Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase is already deep into preparations for the Oakland Raiders. But not so far in that he avoided a frank appraisal of quarterback Jimmy Clausen and what happened to the offense in last Sunday’s shutout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Gase began by pointing the thumb, not the finger.
The offensive game plan was predictably conservative because of multiple factors, including what the environment and Seahawks allowed and didn’t allow the Bears to do. The Bears never challenged the Seahawks with any semblance of a deep passing game.
“The second half was one of those ones where we were right where we wanted to be and [I] probably should’ve been more aggressive calling [plays],” Gase said on Thursday.
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The net result was not only a loss to the reigning NFC champions, but one that was unfair as a representation of Clausen, who completed nine of 17 passes, four of eight in the second half, for a paltry 63 yards.
“It’s hard for me to judge [the offense] because last week is an unfair comparison for Jimmy because when you play at Seattle, the volume of the crowd, what you’re trying to do in the huddle, you have to be careful about doing the no-huddle things,” Gase said. “We were trying to occupy the clock. We had a certain way we wanted to play that game. So when we come out to practice, it looks different than what you guys have seen in the games with Jimmy.
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“With Jimmy when we’re out at practice, it’s the same tempo we run as if Jay were in there. That’s why last week is just such an unfair assessment of Jimmy as far as what we were doing for that game.”
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For his part, Clausen was not indulging in critiquing.
“It’s frustrating because quarterbacks want to throw the ball down the field. But that’s not our job to make the game plan. It’s the coaches’ job and it’s our job to go out and execute it.”