Bears blowing leads: Some lowlights

By Os Davis  |   Friday, September 26, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Chicago Bears
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Week 1 had the Chicago Bears -- who went into Indianapolis and thrashed the Colts, 29-13 -- looking like one of the NFL’s pleasant surprises for 2008: Kyle Orton kept his wits about him in not taking silly chances as a slightly undertalented QB; Matt Forte outplayed guys like Darren McFadden and Chris Johnson to look like the steal of the draft; Brian Urlacher bagged eight tackles while generally making the defense look like a classic Chicago ‘D’; and, most importantly, the Bears came away with a win against many prognosticators' pick to win the Super Bowl.

What’s happened since then? A couple of choked-away losses later, and the Bears have gone from “hey, not bad” and “could surprise” status to “multiple weaknesses” and “already fighting for their playoff lives.”

Commentary: After Gregg “Tuesday Morning Quarterback” Easterbrook unashamedly lambasted the defense for giving up 10 quick points in the fourth quarter, this stunned observer went back and looked at more tape of Weeks 2 and 3 than Ron Jaworski and Bill Cowher combined.

Other than exhaustion that probably shouldn’t be (sayeth the TMQ, “In consecutive weeks, the Chicago defense couldn't hold 14-point leads, and both times, appeared to be dogging it”), some befuddlement remains until you notice the same names popping up again and again.

Here’s a Cliffs Notes version of some comeback drives allowed by the Bears:

• Versus the Carolina Panthers in Week 2: With under 6 minutes left to play in the third quarter, Lance Briggs crushes Jake Delhomme for a big sack to stop the drive despite Adewale Ogunleye’s generous jump offside on the previous play ... but Greg Olsen’s second fumble of the game gives it back to Carolina immediately after the punt ... at 4:22, Kevin Payne can’t handle Jonathan Stewart ... at 3:05, Stewart basically shrugs off Urlacher for another big gain ... at 2:18, Stewart ricochets in for his first NFL touchdown ... Lovie Smith looks embarrassed.

• Versus the Panthers, fourth quarter: With about 7 minutes left to play, the Panthers receive a nice bad punt and Delhomme is immediately allowed to enter Tom Brady mode, connecting with Muhsin Muhammad ... and then with Brad Hoover, who burns Brandon McGowan on a cut inside ... getting great blocking on the right side from Muhammad, Stewart ping-pongs off Payne, who again cannot wrap up the tackle ... Jeff King (Jeff King, I say!) nearly scores the TD while inadequately covered by DT Damione Lewis; Urlacher and especially Payne are caught slacking off on their assignments in a Cover 2 ... Stewart soon makes it so ... Payne, Marcus Harrison and Lovie Smith look embarrassed.

• Versus the Buccaneers in Week 3, fourth quarter: Despite an excellent takedown by Jamar Williams on returner Dexter Jackson for a 3-yard loss, Chicago allows Brian Griese perfect conditions to put together a 79-yard, 2-minute drill drive ... on first-and-10, a rushed incompletion is wiped out by an offside call against Ogunleye ... Ike Hilliard beats Charles Tillman for the catch, runs out to stop the clock ... with about 1:40 remaining, Briggs and Payne get through on a blitz and Griese throws incomplete ... on third down, however, Jerramy Stevens smokes his man on the right side for a first ... soon, Hilliard’s got another reception, another first down and another posterization of Payne ... a touchdown is barely thwarted with about 30 seconds left when Tillman first basically tries to hold Maurice Stovall before flailing to knock the ball away after getting beat ... the camel’s back breaks when Steven again exploits the mismatch for 6 points ... Chucky Gruden tries not to swagger on the sidelines, perhaps knowing that it was too easy for congrats ... Lovie Smith looks embarrassed.

Jockspeak requires players and coaches to speak of “team losses” and such, but a few names really stick out in synopses. Surely, Tillman, Ogunleye, Urlacher and particularly Payne should be getting extra workouts this week. Smith, too. While it seems unbelievable to say, the Bears’ woes thus far can be centered squarely on a no-clutch defense; and if you think that’s unfair, consider how many times in recent years the Chicago ‘D’ has talked (OK, mostly muttered) trash about the offense.

Fantasy Football Impact: Reggie Brown, DeSean Jackson, Hank Baskett, L.J. Smith ... it seems anyone lining up on that right side can go off on Chicago this year, and Donovan McNabb holders should gain big points when the QB faces off Sunday against a pass defense surrendering 249.7 yards per game. As for Chicago, not even the incredible Forte can be counted on this week; Philly’s run ‘D’ is by far tops in the league at just 45.7 yards surrendered per game (Pittsburgh is No. 2 at 64.3).
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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