By Jim Coffman
At the end of this one, only the timeless lament uttered most memorably by former tennis great John McEnroe seemed appropriate.
“You cannot be serious!” he surely would have bellowed had he watched the Bears turn a shocking comeback into a ridiculous defeat against the Falcons on Sunday. For the longest time, Atlanta had it all under control. Even when the Bear offense finally finished a drive with a touchdown in the second half, the Falcons had the answer, marching right back down the field to stretch the lead right back out to nine. The Bears scored three more but then the Falcons immediately put themselves in position to do the same.
Then chaos commenced.
Atlanta kicker Jason Elam missed a gimme and on the ensuing drive, Bears receivers kept finding seams in the defense and powering forward for significant yards after catch. Kyle Orton made some great throws, capped off by the best toss of all for the touchdown to Rashied Davis with 11 seconds left and there they were. For all intents and purposes, the Bears had eked out an unlikely victory and were ready to begin accepting acclaim as one of the better teams in the NFC through six games. Except they then choked it away like a three-year-old gagging on unfamiliar, slightly spicy food (my younger daughter provided me with this metaphor at a favorite restaurant recently and believe me, it’s apt).
So much ineptitude in so little time.
Question: How many times have desperate teams returned those stupid squib kick-offs to their 40-yard-line or further and found themselves one decent-sized completion away from a field goal attempt?
Answer: Enough times that surely there were fans first-guessing that strategy all over the place. Kick the ball as deep as possible, get down there like you do the vast majority of the time and make a play (I know the previous kickoff return was scary but you have to take a slightly larger view of the overall situation don’t you?).
And while I’m asking, how could there not be two defenders draped all over any Falcon wide receiver attempting to make a catch anywhere from 20 to 30 yards down the field on either sideline on the second-to-last play? Any passes shorter than that would have made it an awfully tough field goal attempt – any longer and the clock would have run out.
And I have one more question at this point for you in particular, Mike Brown. How about covering someone at some point? We are so sick of watching you drop back into seemingly casual zone coverage and arrive too late to break up passes you should be gorging on for lunch. You did that on a touchdown pass to Roddy White in the first half but caught a huge break when the play was nullified by an ineligible receiver downfield.
To have such a great comeback so completely obliterated by all that crap . . . we needed McEnroe to do a little venting for us at a Bears post-game press conference or two. The Falcons are so much better than anyone thought they would be, and the Bears were far from their best on Sunday but had somehow found a way . . . until they didn’t.
A few more details:
* There were many, many flashbacks to the worst parts of last season as rookie quarterback Matt Ryan continuously carved up what had been a resurgent Bears D the previous two weeks. The unit was at its worst when it should have been at its best, i.e., when the Falcons were faced with third-and-long and yet earned first downs time after time after time.
* I was out and about for the second half of the second quarter and the first half of the third (before returning again to the televised action and then reviewing everything later thanks to the magic of digital recording technology) and had a chance to take in that portion of the game on the radio. Analyst Tom Thayer is so far out in front of so many of the guys on TV. At one point he was breaking down cornerback Nate Vasher replacement Corey Graham’s great work in run support by noting that he transitions especially quickly out of his back-pedal into position to make tackles.
Later he talked about how the Falcons were having more success in the passing game in part because they were executing better cut blocks and he admonished safety Kevin Payne for not getting his arms up into position to finish tackles when he was delivering what otherwise seemed like effective big hits. It is such a shame that radio broadcasts don’t synch up with the TV any more.
* One of Orton’s last incompletions just before the Bears’ final touchdown sailed over a lone figure on the sideline who stood out in a dark-colored suit. I’m reasonably sure that was Arthur Blank, the owner of the Falcons who has taken to going down to the sidelines late in games in an apparent effort to better support his team (and perhaps to draw a little attention to himself – perhaps). In so doing he is following the lead of noted publicity hound Jerry Jones, the Cowboys owner who has long inserted himself into the sideline scene when others deemed that sort of move inappropriate. Say what you will about Bears President Ted Phillips but at least I can say with confidence he wouldn’t be caught dead preening around on the sideline ever, let alone when the game is still going.
* And finally, to Fox TV I would just say that if you think The Hole in The Wall is a show with potential, surely there are even better variations. How about The Hole in the Floor . . . of the Elevator . . . in the Skyscraper. You know that would be a laugh riot, and you guys can have the idea for free.
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Jim Coffman brings you the city’s best weekend sports roundup every Monday because he loves you. You can write to him personally! Please include a real name if you would like your comments to be considered for publication.
Posted on October 13, 2008