Oct. 19--Perhaps with more time to reflect on Sunday's now we got 'em, now we don't breakdown, John Fox will come to believe a little more time on the clock would have come in handy.
The immediate reaction of the Bears coach after a 37-34 overtime loss was that the offense did a heck of a job going 69 yards in three plays to kick a field goal and force overtime after the Lions had rolled off 10 points in a span of 2minutes, 21 seconds.
Sure, that was impressive. But instead of lining up Robbie Gould for a 29-yard field goal with four seconds remaining, the Bears could have taken a shot or two at the end zone had Fox used his timeouts on the Lions' previous possession. He also had the option of declining a 10-second runoff on an intentional-grounding penalty on that same drive. Add it all up and the Bears could have had 30 more seconds.
Late in the game against the previously winless Lions, Fox got conservative with game management and offensive coordinator Adam Gase did likewise with his play-calling on third-and-4 from the Bears 25 with 2:35 remaining. With Alshon Jeffery finally unleashed, a Matt Forte run was bottled up and the Lions got the ball back after it looked like Jim Caldwell was the most buttoned-down coach in the building. Trailing by seven with less than three minutes to play, Caldwell opted for a 32-yard field goal on fourth-and-4.
It worked out for Caldwell and the Lions, while Fox can choose to second-guess himself or not while sorting through tape with his 2-4 team entering a week off.
"Hindsight, which we all get to do, we wish we probably would have had 10 more seconds," Fox said.
The reality is the Bears aren't a good enough team to make a variety of errors in all phases, coaching included, and beat even a short-handed Lions bunch that was 0-5 and incurring the wrath of the city's sports talk radio, which has advocated for the firing of pretty much everyone from general manager Martin Mayhew on down.
The wounds of the 0-16 season in 2008 are too fresh. These fans know well how to protest the product.
The positive spin for the Bears is that it's a case of two steps forward with wins in the previous two weeks over the Raiders and Chiefs and one step backward. For a transitioning organization, there will be Sundays such as this.
The Lions were missing their top two tight ends, running back Joique Bell and three defensive cogs in lineman Haloti Ngata, linebacker DeAndre Levy and strong safety James Ihedigbo.
But the Bears created too many errors to take advantage of their depleted foe, the worst being leaving points on the field in the red zone. The offense reached the red zone eight times, seven if you discount the one with four seconds remaining, and scored only three touchdowns. Twenty-three snaps in the red zone produced 50 yards with one offensive pass interference and one defensive holding. Jay Cutler was 4-for-10, including an 11-yard dart to Jeffery for a touchdown and an interception on a poorly thrown fade.
"We went up and down the field pretty well," Cutler said. "We've just got to be better in the red zone."
Special teams produced two takeaways on muffs by the Lions but inexplicably allowed punt protector Isa Abdul-Quddus to take a direct snap and scoot 30 yards around left end on a fourth-and-2 fake punt with 5:18 remaining.
"We knew to be alert for the fake; the guys on the end, we crashed down trying to prevent them from going up the middle," said rookie wide receiver Cameron Meredith, one of the guys on the end. "They might have known. When we crashed, he went on the outside."
The defense allowed 546 total yards, and wide receiver Calvin Johnson put up 166 yards. It was his biggest game in nearly two years, the result of coverage and a lackluster pass rush. Matthew Stafford was able to keep too many plays alive by evading the pocket. The Bears have only three interceptions and none by a defensive back, an ongoing theme for a roster short on defensive playmakers.
But Jeffery's long-awaited return from a hamstring injury provided a glimpse of the levels the offense can reach. He sure didn't look like a guy who has missed eight of the last 10 weeks going back to the preseason as he had 147 yards.
Fill-in left tackle Charles Leno continued to impress with a strong showing against Ziggy Ansah, who came in tied for the NFL lead with five sacks and produced little.
"A bunch of missed opportunities," Forte summarized. "The game was basically given to us."
There are a lot of opportunities to learn, and the Bears have time on their side now with a week off.
bmbiggs@tribpub.com
