About
I am a multimedia nut, journalism, photography, videography, radio broadcasting and production. I’ve done it all, but I love to write and have a lot to say. I live in the Chicagoland area now and have always had an extreme love and passion for the Chicago Bears
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Written by Brett Solesky
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Wednesday, 30 September 2009 03:38 |
 Continuing with our long winded weekly film review wrap ups we are going to start by analyzing the Bears' offense this week. Led by Jay Cutler and getting help from receivers Devin Hester and Earl Bennett the Bears were able to drive down the field pretty consistently and come away with a win. Off the top of our heads though it's apparent that Matt Forte is still struggling, although through no fault of his own. Lay the blame squarely at the feet of Frank Omiyale and his missed blocks or inability to block anyone period. I'm going to key in on Omiyale and count how many times a block is missed on his side of the field or as a result of him. Every bit of failure in this running game seems to be a direct result of his play. The O-Line is only as good as it's weakest link and right now Omiyale is the weakest on an extremely high level.
Bears' opening possession after another big Johnny Knox return:
The first run of the game is a run to the left side and Omiyale to his credit gets a decent push. Jason McKie however gets decked pretty hard while trying to make a block and this essentially pushes him directly into Forte's path. Forte has no where to go and gains a small yard. Second run to Forte again and Chris Williams doesn't really hold up on his run block and Forte again can't get on track. Third down and five coming up for the Bears, Cutler out of the shot gun with a four receiver bunched up set. Forte in the back field with him and Cutler unleashes a deep ball down the seam that goes right through the hands of Johnny Knox. Almost would have been six points right off the start of the game, but the ball was JUST a bit out of Knox's reach. Bears miss a field goal.
Small note here this is the third game in a row in which the offense has started with a three and out.
Bears' second possession of the game:
 Cutler with a short drop overthrows Devin Hester on first down. Second and ten upcoming, pass protection a little shaky but overall good enough, Cutler zings a solid completion to Greg Olsen for a first down. Olsen involved early in the offense is the way things should be. My guess is teams are going to constantly go after Olsen until the Bears can prove week to week that their receivers can win games for them. So far the receivers have done this two weeks in a row.
Forte on first and ten gain of two yards on a run to the right side. Seahawks load up the box to stop him and do it with a five man front. Bears have no where to run as of yet and it's frustrating to see. False start penalty moves the Bears back five yards, second and 13. Forte on a sweep to the outside and gets good yards, one of his best runs of the game Omiyale pulled and got just enough of a piece of a DT that made some penetration so that Forte could get the corner. Gain of 10 yards on the play, third and three upcoming. Of small note on the play Omiyale is not a good puller, he is very slow and takes a wide curve when attempting to pull. This is a fundamental he lacks from being an OT that probably wasn't asked to pull a lot. A good part of the Forte's success comes when he has good pulling guards in front of him.
Cutler's next pass is a throw only him and maybe two other QBs in the league can make as he threads the needle to Earl Bennett. Maybe it's an optical illusion and the play is not as close as it looks, but damn if it doesn't make you jump a bit when you see it. Bennett makes the catch falls down and gain just a few extra yards. Bears get another first down on this play.
On the pitch and the reverse to Devin Hester it's called back because of an illegal cut block. Some how the refs ruled that Cutler was below the waste on the play, which is completely false. Cutler hit him shoulder first directly in the waist. It was low, but not by cut block standards, the Bears really get ripped off here. First and 25 now upcoming turns into first and 30 with a Frank Omiyale false start. I think he was anticipating the snap because the play clock was at near zero anyway. It just as easily could have been a delay of game penalty anyway. Cutler gets a ton of protection on this 1st and 30 play here, he has all day to go through his progressions and takes his check down to Forte who gets decent yards. Seahawks rushed four and were absolutely stone-walled at the line. Gain of 11 on the catch by Forte, this is one way to get him involved in the offense start moving him around and taking advantage of his versatility as a pass receiver.
Second and 19 now Cutler out of the shot gun essentially gets good protection although a defender is able to get him to hurry his throw a bit. No matter Cutler nails a wide open Earl Bennett for a first down on more. Bennett is only going to get better (technically he's a first year player) and should be a solid number two behind Hester or Knox, whomever steps up and grabs the mantle as the number one receiver.
Bears all the way down to the 17 yard line on that play 1st and 10 to go. Cutler passes on the play and gets pressured by Patrick Kearney. Kearney shoves Pace aside to get to Cutler on an inside move just he's throwing the ball to Knox. It sails just enough high that Knox is only able to bat it up in the air where it's picked off. By no means is this Cutler's or Knox's fault, just a one of those shit happens type of plays. Bummer to not come away with points in the red zone here, but promising that the Bears are making plays in the passing game yet again.
Seattle drives down and kicks a field goal to go up 10-0.
Bears third possession of the first quarter only :40 seconds left:
Omiyale gets a decent push but is unable to hold his block at the point of attack and finish. This leads to another short run by Forte. Omiyale is not strong, does not give a lot of effort and does not hold up well at the POA. Something has to give with him and this type of play is the reason why. Second and eight now, Forte gets a draw play here out of the shot gun and has to bounce it up because Omiyale is being driven back and is losing another battle at the POA. Forte does a great job of bouncing it out and picking up solid yards. Gain of six just short of a first down on this play.
End of the first quarter Seahawks 10 Bears 0.
Third down and two to start the second quarter and Jay Cutler drops the snap from Kreutz. It seems like nearly once a game the Bears fumble a snap and at this point it's really starting to become ridiculous. Bears punt it away.
Bears back on offense after the Seahawks again drive down to kick a field goal. I'll cover all of this defensive struggles in the defensive review session. 13-0 Seahawks lead 11:56 left in the first half.
Bears simple I-formation here, swing pass out to Matt Forte on a zone coverage by the Seahawks. If this had been a blitz call by Seattle, Forte would have ran along way. So far a pretty sound game plan by Ron Turner, haven't really seen any bad play calls. Second and five, the Bears run a trap play that gets absolutely blown up all over the field. Why the Bears have such an old and worn out offensive line and feel comfortable going with such an old washed up group of offensive lineman is beyond me. We really need to find an offensive line scout to draft someone to come in here and start.
Kreutz gets blown up and pushed back by the DT, Omiyale who is supposed to lead the play on a pull and then trap down on the DE gets knocked completely backwards and on to his ass/back. Chris Williams never even comes close to stepping up and engaging his man on the run block. He gets loose fairly easily and gets in on the play. He would have made the play were it not for the two missed blocks that happened closer to the play.
 Hester holds on to a high pass from Cutler it's a very solid catch on his part, put the Bears close to a first down. He jumped up and makes a pretty damn good catch for a guy who is not supposed to be a good receiver. Forte out of the off-set I-formation catches a little play action screen makes four hard fought yards makes a couple people miss and then gets taken down. Another run play to Forte that gets blown up because Orlando Pace gets blown up at the point of attack. Pace gets stood up and then the defender drives hard inside and into the backfield to drop Forte for a loss. Bears on third and four out of the shot gun is Cutler four WR set Cutler is blitzed hard and heavy and takes a big shot as he tries to deliver the ball. Incomplete pass, Bears forced to punt.
Forte on a sweep to the left with Omiyale and Garza pulling and leading out front. Omiyale gets a hat on his man and blocks well for a bit but can't finish or drive the defender so his defender winds up stopping Forte for what should have been a much bigger gain. Garza completely whiffs on his block attempt at the linebacker who then combines with Omiyale's defender to sandwich Forte. Omiyale can't drive or finish his blocks and this is like the fifth time in this quarter it seems he had a hand in Forte being dropped for a loss or a very short gain. These guys are absolute stiffs and eventually will cost the Bears a game this season, if they didn't already cost us the Packers game.
Bears have only gained 24-yards on the ground to this point in the game and they're half way through the second quarter. Cutler from the shot gun on third and four four receiver set, Forte in the backfield with Cutler. Seahawks come with an all out blitz and Cutler is rocked just as he gets it away. The ball goes incomplete Bears to punt.
Bears quickly back on offense after the Lance Briggs INT. 6:58 left in the first half:
False start on Chris Williams. Quick screen pass to Earl Bennett on first and 15, he picks up a big block and sails down the side line for a nice gain. Well executed play here made possible by a superb block by Chris Williams, Williams has to run a long ways to get out and block the CB on this screen play and he does just that. This is a very quick and very athletic play by such a big man. It really shows that Williams has a lot of potential when he can make a run and a block like this. The gain goes for 23 yards and it's sprung directly by Williams' big block.
The next play is perhaps one of the best blocked run plays I've seen in this game. Orlando Pace gets a good block and seals off the DE down to the inside giving Forte room to the outside. Kreutz gets a solid drive block on the DT and pushes him back five yards, showing explosion in the process, Frank Omiyale gets out on a pull and gets a decent block on the LB. He doesn't exactly finish the block but he puts up enough of a fight that it gets some positive yards.
Cutler takes a straight drop here and has plenty of time on this pass. He finds Olsen free for a nice big gain on the passing play. This is the type of play that Rex Grossman made every once in a while, but a play that Cutler makes all the time. You can clearly see why Cutler was brought in to be the QB on a play like this. It's relatively simple in it's execution but it's just a great throw.
This next play is probably the worst play of the game from a run blocking standpoint. It's almost comical in it's execution if it wasn't so damn sad and a fair indication of just how bad this line is. It's sad that the line can go from one good play to one god awful play in a matter of seconds. The best aspect of this play is Forte's jump cut where he gets outside turns it up the field and gets yards he probably shouldn't have. This play is all Forte and it shows why he is a back that is pretty damn good and should be playing at a Pro-Bowl level were it not for the O-Linemen. The entire left side of the line essentially bulls it's way into the hole and clogs it up, fortunately their clumsiness in doing so creates a lane to the outside that Forte hits with a jump cut and takes to the outside. Omiyale does some sort of an excuse for a scrape block and then heads to the second level to take on the LB. Omiyale completely is off balance with his approach and gets tossed aside like a rag doll. The linebacker literally throws him aside like he's a 10-pound bag of feathers, and then flies down the line at a tough angle of pursuit to tackle Forte.
 Forte on the run again gets stopped after a minimal gain. The double team block was essentially conquered as neither Kreutz or Omiyale really got much push up front. More over Orlando Pace wasn't able stand tough on his block and the DE got through to really get a hat on Forte as well. Bears go play-action on third and one and Cutler hits Olsen on a quick pass that goes for a first down.
The Bears come with another sweep, and Forte goes no where. Greg Olsen can't block and shouldn't be asked to block on this play. His block attempt on this play is god awful and he'll never be mistaken for a blocking TE with this type of effort. None of the pulling lineman get a hat on the weak-side 'backer who fires into the lane and trips Forte up. Bad run blocking here once again. Bears are second and goal on this play Cutler hits Forte who makes a great catch in the open field and then fights towards the goal line. He stretches for the goal line as he is going down and then has the ball knocked out. I'm still not sure if he was down or not, but the refs said he was so the Bears were spared the embarrassment of a turnover on the one yard line. They promptly cash it in with Cutler to Olsen on a play action touchdown pass. Cutler gets drilled as he passes it to Olsen but he's okay and the Bears are on the board down now 13-7.
Bears get one more possession but don't do anything before the half ends.
Bears come out after the Seahawks open the second half of play with a fumble by TJ Housh. He's stripped by Danieal Manning and the Bears recover.
First and ten Bears at the Seattle 42-yard line Bears with a single back two TE set here. Bears set to immediately establish the run get another well blocked run play for the most part. Omiyale and Garza pull and Kreutz cracks down and seals off the DT on the play. Omiyale semi-blocks the LB at the second level but doesn't really finish the block. I can slam on him for this but it's enough of a block sorta that Forte gets some yards. Garza on the other hand does a pretty damn good job on his pull block and drives his defender back pretty well. It's a pretty damn solid block and he hits him once and then sticks with him and hits him again and never really falters on this block on the LB. Props to Garza for pulling and getting out into space and hitting the linebacker on this play.
Second and three upcoming after that nice gain of seven yards on the play. 15 carries for 43 yards for Forte just short of three yards per carry average. Bears with a four receiver set on second and three here, Cutler drops back a late stunt by the Seattle line is enough to get a hit on Cutler on his follow through. The pressure doesn't do anything to throw off Cutler as he hits Hester for a big pass play here. Hester hauls it in with a beautiful hands catch in traffic. Gain of 22-yards and a superb catch by Hester here.
Bears first and ten from the Seattle 15-yard line back down in the red-zone. Bears out of the simple I formation here this is an average run play that is blocked well for the most part. Forte gets down inside the 10 to the seven so he gets a solid five yard gain out of the play. Omiyale pulls and gets a decent block on his man, Kreutz again gets a good drive and a push on his man stands him up with a good leverage approach. Kreutz is only unable to finish his block because he trips over the double team block/pile that Garza and Williams get on the DT at the point of attack. This is a massive double team block that absolutely clears out the hole. Williams may have been able to slip to the second level had he not helped to completely pancake the guy.
This next run play at a minimum should have gotten the first down. Orlando Pace stands up his man and completely pancakes him to the ground. Omiyale on the other hand gets stood up because the DT gets so far under him and jumps into the hole and from the ground is able to trip Forte up. Omiyale just gets absolutely beat at the point of attack and Forte has no where to go really on this one. Kreutz holds up well, on this play blocking his man to a stalemate, but Omiyale is just a major weak link in run blocking especially head to head at the point of attack. He is getting leveraged around by guys who are EASILY able to get under his pad level.
 Cutler from the shot gun on third and four finds Johnny Knox on a crossing route, Knox hauls in a nice catch and then proceeds to make an absolute fool out of the would be tackler. He absolutely screws him into the ground with his wiggle move the dip and go that just leaves the tackler flailing at Knox as he goes by. Knox then races for the pylon and stretches the ball out for the touchdown. This is one hell of a play by Johnny Knox, he really can make just about any play on the field right now. It's his only catch on the day but it's for a seven yard touchdown and it's still one hell of a move in the open field. You can't help but love this kid.
Bears officially in the lead now 14-13 with 11:28 left in the third quarter.
Bears take over on offense again with 8:03 left in the third quarter:
First and ten here from their own 24-yard line Bears go with a four receiver set, Cutler under center Forte in the backfield. Olsen in motion from the slot to the wing a quick screen to Hester lead blockers are Davis, Olsen, Kreutz and Williams. No one is really able to keep up with Hester because of his speed and he doesn't really have any intention of waiting for his blocker. If Hester would have exercised more patience the blocks may have been able to spring him for a bigger play. As it is he's chased out of bounds after a four yard gain. Bears out of the simple I-formation on second and four Cutler fires the ball down the line to Hester. It's a bad throw that squirts right between Hester's legs. Bad play call here, and really just a bad throw. The Bears would have been better off going play-action or even a run to better move the chains effectively here.
Third and six now, a bunch formation to the right with three receivers clumped together and one receiver out in single coverage to the left of the formation. Single back Cutler under center, Cutler airs it out for a streaking Knox down the field who is in single coverage the whole way. Decent coverage on Knox and the ball goes through his hands, although I'm not sure had he caught it he could have been in bounds when he gained possession. Knox really accelerates away from the coverage here, Cutler takes another hit this time from Pace's man. Bears are forced to punt it away.
Bears quickly back on offense after Lance Briggs makes a big time INT. The diving INT really swings the momentum of the game for the Bears and they move immediately back to offense. First and ten for the Bears on this one, hand off to Forte and he bangs ahead for some yards. Kellen Davis doesn't get as good of a block as he should and McKie has to help out on the play. By proxy the guy McKie would have blocked otherwise tackles Forte. Decently blocked other than a miss by Davis. He sorta gets his man spun but the spin mostly puts him in Forte's path forcing the help from McKie.
Play action for Cutler and he throws underneath to Greg Olsen who gets a minimal gain on the play. Two straight plays that are minimal in the yards they gain. This one should have been a deeper route more towards the end zone rather than a dink and dunk look. Third and four for the Bears here, Bennett in the slot Forte split out wide empty backfield here. Cutler is sacked after Chris Williams gets beat like a rented mule. Cutler fumbles and Williams is thankfully there to recover. Three man rush and Williams is flat out beat around the corner. Robbie Gould comes in kicks the field goal Bears up now 17-13.
Third quarter ends and the Seahawks get on the board shortly after that with another Orlindo Mare field goal. Score is now 17-16 Bears with 14:48 remaining Bears prepare to go back on offense.
Bears run the ball with Garrett Wolfe here on first down a sweep with Wolfe and Omiyale out in front. Omiyale gets a good cut block and Garza should have gotten a better block but he is hit hard and knocked back a bit and Wolfe sorta runs into Garza. Great seal block on the play by Kellen Davis is the only reason this play gets any positive yards. Davis can block and he shows it really well on this play particularly.
Another run to Garrett Wolfe just a simple trap play with Williams pulling around. Double team on the DT by Kreutz and Omiyale causes a massive pile of bodies, Garza with a big block of his own nice drive. The little jitter bug sorta buries his head in behind his blockers and follows the pushing pile for a gain of a few. Wolfe ends up just short of the first down on the play. Third and one now for the Bears, I-formation two TE set Bears go with a simple Isolation call here. Wolfe doesn't one good read on this play. The blocking good enough that he should just forge ahead for the first down, but he hesitates and this allows the defense to get there to slow him down. Omiyale looks the worst on this play but the ball is going away from him. Omiyale runs to the second level and falls forward after appearing to trip over his own two feet. This shows the Omiyale doesn't have the comfort level required of a guard to pull or accelerate to the second level. Bears forced to punt here.
Bears' defense holds and Cutler brings the Bears out with a 17-16 lead starting at their own 29-yard line 10:39 left in the fourth quarter:
 Cutler with a quick throw to Hester who makes a shoe top catch and gains about nine yards on the play. Forte gets a first down on this well blocked run play. Garza, Kreutz, Williams all lay a hat on someone, Forte gets tripped on the play otherwise he's running for a while. I'm really starting to see potential here with the right side of the line, not so much on the left side. Omiyale is clearly over-matched for the most part when he is asked to block at the POA where the run play is going.
This is a play you can see very clearly as they slow it down and zoom in on the offensive line nice and tight and up close. Chris Williams excellent block, Roberto Garza excellent block, two double teams with Garza scraping to pick up the linebacker on the play. A great move to the second level. Kreutz and Omiyale great double team block and Forte SHOULD have run a long way on this run but he's just tripped up at the last second. Man this play sucks because it was so well execute and so well blocked. Sucks to see Forte trip on this play.
Next play sucks because it's well blocked for the most part but Aaron Curry just runs through the traffic and the gap and makes a damn good play on Forte. Not sure who should have been out there to get Curry, but he just makes a great read and attacks Forte and drops him for a loss. Sometimes shit happens, and that's the case on this play.
Second and 12 now Bears still leading by one 9:13 left in the fourth quarter. Not a well executed screen pass to Forte here. Seattle diagnoses it well and drops Forte for a loss, nothing really ever got moving on this play. Third and nine now Cutler out of the shot gun, split backs three receivers, Greg Olsen gets beat around the corner trying to block Aaron Curry. He sacks Cutler and causes a fumble and the Seahawks recover.
Seahawks do enough on offense to kick a field goal and now lead the game 19-17 with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter Bears start at their own 29-yard line. Cutler gets a ton of pressure as Pace gets beat to the outside. He steps up and then flips it to Forte who is tackled almost immediately. Great pocket awareness by Cutler to get five yards out of what could have been a sack. Pace again struggling in pass protection. Cutler from the shot gun three receivers Forte in the backfield with him.
Bears run a draw to Forte who gets the first down, excellent blocking up front, Olsen even gets a good block on the play here. Gain of 11 on the play on this nice run by Forte, just a well blocked play here no complaints. Earl Bennett catches a quick pass and goes down at the 48 of Seattle a gain of seven. I-formation here a give to Adrian Peterson who gets a decent hole and runs ahead to inside the 40 of Seattle. Nine yard gain on the play Seattle sorta pass rushes, Williams gets a slight push on the rusher who runs himself out of the play, but that doesn't stop Williams from turning and running down the field to try and make another block. Superb awareness and smarts here by Chris Williams to not quit just because his original man to block run himself out of the play. Williams doesn't quit on the play and runs down the field to help Peterson gain nine yards. Bears eating the clock away now down to 2:30 left in the game
Bears go ball control here with a simple run to Adrian Peterson gain of three and the clock begins to wind down. Two minute warning now Bears in control eating the clock down going for the win here. Bears second and seven here Bears go single back two TEs here and two receivers, Cutler drops back to pass good protection and he hits Devin Hester on a little slant pattern. Hester does the rest the Bears take the lead and win the game.
So wrapping up this week's offensive film review session the Bears blocked better in the run game than they probably have all season. But it still wasn't enough to get Matt Forte to the 100-yard plateau. Frank Omiyale is the major weak link on this offensive line and Orlando Pace is a close second. Pace still on occasion can make some blocks but struggles overall. Chris Williams showed his athleticism and a never quit attitude. There may be some hope for the Bears in the run game this upcoming game against the Lions. Omiyale though in my mind should be benched for this performance and where he stands. The Bears would likely be much better with Josh Beekman in there as the guard next to Kreutz.
Plus if they're grooming Beekman as the heir apparent, he deserves to continually get playing time as he develops. The best experience is the on the field experience you get and Beekman deserves to play.
Elsewhere on offense Cutler looked sharp most of the game, Forte still has plenty of ability and doesn't seem to be struggling any sort of ailment or problem. I think any criticism lobbed his way is simply an excuse used to mask the problems on the offensive line. The Bears did block better in the second half when it mattered most so that is hopefully a sign of future success.
Devin Hester stepped up and made some very superb catches in traffic in this game. Hester is really coming along nicely and Cutler seems to be developing a relationship with his players on a weekly basis.
This was also likely the best called game by Ron Turner who didn't get to predictable with his play calling like he did in the first two games. On offense the Bears will benefit some weeks by Forte running the ball, and other weeks letting Cutler throw the ball down the field and make plays in the passing game. If the O-Line can do as everyone says they will and play better as the season wears on, the offense will be tough to stop.
Until I see the signs of it on a consistent basis it's going to be really hard to make the argument that this offense will be unstoppable. Right now the O-Line play is below average and teetering dangerously on the level of utterly poor. Hopefully going forward this will change and the Bears can better start to run the ball to keep teams honest.
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