Time For Bears Offense To Step Up

By Rob Winn in News on Nov 3, 2012 6:00PM

For the first part of the season, it was easy to chalk up the struggles of the Bears offense to early season kinks. But as the season rolls on, it's getting harder to ignore the problems on the offensive side of the football.

With several tough games coming up against the Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers, it's time for the offense to get on the right track. This week provides the perfect chance for them to pick up a little momentum and gain some much-needed confidence. Other than Alshon Jeffery, the Bears are fully healthy and the Titans haven't exactly been a stifling defense.

Up to this point, the Titans have given up an average of 32 points per game and 421 yards to the opposing offense. If the Bears can't move the ball down the field against these not-quite Titans, they may have bigger issues than anyone realizes.

Penalties and questionable play calls have been a big problem for the Bears on first down, which has lead to second and long, then third and impossible. Gabe Carimi has been a sore spot for penalties, and to complicate the matter, he has shown poor form against opposing pass rushers. When Cutler has enjoyed protection, drops have set the team back. Brandon Marshall and Matt Spaeth both had dropped balls that would've resulted in nice gains last week.

On the bright side, going into this week Jay Cutler should be fully healthy from his rib injury. And as the game wore on last week, Earl Bennett made a few nice catches, leading us to believe he's finally back to the form we saw last year. But the defense can't do it all forever, and with a string of tough opponents coming up, now is the time for the offense to start putting points on the board. Because if not now, when?

Stats provided by Pro Football Reference.