GrizzlyBear Posted September 20, 2010 Report Share Posted September 20, 2010 http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...ssey-19.article Chicago Bears adjustments too much for Dallas Cowboys Comments September 19, 2010 BY RICK MORRISSEY Sun-Times Columnist ARLINGTON, Texas – The only relevant question early in Sunday’s game was whether Jay Cutler had remembered to sign his organ donor card. If he wasn’t getting hit, he was running for his life. And if he wasn’t running for his life, he was wondering to whom he should bequest his party hat collection. It seemed only a matter of time before the Bears quarterback would end up in a broken heap, the perfect ritual sacrifice for grandiose Cowboys Stadium. But then something happened. The Bears adjusted. And the offensive line started playing better. And Cutler started competing passes like a madman. And … who knows exactly what happened? It just did, and the team that had teetered so close to losing the previous week stunned the Cowboys 27-20. It would be silly to say that the much-maligned offensive line solved all of its problems Sunday, but it did realize a few things. The biggest was that offensive coordinator Mike Martz knows how to change on the fly. Martz stopped calling plays that required a seven-step drop on Cutler’s part. Three- and five-step drops allowed the quarterback to get rid of the ball quickly. They allowed the offensive line to get a handle on DeMarcus Ware, who had steam coming out of his ears and foam coming out of his mouth, which suggests a rabid train. Cutler pointed to one short pass late in the first quarter, a dump over the middle to tight end Greg Olsen, as the turning point in the game. It went for 39 yards and a touchdown, and it made the Cowboys say what cowboys are known to say: “Whoa.’’ If Dallas continued to blitz at will, there would be consequences. “Once we started attacking them a little bit more, we settled (the Cowboys) down,’’ Cutler said. And themselves. Struggling left tackle Chris Williams suffered a hamstring injury on the first series and was lost for the game. Losing your starting left tackle early ranks in the “top one’’ of bad things that can happen to a quarterback, Cutler said. But there’s no question things settled down soon after Williams left. Kevin Shaffer took over at left tackle for one series, then switched spots with right tackle Frank Omiyale. The last time Omiyale played left tackle? At the end of the 2008 season for Carolina. Nervous Bears fans asked: Is that Omiyale or Ohmygod? He played exceptionally well Sunday. “I told myself to stay cool,’’ he said. “It was something that needed to be done. I took pride in feeling like I could make that change easily.’’ Even when you see Ware across the line, evil in his heart? “The stress level definitely went up a couple of notches,’’ Omiyale said, smiling. The Bears said that, as the game went along, they knew when the Cowboys were going to blitz. There were no secrets, only challenges. “I just think as an offensive line we came together,’’ said Shaffer, a 30-year-old backup. “We played great. The biggest key was communication. (Center Olin Kreutz) is the quarterback of the offensive line. He makes the calls. Every play, I knew exactly what I had.’’ Moving away from a seven-step drop was not a sign of surrender but a sign of intelligent life. The question now is whether the Bears are going to have Cutler taking fewer steps as a rule. Martz’ philosophy is dependent on giving plays time to develop. That might have to change. The good news is that the offensive coordinator seems to be flexible. Media and fans have dumped a lot of abuse on the offensive line since before training camp began, and both groups were reaching for their buckets early Sunday. But then something unexpected happened. The line blocked well enough, and Cutler got rid of the ball quickly. That same formula led to an acrobatic catch in the end zone by Devin Hester in the second quarter. “I’ve always believed in us,’’ Omiyale said. “I’ve seen all the work we’ve put in. To me, after all the work we put in, how could we not have success?’’ This game wasn’t definitive proof that the Bears have an offensive line, but it was proof they have a plan. Instead of the team from Chicago having to answer questions about what’s wrong, it was the winless team from Dallas that had to talk about a full-blown crisis. The Bears? It’s all good now. Cutler always seems to have an air of weary nonchalance to him, as if nothing’s a big deal. If you want to go ahead and overreact, his facial expressions say, be his guest. But there was no feigning coolness in those first few series. He lived to play another day. Trust me, that wasn’t close to being a given early Sunday afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted September 20, 2010 Report Share Posted September 20, 2010 The praise for the OL is a little too heavy, and a little too early. Let's be honest here. They got murdered in the first quarter, played better the rest of the game, but by no means did they play "exceptionally well." Cutler was still under pressure quite a bit, and the fact that he didn't donate an organ has a lot more to do with Martz adjusting the game plan than the OL suddenly getting their shit together. The simple fact is, the OL blocked better because they had at least two things going for them: A] Martz had Cutler throw quicker B] The Cowboys pissed themselves because of A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted September 20, 2010 Report Share Posted September 20, 2010 Well put...Martz's adjustments were a thing of beauty. I can't recall ever seeing our team adjust so early in a gaem. Usually they wait until half-time or at the end of the game... It was awesome. Martz is making a difference. The praise for the OL is a little too heavy, and a little too early. Let's be honest here. They got murdered in the first quarter, played better the rest of the game, but by no means did they play "exceptionally well." Cutler was still under pressure quite a bit, and the fact that he didn't donate an organ has a lot more to do with Martz adjusting the game plan than the OL suddenly getting their shit together. The simple fact is, the OL blocked better because they had at least two things going for them: A] Martz had Cutler throw quicker B] The Cowboys pissed themselves because of A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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