Bears Drop Week Two Game in New Orleans

Perhaps the Bears were looking ahead to their big showdown next week against their rivals, the Green Bay Packers.

Perhaps team captain Brian Urlacher had his mind understandably elsewhere.

Or perhaps the New Orleans Saints were just a better football team Sunday.

Whatever the case, the Chicago Bears marched into the noisy Superdome and walked away with their tail between their legs after a 30-13 defeat at the hands of Drew Brees and the Saints. The most noticeable reason for this was the play of the offensive line.

Jay Cutler was sacked six times and hit several times more throughout the game. Most of these sacks occurred in the second half, when starting rookie right tackle Gabe Carimi went down with a knee inury and human turnstile Frank Omiyale took over. Omiyale looked lost and a step behind yet again, and things weren't any better on the other side of the ball, as J'Marcus Webb did his best matador impression. 

Quarterback Jay Cutler ran for his life most of the game and received little help from anyone else on the team. WR Roy Williams was ruled out for the game with a hamstring injury and with Earl Bennett getting hurt after a great catch, there was not a lot of reliable receivers for Cutler to find. Knox and Hester are both speed guys, but neither could seem to find any space to get open. The remaining guys were Sam Hurd and Dan Sanzenbacher who are both new to the offense.

The lone bright spot on offense, yet again, was Matt Forte, who caught 10 passes for 117 yards and rushed for another 49 on 10 carries. Forte, who may walk away from the Bears at the end of the season, truly played like a man looking for new money. It appears he is the Bears' most dangerous weapon this year, and Cutler needs to find ways to get the ball in his hands.

But it just wasn't that easy. Cutler was noticeably frustrated with the shoddy blocking and WR play. He didn't throw any picks even though he was pressured all day, but the Saints did force one fumble that turned into 7 points. The offense that clicked so well last week, seemed lost this week and only managed one touchdown, a first quarter strike to Dane Sanzenbacher. Now they may be out two more starters next week against Green Bay.

The defense shouldn't get a free pass either. The rush looked good at times, but failed to generate enough pressure to force any significant turnovers. And that is the key to the game for coach Lovie Smith. CB Charles Tillman did strip and recover a fumble with a about three minutes to go, but the game was in hand at that point.

Things may snowball from here as half the starting secondary is now injured. SS Chris Harris didn't play today with a hamstring injury, and FS major Wright had a scary moment with a head injury. Although Wright walked off the field, new NFL procedures may limit him in the coming weeks.

If there were any silver linings today it would be that this is still early in the season. Everyone knew that when they looked at the Bears schedule, the first three weeks were killer. They have a chance next week to go 2-1 and if they are able to do so, the Bears should be in good shape. But it won't be easy with the Packers coming into town.