Thread: Three Observations that concern me...

1- No matter how similar the QB's numbers were, Cutler played MUCH better then Thigpen. On 3rd Down Cutler was 7 for 9 converting all 6 completions & ran twice for 24 yards converting on one of his runs with 3 sacks. Thigpen never had anywhere near that kind of positive impact on the game. Cutler's 3rd down conversions were a huge boost to the Bears offense the entire game

2- I don't care what team we play, shutting ANY team out in the NFL is hard. It's only the 2nd team it's happened in the NFL this year. No matter what players were out there for the Dolphins shutting a NFL team out is impressive. And 16 points on the Dolphins is fine. There were 2 times where we missed chances to put up points & probably should've finished with 26, but the Dolphins are a great defense

3- We can NEVER rely too much on our defense. With our defense playing as consistent as it has the entire season, relying on them too much isn't possible. Plus, the offense played very effective in the game. I was impressed by the offense, they put just as much into this game as the defense did

We were 55% on 3rd downs, we ran for 135 yards, we had the ball for 38 minutes. The offense played very well & did exactly what it needs to do when the defense is performing as well as it is. This offense doesn't need to be explosive. Being effective on 3rd downs, running consistently, connecting in the red zone & winning the TOP battle are all this offense needs to do to be solid

The offense played a very good game. A much better game then the 16 point scored indicates. If the team needed to score more then 16 they most certainly would have

These past 2 games are easily the 2 most complete games of the season for the Bears & it's great seeing the improvement this team is making

Another nicely called game and some smooth execution on offense tonight. I'm really hoping we're seeing a trend developing!
Yeah, Miami's beat up. But if you're gonna field a team of 3rd stringers, prepare to get beat down. No one else would've shown them any mercy, either.

Let's give credit to the Miami defense. They played a great game. They were on the field for most of the game, yet they NEVER quit. They have some very talented D lineman and 2 LB's (Dansby and Wake) who could play on any team. Our offense did not play against the depleted Miami offense.

Our offense is still struggling in the red zone. I like our progress in run blocking. I thought Forte had his BEST game since his rookie season. He was explosive outside the tackles, he gained tough yards after contact and he was able to make some yards up the middle. The Bears O line still has a lot of work to do both in pass blocking and run blocking, but we are seeing improvement. At this point, I'd say our pass blocking is ahead of our run blocking. For only the second time this year, we scored running the ball inside the 5. That's improvement. Yet we still don't get much of a push from our front 5. We are still missing key blocks that are causing plays to blow up in our face. Off the top of my head, I can think of the poor blocking on screen passes last night and in the 4th quarter, we still had short yardage blocking problems. I still think though if the O line continues to gel as the season goes along, we should be just fine.

@PhilM, I think you are correct when you say we need to put more points on the board to win against some of our upcoming opponents. I'm hoping that will come as we are seeing improvement week to week.

Our defense dominated that depleted Miami offensive line and 3rd string QB. We shut down Brown and Williams running the ball as well. I don't think enough credit is being given to our DT's though. They are the main reason we are so good against the run. Tommie Harris made a play last night in the run game that was reminiscent of the Pro Bowler from his first 3 seasons. Let's hope he continues to return to form.

And what about the hit that D. Manning laid on Devon Bess. That was a text book hit. Led with his shoulder, targeting the ball/hands of the WR, wrapped his arms around him and drove him to the ground. One thing I will say about the Bears secondary is that for the most part, they do not just try to knock someone down. The wrap them up and tackle them. Compare that to the Miami DB who tried to throw his body at Forte on the run around the right end. Forte side steps the attempted tackle and gains 7 more yards while the DB is forced to a desperation trip while going to the ground.

Overall, nice win for the Bears, but still need improved play from the offense in the red zone.

Originally Posted by BlackDiamond

Another nicely called game and some smooth execution on offense tonight. I'm really hoping we're seeing a trend developing!
Yeah, Miami's beat up. But if you're gonna field a team of 3rd stringers, prepare to get beat down. No one else would've shown them any mercy, either.

Wait, (16) points is a BEAT DOWN...

Originally Posted by 3nagurski

Wait, (16) points is a BEAT DOWN...

Beating a team by 16 typically is. would it look better like this? 30 - 14

I'd rather have a shut out, and win by 16 than let ANYone put up 14.

but Cutler didn't put up 300 yards, Hester didn't break one (cause they did ever thing accept kick it into the parking lot), and our offense did put up 50 points....

Originally Posted by GrizzlyBear91

Beating a team by 16 typically is. would it look better like this? 30 - 14

I'd rather have a shut out, and win by 16 than let ANYone put up 14.

but Cutler didn't put up 300 yards, Hester didn't break one (cause they did ever thing accept kick it into the parking lot), and our offense did put up 50 points....

To me, a beat-down is what the Giants did to us a few games back...!!!

Tomato, tomatto...I guess.

3nagurski

if you look at the Time of Possession and the number of offensive plays we ran....we dominated offensively. dominated!