The novelty of the contest was predominant, as the game was yet another display of NFL Marketing gone awry with the game being played in London before a largely indifferent and uninformed British crowd. Irony was not absent however, as the British got to hear a performance of The Star Spangled Banner - a poem/song written about the Defence of Fort McHenry FROM the British, during the war of 1812. Irony was also on display as Roger Goodell hinted at the possibility of an NFL Franchise in London someday, while the #2 television market in his own country is teamless. In the end none of that matters because what the Bears needed to do to keep their postseason hopes alive was accomplished. Here's my tale of the tape :
Offense : I guess we don't have to wait for after the Bye Week to realize that Martz has been neutered again. For the second week in a row, the Bears offense featured Double Tight End, and Max Protect formations, with Matt Forte heavily featured on the ground. Forte had another great game, amassing 145 yards carrying the ball and scoring the games first touchdown early in the first quarter.
Forte was also one of six different receivers quarterback Jay Cutler completed passes to on the day, on his way to 226 yards passing. Even though Cutler found the end zone once to wide receiver Roy Williams, Cutler did not have one of his best days. Along with two interceptions (one of which clearly wasn't his fault), Cutler seemed out of sync in general as he threw some passes that were the result of a combination of bad decisions and bad footwork. Still, Cutler was good enough when he needed to be overall in leading the team to victory.
While I won't say they're out of my doghouse yet, the Offensive Line has made noteworthy improvements in the past couple of games. Yes Matt Forte makes a lot of would-be tacklers miss, but overall the O-Line is getting out of their stances much quicker, and they're better at the Power O, Pulling Guard running plays which provide the biggest holes for Forte. The O-line has also gotten better at giving Cutler time, which in turn has allowed for more Roy Williams sightings to take place. Roy is the closest thing the Bears have to a legit NFL receiver, so getting him more interested in football can only be a positive for the Bears.
Defense : Even though they went to sleep a little in the fourth quarter, overall this unit played well. A major sign that they're returning to their once dominant, stingy ways are the four interceptions they had on the day, including a fourth quarter, game clinching pick by cornerback DJ Moore. As any Bear fans who actually watch the games know, this defense is predicated on generating turnovers, which is an aspect that has been largely missing this season. Hopefully this is a sign that all the corrections Lovie Smith has been mentioning are finally happening.
The Front Seven was noticeably improved as they were stout against the run, and the front four generated plenty of hurries of Bucs QB Josh Freeman - at least for three quarters. While only registering 1 sack on the day, the Front Four took advantage of a depleted Bucs Offensive Line while in the process knocking out Bucs running back Earnest Graham early in the game.
The guy that really has caught my eye is Chris Conte. Ever since he's started in place of Chris Harris in the Free Safety spot, Conte has made an impact. I'd actually be very optimistic about him if Al Afalava, Craig Steltz, Danieal Manning, and Kevin Payne didn't happen already. Still, it's tough to ignore that Conte has facilitated the Bears defense no longer giving up passing plays of 25 yards or more.
Special Teams : Safe to say this unit disappointed. Robbie Gould missed a makeable 41 yard field goal in the third quarter that would have made the ending a little less nerve-wracking. Devin Hester couldn't get off the launching pad in the return game as well.
For a team that goes out of it's way to mention how vital their return game is to their success, they cannot be happy with the results today.
Where Do We Go From Here : A much needed Bye Week is next on the schedule. Hopefully that should give the Bears/Martz more time to develop a makeshift playbook based on the Double Tight End formations they've decided on. While the Bye Weeks suck for us as a fan base, they are to be taken advantage of . Last season's Bye Week ended up being the catalyst for a season turnaround resulting in an NFC Championship Appearance.
Will that happen again? Maybe Better this time? Maybe Worse? We'll find out. First on the menu after the Bye Week will be a pivotal game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Every game is essentially a playoff game for the Bears from here on out anyway. So there's no need to worry about the Bears not realizing the gravity of this one .
No comments:
Post a Comment