LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears' offense
needs to regain its balance, for Jay Cutler's sake if nothing else.
Cutler was sacked six times Sunday in a 30-13 loss
to the New Orleans Saints and the Bears had no running game to bail him out.
The Bears (1-1) now find themselves in two familiar
positions after two weeks: leading the NFL in sacks allowed (11) and trying to
find a way to blend the running game with the passing game as they head into
Sunday's showdown at Soldier Field against the Green Bay Packers (2-0).
"We can't win football games with that kind of
balance," coach Lovie Smith said Monday. "I'm talking about running/pass.
Protection-wise, we gave up too many sacks in the fourth quarter but if you
look at the game, we didn't give up any sacks until the second half, so there
are some positive things we did early on."
There were very few positives, though, and Cutler
even got kicked in the throat, making it hard to talk after the game or call
signals. The offensive line was revamped because Cutler absorbed 52 sacks last
season, all but four of the team's league-high 56.
The lack of any running game to help slow the pass
rush had something to do with the offensive line's struggles.
Offensive coordinator Mike Martz called for 52 pass
plays and only 11 running plays against the blitz-happy Saints. The Bears wound
up with 12 runs because Cutler had to scramble once, matching the third-fewest
runs all-time in a single game for the Bears.
"When you play a team like that, that's what
you want to do: run and pass," Smith said. "When they're blitzing
like that a lot of times you want to hit a crease and be able to get a big play
in. Going into the game we thought we would be able to get a few more."
However, Martz abandoned the run quickly, much like
he did last year in the first half of the season before the Bears won eight of
their last 10 games with a balanced attack. Running back Matt Forte, who had a
personal-best 10 receptions to lead the team Sunday, made the same number of
rushes.
"Surprised? Yeah," Forte said when the
stat was brought to his attention.
"Ten rushes is not really a whole lot. But
when you get behind pretty quick in the second half, I think the mindset was to
pass the ball and try to get big chunks of yardage back or get a quick score in
the passing game."
Still, the Bears ran seven times in the first half
and only five more after halftime. They didn't fall more than three points
behind until the middle of the third quarter when Cutler fumbled after a
blind-side sack.
Smith became a bit testy when questioned over the
balancing act and was asked if he talks with Martz about the subject.
"Yeah, we speak a little bit from time to
time," Smith said. "Yes, I have. I'm not going to sit here and tell
you the reason why, I'm just going to tell you we have to get the balance a lot
better and we will. We didn't do that yesterday for a lot of different
reasons."
Martz is unavailable to the media after games and
only speaks after Wednesday practices.
Part of the reason for Cutler being sacked so much
could have to do with injuries.
Rookie right tackle Gabe Carimi went out of
Sunday's game with a right knee sprain, while guard Lance Louis suffered a
sprained ankle the previous game and sat out. Playing with reserve tackle Frank
Omiyale and backup guard/center Chris Spencer proved too much for the line to
handle in a noisy Superdome, where former center Olin Kreutz was starting for
the Saints.
Smith wasn't sure of the status of his two linemen,
but said neither injury is of the season-ending variety.
The Bears had another problem offensively that
stemmed from injuries and led to sacks: Wide receiver Earl Bennett suffered a
bruised chest and left the game. With wide receiver Roy Williams already out
with a groin strain, the Bears were without two players adept at pre-snap reads
of blitzes, so Cutler was having trouble finding open receivers.
Starter Devin Hester caught just one pass, and that
didn't happen until there were 12 minutes left in the game.
"It's tough when we lose some of our key
players," Hester said. "At the receiver spot, we normally have a nice
rotation going."
Hester couldn't put all the blame on the injuries.
"Really, we've just got to get better when
those situations come up," he said. "We've got to adjust to it."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
(AP
Photo/Bill Feig)
