Bears Depth Kills Playoff Hopes
Last year, it was a perfect storm for the Chicago Bears until the NFC Championship game. It was there they discovered that if anything were to happen to quarterback Jay Cutler, they were cooked.Most teams would have recognized this as a warning sign, but not the Bears. Instead of upgrading to a serviceable backup quarterback, the Bears stuck with Caleb Haney and a fifth round draft pick out that football powerhouse Idaho, Nathan Enderle. Once Cutler went down, Haney proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is the most inept Bears backup since Moses Moreno. Okay, Todd Collins.
Meanwhile, the loss of Cutler was compounded by the loss of running back Matt Forte. Forte's replacement? Third down back Marion Barber who made two glaring mistakes in the Bears loss to Denver.
But wait, there's more. The Bears are thinner at wide receiver than Gumby standing sideways. Johnny Knox is out for the year with a back injury. Sam Hurd is out of it forever after a drug arrest. Roy Williams is just out of it. Devin Hester has been fighting an ankle issue. Suddenly,, the only wide receivers the Bears can line up are tight ends, two of which are blocking tight ends (miss Greg Olsen yet?) Outside of Earl Bennett, Haney has no one to throw to, which maybe explains why he decided to play pitch and catch with the Seahawks Sunday.
So, let's review. The Bears have weakness at quarterback, wide receiver and running back, not to mention their offensive line is missing two starters.
At least on defense, there are some decent back ups. But isn't that typical Bears under Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith: Make sure you have good players on defense and underwhelm the offense.
Aren't you glad the season only has two games left?
And, by the way, Jerry Angelo, anytime you want to retire is fine by me. Perhaps soon. Then, you'll have plenty of time to drive Mike Martz to the airport.
As a fan, it's not losing that bugs you. It's being non-competitive and having your team set up for failure. The Bears caught lightning in a bottle last year and instead of learning from it, assumed they could pull it off again.
Now, their season has disintegrated before their eyes. Maybe next year they will understand that having depth is a key factor in surviving the brutal NFL season.
Posted by Chip Ramsey at 12/20/2011 9:51 AM 
Categories: Chicago Bears, Pro Football
Tags: Lovie Cry Baby Cutler Jerry Angelo Matt Forte Mike Martz
Categories: Chicago Bears, Pro Football
Tags: Lovie Cry Baby Cutler Jerry Angelo Matt Forte Mike Martz
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