After Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, Brandon Marshall stepped up to the podium for his postgame press conference. About 3 minutes later, Marshall left with teary eyes after he stated everything Bears fans have been thinking this season and possibly longer.
Things have to change at Halas Hall, and they need to change now.
Bears fans have been spoiled with good defenses. Defenses that are dominant and can take over games to lead you to victory. It’s been that way for a very long time.
But where has the offense been? Recently this case hasn’t been more true than this season. Yes this same season where the Bears started off 7-1 and had everyone believing they could make a run at the Super Bowl.
Now the team sits at 8-6 and out of the wild card, for the moment. Did I mention they need to win their next two games and possibly get help from other teams? That’s never a good situation to be in.
So when Marshall left the podium on Sunday, his exact words “Everybody involved in the offense should be accountable, even if that means jobs,” rang a bell in the heads of many Bears fans. Whether it should have been held in house, like Marshall stated, it’s certainly true and has caught the publics attention.
This season has turned from promising to a disaster. It’s possible it could even become a catastrephe if the Bears fail to make the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. It could also lead the a clearing of house by general manager Phil Emery.
Maybe that’s just what the Bears need. A new coaching staff that can evaluate talent when it’s right in front of them. Because it clearly hasn’t worked out for the Bears in the past.
When the Bears acquired Quarterback Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos in 2009, they gave up three draft picks (two third rounders & a fifth rounder) and Kyle Orton for the man they declared their franchise quarterback. And while Cutler has had his ups and downs in Chicago, he has flashed the potential to lead a team to the promise land.
So the Bears get Cutler, thats great. They still had wholes to fill on the offensive side of the ball. Their wide receiving core was below average and their offensive line had problems.
Even with these problems, after a not so hot 2009, the Bears won the NFC North and advanced to the NFC Championship game in the 2010 season. Everything was falling into place for Chicago right? Wrong. The holes on the offense still were never addressed and it costed the Bears.
The Bears were ran by Lovie Smith and his coaching staff that included Mike Martz as offensive coordinator. The same guy that didn’t like Greg Olsen, so they shipped him out to Carolina in order to give the ‘talented’ Kellen Davis a shot at tight end. A few years later and even the not so bright Bears fans can see Kellen Davis isn’t an NFL tight end?
So why has it taken Lovie and his staff so long to see this?
When Cutler went down with a thumb injury in 2011, the Bears paid the price for it. When Matt Forte went down later that season, the Bears paid the price for it. Neither positions backup players could get the job done for the Bears who ended up losing five of their next six games and missed the playoffs.
That should have alerted a lot of Bears fans at the time.
Even after the Bears fired Jerry Angelo, they still had problems. Phil Emery was hired as the general manager and he struck quickly when he acquired wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Cutler and Marshall were reunited once again with the thoughts of another successful season in Denver. Okay, they had two in Denver, it was still two good years for them.
During Emery’s first draft with the Bears, he failed to fix the one problem Chicago has consistently had over the past five or so years: the offensive line.
Yes, that same offensive line that has been a nightmare for the Bears this season. The same offensive line who are killing drives with holding, false starts & dumb personal foul penalties (Yeah, I remember Gabe Carimi). The same offensive line who is getting your ‘franchise’ quarterback killed game after game.
It’s getting to the point where I’m expecting the offensive line screwing up and predicting when it’s going to happen. And you know what? It’s not very fun to watch.
All season people avoided the fact that the Bears offense really isn’t as good as we thought. Even in the blowout wins the offense struggled. The defense dominated games and the offense reared it’s ugly head, showing us what they really are.
I’m sorry, but you can put the blame on Cutler or the defense or whoever you want. You’re just not going to win games when your offensive line is letting players through untouched on a consistent basis.
So while the Bears have been spoiled all these years with a dominant defense, it’s all gone to waste. Players like Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Julius Peppers and Charles Tillman are going to waste, and likely never see a Super Bowl run with the Bears.
It’s time to fix things in Chicago.
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