No time to panic, but Bears must run the ball

After the Bears started the season poorly by dropping their home opener to the Buffalo Bills, is it panic time already?

I don't think so, even though I had the blue and orange winning this game.

Look, Jay Cutler isn't going to change his style of play at this late date, and this loss starts with him and ends with his co-pilot, Marc Trestman, the fabulous offensive coordinator masquerading as a head coach.

The defense also can't stop the run, and that is the only thing Bears fans need to know. If you can't stop the run, that leads to extensive drives by the opponent. Play-action passing will be the order of the day for their opponents.

Bills running back Freddie Jackson was that truck that ran over safety Chris Conte, but it was the whole defense that gave up 5 yards per carry.

It might be a sampling of what's to come. Now it's time to go to the West Coast under the lights - gulp!

If you're the San Francisco 49ers, you have to be licking your chops in anticipation of this game. Frank Gore probably is planning to run for more than a hundred yards, and I wouldn't bet against it.

I read with interest all the predictions for the Bears' record this year - from a Super Bowl appearance as a wild-card team, from 12-4 to 9-7, but I didn't read 8-8 or 7-9 anywhere.

Lance Briggs, the new restaurant king in his home of Elk Grove, Calif., had 3 tackles, and Brandon Marshall had an underwhelming 6 catches for 71 yards. Not bad stats for a possession receiver, but with Trestman's unbalanced offense of 49 passes to 18 rushes, that doesn't seem sufficient.

Trestman doesn't understand that the team's best chance for winning is to go old school and run the ball. It would keep the defense off the field and cut down on the inconsistencies and help the mistake-prone Cutler.

Let's face it, folks: If Cutler throws 49 times a game, bad things will happen. He just can't help himself.

The Bears didn't look sharp as a coaching staff or as a team Sunday. The only positive I can say about Cutler is I'm glad we have him and not Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, but in my world they are both tier-B quarterbacks.

The Bears have been exposed early with no defense, an inconsistent quarterback and poor play-calling. Why don't they realize Matt Forte should carry the ball 20 plus times or have swing passes or fakes or have him do whatever you need him to do?

Now it's on to San Francisco, where the Bears' plan should be simple: Keep the defense off the field and cut down on mistakes so they can keep it close.

My prediction: 49ers 31, Bears 23.

Program notes:

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• Mike North'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.