Detroit Lions Rip Pants, Chicago’s Secondary
By Staff
Mondays are always tough. Worse yet when the Bears lose. Truly painful when it is to a division opponent they paddled last year. Gut wrenching when the loss is a result of allowing 5, count ‘em 5 touchdowns in the 4th quarter. Was this the coronation for the terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad season? It remains to be seen.
The Chicago Bears had a new look at the quarterback position with Brian Griese replacing Rex Grossman. However, the more things change, the more things stay the same. Hobbled by a number of significant injuries, the Bears were banged up on both offense and defense. The end result was a heart breaking loss that, while ugly, was a game which the Bears had very much in control until the 4th quarter.
This was a game that very easily could have gone a different way. One needs only to look back to the ridiculous number of ball charity (5 fumbles, three interceptions) to see much of the problem. And it wasn’t even the interception returned for a touchdown that hurt the most. (Go back and check that play out. Fantastic coverage played by the Detroit Lions, lining up in man coverage and sliding into a weak zone. That sort of drop will make an offensive coordinator loose his lunch) What hurt the Bears’ offense most was the missed opportunities. Throwing two interceptions inside the 10 yard line? That’s a ballgame.
Allow me to daydream for a moment. If Griese had tossed those two red zone passes 20 inches in front of where they ended up, we’d likely be talking about a 40-17 rout. Sometimes, things just don’t work out the way you’d like them to. However, it was not as if this was still not a significant setback for the Bears. Next week will be a huge game for them, undeniably their biggest game this year. Sunday night against the undefeated Green Back Packers? What a match-up.
Yesterday, it was hard to say which was worse to look at: Chicago losing a game they should have already put away, or Tatum Bell’s hindquarters. Exposed: Bell was. So was the injury riddled defense for Chicago. Dear Charles, Nathan, Lance, Adam, Mike, and Dusty: we miss you.
More on the quarterback situation later.