Week 16: Bears @ Arizona, Game Preview

So, yeah....that last game kinda sucked.  On the positive side, I guess, is that Alshon Jeffery is going to be a really good WR once he learns how to be more subtle with his push-off.  He does a good job getting off of press coverage and has really good acceleration.  On the negative side....pretty much everything else.

Another game, another OL debacle.  Gabe Carimi and James Brown each got benched at the guard positions.  Roberto Garza committed a costly penalty on a would-be 3rd and 1.  Not only a penalty, but a false start penalty......his 4TH of the season....AS A CENTER!  That's gotta be hard to do.  Oh and the 5-man OL gave up a sack on a 2-man pass rush late in the game.  Granted, Cutler should have thrown the ball before he got sacked, but still, 5 on 2, the QB should never get touched, nevermind the fact that the line gave up a shared sack by BOTH players rushing the passer.

Another game, and Devin Hester still doesn't know what to do as a WR.  In fact, no WR other than Marshall caught a pass on Sunday.  None of the TEs even had a target, as they have generally been unworthy of throwing the ball to for 3 years anyway.  

On defense, while Julius Peppers did show up a little, it was few and far between on the pass rush.  With Melton out, the Bears got literally 0 pressure up the middle on Rodgers.  The Melton injury, combined with McClellin missing the game, forced Idonije inside which left Peppers and Wootton out on the edge for way too many plays and they frankly could not bring pressure consistently.  At the LB level, Lance Briggs was his typical amazing self.  Charles Tillman also had a very solid game, even with allowing a TD, but that was an impossible ball to defend.  But the other CBs struggled.  Kelvin Hayden didn't do a good job of getting a jam on James Jones and he got beat pretty good a couple times.  DJ Moore, frankly, played like a guy that has been inactive for most of the 2nd half of the season.  Several technique issues that cannot happen against an offense like Green Bay's.

As for the Cardinals, right now, the only thing that will stop the Bears from winning this game is themselves.  Arizona is a worse passing team than the bottom 5 Bears, and they are the worst rushing team in the NFL.  If they have more than 250 yards against the Bears, they have failed as a defense.  Be nice to get some guys back.  Jennings, Melton, and McClellin are sorely missed.  Arizona is a decent defensive team, but then again, everyone is against the Bears.  This week, I expect the Bears to rely on the run game a lot and throw a lot of short, safe passes to anyone not named Hester or Davis.  Think they'll do enough to win, but won't explode offensively or anything (going out on a limb here!).  It would have been a ballsy move to follow the Ravens' example and fire Tice, while promoting Jeremy Bates to OC for the last 2 weeks.  But the Bears are going to have to sink or swim with status quo.  And as Brandon Marshall said, if things to get drastically better in a hurry for the Bears, people need to lose their jobs. 

Speaking of losing jobs....the Bears are at an interesting spot.  They will likely be favored in the last 2 road games, with a good shot to get to 10-6.  A  loss by the Giants (v. Balt, Phil) and Vikings (vs. Hou, GB) would get the Bears in the playoffs, if they win out.  But the playoff berth is likely to be met by a trip to either Green Bay or San Francisco, 2 teams the Bears have shown they cannot compete with.  Win, get in, pull an upset, get a shot at a vulnerable Atlanta team, and Lovie and most of his crew probably keep their jobs.  Lose, miss the playoffs, and I think there will be major turnover on the coaching staff.  On one hand, it's very intriguing to see where Emery would go for his next head coach.  An offensive mind is really needed in this organization for the first time, well, ever.  On the other hand, I could never root for the Bears to lose, and I actually do like Lovie Smith.  I do wonder if maybe Lovie gets one more year with Bates being promoted and the offseason heavily focused on drastically improving the offense (have an offseason plan in the works, FYI).  It may be for the best for the organization to finally get with the times on the offensive side of the ball.  Cutler is in the last year of his deal, the defense is going to be even older next year, and you can't keep wasting the most offensive talent at QB and WR this organization has ever seen.