Grade Card

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Week 2 report card: Bears-Saints

September, 18, 2011 Sep 18
6:22
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By ESPNChicago.com

Chttp://kwout.com/cutout/b/wz/yy/jbq_rou_sha.jpghicago Bears Gamecenter via kwout

Check out our Bears Center for a complete recap of the Bears' 30-13 loss to the Saints and grades in six key areas of the game.





Rush O is far to generous; it sucked as much as the Pass O. Forte gets an A, the rest of the O gets a D; OL gets an F.
D gets a F, they were gashed in the run and pass, and got no TO's and no qb pressure.
Coaching F, Martz found his excuse to give up running and took it; and Lovie did nothing about it. The bend but don't break D, broke. If the front four are not getting pressure then you have to swallow your pride and blitz.

Rapid Reaction: Saints 30, Bears 13

September, 18, 2011 Sep 18
3:14
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By Michael C. Wright

NEW ORLEANS -- A few thoughts on Chicago’s 30-13 loss on Sunday to the New Orleans Saints:

http://assets.espn.go.com/i/teamlogo.../trans/chi.gifhttp://assets.espn.go.com/i/teamlogo.../trans/nor.gifWhat it means: The Bears could be in a tough situation. The club anticipated a difficult stretch to start the season with the Falcons, Saints, and Green Bay Packers. So falling to the Saints wasn’t necessarily a surprise. What’s surprising, however, is the team’s failing health. The Bears lost starting right guard Gabe Carimi (knee), safety Major Wright (head), and receiver Earl Bennett (chest) to injuries against the Saints, after starting the contest without Roy Williams, Marion Barber, Chris Harris, Lance Louis and Corey Wootton. The Bears know that overall team health is one of the most significant factors in the team repeating as NFC North champions. But the club might actually start division play next week against the Packers with as many as five starters out due to injury. That’s a major concern.

Forte homecoming: Running back Matt Forte returned to his home state of Louisiana and produced a blistering performance in multiple facets. Of the 165 net yards the Bears produced in the first half, Forte accounted for 118 of them.

A native of Slidell, La., and a former Tulane standout, Forte ran for 49 yards on nine attempts in the first half, including a burst for 42 yards. Forte also caught six of the seven passes thrown his direction for 69 yards. Prior to the regular season, Forte expressed the desire to receive a lucrative contract extension from the Bears, who extended what the running back considered a subpar offer. The Bears own the option of placing the franchise tag on Forte next season. But if the running back continues to produce the way he has over the past two weeks, the Bears -- fearing the asking price could climb too high -- might finally make an offer closer to what Forte seeks.

Chicago’s last offer prior to the start of the season was worth significantly less than what the running back is seeking, according to sources.

Urlacher returns: A day after attending the funeral services of his mother, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher rejoined his teammates, who appeared to give him a stirring reception during pre-game warm-ups.

Before the contest, Urlacher typed up a pre-game tweet that read: “Thanks for all the support and love given to the Urlacher family… now it’s back to my second family.”

The defense appeared to be emotionally charged prior to the game, but the unit still struggled, in part because of the absence of Harris, who was inactive because of a hamstring injury.

Urlacher also had somewhat of a quiet afternoon. By the end of the third quarter, the linebacker had been credited with three tackles. But it’s worth noting that Urlacher administered a few crushing tackles early in the game.

O-line still struggling: With 4:16 left to play, Cutler had been sacked five times. The offensive line suffered a major setback against the Saints, after what seemed to be a solid opener against the Falcons. The offensive line struggled to adjust to the multiple blitz looks and pressure packages brought by the Saints. The tight ends deserve a share of the blame, too.

As a result, Cutler took a beating. Cutler completed less than 50 percent of his passes against the Saints, marking the first time that’s happened in a regular season game since Dec. 12 of last season. Further complicating matters was the loss of Carimi.

What's next: The Bears host the divisional rival Packers on Sunday at Soldier Field, in the first meeting between these teams since the 2010 NFC Championship. The Packers have sacked Cutler eight times over the past two games the teams have played. Given the performance of Chicago’s offensive line against the Saints’ exotic blitz packages on Sunday, count on the Packers sending plenty of heat off the edge at Cutler, who could be without receivers Williams and Bennett.

I would have given coaching a fat F

Why did they only get a C for rush offense? That should be a D if not an F. I agree coaching should have got an F. No answers for the NO defense and no adjustments to open up the run. Worse offense showing since the Giants game.

rush O got a C b/c they have Forte in there, and he was the offense; but it was more in the screen pass game that he got those #'s.

One big rush play is not a good enough reason for a C.

cannot get multiple big plays on 12 carries g4b. and most rb's don't get constant 4 ypc's....it's normally 3, 1, 4, 2, 8, -2, no gain, big pop. That's why you have to keep giving them the ball. A 49 total yards, w/one big run is pretty good for 12 carries. I take back what I was saying, I guess I didn't notice that our 1st 2 drives of the 3rd had maybe 1 run mixed in...Martz did give up on the run way to early. After that 2nd drive we have a 3 to 1 pass to run ratio; that's pathetic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 4th and 26

I would have given coaching a fat F

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Unquestionably the worst offensive showing I've watched since the Packers beat us in that New Years eve game five years ago. With the exception of the long pass td by Henderson the defense played it usual bend but don't break game. With a decent offensive effort it was enough to win.

To his credit I saw Lovie talking with Wright personally after he gave up that score and yes I do mean HE gave up that score. The whole strategy of that cover two is for the Safties not to let the play get behind them and give up the big play. Henderson blew by Wright like the Express Bus blows past a local stop. He had to know what kind of speed the guy ahd and that he would never be able to run with him but apparently he forgot that. Bingo.......6 points the other way.

Maybe it's a sophmore slump but Major Wright has been anything but impressive to me so far. Even his often lauded tacking and hitting talents are taking a beating just like the one he took that put him out of the game. If you take away his tackling and intimidation value there's not much else to get excited over. From what I can see he really lacks the speed and the instincts to be a FS. As it stands I would either put Harris back there again or start Meriweather along with Harris until Wright gets his shit together. We can't afford to get toasted like that very often.

Mike Martz gets a F- if there is such a thing. That was a pathetic game plan, filled with pathetic play calling and a pathetic lack of any effective adjustments in the second half. In fact it got worse not better. God damn but I really hate the fact that Mike Martz is still our OC. He was a bad choice to begin with for a QB like Jay Cutler and he continues to be a very bad choice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soulman

Unquestionably the worst offensive showing I've watched since the Packers beat us in that New Years eve game five years ago. With the exception of the long pass td by Henderson the defense played it usual bend but don't break game. With a decent offensive effort it was enough to win.

To his credit I saw Lovie talking with Wright personally after he gave up that score and yes I do mean HE gave up that score. The whole strategy of that cover two is for the Safties not to let the play get behind them and give up the big play. Henderson blew by Wright like the Express Bus blows past a local stop. He had to know what kind of speed the guy ahd and that he would never be able to run with him but apparently he forgot that. Bingo.......6 points the other way.

Maybe it's a sophmore slump but Major Wright has been anything but impressive to me so far. Even his often lauded tacking and hitting talents are taking a beating just like the one he took that put him out of the game. If you take away his tackling and intimidation value there's not much else to get excited over. From what I can see he really lacks the speed and the instincts to be a FS. As it stands I would either put Harris back there again or start Meriweather along with Harris until Wright gets his shit together. We can't afford to get toasted like that very often.

Mike Martz gets a F- if there is such a thing. That was a pathetic game plan, filled with pathetic play calling and a pathetic lack of any effective adjustments in the second half. In fact it got worse not better. God damn but I really hate the fact that Mike Martz is still our OC. He was a bad choice to begin with for a QB like Jay Cutler and he continues to be a very bad choice.

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Pretty much what I said when the Bears hired him. Do you have any idea how good your offense could be with Forte and Cutler back there if you went run first and had a good oline? Instead the Bears hire a pass happy insane guy who's getting your franchise QB KILLED on every other play. You're wasting seasons of play time for Forte, Cutler, and everyone on your awesome defense. How many more seasons do you put up with this? It reminds me of us and our fvcking special teams coordinator that we keep bringing back season after season and seeing zero improvement and shitty kick coverage.