Chicago Bears Offensive MVP Candidates besides Brandon Marshall

Brandon Marshall of the Bears (15) catches a touchdown pass against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night in San Francisco. Mandatory Credit: John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

Let’s face it; apart from receiver Brandon Marshall, the Bears offense did not have much to offer this season. This is partly due to poor play calling and weak blocking. However, there were a few offensive players who had some good moments this year. Here are the top 3 candidates for Most Valuable Offensive Player, not including Brandon Marshall.

1) Matt Forte

Matt Forte did not have an outstanding offensive season by any means; in his 15 games, he averaged a decent 4.4 yards per carry. Despite being sidelined in the middle of a few season games, Forte was able to carry though load fairly well, especially for having such a pitiful offensive line. He caught 44 passes, which was a career low for him, and only scored a grand total of 6 touchdowns. However, he ended up statistically having a pretty good year, despite having a few limitations. But in all honesty, a lot of his stats are padded by the fact that he had one or two brilliant runs the whole game, while the rest were weak. That type of play is disappointing from this supposedly great running back with a new contract.

Dec. 23, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA: Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte (22) runs the ball as Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) dives at him in the first quarter at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2) Jay Cutler

Jay Cutler (6) passes against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night football. The Bears won, 34-18. Mandatory Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Jay Cutler may have hurt us just as much as he helped us last season, but I can’t entirely blame him. With an offensive line that bad, It’s pretty hard to have a great season. I know that a lot of it is his fault, but we can’t blame him entirely. This year, he has had some really good games. His best came in a Monday Night matchup against the Cowboys, where he completed 75% of his passes for 275 and two touchdowns. He also had a big fourth quarter comeback in a game against the Panthers, but that was mostly because of the defense. Jay has had his ups and downs this year, but he has shown a lot of toughness and skill that can improve next year with a better offensive line.

3) The Defense

Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher (54) celebrates with Julius Peppers (90) and Tim Jennings (26) after Urlacher returned an interception for a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans in the first quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Joe Howell)

This season, no one wanted to get the ball and score a touchdown more than the Chicago Bears defense. They finished with a grant total of 24 interceptions, which means they caught the ball more than Kellen Davis, who finished with 19 catches. The difference is, the defense’s objective is to stop the offense, and picks are luxuries. In any case, the Bears finished with 24 interceptions and 29 forced fumbles(20 recovered). One of these fumbles was fallen on in the end zone by  Zack Bowman for a touchdown. If you include the punt block for a touchdown in the game against Tennessee, then the Bears defense scored as many defensive touchdowns as the Bears offense did receiving touchdowns (10) not including big number 15. I understand that Brandon Marshall is the main part of the offense, but that does not mean he is the only one who has to contribute. The Bears had more takeaways than all of the other receivers had catches. The defense always had a major thirst for the end zone, and did a large portion of the teams scoring. This unit deserves to be the offensive MVP.

BEAR DOWN!!!!!!!!!