Cutler’s decision making has never been the aspect of his game to intrigue NFL personnel people. Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Quarterbacks with bionic arm strength aren’t destined to be great unless they can deliver an equal amount of brain power.
In losing 17-15 to the Denver Broncos, the new Chicago Bears braintrust at least gained more knowledge to file away for making decisions about the future of their quarterback position.
Jay Cutler generally performed well enough to win the game, considering he faced the top-ranked pass defense in the league. He had the Bears at the doorstep of tying it with 24 seconds remaining.
If only it were just that simple.
Cutler took the Bears downfield in the closing minutes just as he had done in three wins against the other AFC West teams this season. Yet on the goal line he checked out of a pass play and into a running play against a Broncos front that held Chicago running backs to 57 rushing yards on 22 attempts.
“He had two checks between two different plays,” running back Jeremy Langford said. “That’s what he saw, so we’ve got to go with it.”
So Langford, a rookie running back, plowed forward on the right side behind guard Patrick Omameh, a waiver wire pickup after preseason, and tackle Kyle Long, who didn’t play his position until opening day, and center Hroniss Grasu, who was injured the previous three weeks and starting his third NFL game. Apparently some of the players didn’t pick up the check. Grasu was back a few steps in pass-block mode and several other blockers were badly beaten.
Not surprisingly, Langford met stiff resistance and came up a yard short.
“With scheme, we have a lot of options throughout this offense – first, second, third down,” Cutler said. “That play, we just didn’t execute as well as we wanted to and didn’t get the job done.”
Cutler said he didn’t want to get into details of the decision, but it involved the coverage he saw, as well as “… box counts, there’s shade looks,” he said. “There’s all kinds of stuff throughout the offense that we try to take advantage of. I think we got, kind of, a favorable look. We just didn’t get it done.”
Changing a two-point conversion to a run from a pass because of “… kind of, a favorable look,” against the league’s seventh-best run defense and with an offensive line in a perpetual state of flux seems a bad decision.
“Cutler saw something and it’s really up to me to just find (a way) to get into the end zone,” Langford said. “As a group we’ve really got to get better at that situation.”
“That situation” is the red zone and, especially, the goal line. The Bears came into the game ranked 28th in red zone touchdown conversion percentage (43.3). Cutler was ranked 23rd in the league in red zone quarterback rating.
“This isn’t anything new for our group,” Cutler said. “We’ve had some red zone problems throughout the year. We’ve got to look at that.
“In the red zone everything is a little bit tighter, everything is a little bit quicker.”
Those facts taken into account, the decision to go with the run rather than take it upon his own shoulders and throw seems even less prudent.
Then again, Cutler’s decision making has never been the aspect of his game to intrigue NFL personnel people.
The last Bears coaching staff and one before that could cite numerous examples of this.
Cutler’s passer rating heading into the game had been the highest it’s ever been, and his judgment of targets has obviously improved under offensive coordinator Adam Gase.
Red zone efficiency will no doubt improve when Cutler has a line which has played together a while – Sunday’s start was the first one for that offensive line grouping in a season when five different starting lines have been used.
Getting back some of his weapons won’t hurt, either. Running back Matt Forte could be back in time for the Packers game Thursday night, and having wide receiver Alshon Jeffery return from groin and shoulder injuries always is important in the red zone.
“Yeah, we’re missing some guys, but that’s nothing new,” Cutler said. “We’ve had guys in and out of the lineup all year long.”
At some point, though, it’s the decision maker on the field – and not all the factors going into making the decision – which must be taken into account.
Coaches and GM Ryan Pace have six more games, including one Thursday night in Green Bay, to get a better handle on making their own decision for the future about their own on-field decision maker.
REPORT CARD VS. BRONCOS
PASSING OFFENSE: C-plus – Jay Cutler accounted for plenty of passing yards in the second half (222), and had 73 more second-half yards through the passing game on defensive penalties when the Broncos interfered with tight end Martellus Bennett three times. But in the first half Cutler seemed uncomfortable in the pocket or was under pressure. The Broncos generated a decent pass rush despite missing DeMarcus Ware, and one of Cutler’s turnovers occurred because he was hit throwing and fumbled it forward. His interception was all his own fault for underthrowing and letting a trailing defender have the chance to cut off the ball. Wide receiver Marquess Wilson had 102 yards receiving on four catches, but couldn’t shake anyone in crucial four plays at the goal line.
RUSHING OFFENSE: D – The only redeeming aspects of this effort on the ground was Cutler scrambling for 29 yards and Jeremy Langford’s 2-yard touchdown run to give the Bears a chance for the tie in the closing seconds. Denver’s run defense is stout, but finding ways to come up with a few crucial yards at critical times was a problem. Losing Ka’Deem Carey to a concussion did not help as he was enjoying a better day with a slashing style against Denver’s defense. Another factor was the offensive line changing up again with Hroniss Grasu at center and Patrick Omameh at starting right guard.
PASS DEFENSE: C-plus – A season-high five sacks of Brock Osweiler was a difficult task to achieve considering how Denver relied on the run so much and kept the defense off balance. However, major breakdowns in the secondary led to a 48-yard Demaryius Thomas touchdown catch on Denver’s first series and there were no interceptions. Cornerback Tracy Porter did a solid job stopping Thomas after that drive and he had just 59 yards receiving, but inside linebackers and safeties had a hard time with tight ends, who had 11 catches for 146 yards. Blown coverage by Chris Prosinski resulted in the first Denver TD.
RUSH DEFENSE: F – Denver’s running attack came in ranked 29th and with Osweiler at quarterback the Bears knew there would be a big effort to run the ball. They still couldn’t stop it and the Broncos ran for 170 yards, the worst effort against the run by the defense under Fox. It let the Broncos get away with throwing the ball in good down-and-distance situations and prevented even more sacks or turnovers by their inexperienced quarterback. The Bears had particular problems stopping the simple outside zone runs.
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SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus – Coverage teams five times forced the Broncos to start inside their own 20-yard line in a battle of field position. Robbie Gould made good on three field goals when points came at a premium, but punter Pat O’Donnell had only a 34-yard net average and shanked one in a critical situation.
COACHING: C-minus – The decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal at the 4-yard line in the fourth quarter with 10 minutes left was a strategic blunder by John Fox. A field goal would have pulled the Bears within five. Then they had two more drives into scoring position and one went for a touchdown. The decision spoke about a lack of confidence by Fox that his defense could shut down Denver and get the ball back enough times, as well as a lack of confidence in the offense to return to scoring position against a defense that had been in control much of the game. Also, the ease with which Cutler was able to move the ball through the air in the fourth quarter showed perhaps the game plan should have initially been more pass-oriented, or should have been switched to more passing earlier because Denver came in loaded to stop the run and did it. The decision by special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers to start Deonte Thompson as kick returner over Marc Mariani was a long time coming. Mariani has no breakaway speed and hadn’t been making good choices on which kicks to return and where to attack.
