jason

BTW - This game should be at least tied. Martz made a brilliant call for a wide open TD, but Barber lined up incorrectly. Also, the usually reliable Gould shanked one.

freak Roy Williams. He is not the answer. Hanie threaded the needle, and Williams screwed the pooch.

Three decent pockets, three completions. Coincidence? --edit-- Four in a row that the OL did their job. Four completions.

And the Chiefs now know the Bears aren't going to be able to do a damn thing passing, so they're going to load up on the run. This was not only anticipated, it was predicted.

hahahahaha...gimme a break. 5 of the last 6 plays have resulted in him running for his life. The OL is not blocking on the edge OR in the middle.

Remind me again why the OL is not the worst part of the team and the clear #1 priority in FA and the draft? Pathetic.

That's not the Bears' MO under Lovie. They'll go 9-7 or 8-8, just good enough to be in the middle of the draft where the talent is thinner.

I thought the Bears should have picked up McNabb the second he hit free agency. He's infinitely better than Hanie. Maybe now all the Hanie love will cease.

It happened to some of their players, but not thier key players. Big difference.

I have seen no such stupid play calling. Be specific, not irrational. The calls have been good and the team is just not performing.

If Martz stays: Wes Welker or Steve Johnson would be great. Both lightning fast out of breaks and have good hands. They'd explode in this offense. If Martz goes: It depends on the OC and offense installed, but I've always been a fan of Plaxico's ability. He'd come cheaper than the others.

My answer to all of this is simple. I believe the play was a good play that was poorly executed. I've stated this already. Hanie made an iffy throw, Davis didn't meet the ball, and Webb completely whiffed on a blocking assignment that had to be his. Further, the situation lends itself perfectly for a play like that. 2nd and short is a down you can take a chance because you have 3rd and short if it fails. Jim Miller thought it was a good call. So did others. Hell, most of this board liked it early in the year in nearly identical situations. I just think that no matter what Martz does, people will irrationally hate him. And the reason why is this offense is not set up for success thanks to JA. The OL is still bad. It's still the #1 priority, IMO. Even with improvements, it's not good. The QB gets pressured way too often on simple 3 and 5 step drops, much less 7 step drops. And the OL doesn't open holes for the running game very consistently either. Thankfully they do open gaping holes on occasion, which has led to much of the ground game's success. Yes, the WRs are lacking, but this is one of those back-and-forth discussions everyone on this board, and I imagine the other Chicago Bears boards, will continue to have: does OL benefit WR more than WR benefits OL? I say yes. Put in good OL, and the WRs on the Bears are suddenly putting up good/great stats. Just look at the games that Cutler had time; the WRs were lethal. But that doesn't happen nearly enough. End result: 3 years with Martz and the offense hasn't done much. But I can't blame him that much when he's given a weak OL and weak set of WRs. Nobody is going to make this offense look good consistently when the OL fails with consistency and the WRs drop balls consistently.

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/ChalkTalk...p?story_id=8405 Why did the Bears run the play at the end of the first half that required Caleb Hanie to roll out to the right and throw back across the field on second-and-one at the Oakland 7 when they had been running the ball effectively? Brian C. Indianapolis, Indiana The funny thing is that when the play was first called at a similar spot on the field in the season opener against the Falcons, offensive coordinator Mike Martz was lauded for designing such an effective screen. (Kellen Davis was wide open versus Atlanta, but Jay Cutler sailed the ball well over his head and it fell incomplete.) Lovie Smith defended the call when asked about it both after Sunday’s game in Oakland and again Monday at Halas Hall. He said Sunday that “we’re trying to win games” and “every time a play doesn’t work you can [be critical of it], but it happens like that sometimes. You need to be able to rally from it.” Smith reiterated Monday that he didn’t think the play call was too risky, saying: “Of course you’re going to get criticized when something doesn’t work. But next time it will. You’d have to say it was a great play by their guy to tip the ball.” Also, I love Ditka, but I don't know what he's talking about. The defense absolutely left the play. There was over a 5-yard gap between Davis and the Raiders' defender who tipped the pass, and just about everyone else on defense was following the run-fake. The defensive player just happened to read the play quickly and break even faster. However, he needs to rewatch film if he honestly thinks nobody left the play.

Agreed. He was very rattled most of the game. He only had a handful of plays that looked like he was a confident, NFL-level QB who was making reads in anticipation of the throws he was about to make. Otherwise he looked frantic, jumpy in the pocket, and quick to take off running. Granted, I don't really blame him because I think the OL still leaves a ton to be desired, but he didn't look all that good to me. You take away one miracle catch by Knox, and the stats look Tebow-ian.

1. It was definitely 2nd and 1. 2. 2nd and 1 is tradtionally a down you can go for a shot. You get to take a chance at breaking the opponents' back. You do this because you are confident a first down can be made on 3rd down if the 2nd down play fails. 3. Kellen Davis didn't come back to the ball. Poor effort. 4. J'amarcus Webb COMPLETELY blew his assignment and didn't even flinch at the single Raider player in the area. Atrocious effort. 5. Hanie put a little too much under the pass. It floated up there for quite some time. 6. All but two guys on the Oakland D were going the other way with the misdirection. It's a good play call precisely because the running game was working pretty well. 7. If the one Oakland player, who Webb failed to block, isn't there, the play walks in for a TD. The only item from above that is even remotely up for debate is number 7.

I always wondered if I would see it as you do when I'm at the game. When I watch on TV, I think your ratings are pretty close to accurate. But having been at this game, I can tell you the OL grade is too high. You know I would focus attention there, and there was consistent pressure on passing plays, with at least one player failing consistently. Louis might deserve the B- (or A+) for his effort, but the entire OL does not. As for your analysis of the throwback screen, I just have to disagree. Yes it was critical as far as impacting the game, but it wasn't really a bad call. It's similar to a play-action rollout, in that when it works it's a wide open TD. When it doesn't, the QB gets demolished. As I noted in my postgame thoughts, the play was designed well, and nearly the entire Oakland defense was on the other side of the field. When the play was developing I was convinced it was a TD. The problem, of course, is that Webb completely blew his assignment and let one guy run right past. Easy 5 yard difference when Webb initially disengaged from this DL assignment, and yet he didn't even flinch towards the guy. Webb has bad vision, bad blocking, bad timing, and bad feet. He's a "get off the bus" player. Look at the replay and you'll see all of what I've said is true. This is one of those times when a Lovie-ism is accurate: "We need to execute better." The call worked; the player execution didn't.

1. Knox is the most hot or cold player in the NFL. One play he's falling down, the next he's running the wrong route, the next he's burning a DB for an incredible catch. He's incredibly frustrating. And just like I documented last year, his bad habits are directly responsible for INTs. 2. The OL still sucks at pass protection. Bad. It seemed that nearly every play Hanie dropped back there was pressure of some kind. There were maybe a handful of solid pockets the entire game in which actual pressure of the impression of pressure (i.e. the entire OL getting shoved back) didn't happen. 3. Roy Williams was open several times without a pass thrown his way. This was surprising. He comes out of his breaks sharp and hard. 4. It looked like the Raiders loved when the Bears went to a cover-2 zone. That FB pass wasn't a fluke. It was in that "skinny post" seam found just beyond the MLB and between the safeties. 5. The 80-yard fluke punt was wind-aided. The wind was blowing that way the entire game. I know this isn't a huge shock, but it was a back-breaker at the time. 6. One of the long runs to the visitor side by Bush contained an atrocious non-call for holding. Peppers got straight up bear-hugged. It was so blatant that the Raiders fans behind me were already upset before the end of the play because they knew it would be a hold. It wasn't. 7. Jennings is not good one-on-one. He's the one who got burned for the pass to Murphy, and if his side was the first read on every play, it would have happened more frequently. In other words, he got shucked ah the line of scrimmage nearly every time I foced my attention his way. 8. The play that I'm sure many hated (the roll out pass back to the TE that went for a long INT return) wasn't a bad play for the time, in my opinion. The passing game was just beginning to click, first of all. Secondly, the play was a misdirection that 91% worked. Why 91%? Because one defensive player made a great read, and an even better break on the ball. If you want to get mad at anyone for the play, get mad at Webb. He's damn near blind. He released from his DLine assignment at about the 10yard line and had over 5 yards to hit Curry, who made the big play. If Webb does his job instead of just wandering around like a fat zombie, the play goes for a TD to the weak side. An easy TD at that. When the unorthodox works, everyone is a fan. When it doesn't, everyone is a critic. 9. GREAT EFFORT by Louis on the INT return. At least one guy on the OL has his head on straight. I'm now firmly on the Lance Louis fan club for that play alone. 10. Hanie is average at best. The OL will have to make him feel a lot more comfortable for this team to do well the rest of the season. Either that or the running game will have to have huge numbers. Raiders stadium/fans info: -Fans are very energetic. There is a good vibe, a football vibe, throughout the entire place. -The dangerous aspect is overrated and exaggerated. -Many fans were quite nice, and intelligent. They seemed no different than any other fan base I've ever been around. -They stand the entire game. Very rude and very stupid. I could see, but others with me couldn't. I saw more than one person sitting down and watching the jumbotron the entire game. -Worst stadium hotdog I've ever had. Period. Scorching hot, pre-wrapped, a bun that's both soggy and rock-hard on opposing sides, and a taste that really reminds you you're eating pig anus, ears, and assorted parts. -No smoking allowed, but apparently it's quite common for people to light up cigarettes as well as marijuana. Rude and illegal. Security didn't even show up. This was very disappointing to me. -Exiting the stadium is a freaking nightmare. One bridge leads out the visitor side of the field to BART and other exit situations. Both ends of the field funnel into the bridge. Unfortunately the funnel lanes are set up as about 10 feet wide, and the tunnel can't be more than 15 feet wide. It's crime and danger just waiting to happen. If the Raiders had lost, I could see potential problems all around. Having been to roughly 30 pro stadiums for baseball and football all over the country, I can unequivocally say it's the worst situation I've ever seen. Nearly ruined the entire experience. That's how bad it was. Wish the Bears had won. But they played til the end and gave me a good game.

That's the correct call, unfortunately.

Agreed. I said this a loooong time ago. But for some reason he's ignored...just like his entire career.

Wouldn't that be GREAT! I'm sick of seeing the players come up with huge wads of sod in their facemasks. And I'm sure everyone in the league hates the field (as noted numerous times).

Just about none of it looked like man coverage to me. It looked like zone or cover-2 on the plays they got burned, and one of them may have been a single-high safety. It's no coincidence that one of the key places to attack the cover-2 (i.e. just beyond the CB and towards the sideline away from the safety) was exploited more than one time.

Jesus Freaking Christ dude, are you serious? The play call was great, the protection was great, the pass was great, but Johnny Knox fell on his ass. Period. Your displeasure is severely misplaced. If anything we should be upset that the football gods apparently hate the Chicago Bears and love the Packers. Never have I seen a team with less luck (Bears) rival a team with more luck (Packers).

Agreed on all points. I really enjoyed the win. It's just too bad Tillman, the zone-based defense, and the safeties got exposed by Rivers and Jackson. Otherwise it was a great game.

+1

Things I don't know: 1. If the thumb is actually broken 2. When it exactly happened 3. How long Jay played after the injury 4. Whether or not he'll get surgery 5. How long he'll be out, if at all Things I do know: 1. If the rest of the regular season rests in Caleb Hanie's hands, ever defense the Bears play against is going to stack the box, eliminate Forte, and dare Hanie to throw the ball 2. The Bears will not be nearly as effective on offense 3. The Bears will be in trouble of losing a Wild Card spot