Who is to blame for the Chicago Bears struggles?

As Chicago Bears fans look for who is to blame after another embarrassing loss, this on a 41-28 beating at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. While there is much blame to go around, the simple fact is that there is not much talent on the roster. I mean sure you have Matt Forte, Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Marshall, and Matellus Bennett, but that’s where the buck stops. The Chicago Bears came into this season wondering if the new and improved defense would help the team make it to the playoffs, but now there are even more questions than ever for this team. Is Jay Cutler worth the money he is being paid? Is Marc Tressman the right coach to lead the Bears to the playoffs? And where do they go from here? The biggest question is how did we get here? After Lovie Smith Chicago seemed to have everything needed to make a playoff push, but now it seems that the organization may be in worse shape than ever

When things are not going as planned more often than not the quarterback takes most of the blame. In Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s situation he has been a big reason to which the Bears offense has performed so poorly this season. After posting the NFL’s 2^nd highest ranked scoring offense a year ago, the Bears offense seems as if they can barely move the ball this season. Before we talk about bad Jay we must first take a look at some of the reasons he has played so poorly. The Chicago Bears currently rank 26^th in the league in rushing. While it may seem that the Bears are not rushing the ball enough, the team has been part of 4 games in which they were down double digit points in the first half. Jay may not be handing the ball off to Matt Forte as much as last season, but he is finding him in other ways. Forte not only leads the team in rushing (854 yards), but he also leads the team in receptions (86). The Bears offense has settled for short dink and dunk passing plays rather than the deep threats of years past. There has been much discussion that Jay has trouble reading zones defenses, which the team has faced during much of the season. With all of the troubles with Jay Cutler he still ranks 5^th this season in passing yards (3446). After signing a contract extension before the season the Chicago Bears will have to deal with Jay Cutler for years to come.

Once the Bears organization decided to part ways with head coach Lovie Smith, GM Phil Emery had many decisions to make. Who should become the new head coach, how will they perform with Jay Cutler, and would they have to rebuild? The Bears found themselves in NFL hell, too much talent to rebuild and not good enough to make it work with a new coach. The team has not found a suitable replacement for Brian Urlacher at middle linebacker. Lance Briggs has shown that he is unable to lead the defense over the past couple of years. Phil Emery as GM of the Chicago Bears has continued to miss in the draft on the defensive side of the ball. Shea McClellin and Jon Bostic have shown to be bust by an organization which has been known for being a good defensive team. Emery has never addressed the safety position which has been neglected since the loss of Mike Brown. Rather than upgrade the position, the team instead choose to again start Chris Conte who not only is known for his bad pass coverage, but also bad tackles.

Mel Tucker also has to shoulder some of the blame. Week after week to defense seems to be unprepared and unsure of its identity. Tucker shows a lack of creativity, especially against some of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. While injuries have played a big part, and missing the likes of Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman have not helped. After spending millions of dollars in the offseason to improve the defensive line, there has been no improvement. While Willie Young has been the lone bright spot with(8.5 sacks), none of the other off season moves have worked out. Lamarr Houston produced only one sack on the season, a sack in which he was lost for the season after being injured after celebrating afterwards. Jarad Allen has not made the plays which the Bears organization brought him in for. This defense may be in need of a complete overhaul.

Now on to head coach Marc Tressman. The man who was brought in to not only improve the Bears offense, but to turn Jay Cutler into a top 5 quarter back. The team seems to be undisciplined in all phases of the game under Tressman this season. Jay Cutler seems to be in shut down mode. The running game is almost nonexistent. The strangest part is that the big play has not been there this season. The Bears offense has only 2 rushes and 38 pass plays of 20 yards or more. Compare that to teams which played against the Bears. The Chicago Bears opponents have put up 9 rushing and 51 pass plays of over 20 yards or more against the Bears defense. There seems to be no answers to the team’s problems which only seem to be getting worst. One issue has to be the lack of a consistent running game. While the team has been down double digit points early in many of their games this season, the team has to continue to run the football to keep the opposing defense guessing. Coach Tressman has also shown a lack of clock management during games this season.

So as a Chicago Bears fan you may ask where do we go from here? They may want to take a page out of the Chicago Cubs playbook in the offseason. The team will need to pay attention to the Jim Harbaugh situation with the San Francisco 49ers. The Bears organization needs a coach to bring in discipline and a winning attitude to the team. It is the perfect match for both sides. Another question is what you do with Jay Cutler. More than ever it seems that the league has figured out Cutler and the Bears offense. Jay seems to struggle moving the ball down the field against zone coverage. Going into this year’s offseason the Chicago Bears have more questions than answers. Who will be the coach next season? If not Jay Cutler then who? Stay tuned Bears fans, things may only get worst from here.