Bears Fall to 0-3 on Preseason
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Aug 29, 2010 4:30PM
The third preseason game, which most teams view as the dress rehearsal for the regular season, was supposed to be a statement game for the Bears. If Saturday night's 14-9 loss to the Arizona Cardinals was their statement, Bears fans are in for another disappointing season. Shortcomings that plagued the first two exhibition games reared their ugly heads on Saturday in all phases of the Bears' play.
Jay Cutler and the offense continued to struggle on Saturday. The Bears starting QB played into the third quarter and completed just 10 of 20 passes with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Through three preseason games, Cutler's sporting a quarterback rating of just 62.3. But Cutler alone isn't to blame. His line again had trouble providing adequate protection, resulting in four sacks, and had difficulties opening up holes for the running backs. It was telling that Lovie Smith chose to have Cutler take a knee when the team got the ball back less than a minute before halftime rather than taking an opportunity to run their "two minute" offense. Rookie QB Dan LeFevour had better luck, completing of 10 of 12 passes for 100 yards and a TD. And what of Matt Gutierrez and Todd Collins? We didn't see either of the Bears' veteran QB signings, chosen for their experience with Mike Martz's offense, take the field.
On defense, the Bears looked almost as pathetic. It did not matter that Kurt Warner has retired, Anquan Boldin.was traded and Larry Fitzgerald sat out. Derek Anderson and Matt Leinart each performed well against the Bears starting defense. The team did play without any of its starting linebackers for most of the night, as Brian Urlacher and Nick Roach sat due to injuries suffered last week and Lance Briggs went down with a sprained ankle early Saturday night.
Even the dependable Robbie Gould struggled on Saturday night. His first field goal attempt was blocked, and he later clanked another attempt off the goal post.
Following the game, Lovie Smith downplayed the importance of the game, calling it a "glorified practice." Which isn't exactly the message Smith and GM Jerry Angelo were giving during the week leading up. The Bears have one more preseason game, which they'll use primarily to finalize the final 53-man roster, this Thursday in Cleveland (7:00pm WFLD-32 TV, WBBM 780 AM radio).