Raymont Harris listened patiently when asked to analyze the Bears’ ongoing running-back saga Monday night, but he answered with the impatience of a man reflecting the worry of a losing locker room.
“After what happened on the field the last few hours,” Harris said, “we have a lot more pressing issues than who’s going to be the primary running back.”
More pressing than who will start at quarterback Sunday against Minnesota (Dave Wannstedt said he’s sticking with Erik Kramer). Perhaps even more pressing than Bryan Cox’s $10,000 team fine levied Tuesday for his unsportsmanlike conduct in the Bears’ loss to Green Bay.
What the Bears’ 38-24 defeat exposed were three specific crisis points in particular, serious frailties that could severely hamper their division hopes as they head into games against Minnesota and Detroit in the next two weeks:
Special teams: For Wannstedt, after endless off-season promises that the coverage teams would not only be better but outstanding, the Bears’ Monday night performance was nothing short of a kick in the teeth.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Wannstedt said. “I still can’t believe it. The thing that’s alarming is that we have some guys on this team whose main function is nothing but special teams.”
The Packers’ average drive began on the 45-yard-line, thanks to long returns. But while Wannstedt blamed loss of containment for a 45-yard punt return by Bill Schroeder that set up the Packers’ first field goal, he placed much of the responsibility for the Bears’ problems on Todd Sauerbrun for outkicking his coverage.
“When you start kicking them 55 and 60 yards like he does, then your hang time has to increase with distance to give your coverage units a chance to get down there and cover it,” Wannstedt said.
Sauerbrun was especially disgusted with one 27-yard return by Schroeder in the third quarter. “I was upset at myself for having to go down and make the tackle, not giving my guys enough time to get down there,” he said.
On kickoffs, Wannstedt spread the blame around. “We were not as aggressive as we needed to be covering the kicks,” he said. “One was short and almost out of bounds, the next one was a line drive. So we had no consistency with our kicks or our coverage.”
Offensive line: This could be big trouble for the Bears, now that guard Todd Perry is expected to miss several weeks with a hamstring injury. Also, right tackle James Williams aggravated a sprained ankle on the first play of the game. Because of a lack of depth, Wannstedt acknowledged that the offensive line is the team’s most vulnerable area.
“When Todd Perry went out (late in the game), Bill Schultz comes in and it’s a little unfamiliar, and that’s when we got the hit on Erik (Kramer) and the fumble and a touchdown. That quick, it can happen.”
Kramer, playing in his first regular-season game after sustaining a career-threatening neck injury early last season, was openly terrified at the prospect of playing behind the second-string line during the preseason.
Williams returned to action Monday night but was obviously limited. “He was playing three-quarters or half of what he can do, but he refused to come out of the game,” Wannstedt said.
Passing game: Kramer was just 17 of 41 for 192 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He shouldered much of the burden for Monday’s loss and refused to blame the absence of the injured Curtis Conway. Either way, the Bears have a problem.
“I’m sure Curtis could have made a difference,” Kramer said, “but I don’t look at it like any of the receivers did anything wrong. We had some open guys, I was off-target a few times, I lost a couple of throws.”
In the third quarter, the Bears went away from a running game that was controlling the clock in the first half and were unsuccessful trying to throw the ball against the Packers’ pressure defense.
The Bears’ top receiver was Harris, with four catches for 36 yards. Bobby Engram, who will have to pick up much of the slack while Conway is out (approximately another five weeks), had just three receptions for 24 yards.
“Everybody’s part of it,” Wannstedt said. “There were some dropped passes, there were some throws that were there that weren’t made. There were times when Erik was under pressure and had to force some throws. Overall, the second half, we didn’t make plays in the passing game like we need to.
“Our passing (yardage) per play average is less than our rushing per play average, which is almost unheard of unless you’re Oklahoma running the wishbone.”
