Turner sticks to the plan; won't scale back offense
With some distance from the victory Sunday over the Cleveland Browns, offensive coordinator Ron Turner finally was able to specify his frustration.
The Bears squandered opportunities for at least 17 more points and ''another couple hundred yards'' with mental mistakes that led to his fit of pique after a 30-6 victory that left so many questions despite the convincing score.
(AP)
On Wednesday, Turner vowed he wasn't going to scale back an offensive attack that has struggled in the last two weeks, particularly in the red zone. He had suggested Sunday that paring down the playbook could be one of the fallouts from a sloppy effort.
''You say some things sometimes when you're mad,'' said Turner, who never has been more visibly perturbed than he was Sunday. ''It's not a matter of cutting back. It's a matter of focusing better and maybe preparing them better, whatever we have to do.
''After seven games, I didn't expect us to be making the mistakes that we made, and I don't think we'll continue to make them. We haven't made that many in other games, and I don't know what it was in that last game.''
Turner talked about execution so much after practice that his players had to be happy he wasn't calling for a firing squad. Turner said he expects the Bears (4-3) to improve, starting Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. He also disputes the notion that opponents have figured them out now that there's film on quarterback Jay Cutler in a Bears uniform.
Teams at least know what to expect now, particularly in the red zone, where the Bears are tied for 25th in the league in touchdown efficiency.
The Cardinals (4-3) are 3-0 on the road and have scored 20 points or more in 30 of their last 35 games and 30 or more in 16 of them, including the postseason. Trading touchdowns for field goals against them is a recipe for defeat.
It wasn't just a lack of execution in the red zone, though. Turner called for a Wildcat run for Devin Hester that was blown up in the backfield, and he had Garrett Wolfe plow up the middle behind blocking back Greg Olsen. What the Bears didn't do was take enough shots into the end zone or find a way to match up their best personnel in places where they could win. There also was a false start in the red zone, and Turner called himself culpable as well.
''There were a couple calls I'd like to have back, that we didn't have a chance,'' Turner said. ''They had a better call than we did, plain and simple. They defended some of the things that we had. We've got to look at that and make sure that we're changing up our tendencies and we're giving our guys a chance to make plays. And then when we do, we have to execute.
''I see a sense of urgency. I see everybody else feels about it like I do, knows that we're capable of doing more and we should do more.''
Turner frequently has been the first one the public has piled on, and perhaps with the arrival of Cutler, it has happened even quicker this season. But Turner, signed through 2010 after a one-year extension he received in the offseason, can't be solely responsible for the breakdowns in the running game.
He waved off the idea that the offensive line struggled against the Browns, allowing a season-high four sacks. Turner pointed out that much more goes into sacks, including the quarterback, tight ends and running backs, who have been responsible for as many sacks this season as any lineman.
Cutler suggested the Bears need to ''draw some stuff up and maybe attack them in a different way,'' perhaps hinting that some new wrinkles are to come. Is that going to work when Turner says the mistakes being made are on the most basic offensive material installed from the beginning?
''The guys know the plays,'' Cutler said. ''They know what they're supposed to do. We've just got to do it. We're having opportunities down there. We've busted on a few red-zone opportunities. That's all on the players. We have to take advantage of it.''
It's a critical stretch for the Bears, and if the pressure is mounting, Turner isn't cracking.
''You know me, I'm even-keeled,'' he said. ''I never get upset.''