MARK POTASH ON THE BEARS September 10, 2011 10:36PM
CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 22: Jay Cutler #6 of the Chicago Bears hands the ball off to Matt Forte #22 in the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field on November 22, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) R:\Merlin\Getty_Photos\GYI0058989268.jpg
colts at texans
NOOn, Ch. 2 | HOU by 81/2
The last QB other than Peyton Manning to win a game for the Colts: Jim Harbaugh beat Dan Marino?s Dolphins 41-0 in 1997. Potash?s pick: Texans 31-24.
vikings at chargers
3:15 P.m., Fox-32 | SD by 81/2
Last time Adrian Peterson faced the Chargers, he rushed for 296 yards in 35-17 win. Potash?s pick: Chargers 23-21.
cowboys at jets
7:20 P.m., Ch. 5 | NYJ by 5
Jets coach Rex Ryan vs. Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan should be a low-scoring affair ? but it won?t be. Potash?s pick: Jets 31-28.
patriots at dolphins
6 p.m. Mon., ESPN | NE by 7
With a lot of new faces, Patriots and QB Tom Brady might need some time to warm up. Potash?s pick: Patriots 17, Dolphins 14.
raiders at broncos
9:15 MON., ESPN | DEN by 3
Both teams have new coaches, but John Fox?s experience is making a difference. With return of Elvis Dumervil, Broncos defense will be much-improved. Potash?s pick: Broncos 31-17.
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Updated: September 11, 2011 12:25AM
At what point do you get wary about an offense that always sounds better than it looks?
When Bears quarterback Jay Cutler talked about the players? comfort level in the second year of the Mike Martz offense, it was an easy sell.
??Everyone is a lot more comfortable,?? Cutler said this week. ??There?s less thinking involved. It?s a tough offense to learn. [But] everyone is a lot more comfortable with their assignments and what?s expected of them.??
But Cutler also said something about the offense that raised a little red flag.
??But it?s only the second year in this offense,?? he said, ??so we?re still growing in that area.??
Only the second year in this offense? Ugh! Unless the Bears? defense shuts everybody out, it?s unlikely Chicago fans will have patience for that. And frankly, in their heart-of-hearts, it?s unlikely that Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman and Julius Peppers have patience for it, either.
It?s unfair to implement a zero-tolerance policy on excuses for Mike Martz?s offense this season. But is it too much to ask that the offensive line jells, that Cutler connects with his receivers and that Matt Forte and the running game blossom, like, by the end the month? Is it too much to expect that the offense not just be better, but actually good?
??Our whole objective, obviously, is to score points. We need to do that,?? Martz said. ??We need to score more points than we did last year. We got going pretty good at the end of year, but consistency is important.??
Consistency. Continuity. Experience. A franchise quarterback. A No. 1 receiver. There?s always something.
Why is it so difficult to build a good offense in Chicago? Even the magical Rex Grossman-led offense of 2006 seemed like a mirage after the Bears routed the San Francisco 49ers 41-10 in Week??8 that year. In Gary Crowton?s first year as offensive coordinator, the Bears ranked eighth in the NFL in total offense using three quarterbacks, but they were 25th in scoring and finished 6-10. Erik Kramer had one of the best seasons for a Bears quarterback in modern history in 1995 (29 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, a 93.5 rating). But he couldn?t finish in close games down the stretch, and the 9-7 Bears didn?t even make the playoffs.
And now, Martz?s offense needs to take that leap in 2011 or risk falling into the same black hole that enveloped Crowton?s once-promising offense a decade ago. While Crowton never had Martz?s NFL r�sum�, it?s worth pointing out that at this point in 2000, Crowton was so popular after the Bears jumped from 23rd to third in the NFL in passing and 21st to eighth in total yards that he had interviewed for the New England Patriots job that went to Bill Belichick.
But by November, Crowton?s popularity had bottomed out when he left the Bears to take the head coaching job at BYU, his offense exposed as being no different than any other in the NFL ? it needs good players to be successful. As good as it sounded, there was always something.
Martz has a better chance of avoiding that fate because Jay Cutler is better than Cade McNown, and Matt Forte is better than James Allen.
But does Martz need more than that? His reputation as an offensive mastermind is built upon a foundation of Hall of Fame players. His St. Louis Rams offense led the NFL in points and yards in 1999, 2000 and 2001 with Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.
I don?t doubt Martz?s genius. But without that Hall of Fame core, his best work in the NFL has been making mediocre offenses better. Not good ? just better.
That?s where he?s at with the Bears. Being better will help. But being good might be necessary. A good defense keeps you in every game, but a good offense can end some of them early ? a luxury the Bears never seem to have. Their defense isn?t old, but as Urlacher noted this week, it is getting older. If the defense has to play at a fever pitch from start to finish each game, it?s not a stretch to consider that it might fade in December.
And then we?d have to wait until 2012, when Cutler and Co. will be even more comfortable in the third year of Martz?s system. And it?ll be the defense that has to start revamping. And around and around she goes .?.?.
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