Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
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Normally I use this weekly post to outline Keys to a Chicago Bears Victory. During a three-game losing streak including back to back blowout losses, clearly I’ve lowered the bar. I’ll settle for the Chicago Bears to just avoid embarrassing themselves in the Week 11 Bears vs Vikings matchup.
Stop Giving the Ball Away
Jay Cutler is tied with rookie quarterback Blake Bortles for the most turnovers in the league. Cutler must think he’s getting paid by the interception! When the Bears have lost, they’ve coughed the ball up. In the Bears’ three wins, Cutler has thrown 7 TD’s and 0 INT’s. In their 6 losses, Cutler has thrown 11 TD’s and 10 INT’s. It’s pretty simple, hang on to the ball and you win.
Play Better on Third Down
The Bears need to play better on third down on both sides of the ball. On offense, Jay has thrown 40% of his INT’s on third down and a 5.1% INT rate is the highest and nearly double the next highest interception rate on any other down. If the Bears get to third and short, run it! They often out-think themselves and get way too fancy. Keep it simple, stop making mistakes to keep it to third and manageable and keep the chains moving.
On defense, the Bears manage to get their opponents to third and long but they give up long conversions. They’re not getting to the quarterback consistently enough and their coverages are very predictable. The Bears should be able to get to Teddy Bridgewater and need to disguise their coverage to confuse the rookie and force him into mistakes.
Run the Damn Ball
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The stats might be a little skewed because of the last couple of blowout losses, but we’ve heard a common thread about needing balance the last couple of weeks. That means run the ball more. The Bears have attempted 30 fewer rushing attempts than their opponents and have not even gained 900 yards on the season. Matt Forte is your best and most consistent weapon on offense. Give him the ball. No need to throw the little checkdowns. Stick the ball in his belly and let him run.
Just F**king TRY
All Bears fans want to see is a little damn effort. Just try. Try hard. Look like you care. Who knows, the effort might actually turn out to yield some results. Heck, maybe even a home win? What a novel concept for mid March. There’s snow on the ground for God’s sake and the Bears still haven’t won a damn home game!