Bears-Chiefs, Battle of Wounded Knee

Lineman Henry Melton said it best:

 

“We should’ve beaten that team.  Everybody knows that.”

 

Yes, the Bears should have.  But they did more than lose.  They lost their running back and lost their way.  They’re as disconnected as the erector set I prematurely bought me two-year old son—which is somewhat analogous to the way Mike Martz is calling plays for Caleb Hanie.

 

Yes, Hanie looks awful behind center.  But much of the blame still needs to be put on Mike Martz for continuously calling seven-step drops and the offensive line which right now looks like it couldn’t block the D-line from Carl Sandburg High.

 

The Bears have won every game this season when they’ve run the ball 27 times or more.  Today against Kansas City’s 26^th ranked run defense they ran it 23 times.   Kahlil Bell ran off a few long runs for an 8.5 ypc avg but incredulously Martz only called for him to carry the rock four times even at the end when they were down by only one touchdown.

 

Martz is enamored with his system which is complex, stretches the field and gives the quarterback multiple options to pick apart the defense.   That’s fine for Kurt Warner.  Not Caleb Hanie and this line.

 

But to blame Martz entirely wouldn’t be fair.  Lovie Smith said it was basically the worst loss of the season and you can’t blame all that on one coordinator, though the defense again did its job limiting the Chiefs to 252 yards and one turnover.   

 

But now the offense is in real trouble.  With Forte out beating the drum for more running plays won’t resonate nearly as much.  And if I’m Forte playing in a contract year looking for a big contract, I’m not setting foot on the field for the rest of this year.  Forte was dangerously close to losing millions of dollars had his sprain become a tear.  Why would he risk his career for a team that he feels isn’t paying him market value and really has no chance of beating Green Bay?  For that matter, why would Cutler come back when he knows the Bears have as much chance of beating Green Bay as I do with getting a date with Jennifer Aniston?

 

The Bears could still make the playoffs but that’s not their goal this year.  It’s Super Bowl or Bust.  And unfortunately it appears that goal has bitten the dust.