Bears Bye Week

I haven't posted in awhile, partly because the Bears are off this week and partly because I've had a minor (hopefully) health issue. I watched the Bears/Redskins game from a hospital bed last Sunday. I'm not sure which was scarier--being in the hospital or watching Cutler throw four interceptions to DeAngelo Hall. Cutler got more than adequate protection in the second half of that game, but still found a way to almost single-handedly lose it. Cutler's performance was inexcusable, regardless of the offensive line or running game issues. You can't turn the ball over five times. I don't care how bad the play calling is. Five turnovers? Franchise quarterbacks don't do that. But, due to my health scare, it was one of those rare games where I didn't get too wrapped up in the outcome. I watched the game more as a distraction than anything else.

Here's my analysis through seven games. The Bears aren't a very good team, especially on offense. They don't play with confidence, they can't consistently execute, and they don't seem to have an identity. The defense has done a pretty remarkable job most of the season considering the offense. Peppers has made some plays, but he hasn't been anywhere near as dominant as I thought he'd be. Briggs and Urlacher have played really well, especially early on. The secondary is barely average. The special teams, though, are amazing as usual. But, this team will be lucky to eight games this season, and I'll be stunned if they make the playoffs. They've lost back-to-back games at home against below average teams. At this point, I'm not sure they can be beat Buffalo next week. It won't be an easy game for the Bears. No games are easy for the Bears. They had a chance to distance themselves from the rest of the division with the two home games against the Seahawks and Redskins, but they started to show their true colors. If they manage to limp into the playoffs, it might be enough to save Jerry Angelo's and Lovie Smith's job, which is ridiculous considering they should've been fired last year.

If they can find any consistency on offense, they could be a decent team. Just decent enough to barely miss the playoffs or get trounced badly in the first round. Or, it could be a really, really long rest of the season if they keep turning the ball over, failing on third down, and killing themselves in the red zone. As always, I'm hoping for the best and expecting the worst.