What was the issue with the secondary on Monday night?
In studying the tape of the Bears before this game, there was no doubt that having to match Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery was not going to be an easy task, but I didn't expect this Cowboys secondary to play as poorly as they did. You can say what you want about the pass-rush or lack thereof, but there comes a point in time where as a secondary you have to stand up and battle the receivers and make a play or two. They did none of that.
Brandon Carr and Orlando Scandrick allowed the Bears receivers to beat them up all night. When they needed to be physical, they were not, and that was going to be the way you handle them. Playing with B.W. Webb didn't help and as the game went on, it was obvious he was not up to the task.
You can't blame it on zone or man coverage. It's just going out and doing your job, which these corners and safeties did not do.
Where was DeMarcus Ware?
I have always said that you need your best players to step up and make plays when things look their worst. For all we want to believe about DeMarcus Ware, he is not the same player that he was five years ago or even three years ago for that matter.
This defense needed Ware tonight and he was not a factor at all. He did manage a sack in the late going, but that was not nearly enough. For him, it was a big fat no show. There were too many times, where he was spending time on the sideline instead of trying to get his teammates off the field.
Last season, Ware tried to carry this team on his back and into the playoffs; it just wasn't good enough. This year, they need him to try and do the same, but he had better hurry up.
Good effort from DeMarco Murray? [embedded_ad]
The Bears are the worst defense in the NFL when it comes to defending the run, so I had a really good idea that DeMarco Murray would have some success if the coaching staff just stuck with it. If this game was close, it would have been nice to see Murray close this out like he did last week against the Raiders, but the defense could never make the Bears punt, and the score just got out of hand.
Murray did a nice job tonight of seeing the holes and getting through the gaps when he had the opportunity. And, I thought the line did a solid job all night in controlling the Bears' front seven with Murray able to do the rest. It was a great effort by him but it's a shame that it all went for nothing in the loss.
