Good Martz can't keep bad Martz in check

It was like one of those astonishing stories you see on the Biography Channel.

You know, man suffers from amnesia for weeks or months and then just as suddenly as he lost his identity he awakes one day with full memory and no knowledge of why it happened.

Or maybe it's the dueling of dual personalities.

This could explain Mike Martz's playcalling since the second quarter of the Dallas game, some five weeks ago.

Dr. Jekyll disappeared for five weeks plus another half of football, with Mr. Hyde calling plays through the first six drives Sunday at Soldier Field, causing Jay Cutler to get hit five times while the Redskins brought constant pressure and disrupted any hint of a Bears offense.

And then the game, completely one-sided in yards gained and time of possession, changed instantly in the final few minutes of the second quarter.

Martz, as if the switch flipped, began getting the ball out of Cutler's hands quickly, and the Bears immediately began to move down the field.

Players, fans and coaches looked at each other and wondered where those plays have been since the game in Texas on Sept. 19.

With 3:38 left in the first half, Cutler out of the shotgun hit Earl Bennett with a quick pass for 6 yards, and after a defensive penalty gave the Bears a first down, Cutler and Bennett made eye contact and recognized a corner blitz.

Cutler again released in an instant and hit Bennett for 6 more before the defense could reach the quarterback.

That might have been the most telling moment of a seven-play, 70-yard drive that went for a TD and gave the Bears the lead before the half.

So where was that for the last month? Where was it for most of the game? Where was it on the final Bears play in the fourth when Cutler threw deep to Johnny Knox for his last pick of the day?

There was much talk when he was hired that Martz is the most stubborn coach in football and will sometimes cut off his nose to spite his face.

While he attempts to prove again that he's relevant, he's sacrificing his quarterback to further whatever purpose it is he has in mind.

Against so much NFC mediocrity, the Bears had a chance to run out to a huge lead in the division and instead have given it all back.

Good thing the players are wearing helmets during the games so that they don't hurt themselves scratching their heads.

The drive

Outside of a couple of broken plays made huge by Matt Forte in Carolina, the Bears haven't run the football at all this season. Mike Martz knows this, so Sunday he got creative with the run game.

With the Bears up 14-10 after the terrific Danieal Manning interception the Bears from their own 22 opened with some nice misdirection, and with the Bears and Skins all moving east, Chester Taylor took the handoff and went west for a 12-yard gain.

On the next play Taylor bounced it right for another dozen. Out of the no-huddle, and using the Skins' aggressive rush against them, Forte took a screen for 13.

On a third-and-2, Cutler hit Devin Hester with a short pass across the middle for 7 yards and the Bears were in field goal range.

Forte bounced one off left tackle for 10 and the Bears were on the verge of putting the game away, considering the Skins' terrible offense and the Bears' defense.

It was a strong drive down to the 13 against a weak defense that could hurt the Bears only through QB pressure and Cutler mistakes.

It didn't end well as Cutler, while backpedaling, threw a soft jump ball halfway across the field in the direction of Johnny Knox, which went the other way with DeAngelo Hall for 92 yards and the game-winning TD.

Once again, if Martz is willing to take small chunks of yards and points on the board, there still are wins on the schedule.

The revenge

When asked about Cutler's comments that he would throw at DeAngelo Hall again, Hall said Monday morning on SportsCenter that sometimes he doesn't think Cutler “understands the game of football. He threw at me in Denver and got me a few times, and he made some smart comments about that after that game.

“I knew he would come after me again and it didn't work out for him.''

The call

In a shocking turn of events, Lovie Smith admitted Monday that he should have challenged the Jay Cutler fumble on the goal line.

“Yes, I should have. I need to be able to make that call,'' Smith said. “I wish I had challenged it. I didn't.''

It's nice to hear, and he should be applauded for this rare moment of accountability.

He probably was afraid of getting skewered for throwing the red flag on consecutive plays, knowing he might lose two challenges and two timeouts in two plays.

What you have to wonder is who told him to challenge the play before, and whether the same person was unable or unwilling to convince Smith to try again.

And finally …

Albert Haynesworth, on causing the now infamous fumble: “Right before the play, Jay (Cutler) and (Olin) Kreutz and (Chris) Williams were talking, so I figured they were probably going to try and come on my side and I kind of used that against them.''

brozner@dailyherald.com