Run or Shoot?

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Oct 25, 2007 1:25PM

Sure, we're all anxious and upset about the supposed cuts to the CTA service. However, there is one bus route we wouldn't mind see being cut.

"We're a team that gets off the bus running the football,'' Bears coach Lovie Smith said Wednesday. ''I have it memorized, and that's what we are, period.''

Has he been watching the same offense we we've been watching this year? The only thing separating this team from a 1-6 start is a decent passing game with Brian Griese under center. Cedric Benson was virtually MIA in both the Green Bay and Philly wins.

Benson is a bust. In his third year in the league, he's averaging 3.1 yards a carry -- 48th out of the top 50 rushing yard leaders. Those kinds of numbers do not carry offenses. Certainly not to the playoffs or Super Bowl. Will Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions -- ranked 19th in rushing defense -- be his last chance to prove himself?

Brian Griese's comments made a little more sense when he spoke to the media on Wednesday, saying, "You can go in and bang your head against the wall if you want to, or you can take advantage of the matchups in your favor. The key is if you move the team and you score."

Since banging our head against the wall is exactly what it's like to watch Benson try to run the ball, does this mean that while Lovie's saying one thing, the Bears really are becoming a passing team? The Bears offense ranks 30th of 32 teams in rushing offense. No matter what Lovie wants to call it, that ain't a rushing offense. We can only hope that Bears' offensive coordinator Ron Turner isn't in denial like Smith is, or else let's pray that Griese really does call his own plays.

Image via ChicagoBears.com