jason

Agreed. In terms of who doesn't get it, it's has to be Webb. Defining "it" is where things get difficult. There are multiple things Webb doesn't get, whether they be psychological, mental, or physical.

That's what we thought for about the last 5 years. There is no doubt Marshall and Jeffery were upgrades, and I'm happy the Bears have them, but the fact remains that as long as the OL sucks, the Bears never really know what they have with their WRs. The WRs could possibly have done much better, developed much more, but we just don't know because they were never given time to actually run a successful, professional, passing offense. They probably weren't great, but we'll never know. Muhsin Muhammed was right, "Chicago is where receivers go do die."

Agreed. When a team with a good pass rush plays against the Bears, the Bears should do something to combat that pass rush. Whether it be more runs, screens, slants, max protect, or whatever, they need to do something that directly battles against the blitz. HOWEVER... An NFL team, and an NFL coach, probably has some expectation that their players will be able to amount to something in one-on-one battles some of the time. They have to expect some sort of competency. A team shouldn't have to do something to support the weak link the entire game. A team should FIX the weak link. And therein lies the problem. Right now, the Bears and their coaches seem to want to perpetually use bandaids for gunshot wounds.

The other difference, of course, is that Rodgers' OL actually improved their play and protected him. The Bears' OL never really did; they just continued to suck the entire game.

Precisely. Fix WR before OL, and you never really know what the WRs can do. Fix OL before WR, and you can properly analyze the abilities of the WRs because they have time to go through their routes.

For the last couple years there has been a split on this board about what the Bears offense needed. One side said big WR, the other side said OL. Well, I know it's early, and this may be a bit premature, but I believe the question appears to have been answered. The Bears have the WR talent that some were alredy saying was potentially one of the best in the league. Most would say the WR talent is top ten. What did top ten WR talent and franchise QB do yesterday with horrible OL play? It doesn't matter how many toys you give Jay Cutler if you can't protect him. This is true for any QB, but it's particularly true with Cutler.

It was me. But like I've said elsewhere, it'd be great if the OL held up every once in a while and allowed Jay to go to his 2nd, 3rd, or 4th read. As it stands now, if his 1st read isn't open, he is probably going to get sacked or pressured. Does he need to do a better job of making decisions? Yes. Does he need to avoid the throws into coverage late? Yes. But I feel for the guy. He's trying to do something. Anything. And the OL just won't let him. He sets his back foot, looks downfield, and when that guy isn't open, Cutler is in trouble shortly thereafter.

I care. You better care if you want the Bears to do well. Cutler without confidence is what you saw last night. Cutler with confidence is what you saw against the Colts. I prefer the latter.

Good post. So, after you've broken down film, you agree that the OL deserves more of the blame. 4 is greater than 3. And in terms of the coverage/play sacks, I think that's a sack that goes on multiple players. Good OLs allow a QB to get to the second and third read. Cutler rarely has time for the second read. I agree Jay has to make better decisions, and the WRs have to do a better job of getting open, but the OL has to perform excellently every once in a while so that the flaws by the QB and WRs aren't ALWAYS accentuated. Every once in a while it'd be great to see the OL hold up to pressure, give Jay all day to throw, and see him sit in the pocket Peyton Manning-style, hitting the third or fourth guy because he just has a ton of time.

To a certain extent, I agree. But if the OC continues to build game plans that protect the weak links in the chain, and make no mistake, there is more than one weak link, then it's an excuse for Lovie and the front office to ignore OL YET AGAIN. At some point you have to sink or swim in one-on-one situations as an NFL player.

Problem is, they'll try to "solve" this by giving Hester end-arounds and/or bubble-screens, both of which can be seen from orbit. Of course, the easy answer to this is a quick slant, but for some reason the Bears refuse to utilize this route more than once again, despite the fact that the Packers have been ripping the Bears a new asshole for over a decade with the exact same route.

I never absolved Tice of the responsibility or blame. I didn't like the inside-hire, and after two games he appears to possibly be in over his head. Most of the people on this board could have called a better game than Tice last night.

Watching the game again, I can see where the early frustration about this defense comes from. In the first quarter alone, I counted three plays where the DL had decent pressure, but not enough that Rodgers was unable to simply wait it out and find a guy sit down in the cover-2 zone. Two times it happened pretty obviously with Jordy Nelson. Then they started off the second quarter with another play that exploited the cover-2, but Finley just straight-up dropped it. Later in the 2nd quarter, Cobb had a key 3rd down catch that was directly attributable to the cover-2. I believe the Bears D played pretty well, but I also believe the Bears were very fortunate to not have given up many more points.

Ordinarily I'd agree, but it's been given time. It's been given years. That should be plenty of time. May protect should not be necessary on every play.

How is Cutler's inability to set his feet his problem? I agree with the thoughts about taking him out of the elite category, mainly because he doesn't handle pressure like an elite QB, but the problem is, his problems are almost exclusively a result of pressure. And unfortunately, it's oil and water, because this OL allows enough pressure to turn coal into diamonds.

Until the following changes, I forsee the same problems we saw tonight. 2012 - DL: 1, OL: 0 2011 - DL: 2, OL: 1 2010 - DL: 4, OL: 7 2009 - DL: 3,4, OL: 7 2008 - DL: 3,7, OL: 1,7 2007 - DL: 2, OL: 4, 7 2006 - DL: 3,5, OL: 6 That's two first round LTs, one of which was an injury question mark coming out of college. Otherwise, OL is pretty much disregarded by this franchise. But DL? Every single year it gets attention. And that's just the draft picks! Don't forget about Gaines Adams. But, yeah, let's solve the problem by trading next year's 7th rounder for another OLineman. That'll work.

Mayock is, in fact, a huge douche, but he was right about that INT.

I agree that Cutler held the ball several times, but I have to wonder why. A few times it was because the WRs were not open. A couple other times it was because Cutler tried to make a second read. More than one or two other times it was because the routes were run poorly. I'm sorry, but if Cutler does not have time to go into his 5 step drop, plant his foot, take a look, and throw the ball, then that's a huge problem. And if he doesn't have time to go to his second read, that's a pretty big damn problem too. The one INT that definitely appears to be 100% on Cutler is the deep out to Marshall. He had enough time to throw the ball, and the route was sufficient, and the WR was open, but Cutler just underthrew it.

The thing I worry about is whether or not Cutler's confidence is shot.

Typically broken plays like that are where the WRs drift with the QB, come back to the ball, or break off a route to beat a safety that has pinched in. Mayock was right. Notice he didn't totally absolve Cutler on that one, but he did note that the WR has to share in the blame.

I don't know what the hell you're watching, but Cutler has been under pressure 95% of the plays. And when he does get some time, the WRs are not open. I'm literally getting texts from friends across the world who are watching this game and telling me how bad the Bears OL sucks. Fans of every team you could think of. If you honestly think this is more on Cutler than the OL, then you should train your seeing eye dog to bark when there is pressure, because you obviously haven't seen what's happening.

Easy answer... First half: Angry Second half: Drunk

I really don't have much to complain about in regards to the defense tonight. They've held the packers defense to minimal production, regardless of whether or not I hate the method they've used. I hate the cover-2 as much as the next guy. I hate the passive nature of it. I don't really like Lovie all that much. But it sure must be difficult to do much when constantly put under the gun by a bad offense.

You got that right. I blame the OL much more than Cutler. The OL is entirely to blame for their own performance, and partially responsible for Cutler's bad performance. It's tough to constantly be under pressure, constantly get hit, constantly have to run for your life, and still keep your eyes up field. Much less make good decisions. The OL has been a problem for several years, and the front office has not done enough to protect their franchise player. The Bears have drafted a defensive lineman in the first three rounds for SEVEN STRAIGHT YEARS for Lovie's damn baby. The OL deserves the same attention. Cutler deserves the protection. This shit is not new! Fix the stinking problem.

Webb never should have been starting. Not last year, not this year. But for some reason, Lovie and Tice want to have sweaty man love with him and refuse to bench him for sucking. Which he does.