Bears & Jay Cutler In For A Long Day Against The Lions

The Bears chose to bring in Mike Martz this offseason to bolster their offensive attack but if this years preseason was any indication of how the Bears offensive will look this season, it will be an even tougher year for Jay Cutler and Chicago Bears fans.

The Bears finished the preseason will an 0-4 record which isn’t a positive sign for them team but the Colts have done this in the past and seem to always make the playoffs. The Bears struggles could be linked to the poor play of the teams offensive line which has already given up a total of 19 sacks in their four preseason games which was tops among NFL teams.

Jeff Backus played left-tackle for Mike Martz while he was the Lions offensive coordinator and suggested that Cutler will be in for a long day. When asked about comments made by Detroit’s defensive line who said that they are excited to attack Martz offensive line, Backus said, “They should be. Because if they’re doing the same things they did when he was here,” “they’re going to have time to get to the quarterback.”

The Lions led the NFL in allowed sacks while the offense was under Martz’s control. In his two years with the team, the Lions gave up a staggering 117 sacks. Martz’s success came from his days in St. Louis and is considered to be the mind behind the “Greatest Show on Turf.” Martz runs a spread offense which requires the quarterback to longer drop. Because the quarterback needs more time to allow his options to develop, the offensive line is required to buy this time.

The problem for the Bears is that their current offensive line could actually be worse than the Lions unit. Bears left-tackle Chris Williams has struggled with fast pass-rushers who get lower as they come around the corner. The Bears coaching staff  has mentioned that they plan to give Williams more protection if needed but you can only fill so many holes before other lanes open up. The other problem is that they have a young and inexperienced group of wide-receiver who have been given the tall task of learning Martz offense in a matter of months. Even if the Bears offensive is able to buy Cutler the necessary amount of time, there is no guarantee that the receivers will be able to make the offense work.

Hopefully for them they can get some solid play out of a group that has struggled mightily so far.