Okay, so I was pissed off and frustrated yesterday and really couldn't respond with a clear mind. I got up this morning, went right back to my DVR, and replayed the entire game. Here were my observatiions:
Grossman played very well in the first half of yesterday's game. I was incredibly frustrated with him yesterday, but I really think that it was frustration with the whole team being projected on to Grossman. His passes in the first half were spot-on. The only clear mistake that he made was the fumbled snap from center. That has to be stopped. He dropped off a little bit in the second half and the interception was a big mistake. Berrian might have run a bad route, but it was not a good pass either. Overall, I thought that Grossman's performance was his best of the preseason, and sadly it was one of the only highlights of yesterday's game.
Griese played well again. His passes were accurate though unspectacular. He was impressive, but honestly if you scout only the player in yesterday's game and not the whole team, Grossman did just about as well as Griese. The two perfect passes that hit Berrian and Muhammad in the hands and were dropped would have made Grossman's performance look very different.
My conclusion after rewatching the entire game play-by-play is that the QB position actually performed quite well for the Bears against Arizona.
Now the bad... EVERYTHING ELSE!
The Offensive line had a HORRID game. The penalties were absolutely absurd. I wholeheartedly believe that if not for the penalties the starting ofense could very easily have scored a TD or maybe 2. That kind of lack of discipline from a veteran offensive line is RIDICULOUS. I am going to put this one on Lovie and his training camp. The entire time this team has been talking like they are going to the superbowl and taking it easy in camp as if they have everything down. They do not! Lovie has to get this fixed ASAP.
Secondly, the run blocking has been non-existent for the starting unit in 3 games. They are not opening holes and giving the RBs nothing to work with. If the starting Oline continues to play this poorly, I unfortunately see this year becoming a repeat of 2002. IMO, the Oline singlehandedly takes the biggest blame for the inefficiency of this offense so far. It's just inexcusable from a group of veterans.
The defense...again looked horrible. Okay, that might be an exxageration, but given the expectations they did look horrible. This is a defense that is supposed to be the best in the league, but so far teams have freely converted on 3rd and very long. It's not even difficult for them. It was distubring to see the ease with which the Cardinals could get down the field against the Bears. If the Bears are not a top 5 defense this year, it's going to be a long season.
As for special teams...I honestly expected more of the coverage teams. They have been decent, but they have given up quite a few big returns. The long one from last night was called back due to holding, but honestly that was poor coverage. I really expected more and still hope for better. The kicking and returns have looked good, IMO. I have no real complaints about that aspect.
In conclusion, the whole team has a lot of work left. The performance of the team was very disappointing. I thought both QBs did a good job, but I really can't say that of anyone else (okay fine, Robbie Gould).
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