Emma: The Bears Got Exposed
By Chris Emma--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Following the terrible tenure of Marc Trestman in Chicago, the Bears brought in a quality, veteran coaching staff to bring competence back to a lethargic locker room. These were drastic changes from the miserable 2014 season.
But the problem is this: Even the wittiest of Adam Gase game plans and Vic Fangio schemes and the best of John Fox fixes aren't enough to overcome an overall lack of team talent. Such was the case in Sunday's ugly 48-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals and coach Bruce Arians, whom the Bears passed on for Trestman two-and-a-half years ago.
Week 2 brought a different feeling than Week 1, when it seemed the Bears would be competitive and watchable. That all changed when quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a pulled hamstring Sunday. Those sentiments went flying like so many overthrows that followed. Chicago lost its ability to be competent as a result. The Bears were brutally exposed.
In this ugly defeat, Chicago set a franchise record for most points allowed in a home game and the most penalty yards, with 170 in total.
"A lot of things we need to clean up and fix," Fox said.
Linebacker Jared Allen added: "It's frustrating, it's disheartening, and we got to get it corrected."
What made the Bears competitive against the Packers was coaching. They had tremendous schemes to counter their rival's top-tier talent, and the players executed much of the time.
Gase has proved to be the Bears' best defense thus far, putting together a game plan that saw his offense control time of possession and keep Aaron Rodgers off the field last week. When Cutler went down Sunday, the offense was unable to maintain its competence.
Led by backup Jimmy Clausen, the Bears had nine offensive possessions. Of those, they managed to maintain the football for just 13:22 on the clock, running only 40 plays for a net total of 119 yards (penalties included). The Cardinals weren't perfect on offense but still held the ball for 17:37 and ended three of those seven series in the end zone with touchdowns. Chicago settled for three Robbie Gould field goals without Cutler.
Basically, the Bears lost their greatest assets on offense -- balance and clock control. Without Cutler, the offense couldn't function right. For all the criticism Cutler takes, the offense isn't the same without him. Gase couldn't make Matt Forte a threat and had to eliminate the zone-read option. The hopes were essentially on Clausen's arm, and he couldn't come through.
"I felt like the air was deflated a little bit," Clausen said.
With the Cutler-less offense out of sync, pressure was put on the Bears' defense, and that's a bad thing. The unit still stands without a quarterback sack, but that's far from the greatest concern. Chicago's secondary is in disarray, with 2014 first-round cornerback Kyle Fuller benched for a player picked 240 picks after him, seventh-rounder Terrance Mitchell.
Carson Palmer and the Cardinals picked apart Fuller, Alan Ball and the Bears' secondary, with 11-year veteran Larry Fitzgerald recording three touchdowns and looking to be in the prime of his career again, at least for this Sunday.
Halftime brought the Bears to the locker room trailing 28-20, but the harsh realities had already hit. Without Cutler, they didn't stand a chance.
"We just kind of laid down," Bears linebacker Pernell McPhee said.
What the Bears so desperately needed when Cutler went down was for their offense to manage the game and defense to stand strong. Momentary hope came when the Bears cut the deficit to 28-17 and Allen deflected a Palmer pass and picked it off at the 11-yard line. They went just six yards before settling for yet another field goal.
Already a liability with time of possession controlled, the Bears' defense became simply serviceable and hopes went haywire in record fashion for a franchise that's played football since 1920.
"S--t, overall, it just kind of got out of hand," tight end Martellus Bennett said.
It doesn't get any easier. Chicago goes to Seattle next week for a date with the defending NFC champion Seahawks.
Now two losses into his Bears coaching career, Fox referenced how his team must maintain a "next-man-up mentality" moving forward. There are injuries -- from Cutler to Alshon Jeffery and more -- and many more underperforming players. The reality is that next man up for the Bears is likely to be a player not meant to be in a starting role.
Years of bad drafting from Jerry Angelo and Phil Emery put the franchise in this futile position, even more so than the troubles of Marc Trestman's tumultuous tenure. It's the job of Fox and general manager Ryan Pace to build the Bears a winner.
Sunday reminded us how far away the Bears are from consistent winning -- or even continued competence.
Follow Chris on Twitter @CEmma670.
