Chicago Bears Week 10 Milk Carton
Nov 10, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Josh McCown (12) throws a touchdown pass to Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall (not pictured) during the second half at Soldier Field. Detroit defeats Chicago 21-19. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The milk carton goes to two “people.” One of which is Josh McCown. Let me be clear, if there is one bear I don’t have any criticism for, it’s him. He wins the cover for the fact that he literally wasn’t present in the game when he should have been. Jay Cutler should have swallowed his pride and told Marc Trestman he couldn’t play. Trestman should have been able to tell that his quarterback looked hurt. A lot of Cutler’s game comes from his mobility and when that aspect is impaired, so is the rest of the offense. McCown came in and played very well, but it was too little too late.
The second “person” is the running game. The Bears were moving the ball extremely well in the first half, doing an excellent job keeping the Calvin Johnson on the sideline. They were connecting on third down after third down. The passing game looked unstoppable. However the running game was not getting anything done.
The first time the rushing attack cost them when Michael Bush failed to pick up a first down on fourth and 1 (I liked the decision but HATED the call). The second big drive ended in a 2nd and goal from the four red zone interception. If the running game was working, the Bears could have run it in and made it 14-7 going into the half. Maybe 21-7 had the Bush play been successful. The Lions cornerbacks were coming up and making tackles all day, and I think that’s partly Forte’s fault. He needs to shed some of those. Also, a run game is of extreme importance when a starting quarterback is a little hurt. The Bears need to fix this moving forward. If they do this, they may become that great offense the fans all want.
Nov 10, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte (22) gets tackeled by Detroit Lions outside linebacker DeAndre Levy (54) and Detroit Lions middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch (55) at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Here is a positive thought. The Lions are a very good (thuggish) team and this game showed that the Bears are as good as them. They just made costly mistakes that I believe can be fixed by Marc Trestman. This is the first time the Bears fans are really upset with him, and that’s a good sign about a rookie coach. The Eagles can’t say the same! All the games in the upcoming Chicago Schedule are winnable, and I think the Bears will fix the mistakes and win the majority of them. But for now, that game will leave the sourest of tastes in all true fans’ mouths.