Offense no longer a liability

[kurutoga]

Disclaimer: I have only watched Bears since 1998.

Other than a brief period in 2008 before Orton hurt his ankle, 2013 would be the only second time the offense always does positive things that potentially lead to a score on every possession without being the luckiest bunch. Of course turnovers and other adversity can happen but we finally have an offense that is not a liability any more. Even in the 2006 season Bears rely too much on special teams/defense IMO.

 

[nvanprooyen]

The beginning of 2006 was pretty exciting offensively. People often forget that Rex was NFC offensive player of the month in September (before all the good / bad Rex shit started).

 

[1rkrage]

yeah Rex was pretty dynamite during that month. like 4 touchdowns each game

 

[Wishbone]

yeah Rex was pretty dynamite during that month. like 4 touchdowns each game

If I remember correctly, we actually saw a microcosm of Good Rex/Bad Rex in the Minnesota game, which I think was the 3rd game of the season. Bears had a slim lead, which Rex proceeded to fuck over by tossing a pick-six at about his own 5 yard line on a horribly botched screen pass attempt.

Then, once we were trailing and needed to go into "comeback" mode, he engineered a pretty good TD drive, about 60 yard drive or so, capped off with a 20 yard TD. Don't remember for sure who caught the pass... might have been Rashied Davis.

so we saw a little bit of that whole roller coaster thing in the course of one game, before it developed into full game atrocities we started seeing every other game.

 

[Runruffshod75]

The beginning of 2006 was pretty exciting offensively. People often forget that Rex was NFC offensive player of the month in September (before all the good / bad Rex shit started).

The only thing I can really hope for here is that unlike Grossman in 2006, Jay has already taken his lumps with the good & the bad. I do expect at least 1 INT from Jay per game at this point, however he has managed to stick with the Bears thus far through some pretty shitty times. Grossman had never really been tested & once teams figured him out he was done.

I remember Jason Taylor after the Bears/Miami game in 2006 & after the loss Taylor stated that the key to stopping Grossman was pretty simple, just blitz the hell out of him, get in his face & he'll screw up under pressure almost every time. Yes, Jay has his own share of misshapes, I wanted to jump off a bridge at certain points of yesterdays game, but he's also managed to win some games behind an O-Line that Grossman wouldn't have made it through 8 games with(I don't believe so anyway). This year really is the first time that Cutler has had similar protection that Grossman had in 2006.

Cutlers play doesn't appear as though it's too good to be true. He is playing good at this point & is showing progress, but his mistakes are obvious to point out, & his level of play is still down to earth. With Grossman in 2006 he was perfect in September, & I know I had been waiting to see how he would answer adversity. Like most Bears fans the feeling of impending doom was there with the QB position no matter how much I tried to ignore it. This year not so much, unless Cutler is injured. IMO, Cutlers play so far, is a lot more down to earth than Grossmans was in 2006.

 

[kurutoga]

The problem in 2006 is offense lacks resilience. In the face of any slight adversaries, Hester/SP/DEF have bail them out. Even if Bears are winning, some of those Grossman throws are worrisome to watch. I did not think the fan/media had confidence in Grossman very soon after the season started despite the record.

To be honest I am still a Grossman fan till today. I wish he had better coaching and better WRs in his early NFL years.

 

[KittiesKorner]

the 2006 tampa game begs to differ.

I wouldn't say our O is no longer a liability yet

 

[nvanprooyen]

The main difference is that w/ Rex, it was a death spiral. Once things started going bad they would generally get worse and worse. Cutler seems to have a pretty short memory. There seems to be this perception of him that once he gets rattled it's all over....although the talking heads seem to be coming around on that one. I suppose 4th quarter comebacks help He has had a few bad games where he never bounced back and played shitty throughout, but so has practically every QB in the NFL.

 

[casinnova]

The main difference is that w/ Rex, it was a death spiral. Once things started going bad they would generally get worse and worse. Cutler seems to have a pretty short memory. There seems to be this perception of him that once he gets rattled it's all over....although the talking heads seem to be coming around on that one. I suppose 4th quarter comebacks help He has had a few bad games where he never bounced back and played shitty throughout, but so has practically every QB in the NFL.

as bad as the bears were in 2011 and 2012 - we were 7-1 and 7-3 before cutler got injured in each of those seasons. 2011 was very disappointing. we had a legit chance to win it all. my prediction for this year is 13-3 and SB win.

 

[Runruffshod75]

the 2006 tampa game begs to differ.

I wouldn't say our O is no longer a liability yet

No I wouldn't either, but for the most part I do think a lot of reasonable Bears fans are pretty grounded on what to expect for the long haul of the season. Grossman did have some good games later in 2006 but never seemed to consistently find his niche after the Arizona game. Following 2006 & after a few games in 2007, I really felt as though the Bears had little to no chance with him under center no matter who they were playing, mostly as 2007 went on & on. Where as right now with Cutler, even though he makes some mistakes that drive me up a wall sometimes, I do feel as though the Bears have a shot to win almost any game before opening kickoff, depending on a number of different circumstances like balancing out the offense with the running game & a good coaching strategy. Some games more than others obviously.

 

[Zion]

The main difference is that w/ Rex, it was a death spiral. Once things started going bad they would generally get worse and worse. Cutler seems to have a pretty short memory. There seems to be this perception of him that once he gets rattled it's all over....although the talking heads seem to be coming around on that one. I suppose 4th quarter comebacks help He has had a few bad games where he never bounced back and played shitty throughout, but so has practically every QB in the NFL.

The big problem with Jay is that he plays like shit against Green Bay. Thats where it all starts and where it all ends with him.

/end thread

 

[Wintermute]

If I remember correctly, we actually saw a microcosm of Good Rex/Bad Rex in the Minnesota game, which I think was the 3rd game of the season. Bears had a slim lead, which Rex proceeded to fuck over by tossing a pick-six at about his own 5 yard line on a horribly botched screen pass attempt.

Then, once we were trailing and needed to go into "comeback" mode, he engineered a pretty good TD drive, about 60 yard drive or so, capped off with a 20 yard TD. Don't remember for sure who caught the pass... might have been Rashied Davis.

so we saw a little bit of that whole roller coaster thing in the course of one game, before it developed into full game atrocities we started seeing every other game.

Yes, Davis caught the pass. I think Tommie Harris disrupted the hand-off, leading to said touchdown. I was at that game and Davis's little "yessssss!" jump in the endzone was my wallpaper for a long time. Dang, it was good to be a Bears fan in the dome that night.

 

[Shepard]

The beginning of 2006 was pretty exciting offensively. People often forget that Rex was NFC offensive player of the month in September (before all the good / bad Rex shit started).

Rex was MVP of the league after week 5 in 2006. He was that good to start the year.

 

[Monster]

Rex was MVP of the league after week 5 in 2006. He was that good to start the year.

And later let go... five weeks does not a champion make....

 

[run and shoot]

Disclaimer: I have only watched Bears since 1998.

Other than a brief period in 2008 before Orton hurt his ankle, 2013 would be the only second time the offense always does positive things that potentially lead to a score on every possession without being the luckiest bunch. Of course turnovers and other adversity can happen but we finally have an offense that is not a liability any more. Even in the 2006 season Bears rely too much on special teams/defense IMO.

For the "O" to NOT be a liability at all....we need to able to get in&out of some games....most games without turnovers. We can't get to the SB with constant turnovers.

 

[Milton Waddams]

The big problem with Jay is that he plays like shit against Green Bay.

The whole offense does. Capers owns the Bears offense. It's weird, b/c their D seems to suck against everyone else. But their corners blanket our WR's and their pass rushers have a field day with our O-Line.

 

[Slacker]

The whole offense does. Capers owns the Bears offense. It's weird, b/c their D seems to suck against everyone else. But their corners blanket our WR's and their pass rushers have a field day with our O-Line.

Capers owned the Lovie Bears offense. I have a feeling with Trestman at the helm it will be a different story.

 

[Jester]

Didn't the offense have 4 trunovers? I would say they can be a liability until they get the turnovers cleaned up. However, I was happy that we do have an offense that can come from behind and win when a game is on the line.