Maybe the Chicago Bears at 6-6, aren't out of making the playoffs this season. If they want to get in, the team is going to have to turn it around in a hurry. After witnessing the disaster in the Metrodome yesterday, The Bears look like they don't deserve to be in the post-season. The Bears played hard, but dumb at times, and the game turned in a few moments on two or three plays.
Chicago was poised to take command of a 7-3 game when it got down to the 2 yard line. But they couldn't punch it in. Matt Forte, who played admirably for most of the game, looked like a gnat compared to the behemoth Viking linemen.
The Bears tried to score on 4th down and were turned back. The crowd went crazy, and then Gus Frerotte found a streaking Bernard Berrian down the left sideline for a 99 yard scoring play. Vikings take the lead, 10-7, the crowd got so noisy it seemed like the players were going to meltdown. Minny would score again to take a 17-7 lead in half-time, and to this long-time Bears fans, the game looked over.
In fact, I switched to another channel, not wanting to see more punishment. And, when I switched back it was a 17-14 game. The Bears score a TD! But the Vikings answered back when Chester Taylor zoomed for 21 yards into the end-zone for a 24-14 lead. Thoughts of coming back seemed remote now. And, I turned off the game. Later, I checked on the score and the Vikes had tacked on ten more points. Ugh, that's tough.
I have a question: How can the Bears coaching staff run 4 plays into a Vikings defense, that doesn't give up many yards on the ground? Did the coaches think the Bears would win this smash-mouth faceoff? Why not, call a play-action pass, using a fake, to draw in the Viking defenders, then find a receiver in the end zone? He would have been open. The conversative play-calling backfired here. It felt like the Vikes got a turnover. And, what do you do when the offense gets the ball back? They go for the bomb. Bernard Berrian was so wide open, he could have had time to eat a deep-dish pizza. He caught the ball in stride and galloped into the end-zone, and probably crunched on a slice.
The Good News for the Bears? Matt Forte rushed for close to 100 yards against a bruising defensive team. And, he gained over 1000 yards for the season, with 4 games to play. That's a heck of an accomplishment. Brian Urlacher made some plays on defense. The Bears were all over Adrian Petersen and held him to 131 yards. Petersen received so much contact and hits in the game it is amazing he was able to walk off the field. On one play, the Chicago D seemed to contain him, but he broke free of the scrum and broke a long gain. He literally made something out of nothing. Like Payton of the Bears did for so many great years.
The Bears did not play well. Orton looked over-matched in the Metrodome. He threw three interceptions and completed just 11 passes.
The Bears need to regroup after this loss. But, how do you regroup? It looks like Bears might fade into the early December afternoons, after seeing this game. Can they get back on the winning track? They might win next week vs. Jacksonville, then after that, it's a toss-up.
