Chicago Bears Upset by Miami Dolphins: A Mostly Unbiased View
Oct 19, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings (26) is unable to prevent Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace (11) from scoring a touchdown in the second quarter of their game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
The blame for this loss should not be put on the shoulders of Jay Cutler, or any single player for that matter. Yes Cutler fumbled three times, but he only lost one and he was under siege most of the day. If you’re going on that, you may as well blame Dante Rosario. I thought Rosario’s fumble at the beginning of the 4th quarter was worse than any of Cutler’s, as he was clearly not protecting the football properly. The play from the offensive line was unacceptable, but I think they should get better as they get back into the groove of playing together after a series of injuries. As for Cutler’s interception, it looked to me to be a miscommunication between Jay and Santonio Holmes rather than the overthrow of Martellus Bennett that it is being labeled as. Jay’s accuracy did seem to be a little off all day, but who’s to say that those misses weren’t at least partially on the wide receivers. This loss was a Chicago Bears team effort, and there will be better weeks ahead.
Marquess Wilson will be eligible to play soon. It’s hard to put too much stock in a former 7th round pick who has a grand total of 2 receptions for 13 yards on his resume, but the coaching staff is high on him and he has more experience in the system than Santonio Holmes or Josh Morgan. Wilson is also an extremely talented player. He may have found himself sneaking into the first round if it weren’t for his thin frame (184 lbs.) and the fact that he quit on his team part way through his senior season. A solid 3rd wide receiver could help the Chicago Bears’ offense immensely.
The Bears’ special teams had a good outing. I’ve been pretty hard on this unit so far this year, so I thought I would be remiss not to mention them when they had their best showing of the season. Not only did the special teams not have any glaring errors, but Lamar Houston even blocked a field goal. I’d still like to see more from the return game, but I’ll take what I can get at this point. Pat O’Donnell had a really nice game as well. I gave the Bears a lot of flak during my draft coverage this offseason for spending a draft pick on a punter, but O’Donnell seems to be the real deal.
I still have hope that the Bears will bring it together in time to make a playoff run, but the window is closing fast. The next two games against the Patriots and Packers will be crucial to the Chicago Bears’ postseason hopes. If they can come out of those two games with a record of 5-4 or 4-5, I’d say there’s still a chance. If they are 3-6, I think I’ll probably start looking at draft positioning. That’s just the way it goes Bears fans. Bear Down, but keep it balanced…