Quick- name the most dominant team in the NFC right now. Weird, huh? While the Bears are experiencing their annual offensive implosion, it seems like no one else in the NFC is really stepping up to take advantage of a very average 2010 season so far. Having lost three of their last four games is unsettling for Bears fans, but we're not exactly losing a lot of ground right now.
This past offseason brought a lot of questions, and the first three games seemed like a lot of concern had been put to rest. The defense was dominating, and the offense seemed to be making adjustments to make up for all of the glaring weaknesses with the offensive line. Then, the questions resurfaced after being dominated by the Giants... and the questions remain four weeks later.
We've seen that the Bears defense and Special Teams can keep us in games, but we know all too well that we can't rely on them to make magic happen week after week. We can't plan on making a playoff run through simply a war of attrition. Now, we get a week off to rethink some things. One thing is for sure, the second half of the season won't do us any favors.
- For yet another week, the Bears best blocking TE Desmond Clark was inactive. You know what else Dez brings to the table? He fights for yards after the catch, and is difficult to tackle. Outside of the infrequent contributions from Devin Aromashodu, we don't have anyone who is difficult to tackle.
- The Bears won the toss again to start the game, but decided to kick this week. We forced Washington to punt in their first possession, and had a chance to take our offensive momentum into the second half. Oops.
- Israel Idonije is developing into a very useful DE for us. He is contributing more than Brown, Anderson, or Grant ever would have.
- Matt Toeaina continues to develop as well. He's not making plays consistently enough, but he still needs more reps. Matt will only get better.
- Tommie Harris still has play-making ability, but he's not doing it frequently enough either. Unfortunately, he doesn't need more time. He's either going to do it, or he's not.
- How many games have we started our first offensive drive with a false start penalty on the OL in the last three seasons? Too many.
- How many times will we see the highlight of Albert Haynesworth steamrolling Chris Williams into Jay Cutler for the sack? Too many.
- Pisa Tinoisamoa looks great. Glad the guy is healthy.
- Charles Tillman is a liability in pass coverage, and is an asset in causing turnovers. Catch-22.
- Danieal Manning is a great kickoff returner, but does not need to bring it out of the end zone when he catches the ball 5 yards deep.
- Our DBs cannot sustain pass coverage down the field. This is not anything new. Chris Harris, Danieal Manning, etc are good at run support, but we need a true free safety on the field in passing situations. Major Wright will be back after the Bye week, but I'm not sure he will be any better.
- Brian Urlacher is proving his doubters wrong, week after week.
- Lance Louis is a mad man when pulling out as a lead blocker on screens. The guy has a motor.
- Devin Hester does not fight for yardage after a catch.
- 1- and 3-step drops work well for our offense.
- I hope Lance Briggs' nagging ankle injury does not keep him out for the rest of the season.
- Jay Cutler was deadly accurate at the beginning of the season. He made a lot of poor throws against the Redskins.
- Martz was on to something in the third quarter with his playcalling, but we need that consistency throughout a game, not just in spots.
- How many blocked/missed FGs have the Bears benefitted from in the last few years? A lot.
- Was Rex Grossman listening to his iPod during the game on the sideline?
- Wouldn't it be cool to see the play clock go into negative numbers so you can really see how late a snap was? Instead of seeing it stop at zero, maybe see it register -0.03 seconds, just to take the guess-work out of it?
- We've got two weeks to prepare for the Bills. Ordinarily, that would be a comforting thought. Lovie Smith hasn't exactly had his team prepared recently after the Bye week.
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Is the sky falling yet? Now that you've had a day to process, what are your thoughts?