Noots’ Notes Game 5: 21-14 Loss at Atlanta
Noots’ Notes-Game 5: 21-14 Loss at Atlanta
By
Michael Nudo
The Bears (3-2) were outplayed and outcoached by the Falcons (4-1) in a 21-14 loss on Sunday night in Atlanta.
Opportunity squandered (AP Photo/Dave Martin).
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Jay Cutler (27-43-300, 2 TD, 2 Int, 3/34) had an up and down performance. His first interception was in the red zone but was a heck of a diving play by the safety over the middle. His second pick was a poor overthrow that was intended for Greg Olsen over the deep middle of the field. Apart from those miscues, he threw a perfect 23-yard touchdown over the shoulder of Johnny Knox and a sweet touchdown pass in the middle of the end zone for Greg Olsen. His 30-yard scramble was the only lipstick on the pig that is the Bears’ rushing attack. GRADE: C
Running Backs
Matt Forte (15/23, 2 Fumbles, 5-37) had a long run of 5 yards. He put the ball on the ground twice, losing one of them near the goal line. Horrible. Maybe my math is wrong, but I believe he has put the ball on the ground 4 times in 5 games. Jason McKie actually made a few nice blocks, but there was so much carnage around him that it didn’t really matter. Garrett Wolfe saw limited duty and had 3 carries for 15 yards. GRADE: D-
Receivers
Devin Hester (6-83, 2/11) had a solid performance, including a 34-yarder over the middle in the fourth quarter. Johnny Knox (3-34, TD) had another touchdown. Earl Bennett (4-57) held on for a few key receptions in spite of taking some big hits. Tight end Greg Olsen (5-57) had the longest reception, a 41-yarder. He also drew a key penalty. But Olsen’s poor blocking led to a sack of Cutler. Desmond Clark (3-32) had a big 23-yard catch. Overall, the receivers played well. GRADE: B
Offensive Line
Although Halloween is still a couple weeks off, this was a real horror show. Left guard Frank Omiyale had a false start, a holding penalty, and countless poor run blocks. He’s continually getting our running back stuffed behind the line. Orlando Pace had a holding penalty and a false start on 4th and 1 with the game on the line. Olin Kreutz had numerous missed run blocks that blew up the play. The Falcons’ tackles were not supposed to be that kind of a challenge. Chris Williams allowed the pressure that led to one of the two sacks. This thing is broken. As I see it, Josh Beekman would give the Bears an upgrade at either left guard or center right now. Pass blocking was slightly below average. Run blocking was abysmal. GRADE: D
DEFENSE
Defensive Line
Matt Ryan was kept clean. He threw the ball out quickly. The line can have a bit of a pass there if they were making plays against the run and getting their hands up to deflect the pass. They were stout in run support. They held Michael Turner to 30 rushing yards. Everyone got into the act on the run, especially Marcus Harrison, Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown. Another game, another one-tackle performance for Tommie Harris. They’re getting nothing from him, and this was one of his better games this season. GRADE: C
Linebackers
Nick Roach and Lance Briggs were demons against the run. But it looked like it was mostly Roach’s responsibility when Tony Gonzalez was wide open for a 10-yard touchdown reception. There’s no excuse for being that open on such a short pass. Pisa Tinoisamoa got the start and had to leave again with another apparent knee injury. Jamar Williams stepped back in and did a decent job. These guys did a really good job of filling the gaps to stop the run. GRADE: B
Secondary
Zach Bowman (3 tackles, INT, PD) had a bounce back game collecting a pick and being a sure tackler. Charles Tillman also played well. Safety Al Afalava had a good breakup in coverage against Gonzalez. Danieal Manning and Kevin Payne saw considerable action but neither were positive factors. Payne, Manning and Roach each appeared to have a shot at Gonzalez on his touchdown. Manning was alertly able to collect a loose ball after Nathan Vasher came up with an interception. Zone coverage was much tighter than in previous contests. GRADE: C
Special Teams
Robbie Gould had good distance on all of his kickoffs. Brad Maynard put 3 of 4 kicks down inside the 20. Coverage was poor, however. The Bears allowed a 62-yard kickoff return. Devin Hester returned 3 punts for 54 yards. Johnny Knox did a good job on his two kickoff returns. Jamar Williams committed a holding penalty. The Bears allowed a 3rd down conversion because they had 12 men on the field for a punt return. GRADE: D
Coaching
How long? How long do we have to endure Frank Omiyale at guard? What about Tommie Harris at defensive tackle? Twelve men on the field on Special Teams? How was Gonzalez so open on that touchdown? There were three guys there and he ran right past them all, and they still had the back of the end zone as an additional defender and couldn’t get that right. A 40-yard touchdown pass to White was allowed because the Bears were not ready for the play. They clearly didn’t have enough players matched up with the receivers before the snap of the ball. Coaching. Nice call on the middle screen. The Bears were outhit and outcoached on Sunday night. They outgained the Falcons 373-253 and still came up on the short end of the stick because of 9 penalties and a handful of turnovers. This played right into the Falcons’ mode of operations from last year and this year. Give up lots of yardage but don’t give up lots of points. Don’t make any mistakes. Win the game. Outcoached. GRADE: D
Noots’ Nut Crackers
Tinoisamoa on Turner
Williams on Bennett
Babineaux on Forte
Nudo’s Kudos
Hester
Briggs
Horns
Omiyale
Kreutz
Forte
Entire Coaching Staff
October 20th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Spot on Noots