Bears Coach Lovie Smith has been quoted as saying the team needed to improve over last week’s loss, but did they? Yes and no.
“When you play your second preseason game, you’re looking for improvement in all areas. We knew there was a lot of room for improvement for our football team, so this was a big game for us. We played our starters a little longer, letting them go for half of the game. We talk a lot about starting fast when we get to the season. Getting down 10-0, the Raiders had control of the game early and got us in a hole. I like the way our team fought back, and got ourselves in a position to make a run, but we were unable to pull it out."
Smith added that he was pleased with what the team was able to do offensively with the running game, especially Matt Forte’s “big” run. He admitted the passing game still needs work, as does quarterback protection — you can’t let the quarterback get sacked four or five times. Defensivly, Smith says the team started on shaky ground, but then settled down.
Quarterback Jay Cutler agreed with Smith on the sacks:
“Clearly, that is too much. It’s definitely not going to be acceptable. I think the offensive line is probably a little disappointed in themselves. But it’s the second preseason game, and we have a lot of time left to make corrections. It wasn’t like they were completely busting protections either. They were technically in the right spot, which is good.”
Overall, Smith’s take on the game?
“Not good enough. It’s as simple as that. Whenever you give up a couple of sacks as an offensive lineman, that is not good. Chris [Williams] is a better player than that.”