week before," Martz said. "I think that's going to be huge."
The Bears talk about making a more substantial commitment to the run until they take action, it's nothing more than rhetoric intended for their opponent. Martz has called pass plays 76 percent of the time for Cutler since the Giants game.
We'll see what emerges on the other side of the off week.
"We're doing a lot of good stuff," Cutler said. "We talked about it after (Sunday). There are some things that happened that we haven't done this year, some good things. That's stuff that we have to focus on and just try to make it more repetitive and a game-by-game thing."
Is Martz worried about Cutler's confidence being shaken following his latest four-pick, four-sack outing?
"If you know Jay, you'd know not to ask that question," Martz said. "Jay is a strong man, and he's very, very strong emotionally and he's confident and I'm not concerned."
All is well in the Bears' world.
bmbiggs@tribune.com
