Once again, incredibly stupid coaching kept the bears in a game that was critical to their playoff hopes, and would have given the bears the win had they not also beaten themselves. Let’s take our weekly look at what opposing coaches continue to do in bear games.
1. The Broncos had 6 first downs in the first quarter, and ran on all 6. They also ran on the first 4 first downs of the second quarter. As I point out week after week, running on first down will stall drives and prevent scoring. The Broncos only threw 16 times the first 3 quarters. The emphasis on the run and on first-down runs resulted in the Broncos being shut out for the first 58 minutes. The tone of a game is set early, but the Broncos made no attempt to score due to their emphasis on running.
2. The Broncos got the ball with 4:34 to play in the fourth quarter, down 10. At that point, even someone who has never coached before knows you have to pass. The Broncos threw on all 7 plays, and scored a touchdown. They then got the ball back at their own 20 with 56 seconds left. They passed on their first 5 plays, then scrambled, then kicked the tying FG. They then got the ball in overtime. They threw on their first 3 plays, got sacked on the fourth play (I’m not sure if it was a pass play), passed on the next play, then ran twice because they felt they were in winning field-goal range. So, they didn’t pass much the first 55-1/2 minutes and didn’t score, and then passed on their last 3 drives WHEN THE bears KNEW THEY HAD TO PASS, and with a quarterback who isn’t a good passer, and marched downfield to 3 scores. I think it’s obvious once again that had they passed all game, they would have scored a lot more. Tebow was 13 of 17 on the last three drives.
3. The bear offense was going nowhere. They had 76 passing yards in regulation! Midway through the third quarter in a scoreless game, the Broncos punted to Hester, who returned it 26 yards to the Bronco 42, which resulted in a touchdown. The bears continue to win game after game year after year due to the idiocy of kicking/punting to Hester, but these coaches continue to do it! Last week, the bears’ only 3 points in a 10-3 loss were a result of kicking to Hester. Again, that kept them in the game, as their offense was going nowhere. What will it take until coaches get this?! With three seconds left in regulation, they again kicked to Hester (!) which could have cost them the game, but did tackle him.
4. In a scoreless game midway through the second quarter, the Broncos tried a 28-yard field goal. I’ve said for years that when kicking short field goals against the bears, you need to just chip the ball and get height, rather than kicking it normally, because the bears are good at blocking these. Did the coach have the kicker do this? Of course not. He kicked it as he would a longer field goal, and the bears blocked it. Again, does anyone watch films? You just need to chip it over. Since Toub took over special teams for the bears in 2004, they lead the NFL in blocked field goals! Do you think you might want to be aware of that and gameplan for it?!
In summary, I think it’s idiotic to run against the bears. I understand the Broncos are a run-first team since Tebow isn’t very good as a passer at this point, so I realize they are going to start the game with what they consider their strength (even though I knew it wouldn’t work). It took them 55-1/2 minutes to adjust and start passing. Sports Illustrated put it this way. “The Broncos had failed to score on their first 12 possessions, seven of which were three-and-outs and three others of which lasted 5 plays or fewer.” So, you can see 10 OF THE 12 POSSESSIONS were basically three and out, and they kept doing it!!! How long does it take to figure out what you’re doing isn’t working? If the bears don’t give the game away at the end, they lose due to this idiotic strategy. I know the bears were in a prevent at the end, but were they also in a prevent in overtime when the Broncos easily drove into field-goal range? The bottom line is they were going nowhere offensively for basically all of regulation, and never changed the gameplan! Every team that runs against the bears ends up losing or barely winning, when they could have done much better by passing.