Meh
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Football — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Bears win. Chicago's effort over the past two weeks has been laudable and impressive, but as noted here and here, there are legitimate questions as to why we didn't see this kind of effort and hustle from the Bears throughout the season.
And the answers are relatively clear. The Bears remain unsettled at quarterback. The running game has only just recently found an effective combination with Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe--too much time has been wasted, it would appear, on the Cedric Benson era and losing Thomas Jones at the beginning of the season because of his personality conflicts with Benson was a disastrous decision that cost the Bears offense plenty. The defense has been riven by injuries throughout the season thanks to the fact that it has had to play significantly more minutes due to an ineffective offense.
Challenges for the coming year: Nail down a franchise quarterback. Either fish or cut bait on Peterson and Wolfe--fishing seems to be the best suggestion, as both have shown dedication and talent. Integrate Devin Hester--God love Devin Hester--into the offense fully and completely. And hang on to as many free agents from the defense as possible, with the re-signing of Lance Briggs being a priority in order to ease as much pressure off of Brian Urlacher's shoulders as humanly possible.
There is no reason why this season's disappointments need to be revisited. And there would be no excuse if they were.
Bears window over
by Alberta
Its not that its hard to play great defense. Its hard to play great defense when your offense goes 3 and punt every time they touch the ball. The Bears defense has played more downs then any other defense in the entire league (THIS INCLUDES THE RAVENS BEARS FAN) in the last 3 years. This is like a pitcher pitching 300 innings consecutive years. Of course there is going to be a drop off.
The bears problems are a: Running the ball, passing the ball, taking away the ball (unless its weeks 15, 16, and 17 and you have nothing to play for)
Can Hester play quarterback? That way he could throw it up, run down field, and catch the ball, because thats what it is going to take for this team to score.
... the Bears success in the 2000s has been based on great defense, occasionally decent running, and not much else. The defense is no longer great (even without injuries and departures, it's just hard to play at that level consistently). And a run-first offense without a credible passing game will not get you into the playoffs, let alone winning there. The Bears need to get younger on defense and find a quarterback. And I'd rather they not; 7-9ish is about where I'd like them.