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I'll try to keep this in perspective, but I do think the Bears were exposed on several levels. Some obvious, others perhaps not. Here are the problem areas I see:
*Secondary - The Bears really missed DJ Moore, and the Bears were sorely outcoached on defense. The Niners lined up in some spread formations, and the Bears seemed to constantly check out of zone coverage and switch to man. This led to Kelvin Hayden trying to match up with WRs one-on-one, and Hayden is too slow to do this. It also had Major Wright in coverage on Vernon Davis, which was laughable. About the only thing Wright did all game was take out Niner O-linemen on kamikaze missions. The composition of the Bears secondary is strictly for zone defense. They do not excel in individual matchups.
*Linebackers - Briggs was burned a few times in coverage, and overall the Bears LBs got manhandled in the run game by the Niner FBs and H-backs. Urlacher was magnetized to Niner blockers as Gore and Hunter got steady gains up the gut.
*Defensive line - Handled against the run, very little pass rush to speak of. Peppers didn't play particulary well against run or pass. I can't count how many times Wooten and company would get trap-blocked. Again, poor coaching on the Bears.
*Offensive line - Yeah, its a joke. I still see missed assignments and ILBs getting free rushes to the QB. Justin Smith obliterated Webb. Smith would take two steps, reach out his arm, and grab Campbell. Overall, I think the Bears linemen are confused about their assignments, and then they play timidly. Its funny to hear guys like Carimi, Webb, and Rachel be described as "maulers", then when you watch them they are getting shoved onto their ass every other play.
*Wide Receivers - Why does Devin Hester play? He runs the worst routes. He is like a snail coming out of the breaks. On the out route INT, Hester kind of stopped, turned, then looked for the ball while the Niner DB ran in front of him and picked it off. More importantly, WHY ARE THE BEARS RUNNING 15-YARD OUT ROUTES TO DEVIN HESTER? Its a hard pass to complete, and you need time to throw it. I'd rather the Bears just run go routes with Brandon Marshall.
*Tight Ends - non-existent. I still think the Bears need to go with a 2-TE offense, just so that both Webb and Carimi aren't as exposed on the ends.
*Running Backs - Patrick Willis got the better of Matt Forte. The Bears couldn't run block worth a damn, though. Hard to really judge this spot. I will say the FB position in the Bears offense is pretty worthless. Rodriguez would be lined up on the right side of the formation, and then he couldn't get over fast enough to help out Webb.
*Quarterbacks - gotta reference the biggest douchebag on the radio for this one, Terry Boers. Boers was agahst with favorable Niner pregame analysis, saying that the Bears had a "big advantage at the QB position" because Campbell had started in the NFL and Kaepernick hadn't. As usual, Boers had/has no idea what he's talking about. I think a big factor in the Niners success was that Kaepernick has gotten significant playing time throughout the year, whereas Campbell hasn't. I would say Kaepernick was the 'sharper' QB of the two. Not to sound condescending, but Kaepernick also had the advantage of playing behind the Niner O-line, while Campbell would be running for his life with the Bears. Campbell just isn't a good fit for the Bears...he is a wooden QB who has very little mobility and no playmaking ability whatsoever.
In the end, it was probably best for the Bears that Cutler didn't play in this one. The way the Niners offense played against the Bears defense, I don't think Cutler would have made that much of a difference. He probably would have gotten hurt, too.
While its only one game, the Bears lost quite a bit...they lost the division lead, they lost the favorable #2 seed bye, and they are now in an interesting playoff race because the teams they are fighting with are also on their upcoming schedule (Packers, Seahawks, Vikings 2X).
Trying to be rational here, but I think next week's game against the Vikings is make-or-break for the Bears. If they win, they've righted the ship and are in good position to make the postseason at 8-3, and probably only need to beat the Cards and Lions to get in. But if they lose, they could already be on the outside looking in, tied with the Vikes and Seahawks at 7-4 and having a loss against the Vikes and facing the Seahawks the next week. I foresee a complete unraveling of the Bears with a Vikings loss.
*Secondary - The Bears really missed DJ Moore, and the Bears were sorely outcoached on defense. The Niners lined up in some spread formations, and the Bears seemed to constantly check out of zone coverage and switch to man. This led to Kelvin Hayden trying to match up with WRs one-on-one, and Hayden is too slow to do this. It also had Major Wright in coverage on Vernon Davis, which was laughable. About the only thing Wright did all game was take out Niner O-linemen on kamikaze missions. The composition of the Bears secondary is strictly for zone defense. They do not excel in individual matchups.
*Linebackers - Briggs was burned a few times in coverage, and overall the Bears LBs got manhandled in the run game by the Niner FBs and H-backs. Urlacher was magnetized to Niner blockers as Gore and Hunter got steady gains up the gut.
*Defensive line - Handled against the run, very little pass rush to speak of. Peppers didn't play particulary well against run or pass. I can't count how many times Wooten and company would get trap-blocked. Again, poor coaching on the Bears.
*Offensive line - Yeah, its a joke. I still see missed assignments and ILBs getting free rushes to the QB. Justin Smith obliterated Webb. Smith would take two steps, reach out his arm, and grab Campbell. Overall, I think the Bears linemen are confused about their assignments, and then they play timidly. Its funny to hear guys like Carimi, Webb, and Rachel be described as "maulers", then when you watch them they are getting shoved onto their ass every other play.
*Wide Receivers - Why does Devin Hester play? He runs the worst routes. He is like a snail coming out of the breaks. On the out route INT, Hester kind of stopped, turned, then looked for the ball while the Niner DB ran in front of him and picked it off. More importantly, WHY ARE THE BEARS RUNNING 15-YARD OUT ROUTES TO DEVIN HESTER? Its a hard pass to complete, and you need time to throw it. I'd rather the Bears just run go routes with Brandon Marshall.
*Tight Ends - non-existent. I still think the Bears need to go with a 2-TE offense, just so that both Webb and Carimi aren't as exposed on the ends.
*Running Backs - Patrick Willis got the better of Matt Forte. The Bears couldn't run block worth a damn, though. Hard to really judge this spot. I will say the FB position in the Bears offense is pretty worthless. Rodriguez would be lined up on the right side of the formation, and then he couldn't get over fast enough to help out Webb.
*Quarterbacks - gotta reference the biggest douchebag on the radio for this one, Terry Boers. Boers was agahst with favorable Niner pregame analysis, saying that the Bears had a "big advantage at the QB position" because Campbell had started in the NFL and Kaepernick hadn't. As usual, Boers had/has no idea what he's talking about. I think a big factor in the Niners success was that Kaepernick has gotten significant playing time throughout the year, whereas Campbell hasn't. I would say Kaepernick was the 'sharper' QB of the two. Not to sound condescending, but Kaepernick also had the advantage of playing behind the Niner O-line, while Campbell would be running for his life with the Bears. Campbell just isn't a good fit for the Bears...he is a wooden QB who has very little mobility and no playmaking ability whatsoever.
In the end, it was probably best for the Bears that Cutler didn't play in this one. The way the Niners offense played against the Bears defense, I don't think Cutler would have made that much of a difference. He probably would have gotten hurt, too.
While its only one game, the Bears lost quite a bit...they lost the division lead, they lost the favorable #2 seed bye, and they are now in an interesting playoff race because the teams they are fighting with are also on their upcoming schedule (Packers, Seahawks, Vikings 2X).
Trying to be rational here, but I think next week's game against the Vikings is make-or-break for the Bears. If they win, they've righted the ship and are in good position to make the postseason at 8-3, and probably only need to beat the Cards and Lions to get in. But if they lose, they could already be on the outside looking in, tied with the Vikes and Seahawks at 7-4 and having a loss against the Vikes and facing the Seahawks the next week. I foresee a complete unraveling of the Bears with a Vikings loss.
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