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This season is far from over |
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Written by Ryan Gass
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Thursday, 04 October 2007 |
Since when is a 1-3 record an insurmountable deficit? These days, the local media would have you believe that we should just pack this one in and start pondering which QB we should take next April in the draft. I, for one think we're a little bit better off than a lot of people are trying to make us out to be.
True,.. The offense is lacking big time. And True, the defense is a little bit banged up, and we've fallen from #1 to #15 in the NFL..
Now here's the good news,.. The injuries that have hindered the defense early on this season (save for Mike Brown), are all actually pretty minor. A couple mild sprains here, a tendon pull there,.. Overall, not too serious and injured players should begin returning as soon as this week. We can count on Tommie Harris being an every down player this week as he was getting some time in last week. And Tillman should be back as well.. All of the sudden, there's not all that many holes in our defense after all..
As far as competition in our division. I don't really see anything to fear. I am extremely underwhelmed by Green Bay. Brett Favre has done a great job of being Green Bay's offense so far this season, but that is NO kind of plan for long term success. As bad as the Bears' running game has been this season, Green Bay's running game is virtually nonexistent. And if not for the level of competition that Green Bay has faced this year, they would be lucky to have a single win under their belt.
As good as Ole' Brett has been this year, I think he's going to have a VERY hard time acting as the only productivity on the offensive side of the ball against a Chicago Bears team who have a knack for getting right into the backfield and putting the heat on the QB.
Lets talk about that a little bit... Green Bay's offense has been on fire so far this season. Favre has been a man possessed and rejuvenated as if it were 1998 all over again. The Packer's passing game is ranked #2 in the NFL, with Brett Favre and for all practical purposes a handful of sub rate WRs. On the flip side, the rushing game is ranked 32nd (last in the NFL).. In all reality the Packers offense might as well not even utilize the HB position.. It'd just be Brett Favre standing there taking shot gun and throwing the ball 90 times a game.. And thats not far from what's been happening.. The problem is that you cannot sustain an offense for 16 games with that style of play. In the NFL, playing a one dimensional type offense is suicide. It wont be long before coordinators league wide have the Packers completely figured out and on utter lock down.. In fact I think we're going to see signs of that this week ;).
Enough about other teams, lets talk about why the Bears are GOOD..
Contrary to popular belief, this year's defense is every bit as fast, physical, and dominating as it was last season. Ive sat and watched 3 games so far this year that included 2.5 solid quarters of Chicago Bears defensive domination followed by 1.5 quarters of 3/4 speed defense.
Cowboys
first half- 3 second half- 31
Lions
first half- 3 second half - 34
Chargers
first half - 0 second half -14
It's pretty obvious what's going on here... To me anyways.
You've got an offense who simply cannot stay on the field long enough to spell the defense. Simply put, they're tired.. You cannot have this high speed sideline to sideline Chicago Bears defense on the field for 85% of the entire game. Not only is it a matter of fatigue resulting in lacking play, but it's also going to result in INJURIES (ding ding ding). And there in lies the fundamental problem with this years team..
It really is this simple.. Keep the offense on the field.. I mean this with 100% sincerity. The Bears can win with ZERO offensive scoring.. If the Bears could simply manage one first down per drive, and allow the play clock to drain all the way before taking the next snap, it'd probably be just enough to keep the defense fresh throughout the game. And between the turnover happy defense and Devin Hester, some points will be scored at some point in the game.. Obviously this is borderline ridiculous, and I fully expect the offense to be able to put something on the board as well, but if it came down to that I truly believe we could win that way..
The corrections to be made are extremely simple, and I really do believe that we're going to see a 100% turn around this season and see the Bears back in the playoffs this year. The Chicago Bears are a good team playing bad, among a lot of other bad teams playing good. In the long run, things will right themselves.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 October 2007 )
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