Bears Update: Oh, Dear

So the Bears played their first preseason this past Friday night against the Carolina Panthers, and it could have been better, to say the least. The Bears lost 24-17 in Charlotte on Friday night. There are several takeaways from that game and the following days, and they're not very good.

Once Jay Cutler threw the interception on the first play from scrimmage, you could hear the naysayers and almost everyone else let out a groan that you could hear from Bollingbrook to Waukegan. And yet, Cutler took full responsibility for the interception, saying he threw it wrong. Cutler was on the field for ten plays, which is typical of a preseason game. Marc Trestman has said that he's impressed with Cutler's improvement, but given how Cutler has not improved his game over the course of several seasons, it's easy to have doubts about it. Luckily it's only preseason and Cutler could change things. In Cutler's defense, Cam Newton was also making bad decisions, so it is possible it's just preseason rustiness.

In the meantime, the other major problem with the offense, the offensive line, is still shaky. Right tackle J'Marcus Webb is still inconsistent, since he gave up a sack in the first half of the game. This morning we awoke to news that Webb has been demoted to the second team, an update that might not be the best, since despite his inconsistencies, the other two options, the injured Jonathan Scott and Eben Britton, aren't very appealing. It's pretty plain that if Webb wants his role back, he'll have to step it up.

Indeed, the whole offensive line might be a problem, what with the Bears giving up seven sacks in the whole game. Phil Emery is likely to be under more pressure to find solid offensive linemen for the Bears coaches will have to find some way of fixing this problem before the season starts. Since no one is getting paid until the end of the season, this could be a way to get them to work on their game. Also, Earl Bennett is out with a concussion and so is Brandon Marshall, which is not good news for Trestman at all.

However, it's not all bad news. The Bears defense is still the Bears defense. They forced four turnovers and new linebacker Jonathan Bostic even returned a Cam Newton pass for a pick-6.

But I hate to be a party-pooper, and I cannot stress this enough, but the offense needs to step it up. The defense is fine, they still have their usual suspects. but the Bears have been working on their offense ever since Cutler came in. The Bears are pretty much behind the thinking of the NFL, where both defense and offense win championships. That's why they hired Marc Trestman. We'll see if the Bears can improve the offense by the start of the regular season. But every interception and every incomplete pass will be torn apart by the Bears harshest critics in an unfortunate "I told you so" moment. And if Cutler can't get it together... he's outta here.