Chicago Bears: down but not yet out

The Chicago Bears are at a season’s crossroads.

They can either band together amid all of the challenges they face, much like the 2010 Green Bay Packers, who won the Super Bowl despite placing fifteen players on season-ending Injured Reserve, or fly South for the Winter.

“Brave men triumph in adversity just as brave soldiers triumph in war”

—Roman Philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca

It does not take an M.D. in football to diagnose the Bears’ situation as dire.  Following Sunday’s 45-41 loss to the Washington Redskins in which the Bears frittered away a lead in the game’s final minute, QB Jay Cutler and defensive leader LB Lance Briggs were diagnosed with injuries that will sideline them for at least four weeks.  The soul of the Bears’ defense, CB Charles Tillman, who has missed one game already due to injury, finished Sunday’s game on the sidelines with a nagging knee ailment that will be re-evaluated after the Bears’ bye week.

Sunday’s wounded join DT’s starter Henry Melton and his replacement Nate Collins, starting MLB D.J. Williams and last year’s nickel back Kelvin Hayden, whose season-ending injuries landed them on Injured Reserve.  Moreover, NT Stephen Paea missed two games with a foot injury before returning to face the Redskins.

The injuries have forced erstwhile DE Corey Wooton, who tallied seven sacks last year, to play the last three games as a grossly undersized interior lineman, neutralizing his pass rush ability (he has .5 sacks through seven games).  Last year’s first-round selection, DE Shea McClellin, has started the last three games in Wooton’s place and has recorded zero sacks (he tallied .5 sacks in the Bears’ Week One victory).  Rookie Jonathan Bostic started in Williams’ place at MLB and took over play calling responsibilities when Briggs exited.  It is unknown whether the Bears will employ special teams ace and veteran Blake Costanzo, 2013 fourth round draft pick Khaseem Greene or perhaps another acquisition to replace the injured Briggs.

The rash of injuries has decimated the Bears’ defense.  The Redskins became the third team in four weeks to run roughshod over the Bears.  They ran 43 times for 209 yards (4.9 yards/carry) following the Giants (26 times for 123 yard for 4.7 yards/carry) and the Lions (30 times for 159 times for 5.3 yards/carry).

The Bears now rank 25th defensively, yielding a staggering 391 yards/game, which would represent their worst defensive production since at least the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.  They are allowing the highest number of yards per pass attempt in the league and have the third fewest sacks at nine.

In a league where injuries to key players are par for the course, no team is going to take out a pity collection for the Bears.  They can either view their adverse circumstances as an opportunity to exceed expectations or an excuse to crumble.

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“Always seek the seed of triumph in every adversity”

—Famous American author  Augustine “Og” Mandino II

We are going to take the contrarian view that those reading the 2013 Bears their last rites are being premature.

Cutler’s injury appears to be manageable.  After replacing Cutler against Washington, Bears’ backup Josh McCwon completed 14 of 20 passes for 204 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 94.6.  The Bears’ offensive line that has yielded a near league low eleven sacks remains intact.  All of the Bears’ offensive playmakers remain healthy, including RB Matt Forte, who ranks third in the league in yards from scrimmage, averaging 113.5 per game.