2010 Bears vs. 2011 Bears: Through Three Games

All right, so I wanted to write a column about Jerry Angelo, but I've done that in the past and this week there have been stories or columns about him seemingly every day in the den, so I think Angelo has been pretty well covered. We (fans) don't like him for the most part, he isn't very good at what he does and he probably isn't going to be fired anytime soon. So that's that. Then I thought, why not look at the offensive numbers from the first three games last year and the first three this year and see if any conclusions could be drawn. Let's see what I come up with.

Stats through three games:

Record

2010: 3-0

2011: 1-2

Turnovers

'10: 5

'11: 4

Yards

'10: 1,044; 831 passing, 216 rushing

'11: 1,014; 858 passing, 161 rushing

1st Downs

'10: 55

'11: 36

Points

'10: 66

'11: 60

Sacks

'10: 8: by game (in order); 4, 1, 3

'11: 14; 5, 6, 3

Third Down Coversions

'10: 10/34 - 29.4% (in order by game): 6/14, 1/11, 3/9

'11: 11/40 - 27.5%: 6/16, 2/12, 3/12

Attempts

'10: Pass - 91 (by game): 35, 29, 27, Rush - 68; 31, 19, 1

'11: Pass - 114; 32, 45, 37 Rush - 51; 27, 12, 12

Obviously, the first big difference is the record. Last year we stood at 3-0 and this year we are 1-2. Now, other than the obvious lack of balance, not a whole lot has changed. I am not sure what conclusion could be drawn from this but it isn't good. Clearly. The lack of balance has to then play into the increase in sacks and the still-bad third down conversion rate. But despite the drop in first downs and the drop in third down conversions and everything else, the total yardage and the points are almost the same.

This says then that the defense is playing a lot more poorly but then again, the competition has been tougher too. Last year it was the Lions, Cowboys and Packers; this year the Falcons, Saints and Packers.

So maybe what we really need is better defense and an improved offense. Or maybe we were a lot closer to 1-2 last year than we thought?

Do the numbers tell you anything?

Random Fact:

The Bears are one of nine teams who has not drafted a Pro-Bowl position player since '04. The other teams: Arizona, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Oakland, Seattle, San Francisco, St. Louis and Tampa Bay.

Not very good company to be in, Jerry Angelo. We are clearly the most successful team in that group but, still, not good.