When the Bears lost to the Packers it was the end of a great season. But, a season with a lot of ups and downs.
A real low point (other than the NFC Championship game loss) was during the October 3rd game when the Giants found a way to sack Jay Cutler 9 times...in the first half. That game also saw the Bears rack up a total of 110yards of offense for the game. Thanks to the crappy play of the other teams in the division the Bears were still okay at this point. But, the nay-sayers were out in force. Jay Cutler would miss time with a concussion and the bears would go on to lose three of their next four games including a pair of three of three point defeats at the hands of the Seahawks and Redskins (two of the worst teams in the league)
After a reshuffle of the offensive line that saw Jay Cutler better protected the Bears would win seven of their last eight games. The only blemish on the last half of the season being a whooping a the hands of the red hot New England Patriots two weeks before Christmas.
With a playoff win against the "Division Champion" Seattle Seahawks the team fell flat against the Packers. A team they had the chance to keep out of the playoffs during the last week of the regular season.
While the NFC Championship game was hard to watch I don't fault Jay Cutler for not playing the second half. Turns out he had a torn MCL which is not an easy thing to play with. So all the Twitter and Facebook haters can take a step back. There were a few points that I did question the coaching staff.
Late in the third (or fourth) it seemed we had a Chicago timeout called just as we were getting ready to snap the ball and the result of the play was going to be a long first down pickup. Not the first time that has happened. Also, what the hell was the coaching staff thinking in the fourth quarter calling an end around on 3rd and 3?
If you're going to make that call don't you think you should at least put the ball in the hands of your fastest weapon in the person of Devin Hester? Just saying.
What I did see was the the Bears are in desperate need of some legit wide receivers. While the group of Hester, Knox, Davis, Bennett and Aromashodu all tried their best to be "the man" we don't have that one guy that other teams fear. We also need a third quarterback. Cutler is still the man, but Hanie showed me a lot of heart and skill with the way he played in a big game with little notice.
That interception by BJ Raji was just a fat man being in the right place at the right time. I mean really...how often is a 300+ pound lineman going to be dropping back into coverage like that? The Shields interception at the end was a bad throw and a crap way to end what was looking like a miracle comeback.
At least I have the Cubs starting soon! But, in true Chicago sports fan mode there's always next year...granted with the next season in doubt the phrase may actually be,. "There's always two years from now!"
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