Chicago Bears Week 15 Report Card
By Deez
The Chicago Bears played one of their worst games of the season against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, losing 38-14. They were outscored 31-0 in the second half and gave up two pick-sixes. Caleb Hanie proved that he is not an NFL-ready quarterback. The Bears receivers and offensive line again played sub-par, showing how incompetent of a GM Jerry Angelo is. The defense, which has carried the Bears most games, even had a hard time stopping a Seattle team with a lackluster offense and only forced one turnover. Finally, the Bears were outcoached, period.
I could pick and choose some players/coaches and reiterate the terribleness they showed on Sunday with resounding F’s. And I could elaborate on the above average play of guys like Stephen Paea, Lance Briggs and Kahlil Bell, but I’m not going to do that. Even though the Bears are still mathematically in the playoff hunt, we all know that this game was the final nail in the coffin.
Even if the Falcons and Lions lose their last two games, I have a hard time believing the Bears can win two in a row (or even one for that matter) right now. Call me a pessimist if you want, but the Bears look tired, injured and confused. Oh, to think back to four weeks ago when all was right and a mere slip on the turf by Johnny Knox started the avalanche that is the Bears 2011 season.
As they say, misery loves company. So, on this solemnest of days for Bears fans, I’m going to take a look at how some ex-Bears faired this week and what could have been.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Kyle Orton – Leave it to old Neckbeard to KO the undefeated Packers without throwing a TD. He was 23-for-31 for 299 yards. This game manager would have looked nice back in Chicago if the Bears could have gotten him off waivers.
San Diego Chargers DT Tommie Harris – We all know Tommie doesn’t have it anymore but he recorded his third sack of the season on Sunday.
St. Louis Rams WR Brandon Lloyd – His five catches for 42 yards couldn’t vault the Rams to victory, but those numbers were just as good, if not better than, all Bears receivers over the last three weeks.
Cincinnati Bengals RB Cedric Benson – I would never advocate getting Benson back, but he’s been a very productive runner over the last couple seasons. He had 76 rushing yards, 11 receiving yards and a TD this week. However, he did fumble the ball three times. Keep him, our running backs only fumble once a game…in OT.
Minnesota Viking WR Devin Aromashodu – His two catches for 29 yards would make him a perfect fit back on the Bears. Mediocrity is what Angelo loves.
Washington Redskins QB Rex Grossman – 15-for-24 for 185 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs…Yep, that’s the Rexy I remember. But wait, he actually won. Maybe he is getting better. Probably not, he has thrown at least one INT in 10 of his 11 starts this year. However, I do miss yelling ‘Sexy Rexy’ and ‘Throwgasms’ every game.
Houston Texans S Danieal Manning – He made four tackles defending against the Panthers, who didn’t have a pass completion over 26 yards. He also has two picks, four pass deflections and 51 tackles in only 11 games this season. With the Bears issues at safety, you wonder how they let him get away.
Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen – He only had two catches for 15 yards on Sunday, but his 45 catches for 540 yards and 5 TDs would look really good for the Bears right about now. And he would have been able to block a guy before he dove at and busted up Forte’s knee. Stupid Martz.
Miami Dolphins RT Marc Colombo – If you don’t know Marc, you are probably like most people, but he just played in his 109th NFL game. The Bears gave up on him due to injuries in 2005. Since then he has 86 starts in six seasons. Oh, what could have been.
Kansas City Chiefs C Casey Wiegmann – If you don’t know Colombo, you probably won’t know Wiegmann. You should though. He just played his 11,000th consecutive snap on Sunday. There’s some consistency. He’s another offensive linemen the Bears let get away. He left the Bears after the 2000 season and has been a starter ever since. He even made the Pro Bowl in 2008 at the age of 35.
New England Patriots DE Mark Anderson – We all knew this guy had potential and he’s showing what he only did once with the Bears, this year. Anderson had two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on the fleet-footed Tim Tebow. That gives him nine sacks on the season, more than everyone on the Bears except Julius Peppers, who has 10.