A photo can't do justice to how ugly a performance by a team was, but maybe that one will come close. Jay Cutler was running for his life all game, Mike Martz only called 12 running plays to take some of the pressure off him and the defense was picked apart by Drew Brees and all that was very clear in the 30-13 final.
Things started out fine for the offense, which behind Cutler, scored on its second drive of the game and took a 7-0 lead on a Cutler TD pass. What followed from there was a beat down in every sense of the word. The Saints racked up six sacks of Cutler and had him running for his life most of the game. An offense would normally keep a defense off balance by calling some running plays and letting Matt Forte get things done on the ground. Forte, who played his home games when he played at Tulane at the SuperDome, was the only player who did much of anything, catching 10 passes, as Cutler could do little more than check down time after time. That's good for no one and, while it helps Forte when he goes back to the bargaining table with Bears GM Jerry Angelo, does little to develop the offense.
Cutler looked dejected after the game. The sack pictured in the photo at the top of this post came off a blown block by tight end Kellen Davis, the player kept around because he was a better blocker than Greg Olsen. Huh? I don't think Cutler needs to defend his performance. How often can a guy get whacked and keep getting up before his actions speak for him. I wrote last week, the key was in his hands and arm, but that was me having faith in this offensive line to figure things out. Clearly that's not happening. After the injury of Cabe Carimi, things will likely get worse before they get better for Jay heading into next week (Gulp!).
And now, the injuries are starting to pile up beyond Carimi, as Earl Bennett, Roy Williams, Chris Harris and a growing number of players missed the entire or part of Sunday's game. Coach Lovie Smith expects to get most of them back, but Carimi is expected out for at least two weeks with a knee sprain and Bennett has a bruised sternum.
Yet, as rough as it were, the score was 16-13 deep into the third quarter, but then things fell apart.
As for the defense, I can't get on Brian Urlacher for a bad performance. To be clear, he didn't have a bad game at all, in fact, he played decent. But, football is team game and the other 10 guys around him had some hiccups. Specifically, Henry Melton, who I called out last week after he had a great game, to back it up with another strong showing to cement his place as a solid player. Well, no tackles means he fails. And Julius Peppers and the rest of the defensive line is right there with him. It's like a tale of two games as it was a completely different showing from the defense.
It goes beyond the line, too, as the secondary was torched for a 79-yard touchdown with Harris out and Major Wright in the game, showing he didn't have a clue what he was doing. Then, when he got injured Brandon Meriweather didn't know what was going on either.
It may come as a bit of a shock to some, but one game doesn't make a season and we knew the weakness of the team would be exposed at least a couple times throughout the season. This was just the first test, and it did not go well. Lovie has made it clear things will be addressed with the offense. Last year when he did that, the team won eight straight games. Sometimes he's got to pull the reigns on the Mad Scientist he's got for an offensive coordinator. With the Packers coming to Soldier Field next week, it has to get addressed sooner rather than later.
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