Two stats explain why Bears lost to Saints
Marc Trestman and his Chicago Bears offense came up short, and Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints got the job done on Sunday at Soldier Field.
For the Bears, it is their second loss in a row to a quality opponent.
The Bears defense will give up its share of yards because of its bend-but-don’t-break system. And Jay Cutler will have his good days and bad, but when you’re at home and you hold the Saints to 26 points you have to win the game.
Every week, whether the Bears win or lose, there are two things consider for the blue and orange. When the defense doesn’t get a turnover or the Bears lose the time of possession battle, victories are tougher to come by.
Both happened Sunday — no turnovers and the Saints won the time of possession battle 36 minutes to 24. Giving Drew Brees 12 more minutes, and no turnovers by the defense equals a loss.
The Bears should have a stat-stuffing whale of a time on Thursday against the New York Giants. Playing at home as 8-point favorites, I believe the Bears will get on track, but if Eli Manning and the Giants should win this game, then the apocalypse will hit this town.
Meanwhile, there is a hint of selfishness on the team. Brandon Marshall is an insecure guy and if another receiver on the team catches 10 balls for more than 200 yards that’s troubling to him. He’s a me-me-me, I-I-I guy, so I guess I’ll give him the nickname of “ Me-Me Marshall.”
We have a quick turnaround on Thursday and it should be a blowout for the Bears. The Giants are almost dead, but the Bears are starting to stagger.
Hopefully we will wake up Friday morning in Chicago with the team 4-2.
Tough loss, you bet:If you had Northwestern getting 7 frac12; points over Ohio State, you were prematurely counting your money on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Down 4 with only a kickoff to go, the Wildcats got the ball and tossed a lateral. The Buckeyes eventually recovered the ball in the end zone, making the game an instant classic. It will be remembered at Northwestern for a long time. The Las Vegas sports book lost badly as Ohio State money was paid out with the 10-point win. According to Chuck Esposito, oddsmaker at Sunset Station in Las Vegas, the public nationally won millions and the sports book got destroyed because 80 percent of the action was on Ohio State. There was reportedly $100 million worldwide that changed hands just for that game. That, my friend, is a bad beat in more ways than one.Program notes:I will be filling in 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today on Fox Sports radio. I will also be filling in from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, to go with my regular schedule of 6-9 p.m. Saturday and 9 p.m. to midnight Sunday. Check me out on XM 247, iHeart or Fox Sports.And listen to #147;The Mike North Pregame Show#148; from 10 a.m. to noon Sundays on WIND 560-AM The Answer.Ÿ Mike North#146;s column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.