Carroll sings praises of Bears' running game

December 2, 2012, 8:51 am

	JIM MILLER
Follow @15Miller

Every Bears fan has heard head coach Lovie Smith’s calling card statement, "We want to get off the bus running." Former offensive coordinator Mike Martz was criticized for not running the ball enough -- if he even shared his bosses desire to run the ball at all.

This article will continue an interview with Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll on SiriusXM NFL Radio with my co-host Pat Kirwin, focusing on how the Bears are different in 2012 under new offensive coordinator Mike Tice. Previous articles were written from Bears opposing head coaches such as Jim Schwartz, Mike Mularkey, Ron Rivera -- and now Carroll -- to gain perspective.

Kirwin started the interview by asking Carroll his overall thoughts on the Bears' running game. Carroll responded saying, "This is a team committed to running the football. They’ve pounded it."

Carroll did not want to speculate on Matt Forte’s ankle injury but felt Seattle has intimate knowledge of Michael Bush from former Raiders head coach Tom Cable, who is currently the offensive line coach in Seattle.

"I don’t know if Forte’s out. We are expecting one or both of those guys," Carroll said. "Bush is a hammer! He is a big dude and we know him real well. Tom Cable informed us all about his way and he's such a good football player."

Much like the previous head coaches interviewed, Carroll emphasized the Bears' commitment to sticking with the run.

"Because they are so committed to it, it is just something you have to deal with -- otherwise, they are just going to keep pounding away," he said.

Carroll also discussed how running the football enables the Bears' second deadly combination of Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall when he said, "You know you have Marshall and Cutler out there firing away. It's an amazing stat to see how many targets they have together. I think its 124 targets at Marshall and the next guy, [Earl] Bennett, has got like 40."

But Carroll immediately brought the conversation back to the Bears running game saying, "It's a tremendous commitment they have to the run game, then it’s that combination [Cutler-Marshall]. That is what we are going to have to deal with to have a chance. If they have them both [Forte ankle], it's going to be twice as hard."

Tags: Jay Cutler, brandon marshall, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Matt Forte, Pete Carroll, Jim Miller, Pat Kirwin