Bears at the Bye
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Nov 4, 2010 3:20PM
We typically wait until the Bears season is halfway finished to recap where they're at, but after playing seven games before hitting their bye week we thought we'd take advantage of the downtime to look back on the season so far.
Currently sporting a 4-3 record, the Bears wrap up the first half against the winless Buffalo Bills in Toronto. If the Bears win, they should head into the second half with a 5-3 record. And yet it's mostly negativity that surrounds this team to this point.
The Good
With the addition of Julius Peppers and the return of a healthy Brian Urlacher, the defense has played well for the most part. They're allowing opponents just 16.3 points/game, which is third fewest in the league behind only the Steelers and Jets. With 17 turnovers, the Bears are tied for fourth in the NFL in takeaways. In every single game, the D has kept the Bears within striking distance until late and helped set up come-from-behind wins against Detroit and Green Bay.
On special teams, Devin Hester seems to have rediscovered his mojo. He leads the league with a 16.7 yards/return avg. and has returned two punts for touchdowns after almost three years without one. Teams have stopped punting to him, which has been giving the Bears better field position.
The Bad
We had high hopes for Mike Martz and his "greatest show on turf" offense, but the Bears have been bad news on offense. Scoring just 18 points/game, they rank near the bottom the league. The weakest link has been the offensive line. Considered a liability heading into the season thanks to GM Jerry Angelo's neglect, injuries have further weakened the protection up front. This has resulted in an anemic running game to this point and poor pass protection best exemplified by the nine sacks Jay Cutler suffered at the hands of the New York Giants before being knocked from the game with a concussion. While the Bears showed an ability to make adjustments in the win against Dallas, we've seen little of that since. Cutler had avoided the excessive turnovers that plagued him last year until the Washington game, in which he was picked off four times by DeAngelo Hall. Martz turned to the ground attack only when he was forced to field Todd Collins at QB, and the running backs responded by racking up 218 yards. Running backs Matt Forte and Chester Taylor have combined for just 27 carries in the two games since.
The Ugly
Amazingly, just about every game this years has been incredibly ugly -- win or lose. A win is a win, but most have been excruciating to watch. The losses have been even worse, especially when things like Lovie Smith's poor replay challenges affect the outcomes.
Prospects for the Second Half
We still can't tell if the Bears are an good, or if they've just been lucky. If the offense can establish the running game and the O-line can jell a bit (a tough proposition given their shifting lineups) perhaps they can improve in the second half if the defense keeps up its steady play. But the schedule does them no favors, with match-ups against teams like the Patriots and Jets. The Packers have been decimated by injuries, the Vikings are slumping and the Lions are... well, the Lions. So the Bears might just win the NFC North and make the playoffs. The question is whether Bears fans will want to endure any more football at that point. A more fitting end to the season would be a loss to the Packers to hand our rivals in Green Bay the division in week 17.