CASPER
New member
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – While teammates are leaving town for the weekend, Chicago Bears Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs will spend much of it rehabilitating his injured left ankle.
Not exactly fun, but then again, these aren't exactly the best of times.
Briggs hopes to be ready to play against Buffalo in Toronto and the struggling Bears (4-3) hope the weekend off gives them enough time to regroup after losing three of four in ugly fashion.
Briggs missed most of last week's loss to Washington after sitting out the previous game. He plans to stick around this weekend and be at the team's headquarters early.
The Bears, meanwhile, are going nowhere at the moment thanks to a bumbling offense that is hogging the spotlight from a defense more or less doing its job.
"We're playing well, but this is the ultimate team game," left defensive end Israel Idonije said. "We're in this fight together — offense, defense, special teams. We all have to find a way to win games, so that's what's most important."
The Bears' problems on offense are well-documented.
Chicago boasts a league-worst 18-percent third-down conversion rate, 12 interceptions and 31 sacks. It ranks 30th in yardage (290.4 per game), 29th in rushing, 29th in passer rating and 26th in points per game.
Quarterback Jay Cutler is getting tossed around like a rag doll with 27 sacks and 19 in his past three games. That includes a nine-sack first half against the New York Giants that left him with a concussion and caused him to miss the next game — a win over Carolina.
When he's not going down, he's making questionable decisions, and the result last week against Washington was particularly ugly. DeAngelo Hall tied an NFL record with four interceptions, returning one 92 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, yet the thought of avoiding him never entered Cutler's mind. In fact, he said he would do the same again and go at Hall.
New offensive coordinator Mike Martz, meanwhile, is under fire too for his pass-happy ways and ignoring the run.
Not exactly fun, but then again, these aren't exactly the best of times.
Briggs hopes to be ready to play against Buffalo in Toronto and the struggling Bears (4-3) hope the weekend off gives them enough time to regroup after losing three of four in ugly fashion.
Briggs missed most of last week's loss to Washington after sitting out the previous game. He plans to stick around this weekend and be at the team's headquarters early.
The Bears, meanwhile, are going nowhere at the moment thanks to a bumbling offense that is hogging the spotlight from a defense more or less doing its job.
"We're playing well, but this is the ultimate team game," left defensive end Israel Idonije said. "We're in this fight together — offense, defense, special teams. We all have to find a way to win games, so that's what's most important."
The Bears' problems on offense are well-documented.
Chicago boasts a league-worst 18-percent third-down conversion rate, 12 interceptions and 31 sacks. It ranks 30th in yardage (290.4 per game), 29th in rushing, 29th in passer rating and 26th in points per game.
Quarterback Jay Cutler is getting tossed around like a rag doll with 27 sacks and 19 in his past three games. That includes a nine-sack first half against the New York Giants that left him with a concussion and caused him to miss the next game — a win over Carolina.
When he's not going down, he's making questionable decisions, and the result last week against Washington was particularly ugly. DeAngelo Hall tied an NFL record with four interceptions, returning one 92 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, yet the thought of avoiding him never entered Cutler's mind. In fact, he said he would do the same again and go at Hall.
New offensive coordinator Mike Martz, meanwhile, is under fire too for his pass-happy ways and ignoring the run.
