The Chicago Bears dropped to 7-4 after a 25-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders in Week 12, and much has been said about the play of backup quarterback Caleb Hanie. A feature piece on SB Nation Chicago earlier this week took a critical look at all the mistakes made by Hanie, the biggest of which were his certainly his interceptions:
With 6:32 remaining in the first quarter of a 3-0 game, 1st-and-15 at your own 14-yard line simply cannot devolve into a scrambling desperation pass thrown up for grabs and intercepted; however, it did on Sunday. With 1:32 remaining in the first quarter of a 6-0 game, 3rd-and-15 from the opponents' 43-yard line should never be marked by an interception on an ill-advised touch pass attempting beat zone coverage on a seam route; regrettably, it was on Sunday. With 0:30 remaining in the second quarter of a 9-7 game, 2nd-and-1 from the opponents' 6-yard line can, under no circumstances, feature a careless lollipop throw into coverage on a designed throwback play that yields an interception and a 73-yard return; against all odds, it did on Sunday.
Matt Bowen of the National Football Post decided to take a closer look at what Bears' offensive coordinator Mike Martz can to do help Hanie in the Week 13 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. According to Bowen, there are three things Martz can do: (1) win on early down and distance situations, (2) use the tight end and (3) employ situational play action. Here is a bit of what Bowen added with respect to his third point:
Take a shot to the end zone with WR Johnny Knox and test out the Chiefs' CBs if they want to play press-man. Or, bring you Tank personnel on the field (1 WR, 2 TE, 2 RB) and work the FB to the flat for a quick 10-yards or target Davis on the 7 (corner) route off of run action. Again, this is all based on establishing the running game early and forcing the Chiefs to consistently play with an eight-man front. But when you do that, opportunities will open up for Hanie to make some throws and move this offense down the field.
Stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the Chicago Bears be sure to visit Windy City Gridiron. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.