A lot of us expected to roll into Seattle and have an easy Sunday afternoon, especially considering the injuries the Seahawks were nursing. But, to their credit, Seattle went down swinging.
- Roberto Garza does a good job when he pulls to the outside to lead block. He's done that quite a few times so far this season.
- The offensive line doesn't seem to hold the pocket together for very long. Jay Cutler seems to have less time to make a decision than a lot of other QBs.
- On one play, Cutler did actually have good protection, but he rolled out of the pocket (and into pressure) anyway. I guess he is used to not having much time.
- Nick Roach played very aggressively last night. He wasn't always in the right place, but shed some good blocks, and hit very hard.
- Danieal Manning showed some great sideline to sideline speed while playing in the secondary.
- Charles Tillman seems to get beat on a lot of routes. He is constantly either out of position, or getting beat deep. But then he'll come out and force a fumble or get an INT, so I'm not sure what to think about him.
- Lance Briggs is really good. I wish he had slowly been learning the MLB position over the last couple of years.
- Bennett is quick to avoid a hit after the catch. Whether he is ducking out in the open field, or heading out of bounds, the kid doesn't want to get hit.
- On that crucial 4th and inches at the end, the camera was on Tommie Harris... and before the snap, he looked gassed. He looked like he could barely stand up.
- I hate the bend but don't break defense. I hate the bend but don't break defense. I hate the bend but don't break defense. There, I said it 3 times while clicking my heels together.
- Matt Forte quietly had over 100 yards in total offense last night.
Johnny Knox averaged 33.5 yards on four kick off returns last night.
Okay, so now for a couple of other things...
I found myself last night (again) trying to convince myself that it is still early in the season, and that our offense still needs more time to jell. We have a ton of new faces on our offense that have never played together before, and that certainly has got to play into why we have zero offensive rhythm for a lot of the first three games.
Sure, you can look at the stats, and say that we are improving with each game played. But the stats don't always reflect the true story. Last night, until well into the 4th quarter, we had zero offensive rhythm. Period. Our offense could not get squat accomplished until late in the game.
I hate having a Bye week so early in the season, but our offense needs the extra time after the first 4 games of the season. We have Detroit next week, then 2 weeks to prepare for Atlanta. We have got to figure out how to get a quicker start on offense by then.
The Bears also registered three more sacks on the season. Briggs, Anthony Adams, and Mark Anderson all recorded a sack lat night. The Bears also had 6 QB hits.
Chicago also got hit with another 60 yards worth of penalties. Twice, our flag gave Seattle a first down. We have got to be more disciplined.