The Chicago Bears season came to an end yesterday with a loss at Houston as they missed an opportunity to go to the playoffs. The Bears had some high moments in the season, and trouble with consistency throughout the campaign.
The season couldn't have gotten off to a better start as they pounded the Indianapolis Colts during Week 1. But the trouble of closing out games after leading late plagued them with losses to the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They got back on track with the help of a goal-line stand for the ages against the Philadelphia Eagles at home.
Then they took care of Detroit before losing another heart-breaker in Atlanta after taking the lead late with seconds remaining. Then the Bears offense scored an unheard of 48 points against Minnesota in a win before their bye week.
After an injury to Kyle Orton against Detroit at home in which the Bears came back and won, the team proceeded to lose three of the next four games with two of them against Green Bay and Minnesota. Their lone win in that stretch came at a struggling St. Louis Rams franchise. The team then made an improbable run after losing control of their playoff destiny as they looked to get back on track with a three-game home slate.
After winning against Jacksonville, the Bears came back against New Orleans and Green Bay in overtime as they moved to 9-6 on the season. The Bears game against Green Bay had some unusual moments which had many thinking they were destined for the playoffs. But that all came to a screatching halt yesterday.
The Bears defense could not slow down the Texans' offense, and lost 31-24 as they missed the playoffs.
Much has been made about the team in terms of consistency as well as the offense not helping the defense. The defense was troublesome in many of their games as well, but looking at the numbers, it's clear to see where the team needs to improve at next year.
Total yards p/g: 295.9(26th)
Passing yards p/g: 191.3(21st)
Rushing yards p/g: 104.6(24th)
First downs p/g: 16.5(27th)
Third down percentage: 35.6(25th)
Time of Possession: 28:36(27th)
Total yards allowed p/g: 334.7(21st)
Passing yards allowed p/g: 241.2(30th)
Rushing yards allowed p/g: 93.5(5th)
Interceptions: 22(Tied for 3rd)
Sacks: 28(22nd)
I won't bore you with the rest of the stats, but the common perception I've heard is that the Bears secondary was the biggest problem for them in stopping the pass. But they were only part of that problem, and not getting a consistent pass rush upfront will make anyone look bad.
Good defenses in the league start upfront as to how you play on the defensive line, and it's become an all to common theme to see secondaries always having the finger pointed at them by critics when it comes to pass defense, too. Pressuring the quarterback is so vitally important in pass defense, and that's why the Bears have to make it a priority to improve on a consistent pass rush for next year. I do like how Tommie Harris played towards the latter part of the year though. So with that, the team needs someone else that can provide a pass rush as well as having a reliable safety and another cornerback for depth.
But the bigger problem in my mind continues to be the offense. Looking at the TOP stat alone, it tells me that the offense doesn't sustain drives in order to keep their defense off the field. Furthermore, converting third downs were a problem, and it wore down the defense in many games especially when they lost leads late earlier in the season.
The positives is that Matt Forte is a complete running back, and will continue to improve and be the focal point on offense. Also, Greg Olsen is becoming more prominent in the offense as a reliable target. Devin Hester is improving, but is far from being a go-to guy on offense. Rashied Davis isn't a bad receiver, but isn't the go-to guy either. Brandon Lloyd showed flashes when healthy, but no one knows for sure with him either.
In order for improvement, changes have to be made with players and/or coaches. Keeping the same group of people means you'll have the same results, so something has to give with this team as well as others around the league.
Overall, despite the numbers, the Bears had a good year with a 9-7 mark. But to get back to being a contender, the offense has to help the defense. And the defense has to find a way to consistently stop the pass by pressure upfront and in secondary coverage.
IMO, here are the top priorities for the Bears to address in the off-season:
1. Defensive end: No one on the team had more than six sacks on the season, and that can't continue on into next year. What happened to Mark Anderson?
2. Offensive line: Is Chris Williams going to have a sustained career at tackle? The offensive line did a good job this year, but concerns about age are there again.
3. Wide receiver: Until I see someone emerge as the go-to guy, it'll remain a position of concern.
4. Safety: I like Kevin Payne, but Mike Brown is being counted on too much after going on IR...again. Craig Steltz maybe the answer, but they obviously need depth.
5. Cornerback: More of a depth issue with Tillman and Vasher under big contracts already.
6. Quarterback: The team needs a reliable veteran because I don't see Grossman coming back. Besides, the team hasn't been able to keep the starting quarterback healthy for an entire season since...well...ever?
Again, the team finished 9-7 season, so they're not very far off from vaulting back up to being a Super Bowl contender. But again, change has to be made or the results will be the same.
Thanks for reading!
12/29/2008 10:40:00 AM
David Funk
8 comments:
I'd like to thank the Bears for coming up a hair short against the Texans and giving a certain other team a chance at the playoffs.
LOL! Hey, I'm pulling for those birds against Minnesota, and I will against the Giants, too. I'm evenly divided with them and Carolina should it happen.
Nonetheless, the Bears' lack of consistency plagued the team all year, and teams like that don't deserve a playoff spot. But at least rebuilding isn't an option for them.
Glad you stopped by with a comment buddy!
Nice analysis. Not a lost season by any means, but their D did not have the same bite. For once the QB position isn't the primary concern.
Agreed Lester. Thanks for stopping by.
If the Bears won their division they at least could of sold out their stadium. How pathetic is it that the Vikings have 15,000 seats unsold for Sunday? People mortage houses in the Northeast to watch their teams in the playoffs.
Birdbrainz- Yeah, I don't understand it either. It reminds me of when Miami made the playoffs several years back, and became the first playoff team to have their game blacked out locally for not selling out. How can you not sell out a stadium in the NFL playoffs? This is also the first time Minnesota has hosted a playoff game at home in eight years which makes it that much more puzzling.
I'm not as happy or hopefull as others. The memories that stick from this season are losing games that should have been won and winning games due to weird fluke plays.
Sure, Kyle is better than Rex, but the Bears are starting a quarterback that they hope will grow into a true NFL Starting Quality quarterback.
Urlacher has been in the trenches long enough to feel the pain and that should be a concern.
The '85 D was like a pack of attack dogs while the current line up posts the stats you've provided.
Who cares about a quarterback or running back or receivers if the offensive line can't give them the opportunities they need?
Everybody thinks Lovie is a nice guy, but he lost my confidence back with his statement that Grossman was "His guy" and he was going to keep starting him. Well, he learned that you can't just go with Your Guy, you need to go for the win.
Does Lovie have the hunger or is he a Manager?
It's easy to ask tough questions and hard to provide the solutions. Its really bad when it is so easy to ask so many tough questions. Just go back through your post and see how many key players and positions you raise questions about. Does that make you think the team needs adjustments or a shake up?
Anonymous- Just an FYI, when you comment on here, please leave a name in it. I know I set it up for anonymous comments, but we typically don't accept any no matter what is said in them.
As far as your reply goes, of course changes need to be made as I said in the piece or the results will be the same.
I agree that it was premature of Lovie to proclaim Rex as "His Guy". I think Lovie can be very stubborn as far as making adustments in general, and that was evident in many games this year in particular.
The play-calling on both sides of the ball has to be adjusted along with key positions, too.
At any rate, thanks for stopping by.
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