Up and Down

Lefty swinger, huh? Interesting...Briggs is impressed

The first quarter and half quarters of the Bears's 2011 season have alternated between peaks and valleys, great showings one week followed up by setbacks of such great proportion that the games were nigh unwatchable. However, coming off a beatdown of the reeling Vikings (seriously, they were one stupid Favre pass from the Super Bowl two years ago. Think about that...), hope are high in Halas Hall again that the team has finally found its identity and groove on both sides of the ball. Here are some quick thoughts on the first six games while the Bears practice and play a little cricket (what??) in London before playing Tampa there Sunday.

First, the offense. Where to begin? How about with the positives, those being Matt Forte and (for the most part) Jay Cutler. Forte's been amazing in his contract year, proving himself to be one of the top backs in the league both in the run and pass games. He leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage, and accounts for just about half of the Bears' offensive production yards-wise. That's insane. Pay that man his money, please, Jerry Angelo. You've made a lot of mistakes in your tenure, but letting this guy walk would be the most grievous of all. He's played well every week, no matter what was going on around him on a pretty discombobulated offensive unit. Forte has shown himself to be elite, and the Bears need to recognize that and lock him up as a Bear for life.

On to the lightning rod that is Jay Cutler. The fact that anyone still doubts this guy as a quarterback is ridiculous to me. He's got all the tools, and he's clearly made strides in the right direction since a disastrous first year in Chicago back in 2009. He's making better decisions with the ball, and he's made, quite simply, some throws that maybe only two or three other quarterbacks can. Let's look back at his season thus far. He's thrown for 1476 yds, with 8 TDs to 4 INTs, good for a solid rating of 87.8. Keep in mind, these numbers have been put up with a next-to-nonexistent offensive line in 3 of the 6 games played thus far. Not coincidentally, those three games have all been losses for the Bears. In the games where the o-line performance and protection has been merely acceptable, not even great, he's thrown for 5 TDs with only 1 pick, with a rating over 100. The point here is clear: when Jay gets adequate pass protection, he's going to have success throwing the ball and will win more often than not. 

As for the comments caught on SNF cameras last weekend, in which Cutler directed someone on the sideline to tell Mike Martz to screw himself, in so many words: it's getting a ridiculous amount of attention, and I think it has more to do with Cutler's reputation than the actual comments. If Tom Brady did the same thing, the narrative would be something along the lines of one of the greatest QBs of all time being a fiery leader on the sidelines, and doing whatever it takes to win a ballgame. Not so with Cutler. Whether that reputation is deserved or not is up for debate, but the fact of the matter is that these exchanges happen all the time in pro sports, in the heat of battle, and it really is a non-issue. So ESPN, stop freaking talking about it!!

Quickly on the offensive line: I blame Jerry Angelo above anyone else for their failure. He told us all summer that the line would be fine, but he clearly hasn't given Mike Tice much to work with. There's some potential, but right now, they just can't get the job done against above-average defensive fronts (GB, DET, NO, etc.). What has to happen is what we saw Sunday night, with max protection schemes featuring TEs and whatnot to give Cutler as much time as they can. Look at what happened when Jay was able to step into his throws: two passes, bomb to Hester for a TD. Not going to happen every time, but he's certainly capable with time in the pocket. The line steadily improved after the bye last year; here's hoping for a similar stabilization this year (the return of Gabe Carimi, who was playing pretty well before his injury, will help that process).

Now, onto the defense, where the operative question is...

What the heck is going on??

There have been breakdowns all over in several different games, and big plays have burned the D much more often this year than last, specifically in the Saints and Lions losses. In fact, take the long Megatron TD catch and the ridiculously easy Jahvid Best 88-yd TD run out of the equation, and the Bears probably win that game, even with as poorly as they played on offense (I think they just got whistled for another false start, nearly two weeks later). Much of that can be pinned on the inconsistent safety play and a defensive line that has not been able to generate consistent pressure on the quarterback. The Bears need the Julius Peppers who dominated last Sunday night to be there for the rest of the season, or else opposing QBs are going to be able to pick on the secondary all season long. Rookie Chris Conte and second year safety Major Wright did well on Sunday, and it looks like that's the combo Lovie wants to see back there right now. But I gotta believe Chris Harris gets back in the rotation at some point; the veteran knows this defense very well, and once he's fully recovered from his hamstring injury, he'll probably work his way back into the rotation after his surprise benching following the Detroit debacle. However, whether the defense regains their form from last year remains to be seen.

Here's to a win across the pond in Wembley Stadium tomorrow against the Bucs - it's critical for this team to go into their bye with a W, as dates with the Eagles and the Lions will greet them afterwards. In the jumbled wild card picture of the NFC (and the division basically already lost), it's imperative for Lovie's bunch to get above .500 and stay there. Bear Down, gentlemen.

Oh, and THEO!! So excited about that move, and I'll have thoughts and analysis on what that means for the North Siders after he's officially introduced Tuesday. Until then...