Any time the offense wants to play a first half, fine by me

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...1022952.column

Any time the offense wants to play a first half, fine by me

Steve Rosenbloom The RosenBlog
7:14 p.m. CDT, October 7, 2012

Who figured it would be this painful to watch the Bears' offense after the season-opener against the Colts?
They looked like they could pass. They always could run the ball. All the toys worked.
Then they couldn’t pass with any rhythm and couldn’t run enough to dominate a game, or wouldn’t commit to it. Who has more D-cell batteries?
I don’t know what the offense was trying to do in the first half against Jacksonville on Sunday. I do know it was aggravating.
A delay-of-game penalty. A string of third downs that weren’t converted. An interception. An odd call call on third-and-short. Geez, how were the Bears tied at 3 at halftime?
I don’t care if it’s on the road. Answer me.
Charles Tillman changed the game with another pick-6. The interception return for the second straight game was a terrific testament to his career, but he’s not supposed to have more touchdowns than his offense.
Mercifully, the Bears showed some life in the second half again, mounting a long drive that was sabotaged by Gabe Carimi’s false-starts and finally getting into the end zone on a slant to Alshon Jeffery.
But it shouldn’t take a half to figure this out the way it has the last two weeks. It shouldn’t look this clunky. We shouldn’t feel this frustrated.
The win might get the players some extra days off heading into the off week, but that’s not what the offense needs. The offense needs practice.
In fact, this game should’ve looked like a practice. The Jags have a bad defense, ranking in the bottom five against the pass and the run. They came in with two sacks. They had allowed six rushing touchdowns. They gave up an average of more than 250 yards in the air and 150 on the ground. It should’ve been all you can eat out of the playbook.
Matt Forte averaged 5.7 yards a carry in the first half, but the Bears only ran him 10 times. Weren’t the Bears talking about committing to the run last week?
I know Cutler loves Brandon Marshall -- and he loved the big wideout for 12 catches, 144 yards and a score -- but other guys can play. Other guys need to play better, starting with Cutler.
Cutler didn’t look sharp early again. He played like a stud late again.
In the first two quarters, Cutler was 10-for-20 for 110 yards and an interception. Third down was a toxic waste dump.
But in the first 22 minutes that mattered in the second half, Cutler was 13-for-19 for 189 yards and two touchdowns. On third and fourth downs, he was 7-for-8 for more than 100 yards and a touchdown.
Here’s the deal: A good team will make you pay for such early erratic play.
You can’t always depend on a second-half rally, even if you’re a streak shooter.
You won’t always get two defensive touchdowns, even if that’s the norm the last two games.
Start sooner, OK? Is that too much to ask?

Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

Amen. At some point, we will be put in a position to come back from a deep hole otherwise.

I expect to come back from the bye with early offensive prowess. Maybe we need to get Jay on a stationary bike before the beginning of the games, locker room wrestling matches, something....

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Other guys need to play better, starting with Cutler.

Cutler didn’t look sharp early again. He played like a stud late again.

In the first two quarters, Cutler was 10-for-20 for 110 yards and an interception. Third down was a toxic waste dump.

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Cutler seems wild with his throws in the beginning of games. He's had pretty decent protection. He just seems to need a quarter or two to calm down. He was throwing the ball into the dirt, and over people's heads. He reminded me of Kyle Orton yesterday, until he settled down a bit.

I wasn't able to watch the game again this week but when I caught the half time score I thought yeah, just another slide back into offensive oblivion again. I was pretty shocked when I saw the final score.

Rosenbloom can write some pretty off the wall columns and he's second only to Jay Moron....otti as one of the biggest complainers about what isn't in Beardom than what it but in this case he's correct. This Bears team can't stay in hibernation waiting for some defensive miracles to wake their asses up and get them ready to play football.

The biggest advantage of having a shut down defense is being wasted by not getting on the scoreboard quickly and forcing the other guys to abandon a balanced game plan and take to the air. With as good as the Bears pass rush and pass coverage has been if we get ahead early we should never lose a game.

The offense seems to be "getting it" as far as finally going into the game armed with a decent game plan and Tice's play calling must be improving some so the next two weeks should be spent focusing on figuring out how to generate quick strike scores in the first two quarters. Something that allows us to come out and take control of the game from the start. Things that make you want it to be your offense on the field first making things happen not the defense.

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Originally Posted by soulman

I wasn't able to watch the game again this week but when I caught the half time score I thought yeah, just another slide back into offensive oblivion again. I was pretty shocked when I saw the final score.

Rosenbloom can write some pretty off the wall columns and he's second only to Jay Moron....otti as one of the biggest complainers about what isn't in Beardom than what it but in this case he's correct. This Bears team can't stay in hibernation waiting for some defensive miracles to wake their asses up and get them ready to play football.

The biggest advantage of having a shut down defense is being wasted by not getting on the scoreboard quickly and forcing the other guys to abandon a balanced game plan and take to the air. With as good as the Bears pass rush and pass coverage has been if we get ahead early we should never lose a game.

The offense seems to be "getting it" as far as finally going into the game armed with a decent game plan and Tice's play calling must be improving some so the next two weeks should be spent focusing on figuring out how to generate quick strike scores in the first two quarters. Something that allows us to come out and take control of the game from the start. Things that make you want it to be your offense on the field first making things happen not the defense.

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Regarding the offense, we have everything in place to have a successful season. We have solid receivers. A solid set of RB's. The oline is as good as any "average" NFL line right now (not great, but average) and as you mentioned, Tice has settled down into a decent OC (game plan and play calling).

We have a QB who is physically as talented as any QB in the league right now. I look for him to improve from week to week and his ceiling is high.

He may be getting overly emotional in the beginnings of games....trying to do too much, too early. Whatever the problem is, he is a bit spastic with his passes early in games. Throwing into the dirt in front of receivers or over their heads too often.

Later, when he settles down, the guy is a machine throwing solid passes.

He's getting decent protection, so we can't blame the blocking now. It's Jay. It's a mental thing now with him just settling down. And play calling can help him with this too. Use the run early in games, and when we do pass, let him complete some easy, high-percentage passes early in games, to build his confidence and timing a bit. Then open it up a bit more.

I think Jay will be fine. But right now he's the part of the offense that needs to settle down and improve. Everything else is clicking on offense.

I believe Cutler will settle down and do better as the season progresses. He is now playing behind a high-powered NFL offense. He has one of the better WR corps in the NFL right now. He has one of the best RB tandems in the NFL in Forte/Bush. He has a decent oline now. And Cutler has great physical talent.

Now it's simply time to put it all together and reach his potential.

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LINK to the article

Jay Cutler has loads of ability, but his early interceptions are worrisome


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This is a nice, warm place where people come to fish.

On Sunday, Jay Cutler cast his line out toward the Atlantic Ocean and reeled in a couple of big bluefins and a slimy dogfish.
The trophies were his two touchdown passes, a 24-yard strike to Brandon Marshall and a 10-yard bullet to Alshon Jeffery in the Bears’ 41-3 wipeout of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The dogfish was his first pass of the game, a lousy toss that was intercepted by cornerback Derek Cox. The Bears had been on offense for only 30 seconds.

What’s the deal with the early interceptions Cutler seems to throw in almost every game?

Are they his way of getting his own attention, of remembering how to tie the hook to the leader and the leader to the line?

‘‘No, it’s not to settle down,’’ Cutler said when I asked pretty much the above. ‘‘It was unfortunate. He steps right in front of the guy. Made a good play, as simple as that. It’s going to happen.’’

The game started so badly for the Bears’ offense in general that you thought maybe the players should go take a nap on the beach. The sand is pretty and white, you know. And it was 88 degrees and sunny. Snooze.

Cutler was half asleep, it seemed, for most of the first half. He completed 10 of 20 passes for 110 yards and that interception in the first two quarters. The Bears converted only two of their third-down conversions in the first half and were tied 3-3.
‘‘Thank God we play two halves,’’ coach Lovie Smith said.

Indeed. Because in the second half, the Bears’ defense opened a can of good ol’ Southern whoop-ass on the Jaguars. When a defense holds a team to three points and scores two touchdowns itself, it almost makes you feel sorry for the home team and its overmatched young quarterback, Blaine Gabbert.

The 22-year-old kid from Missouri threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, was sacked and fumbled the ball away and finished with a 37.7 quarterback rating. That’s like a D-minus.

‘‘I can talk up here all night about what we did, but that’s not going to cure anything,’’ Gabbert said at the postgame rostrum.
This is important as it relates to the Bears and Cutler. For even when the 29-year-old Cutler screws up, it seems as though the problems are solvable.

In the second half, Cutler looked alert and locked in. Maybe that was a function of having Marshall out there as an unstoppable one-on-one target.

Such was the case when Marshallran a stop-and-go on the right sideline, leaving his defender with multiple wind burns — if not dislocated ankles — en route to a beautiful grab of a perfectly thrown touchdown pass by Cutler.

‘‘He’s that guy,’’ Cutler said succinctly after the game, referring to Marshall.

He meant Marshall is the big, strong, fast No. 1 receiver he was supposed to be when he was acquired during the offseason.

The good part for Cutler is that he is a battle-tested veteran and, as such, never should descend into the blindness or lack of awareness that will haunt a guy such as Gabbert until he matures, grows stronger and smarter or is sent out of the league.

This means Cutler’s starting point is higher than that of most quarterbacks, so he can afford those weird starts — for now — and still end up 23-for-37 for 292 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, an 88.8 rating and an easy ‘‘W.’’

But if we’re looking for a downside in a 38-point victory, there is that seemingly unavoidable bad start he casts out there.

Consider: Cutler threw an interception on his second pass of the season in the opener against the Indianapolis Colts. He threw one in the second quarter against the Green Packers. He threw one in the first quarter against the St. Louis Rams, then his first pass of this game was an interception.

There are true Cutler haters out there, such as Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who commented Sunday on Fox about Cutler’s sideline treatment of offensive coordinator Mike Tice last Monday in Dallas.

‘‘I like everybody,’’ Bradshaw said. ‘‘I’d like to like you, but right now I don’t like you. Grow up, young man.’’

Cutler is his own guy, aloof and self-contained. Maybe that will hurt him someday as a Bears quarterback. Maybe he can overcome it.
But when the Bears play like they did Sunday, even the bad casts turn out fine. And Bradshaw’s words are like old shrimp.

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Teams like SF and Hou(teams we will have to beat to make it to and win the SB) will not be so easily scored on by OUR D and their D's if they get a lead will be much harder to score on. We need Cutler and the O as a whole get off to faster starts.

I happen to be pretty optimistic about our Offense. My reasoning is this. Starting out games slow and then getting into a groove is a consistent symtom between many teams of a new offense. Timing, reads, coordination are all things that suffer in a new offense, and the fact that they are "getting it" to the point of at least playing a good half of football is promising. Jay's bad throws are a problem, but it could be the result of him not knowing how his O-Line will hold up against the Defense that day, and until he gets comfortable, he's a little gunshy. He may also be concerned about his receivers making the proper adjustments to audibles or hot reads and not having faith in them until they have shown a few series of making the proper adjustments to the defense. Jay has had more than one or two int's because his receivers and he did not read the defense the same way. Yesterday's INT was unquestionably on him; yea he had a bad snap, but a good QB throws that away if he can't re-read the secondary soon enough. Fortunately, it didn't hurt us. That said, those things DO need to get cleaned up and that is on him (Jay). I hope I'm being realistic when I say that we might see some more improvement after the bye.

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Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

Regarding the offense, we have everything in place to have a successful season. We have solid receivers. A solid set of RB's. The oline is as good as any "average" NFL line right now (not great, but average) and as you mentioned, Tice has settled down into a decent OC (game plan and play calling).

We have a QB who is physically as talented as any QB in the league right now. I look for him to improve from week to week and his ceiling is high.

He may be getting overly emotional in the beginnings of games....trying to do too much, too early. Whatever the problem is, he is a bit spastic with his passes early in games. Throwing into the dirt in front of receivers or over their heads too often.

Later, when he settles down, the guy is a machine throwing solid passes.

He's getting decent protection, so we can't blame the blocking now. It's Jay. It's a mental thing now with him just settling down. And play calling can help him with this too. Use the run early in games, and when we do pass, let him complete some easy, high-percentage passes early in games, to build his confidence and timing a bit. Then open it up a bit more.

I think Jay will be fine. But right now he's the part of the offense that needs to settle down and improve. Everything else is clicking on offense.

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Your probably right. The fact that I haven't been able to watch these last two games leaves me desperately short on any visual details so I have no idea of just how he's misfiring. All I know is that he is. Whatever the cause with Cutler I know it's fixable. He's as talented as any QB in the NFL as far as his skills go so it has to be mental or it's just getting in synch with his guys.

Tice seems to abandon the run to often seemingly as a concession to Cutler and Marshall and I wish he'd stop. If we can run then we should until we force them to crowd the lien to stop us and then the pass routes open up. If we can score twice within the first 20 minutes or so of any game we're about 90% sure of winning it. Get the run game going and a drive started then use the pass to strike for the score.

I'm not criticizing the results but I still think Cutler is going to Marshall way too often. Out of 39 passes yesterday he was the target 17 times. In this offense one receiver shouldn't be getting 44% of the throws. JMHO

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Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

Regarding the offense, we have everything in place to have a successful season. We have solid receivers. A solid set of RB's. The oline is as good as any "average" NFL line right now (not great, but average) and as you mentioned, Tice has settled down into a decent OC (game plan and play calling).

We have a QB who is physically as talented as any QB in the league right now. I look for him to improve from week to week and his ceiling is high.

He may be getting overly emotional in the beginnings of games....trying to do too much, too early. Whatever the problem is, he is a bit spastic with his passes early in games. Throwing into the dirt in front of receivers or over their heads too often.

Later, when he settles down, the guy is a machine throwing solid passes.

He's getting decent protection, so we can't blame the blocking now. It's Jay. It's a mental thing now with him just settling down. And play calling can help him with this too. Use the run early in games, and when we do pass, let him complete some easy, high-percentage passes early in games, to build his confidence and timing a bit. Then open it up a bit more.

I think Jay will be fine. But right now he's the part of the offense that needs to settle down and improve. Everything else is clicking on offense.

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It really was remarkable how BAD Jay has been in the early parts of games. Yesterday too. He looked like Sanchez out there--bad picks, wildly inaccurate throws, etc. I just don't get it. His pass pro was fine.

He's got to get his act together and stop waiting till the 3rd quarter to show up.