Bears' passing game lets them down
Don't blame Sunday's 27-17 defeat on the Bears' lack of a running game.
They could have beaten the Green Bay Packers without any rushing yards, which actually is only 13 fewer than they had.
It was the lowest rushing total by a Bears team since at least 1960, and 11 yards came on 3 Jay Cutler scrambles.
Offensive coordinator Mike Martz called just 9 running plays (all by Matt Forte), which accounted for a total of 2 yards.
And it was just one week after Martz called 11 rushing plays in a 30-13 loss at New Orleans and promised to correct the imbalance.
The Bears (1-2) could have won Sunday's game just by throwing the ball, if only they had gotten a better effort from quarterback Jay Cutler and his receivers.
They probably didn't need to run at all.
“I don't believe in balance,” wide receiver Roy Williams said. “New England doesn't believe in balance. They throw the ball all across the field, and they win.”
But Williams' day was typical of the Bears' passing offense and its failure to take advantage of a Packers defense that had allowed a whopping 800 net passing yards in its first two games.
Williams was targeted by Cutler four times. He had zero catches.
The first time came in the first quarter when Williams was wide open deep down the west sideline at Soldier Field. Cutler inexplicably missed him by a mile, instead throwing it where only Packers safety Morgan Burnett could catch it. And he did.
Then, with the Bears trailing 14-0 but at the Packers' 3-yard line, Williams dropped a low throw in the end zone. It wasn't an easy play, but it's one he's capable of making. That didn't hurt, since Dane Sanzenbacher caught a TD pass two plays later.
Early in the fourth quarter, Cutler threw way high and behind the 6-foot-3 Williams, who might have had a shot at it if he were 8-feet-3. Burnett also intercepted that one.
It's obvious Cutler and Williams are not on the same page. They're barely in the same book.
The former first-round draft pick missed Week 2 with a groin injury and hasn't practiced much the past two weeks.
“Not a lot of time with Roy,” Cutler said. “It (doesn't) happen overnight, missing (part of) camp, injuries. He's still a little bit sore. Until we put some real time in there and we get some practices and we get some reps and everyone's comfortable, it's hard. You can ask any quarterback.”
Cutler seems to have no problem connecting with undrafted rookie Sanzenbacher, who caught a TD pass for the second straight game and had 5 catches for 27 yards.
“Dane is a guy (who) since Day One has been out there running with the ones and really competing,” Cutler said, “so that's just how it goes.”
The frequently maligned offensive line protected Cutler well enough that he should have done better than completing 21 of 37 passes for 302 yards and a passer rating of 78.9 with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Cutler was sacked three times, but at least 1 was a coverage sack on which he held the ball too long. Most of the afternoon he had enough time to find his receivers; he just didn't have the accuracy.
“They did really well,” Cutler said of the O-line protection. “Those guys gave me all the time in the world.”
But there were at least 4 drops, which would have improved Cutler's numbers and may have changed the outcome.
Johnny Knox led the Bears with 84 receiving yards on 4 catches, but he dropped a ball late in the third quarter that would have picked up 20-plus yards when he appeared to sneak a peek at oncoming safety Charlie Peprah, who wound up sticking him in the gut anyway.
“Unacceptable — plain and simple,” Knox said. “Like I told Jay, ‘I'm a receiver. I've got to catch that ball.'”
“Unacceptable” could have described the entire Bears offense Sunday.
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