The Bears did not lose to the Atlanta Falcons tonight. Instead, they gave away the game by self-destructing, especially in the red zone. Jay Cutler threw 2 bad interceptions, and Matt Forte had perhaps the worst game of his short professional career.
Add in a terrible night for the special teams and a rough night for the offensive line, and it spelled defeat in an extremely winnable football game in the Georgia Dome. How does the special teams have 12 men on the field late in the game when the Falcons had just been forced to punt? That cannot happen, but fortunately for the Bears they were bailed out one play later when Matt Ryan threw his 2nd interception of the game.
Still, the Bears could not drive down and tie the game in the final moments, due to their inability to score when they were in the red zone. Cutler threw for 300 yards, but he and the offense generated only 7 points on three trips inside the 15 yard line. That is completely unacceptable, as is Orlando Pace's false start penalty on 4th and 1 with 34 seconds left in the game.
Bears Thoughts After Giving Away the Atlanta Game
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Think about it. The Bears had the ball at the Atlanta 9 and Cutler
threw a pick. Then they had the ball 1st and goal at the one and Matt
Forte fumbled on two consecutive carries losing the second one. Then
one last chance died when the Bears couldn't convert on 4th and 1 at
the 5, as Pace jumped, turning it into a 4th and 6. That, of course, led to an
incomplete pass to Desmond Clark ending the Bears chances.
The Bears defense handled Michael Turner, holding the standout running back to just 30 yards on 13 carries, and they caused Ryan to throw two interceptions. They also controlled the time of possession, holding the ball for 33:54 to the Falcons 26:06. Unfortunately, their efforts didn't result in a Bears win.
Furthermore, the defense never sacked Ryan. According to the official box score, they had 0 QB hits. The Falcons sacked Cutler just twice, but they also were credited with 7 QB hits and harassed him constantly.
So what can we take from tonight's game? The Bears made too many mistakes to win, but they went on the road against one of the better teams in the NFC. And if not for some critical errors, they would have won. They held their own, and they have no one to blame but themselves.
Here are the three plays that cost the Bears tonight:
1) Forte's 2nd fumble at the 1 yard line.
2) Orlando Pace's false start penalty on 4th and 1 late in the 4th quarter
3) Jay Cutler's interception when the Bears had the ball at the 9 yard line in the 1st quarter
Now it's on to Cincinnati, where ex-Bears Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson await. The Bengals were beaten at home this afternoon by the Houston Texans, so perhaps the Bears can grab a tough road win after giving tonight's game away. This team certainly seems to be better than many experts thought, but in two nationally televised contests they have beaten themselves.
With the Vikings 6-0 and the Bears now 3-2, they cannot afford to fall too much farther behind in the standings. If they take care of the ball and do their jobs, the Bengals game is extremely winnable. If Sunday night's performance was any indication though, that may be asking a lot. We'll see.
My Grades on the Bears Performance Against Atlanta
Quarterback
Jay Cutler threw for a season high 300 yards but his two interceptions were huge keys in this loss.
Grade: C
Receivers
As a unit they played very well. At tight end Greg Olsen was solid as was Desmond Clark. Johnny Knox played very well, catching a TD ball for the 4th straight game. He became the 1st Bears rookie to do that since the late Walter Payton accomplished the feat in 1975. Devin Hester also played well and proved he is developing into a very good receiver. Earl Bennett averaged a team high 14.3 yards per catch.
Grade: B+
Running Game
Matt Forte averaged just 1.5 yards per carry, gaining 23 yards on 15 carries. Add in his two fumbles, (he lost one) and the fact that Garrett Wolfe and Forte combined for just 38 yards on the ground, and you have one of the key reasons this game is in the loss column.
Grade: F
Offensive Line
The "O" line was brutal tonight, giving up 2 sacks and allowing Cutler to be hit 7 times and harassed constantly. Add in Orlando Pace's false start penalty on the final drive and the holding call late in the game and you have a performance that was simply awful.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
The Bears failed to touch Matt Ryan all night long, as he was never sacked and never hit. However, they did do a solid job stopping the run as they held Michael Turner to just 30 yards running and the entire Falcons ground game to just 68 yards all night long.
Grade: B
Linebackers
Lance Briggs was outstanding again but the loss of Pisa Tinoisamoa was huge. Nick Roach played okay but let's not forget the fact that he is the third string MLB behind Brian Urlacher and Hunter Hillenmeyer. At times, it showed.
Grade: B-
Secondary
The Bears DB's battled all night long and played very well against a tremendously talented receiving corps. They also provided solid run support and all in all they more than held their own keeping the Bears in the game.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
While Devin Hester looked good returning punts and Johnny Knox had a couple of nice kick returns, (including a 33 yarder), the unit as a whole made too many mistakes. The 12 men on the field penalty after Atlanta was forced to punt in the 4th quarter was an awful penalty to get. In addition, the 62 yard kickoff return by Eric Weems that set up the game winning touchdown in the 4th quarter was a huge play.
Grade: C-
Coaching
The Bears played hard and had a chance to win, but when the Falcons went to the no-huddle they looked unprepared, and that just cannot happen. Coaching didn't lose this game, mistakes by the players did. But the coaches did not have their best night. The 12 men on the field on the Falcons last punt reflects poorly on the Special Teams coach. That must NEVER happen again.
Grade: C+
Note to Jay Cutler: Grow up and conduct yourself like a professional at the post-game press conference. Yes, your post-game performance isn't as important as your on-field performance. But you are a captain and you need to act like it. Matt Forte made a huge mistake and faced the media. Orlando Pace made a huge mistake and he faced the press. Both of those guys probably had no interest in talking to the media, but they did it and they owned up to their poor play. Lance Briggs talked, Tommie Harris talked, Adewale Ogunleye talked and they did it in a professional manner. Quit acting like such a jerk. You are better than that.
The Bears defense handled Michael Turner, holding the standout running back to just 30 yards on 13 carries, and they caused Ryan to throw two interceptions. They also controlled the time of possession, holding the ball for 33:54 to the Falcons 26:06. Unfortunately, their efforts didn't result in a Bears win.
Furthermore, the defense never sacked Ryan. According to the official box score, they had 0 QB hits. The Falcons sacked Cutler just twice, but they also were credited with 7 QB hits and harassed him constantly.
So what can we take from tonight's game? The Bears made too many mistakes to win, but they went on the road against one of the better teams in the NFC. And if not for some critical errors, they would have won. They held their own, and they have no one to blame but themselves.
Here are the three plays that cost the Bears tonight:
1) Forte's 2nd fumble at the 1 yard line.
2) Orlando Pace's false start penalty on 4th and 1 late in the 4th quarter
3) Jay Cutler's interception when the Bears had the ball at the 9 yard line in the 1st quarter
Now it's on to Cincinnati, where ex-Bears Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson await. The Bengals were beaten at home this afternoon by the Houston Texans, so perhaps the Bears can grab a tough road win after giving tonight's game away. This team certainly seems to be better than many experts thought, but in two nationally televised contests they have beaten themselves.
With the Vikings 6-0 and the Bears now 3-2, they cannot afford to fall too much farther behind in the standings. If they take care of the ball and do their jobs, the Bengals game is extremely winnable. If Sunday night's performance was any indication though, that may be asking a lot. We'll see.
My Grades on the Bears Performance Against Atlanta
Quarterback
Jay Cutler threw for a season high 300 yards but his two interceptions were huge keys in this loss.
Grade: C
Receivers
As a unit they played very well. At tight end Greg Olsen was solid as was Desmond Clark. Johnny Knox played very well, catching a TD ball for the 4th straight game. He became the 1st Bears rookie to do that since the late Walter Payton accomplished the feat in 1975. Devin Hester also played well and proved he is developing into a very good receiver. Earl Bennett averaged a team high 14.3 yards per catch.
Grade: B+
Running Game
Matt Forte averaged just 1.5 yards per carry, gaining 23 yards on 15 carries. Add in his two fumbles, (he lost one) and the fact that Garrett Wolfe and Forte combined for just 38 yards on the ground, and you have one of the key reasons this game is in the loss column.
Grade: F
Offensive Line
The "O" line was brutal tonight, giving up 2 sacks and allowing Cutler to be hit 7 times and harassed constantly. Add in Orlando Pace's false start penalty on the final drive and the holding call late in the game and you have a performance that was simply awful.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
The Bears failed to touch Matt Ryan all night long, as he was never sacked and never hit. However, they did do a solid job stopping the run as they held Michael Turner to just 30 yards running and the entire Falcons ground game to just 68 yards all night long.
Grade: B
Linebackers
Lance Briggs was outstanding again but the loss of Pisa Tinoisamoa was huge. Nick Roach played okay but let's not forget the fact that he is the third string MLB behind Brian Urlacher and Hunter Hillenmeyer. At times, it showed.
Grade: B-
Secondary
The Bears DB's battled all night long and played very well against a tremendously talented receiving corps. They also provided solid run support and all in all they more than held their own keeping the Bears in the game.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
While Devin Hester looked good returning punts and Johnny Knox had a couple of nice kick returns, (including a 33 yarder), the unit as a whole made too many mistakes. The 12 men on the field penalty after Atlanta was forced to punt in the 4th quarter was an awful penalty to get. In addition, the 62 yard kickoff return by Eric Weems that set up the game winning touchdown in the 4th quarter was a huge play.
Grade: C-
Coaching
The Bears played hard and had a chance to win, but when the Falcons went to the no-huddle they looked unprepared, and that just cannot happen. Coaching didn't lose this game, mistakes by the players did. But the coaches did not have their best night. The 12 men on the field on the Falcons last punt reflects poorly on the Special Teams coach. That must NEVER happen again.
Grade: C+
Note to Jay Cutler: Grow up and conduct yourself like a professional at the post-game press conference. Yes, your post-game performance isn't as important as your on-field performance. But you are a captain and you need to act like it. Matt Forte made a huge mistake and faced the media. Orlando Pace made a huge mistake and he faced the press. Both of those guys probably had no interest in talking to the media, but they did it and they owned up to their poor play. Lance Briggs talked, Tommie Harris talked, Adewale Ogunleye talked and they did it in a professional manner. Quit acting like such a jerk. You are better than that.
32 Comments
KapStoney said:
Kap
I enjoy reading your posts and agree with you most of the time however, the media needs to get off of Cutler's back. He played poorly at times but the bottom line is he put the Bears in a position to tie and potentially win the game. His attitude is what it is, the media in Chicago needs to stop wanting him to be Awe shucks Brett Freakin Favre or Nice Guy Kyle Orton and let him be Jay McMahon Cutler.
The Coaching on the other hand is pathetic. Turner is a bafoon, the guy has no idea how to utilize the talent he has. Cutler has the ability to throw on the move yet they rarely roll him out. Most of his throws on the move he's actually running for his life due to the complete lack of continuity within the O Line. The offense is so vanilla when they are clearly much faster than most teams they face. Spread the field out for Gods sake and we'll get a much more effective results while being far less predictable . Turner got a golden arm this off season and is still running the plays scripted for Orton. The only way to get this pathetic O Line a sniff at gaining an advantage is to get the Defense thinking and back on their heels.
Till next week Kap or sooner if the Cubs trade Milton the buster Bradley
pcrawdaddy2 said:
If you think Turner is a bafoon, you do not know anything about football. It took 9 in the box to stop him Sunday night and that is what most teams do.
KapStoney said:
Ron Turner Mr Huskie LOL not Michael Turner did you learn reading comprehension at NIU
*dan bradley said:
I have zero problem with Jay Cutler. It takes all kinds, and about the only thing that irks me is when players like Milton Bradley rip Chicago on their way out (Cedric Benson, Muhsin Muhammed).
As far as the offensive line goes, i'm not sure why Chicago pieced together a bunch of geezers with an average age of about 57 and expected it to work.
IrishYeti said:
While I know you were exxagerating, I would venture to guess an average age of 29 isn't that old in the NFL. Probably middle of the road.
*dan bradley said:
Chris Williams drags that age down. Everybody was already a geezer, and they went out and got more geezers in the offseason.
IrishYeti said:
Shaffer - 29, Omilaye (or however you spell his name. I'm too lazy to look it up) - 26, Pace - 32. Average age of the guys they signed -29... Average age of starting line - 29. Average age of 2008 line.. 29.80. Technically, they got younger.
FiveOutsToGo said:
No one cares about whether Cutler talks about the game. Quit whining.
The fans want him to win, plain and simple. Don't throw that bad interception and say whatever you want to the media. For people who constantly and consistently rip players for any number of ridiculous and vindictive reasons, you guys are so embarrassingly thin-skinned.
Huny said:
Kap,
I agree that all professional athletes have a responsibility to the media to answer questions pertaining to the game. But here is my issue with what i saw and heard last night, First of all any one who watched that game last night, even the most novice fan, could see why the Bears lost it. It doesn't rocket science to see the the "O" line was a siff and can't run block, that we continue to call plays that are designed to "Manage the game" instead of win it, it was obvious that the turnovers in the red zone were the major reasons we didn't win, all that stuff is obvious.
So what are the questions Cutler gets when he hits the podium?
What happened on that first interception? What happened on the second interception? why did we fumble twice inside the 5 yard line? Did you think about quarterback sneeking instead of handing it off to Forte? Come on guys! DUH!!!!! If I was him coming off of an emotional loss like that I would have answered by saying..Did you not watch the freakin game? Not one question about the beautiful pass he threw to Knox for the TD, No mention of the 300 yards he threw for,my point is.. if your going to drill him with negativity every time he gets up there then what do you expect in return. I believe he showed great restraint under the circumstance.I agree he has to own up for his mistakes and be professional, but it seems like the media are like a bunch of sharks in a pool of blood!!
pcrawdaddy2 said:
No excuses. The Bears did not give the game away, The Falcon deffense took it. They disrupted the entire offense and forced them into mistakes. Atlanta controled the tempo for most of the game, Cutler threw to the Falcons and he threw to the air and every so often he threw to a BEAR! They were in his face all night and Cutler showed why he is not ready to be a big time QB, he is too inconsistant to win on a consistant level. This is a problem with his mind set, Cutler is a baby, a cry baby, but, according to most fans, he's taking us to the Super Bowl! Please, get real. Furthermore the Bears were out coached, out prepared, and out played. Forte needs blocking to perform well and that is a problem with these Bears. The Bears are not that good a team, they played well enough on deffense to give us a chance, but good teams find a way to win. Atlanta found a way that was unusual for them, A crushing deffense. You can move the ball up and down the field you want, but then you have to punch it in. It is no coincidance that Forte fumbled twice. He got hit hard. Forte does not fumble. Again he got hit. The Bears got hit in the mouth by a better team, that is all there is to it.
IrishYeti said:
Note to Jay Cutler: Grow up and conduct yourself like a professional at the post-game press conference. Yes, your post-game performance isn't as important as your on-field performance. But you are a captain and you need to act like it. Matt Forte made a huge mistake and faced the media. Orlando Pace made a huge mistake and he faced the press. Both of those guys probably had no interest in talking to the media, but they did it and they owned up to their poor play. Lance Briggs talked, Tommie Harris talked, Adewale Ogunleye talked and they did it in a professional manner. Quit acting like such a jerk. You are better than that.
Who were your 3 EX-Bear sources?
So, because he doesn't like doing postgame interviews after games in which they lost, he's a classless guy? From what I remember, Ryne Sandberg didn't talk to the media too much as a player. Was he a classless guy? I'll hang up and listen to your response (and then I'll probably call you back.)
ACLU said:
Who cares what Cutler likes ? We dont like losing either and Im sure his teammates donet either but they dont run and hide .
Its starting to look more and more like Jay cant handle the attention .
FRANCHISE QB's dont avoid interviews after a loss .The fact that so many of you are making excuses for him just goes to show that chicago doesnt have an idea of what a franchise qb should even do.
Brady got beat by the Broncos and still took every question
Giants just got pasted by the Saints and Eli took every question .
Eagles lost to the Raiders LOL Mcnabb took every question
Jay Cutler has never even made the postseason and yet somehow he gets a pass. Seriously chicago ...
FiveOutsToGo said:
"FRANCHISE QB's don't avoid interviews after a loss."
Of course not. Tom Brady would never do that....
http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/09/15/tom-brady-ignores-suzy-kolber/2
Karry Ling said:
You know who his three ex-Bears sources were. He watched the postgame on Comcast. His sources are Jiggetts, Azumah and Miller. Wow, to be so "plugged in."
David Kaplan said:
Yep, you would know Andy. In fact, it was NONE of those guys. Try Hall of Famer Dan Hampton, Glen Kozlowski, and 1 other ex-Bear who asked me not to use his name.
IrishYeti said:
Kyle Orton?
Karry Ling said:
How'd you get a hold of Koz, I thought he had a riot to orchestrate last night?
Mike D. said:
Care to ask what Hampton would have said about another douchebag QB that won a Lombardi trophy with him? Because I'm pretty sure that he'd trash McMahon, too, like he did back in the day. Doesn't make him right.
Look--I love me some Danimal, always have. Just like I love that team. I was 13 and my wall was covered in that crap. Posters, pennants, and the cheap, crappy giveaways that the Sun Times would have...but let's not pretend that the '85 Bears haven't grown dependent on that nostalgia. Do you really believe that they would like to see the current Bears win a Super Bowl, thus cutting off the spigot on their gravy faucet? These guys have the same mindset off those '72 Dolphins, I'm sad to say.
And Glen Kozlowski's just dope who is ear cancer on the radio. He may be a swell guy, but he's the worst thing to happen to radio since the advent of television. Just awful and whatever-the-opposite-of-enlightening is. Just because your 50,000 watt beam of ignorance bafflingly sees fit to let Kozlowski pointlessly blather for hours on the weekend doesn't mean that people enjoy it (they don't), or that he has any credibility (he doesn't...didn't he opportunistically cross a picket line just to get into this league?)
Ryno said:
The offensive line looks like someone fed each one of them a bottle of Nytol before the game. There was a sac in the fourth quarter where about 3 guys got through the offensive line all at once, and it wasn't even a blitz.
tom said:
Why talk to the media ,It's the same dumb questions all the time.If you saw the game you saw what happened why do you need a player to answer to the media.They lost the game ,you move on and correct your mistakes and concentrate on the next game not dwell on what happened
FiveOutsToGo said:
Great comparison between Brady/Manning and Cutler.
Its not like Brady would blow off a postgame interview. Except that's exactly what he did, just a month ago after the Bills/Pats game.
And Peyton Manning would never rip a media member. Except he did. Last week. On NBC.
If you're going to have this ridiculous vendetta against every player who doesn't kowtow to the media and their endless unnecessary and petty questions, you may want to make sure the "pillars of the community" to whom you compare them don't do the exact same thing.
IvyChatChuck said:
Grow up and conduct yourself like a professional at the post-game press conference.
So, who was insulted by that? Not me. I didn't watch the post game "interview." Not the bulk of Bear fans. What's Comcast ratings for the post game show? Can't be more than a few thousand people watching that.
Most Bear fans want one thing from their athletes: Wins. Be a douche to the press and win? Fine. How much media time did Andre Dawson and Ryne Sandberg give to the press back in their playing days? How about Dennis Rodman?
I suppose an athlete could get a lot of adoration if he was great to the press and was fine with losing, but then he'd be Mark Grace.
The only people insulted by Cutler at the podium last night were people who get paid to break down what he says. I guess if you don't say anything to break down, that's a problem.
Not for fans of the game on the field.
IrishYeti said:
Technically, the people in the media are there to serve us, the fans. Give us the stories. Getting pissed at Cutler because he didn't talk to you (sportswriters) is not what we care about.. Or should care about.
IvyChatChuck said:
The professional media would argue that by having Cutler blow them off, Cutler is de facto blowing us off. Fine. Maybe the media should ask us if we were pissed by the way Cutler "treated us" instead of assuming.
If only there was some device or system for gauging, via instantaneous feedback, what thousands of people are thinking.
IrishYeti said:
Well, Kaplan's poll on CTL tonight will be: "Who would you rather have start on Sunday? Jay Cutler, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, or Caleb Hanie" So, we'll see what the PULSE of Chicago truly is.
IvyChatChuck said:
That would me Mark DeRosa.
sjvl said:
There were bad plays by both teams if you will remember. The 12-men-on-the-field penalty really is inexcusable, and gave the Falcons a very important first down. That penalty does make me angry.
However, there was excellent play by Charles Tillman, Des Clark, and Earl Bennett. Cutler did throw for 300 yards. Things could have been much worse - remember the Falcons/49ers score last week? Come on. Did you really think the Bears would win every game this year just because we got Cutler? Grow up.
melissa said:
Other than Jay Cutler or Lance Briggs how many Bears could start for Atlanta? Atlanta is a better team and the Bears had no margin for error because they have less talent. Jay Cutler is the only reason the Bears were even in that game and it's silly to suggest that means his team should have won. Because of the way Cutler parted company with Denver he's going to get criticized for his attitude but he actually stepped up and took responsibility for Pace jumping off sides. That's right Cutler said it was to be snapped on movement and he moved his back foot. I doubt Pace even saw his back foot but Cutler was trying to take the blame for it. I'm curious as to why you didn't call him a stand-up guy for that? Koz, Hamp and Waddle didn't tell you that?
I don't expect Cutler to have patience for the media when they have painted him as a bad guy ever since he wanted out of Denver. The only people that Cutler needs to communicate with are the 10 other guys in the huddle with him. I don't think any of them can complain about him seeing how he is actually better at his job than any of them. As a matter of fact I can't think of anyone in the Chicago media that's better at their job than Cutler is at his. You know, Kap, maybe if you say nice things about him, he will take a picture with you some day and you can put it on your banner.
Huny said:
Where is everyone coming from saying the Bears were the inferior team. Did you watch the game. Inside the 10 yard line 4 times and turned it over three. They could have easily won that game by 21 points. The Falcons clearly could not handle the Bears speed and if we had spread the offense and thrown down field more often we really could have exposed them. The Bears were the far superior team and anyone that says the Falcons beat them and they didn't beat themselves obviously wasn't paying attention to what they saw!
melissa said:
Which team has the better offensive and defensive lines? Which team has the better receivers, tight end and running back? Which team has the better secondary and linebackers? Atlanta would be the answer to all my questions. How do the bears rate as the better team? Briggs and Cutler are only Bears that would start for the Falcons.
KapStoney said:
Well said I mentioned something very similar in my post at the top. The BeR coaching staff has yet to utilize Cutler's strengths downfield, streching the D with our speed and his above average ability to throw on the move with controlled rolls. That tactic alone will improve the inferior O line a give Forte to run a chance see a hole bigger than the 6 inch gaps he's seen to date,
some of the comments here make you wonder if some of these people were either boozed up or completely football ignorant. The Bears won every statitical catagory with the exception of the most important the scoreboard.
IrishSweetness said:
F**k the media. So Jay Cutler doesn't feel like throwing a party after his team did everything in their power not to win that game. I don't blame him. He has to sit there thinking up ways to avoid saying that his offensive line sucked ballz and that Olsen drops everything thrown at him. Couldn't give a tuppeny f**k if the media don't like Cutler .....
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