At 4-6, it's time to look ahead, not consider what's happening now. The Bears would have win their next 5 of 6 to have a chance to clinch a wildcard, but with the inconsistently they've shown, it's hard to believe they are capable of such a feat. The interesting question I would impose on my fellow bears fans is who should take the brunt of the blame? Rex for his shitty start? Cedric Benson producing the worst yards per carry in the NFL? The offensive line? The injuries? Lovie and the coaching staff? I'll itemize my blame, and if you have some thoughts, throw them out there as well. My blame goes like this:
1. Offensive line
2. Quarterback play
3. Defensive play/injuries
4. Lovie and Ron Turner
5. Benson
1. OFFENSIVE LINE: It's impossible to get anything going when your o-line sucks. Pressure on the QB, not opening holes, and in conjunction with not opening holes, the bread and butter of the Bears offense, the play action, not working as a result. If you can't block, no one respects your ability to play action. This is exactly what has happened to the Bears, and there's no circumventing it. No run, no problem. Although many would point to the departure of Thomas Jones, the blocking was much better last year, and it's hard to say what would be different if TJ was here considering what has happened. He hasn't exactly blown up the Jets offense, but once again, only one person has made water out of wine, and the other attempting to do the same has a knee injury for the Viqueens. Benson has been a bust to say the least, but you can only lay so much on him for what is available to him. Passing wise, it's impossible for the Bears to have any continuety when the defense is constantly in the face of the quarterback. Say all you want about Griese or Grossman, but it doesn't matter who you have in the game when there is no option but to throw it up and hope for the best.
2. QUARTERBACK PLAY: Since most of my blame lays on the old ass o-linemen, the rest falls on the quarterbacks. Grossman started with 1 td against 6 picks, and while Griese had better numbers, it's hard to argue he was that much better then Rex. While his completion percentage was better, he wasn't making the big plays that made defenses respect what he could do. The only feather in his cap would easily be the long drive against the Eagles to win the game with under 2 minutes left and no timeouts. I honestly don't think Rex could have made that happen, and for that I give Griese the edge. But getting a slight edge over Rex does not a good quarterback make.
3. DEFENSIVE PLAY/INJURIES: With an inadequent offense on the field, it was apparent in the first game the defense had to do everything in order for the team to justify itself as the defending NFC Champions. Mike Brown and Dusty Dvoracek went down in the first game of the year. Tillman was out for a couple games, Vash hasn't played in weeks, and the little bitch with his hurt back Urlacher has been a shadow of himself in years past. When you have to trot Trumaine "Fuck me in the ass he got past me again" McBride on the field, bad things are bound to happen. Mike Brown has been Joe Glass for a while, and it would have been nice to have him stay healthy, but he's shown a propensity for injury, hence they should have never traded Chris Harris away. Archuleta sicks more dick then a Harlem hooker, and the Bears are relying on a pass rush from a non-existant Mark Anderson, and a less then 100% Tommie Harris.
4. LOVIE AND RON TURNER: I take these two for the most blame since Big Bad Bob hasn't had much to work with (FUCK YOU McBRIDE). I would lay more on Turner then Lovie since Lovie doesn't seem to do anything at all. Turner is responsible for the offense showing up, which it hasn't done all year. Benson finally showed something this past Sunday, at one point with 6 carries for 79 yards and a TD. Granted that was inflated by his biggest run of the year, but at least Ron running him more would have opened up the Play Action a little more later on in the game. If you get Ron Turner's offensive strategy, please apply to Google.com.
5. CEDRIC BENSON: A big whoops, my bad should be proclaimed by Jerry Angelo at the end of the year thanks in part to investing a shit ton of money into an unproven back who was given the starting spot without having to earn it. I saw his only 100 yard game in the second game of the season against KC, and I don't think at any point in the game I was impressed at that point. In fact, I don't even want to talk about him anymore. He sucks, bottom line. Rashaan Salaam, Curtis Enis, Cedric Benson. More names just like all the quarterbacks you care to never remember again. Somewhere Moses Moreno laughs to think he was once apart of that conversation.
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