I haven't had a chance to watch either of the first two preseason games for the Bears this year. I usually do watch the preseason games, at least when the starters are in. I mean, it's the only football being played right now, and to tell you the truth, I would rather watch meaningless preseason football than Cubs baseball.
After the first two preseason games alot of people are concerned about the Bears' offensive line. Cutler was pressured so much in his first series against the Chargers that they pulled him out of the game. The coaching staff even came out and said that the reason he was pulled was because they were worried about the Chargers blitzing him. It was just the first preseason game, but you do need your starters to get reps against first string defenses, and first string defenses will blitz a decent percentage of the time, especially against pass happy offenses like the Bears will be this year. While I agree that Cutler shouldn't have played much after that, to actually come out and say that they were worried about the blitzing defense scares me for two reasons: One, it shows that the coaching staff might not have faith in our offensive line, which was the weakness of the team last season. Two, the coaching staff just told the rest of the defensive coordinators around the league that they are worried about teams blitzing them. I hope they plan on spending alot of time in practice protecting Cutler against the blitz if that is the case.
In the second preseason game against the Raiders, the Bears got off to a slow start, allowing the Raiders to score 10 points on their first two possessions of the game. After that, the first string defense settled down a little bit. Peppers recorded a sack and forced fumble, which the Bears recovered. The offense did alright as well. Matt Forte showed he has recovered the speed he lost last season when he ran 89 yards for a touchdown. Jay Cutler threw a touchdown pass to Johnny Knox, and didn't throw an interception. He was pressured an awful lot for just one half of play. The offensive line gave up 5 sacks in the first half before sitting in the second half while the backups played. The O-line has shown glimpses of being a decent unit, but they have also shown that they struggle to protect against the pass rush with any consistency. The Bears play the Vikings and Packers twice each, and they will attack the quarterback. Heck, even the Lions should be able to generate some pressure with Ndamokung Suh at Defensive Tackle. The Bears also have games against the Cowboys, Giants, Redskins, Eagles, Patriots, and Jets. All of those teams love to blitz and get after the quarterback.
With all of those things being said, I don't think the Bears have had that bad of a preseason, despite losing the opening two games by a wide margin (25-10 against the Chargers, 32-17 against the Raiders). While you would like to win the preseason games, the point is to figure out which guys end up on the roster for the regular season, when the games do count. You also want to get your starters adequate playing time to get them ready for a full game come week 1. From what I've heard (again, I haven't seen the Bears play yet this preseason), the starters haven't really been bad. The defense gave up 7 points in one quarter against San Diego, but had 2 "3 and out" possessions. They gave up 13 in a half against Oakland, but only 3 after the first two drives yielded 10 points. The offense has scored 17 points total in about 2 quarters worth (most of the starters didn't play much more than two possessions in the first game). There is definitely room for improvement, and they haven't been great. I still wouldn't get too worried about it just yet.
I am excited to get to see the game this Saturday against Arizona. I am hoping the starters play about 3 quarters worth. It would be nice to see the defense perform well, and the offense get into a rhythm. I still think the Bears could be decent this year, despite the subpar performance thus far in the preseason. There is no reason that the defense can't return to top 10 form with the addition of Peppers, and the comeback of Urlacher and a healthy Tommie Harris. If the O-line can protect Cutler somewhat consistently (that seems to be the big "IF"), the offense will be just fine. Cutler seems to be really focusing on making better decisions, and taking sacks, or throwing the ball away rather than making poor throws into the teeth of the defense. Hopefully they can get going in their last 2 preseason games before welcoming the Lions into Chicago for the season opener. I am psyched about the regular season starting soon. You'll probably see alot of football and basketball on the blog in the next several weeks. I am really excited about those seasons coming up.
As always, leave your comments and thoughts, even if you disagree, or think I'm an idiot. I love a good sports debate. Hope you enjoyed reading.
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