This. Game. Mattered. Lovie Smith realized that it mattered, and so did the rest of the Bears roster as well. It may surprise you to hear that I'm totally fine with playing the starters the entire game. I understand all the logic of resting starters for the last game of the season when you know your playoff fate is set in stone, but that's the point. The Bears DIDN'T know their fate until around a half hour to an hour before kickoff. They had to practice all week with the presumption that both Atlanta and New Orleans were going to lose. You cannot practice all week with your starters and then at the last minute decide all that work you put in this week is suddenly going to be scrapped at the last minute because you're afraid of getting guys hurt.
It's an untenable position to be in, and to criticize the Bears for conducting themselves in a way that would indicate they're trying to win a football game, is silly and half-assed. There's a fine line between courage and stupidity and as a wise old man told me a long time ago, "Sometimes in life, you just gotta show some BALLS". Unfortunately for us, that wasn't enough for the Bears to win this one. Here's what made me drink heavily on Sunday:
Offense : What a difference a week makes. After watching Jay Cutler and the Offensive Line drop 38 points on a 3-4 blitz heavy defensive scheme in the New York Jets, they completely regressed on Sunday against the Packers. Most of it was Cutler's fault from my view. Cutler seemed to not recognize any fronts or coverages the Packers defense threw at him and his stats reflect it, throwing for a paltry 168 yards on 39 attempts with two interceptions. The game ending second interception summed his day up perfectly as he had a WIDE OPEN Devin Hester and he sailed the pass about 10 feet over Devin's head. Offensive Line didn't help either, giving up 6 sacks the worst of which was a 3rd quarter Erik Walden sack courtesy of Frank Omiyale when the Bears were deep in Packer Territory. The Bears did run the ball pretty well I suppose. Matt Forte ran for 91 yards and had another 60 yards in receptions. Still, despite being able to run the ball, the Bears only converted 5-16 Third Downs. All of that suckage led to 3 points, and I'd be remiss if I didn't shout GREG OLSEN CATCH THE BALLLLLLLLL.
Defense : Hate to waste a good defensive performance like the Bears gave. Particularly against an elite quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. The Bears stuffed the run (60 yards total), and limited the deep passing plays for the most part - save for the 46 yard Greg Jennings pass which led to the lone Packer Touchdown on the day. The Bears generated enough pressure to generate two turnovers (1 fumble, 1 int), but most importantly the Packers were a putrid 2-11 on Third Down. All in all, it was the ideal performance the Bears coaching staff asks the defense to do for each game. Again, pity it had to go to waste...
Special Teams : Really a non-factor. For once a team said they weren't going to let Hester beat them, and they stuck to it. Brad Maynard did his usual act, and Gould made his lone field goal.
Where Do We Go From Here : Why am I still confused about who the Bears will be playing? On paper it says the Bears play the winner of the Green Bay-Philly Wild Card game, but there's also a chance it could be the Saints if they beat Seattle too? Huh?! Anyway, my prediction is one and done for the Bears no matter who they end up playing. I just don't see how you can win without an offensive line in the postseason. I've been wrong before, and I hope I'm wrong again, but I just don't see playoff greatness in this team.
Again though, ANYTHING is possible in this version of the NFL...
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