Zero2Cool
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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears have lost three of four games along with some of their identity so far this season, two trends that coach Lovie Smith is determined to reverse beginning Sunday night in Green Bay.
An offense that takes pride in its power running game had quarterback Brian Griese throw 52 passes and hand the ball off just 20 times in last Sunday’s 37-27 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Running back Cedric Benson rushed for 47 of his 50 yards in the second half of Sunday's 37-27 loss to the Lions.
“When I say we’re a running team, [that] we get off the bus running, we need to run the ball more,” Smith said. “We got away from it a little bit and now when you’re 1-3, the first thing you do is look to get back to what you believe in. We have to run the football.”
With Griese being sacked six times and scrambling twice, the Bears actually called 60 pass plays compared to just 20 runs. And it wasn’t like there was a huge deficit to overcome—Chicago trailed by more than four points for only three and a half minutes of the game.
“It’s not a good sign when the Bears are throwing 52 times,” said right tackle Fred Miller. “Our recipe is running the ball, and in order for us to be successful, we have to run the ball well. That gives our defense a chance to rest up and stay fresh, and when they’re doing that they definitely cause a lot of havoc and come up with some big turnovers, and that’s our recipe for winning.”
Miller is surprised with the disparity between passing and running.
“I think that’s what we’re all scratching our heads over around here,” he said. “We’re not doing the same things that we’ve done. I don’t think we’re getting enough running calls. In the pass game, we’re turning too many guys free and just making mistakes that we normally don’t make, especially as an offensive line.
“It’s a little bit of everyone, and I think everyone is taking responsibility for it and we’re all going to be accountable for it and turn it around.”
The Bears haven’t had much success on the ground this season, ranking 27th in the NFL in yards per game (82.8) and 28th in yards per carry (3.3). But Smith knows that there must be more of a commitment to the run for those numbers to improve.
“The running game starts with the blocking up front and the running back carrying the ball,” said the Bears coach. “We’ll work on it and try to improve in those areas. We won’t change our philosophy in what we believe in, and that’s running the football. We’ll continue to run the ball.
“I think we had 22 carries [against Detroit]. That’s not enough. We need to rush the ball more times and then hopefully we’ll be able to crack a few.”
Cedric Benson has struggled so far this season, ranking 24th in the NFL in rushing with 239 yards and 1 TD on 74 carries. His 3.2 yards per attempt is the lowest among the league’s top 29 rushers.
Against the Lions, Benson fumbled for the third time this season. He rushed for 47 yards on 10 carries in the second half after being held to just three yards on five attempts in the first half.
“We talk to the players constantly,” Smith said. “We did a lot of talking. We’ve done maybe too much talking around here. Cedric did start the second half better than he started the first. Cedric is the type of back who needs a lot of carries, so we’re going to try to get him more carries.”
The Bears’ lack of success on the ground is confounding to the veteran offensive line.
“That’s hard for us to figure out,” Miller said. “At times we’ve had fits where we ran the ball into bad looks, and at the same time we haven’t blocked it as well as we can, and sometimes the running back just made a bad read.
"It’s a little bit of everything. No one group or one person can [take] all the blame. What’s happened has happened. Now it’s time for us to fix it and get back to doing the things that we know how to do, and that’s run the ball well.”
Sounds like the Bears are going to try an run it down our throat.
Are you scared?