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Week 2 fallout


Alaskan Grizzly
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I’m putting a positive spin on how most of us feel about our offense at the moment with this;  Eli Manning was benched for rookie Daniel Jones, Drew Brees is out six weeks after surgery on his throwing thumb, Roethlisberger is out the remainder of the season after surgery on his throwing elbow, Nick Foles is out indefinitely after breaking his non-throwing clavicle/collarbone and the Jets were down to their third seat QB after their starter was lost to mono for several weeks and their #1 backup to an injury last night.  And Miami is a plain hot mess.  So things could be much worse.

On the lighter side; Pinero is ranked number one (and only) when kicking FGs beyond 50 yards.  He’s one of only five who are perfect overall on the young season.  O’Donnell is 5th in the league net punting yards (and apparently improved each year in the league - according to the link below). R. Smith is taking the lead in tackles and the defense hasn’t lost a step...according to this:  https://www.chicagobears.com/news/where-the-bears-rank-statistically-after-week-2

*EDIT: almost forgot.  If you look at the link, take a look at the videos.  Top one shows who the fastest player was last week.  Hint: he’s on the Bears and he’s not a young player....

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We don't have the head aches of Antonio Brown or Melvin Gordon. Haven't lost a Tyreek Hill or have Andrew Luck retire before the season.  What we do have is our own frustrations with our expectations. We see one RB run for a buck fifty and we want that.  Same for a QB, pass for 300 and we want.  A TE and WR to break a hundred and we shall have that too.  

Well, game one, Rodgers was 18-30 203 and then 22-34 209 against the Vikes.  Trubusky against Denver was 16-27 120, or GB 23-35 171.  Completions percentage is not that far off.  This is comparing him to a so called goat.  We are programmed to want and want it right now, so we frequently express our needs.  I think in time as the season progresses we will be less needy.  The mistakes will drop and stats will increase as they get up to game speed and shape.  Can we live with this if our guys finish the season healthy and are in the trophy hunt.  Will we remember next year when we start off sloppy.

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yeah but this isnt a matter of not seeing stats. We can all see the offense is out of rhythm, and the head coach openly speaks about it too. It just is. And there is blame to go around.

Can it be fixed? I hope so, I think it can, but I'm not in the business of predicting that, I want to SEE it and then say that it happened.

And I think that's totally fair and right.

They have so much potential we aren't seeing, but this isn't a potential year, it's a real football year. So get it done Bears offense. We are rooting for you, but we don't trust you. Make us believers. Go DO it.

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Like I said in the other thread, we have a very favorable schedule now with Brees out. This is the perfect time to get the offense going. Washington was carved up by Prescott and Wentz in the first two weeks and they only have 2 sacks on the season. Teams are 18-28 on 3rd Downs against Washington (64.3%), which is great news for us. Just what the doctor ordered. If our defense plays its normal game, this is really a great chance to get the offense back on track. Nagy needs to take the training wheels off. 

We follow that game up at home against MIN, who has been average against the pass. Then OAK, which is near the bottom of the league on defense. These are all winnable games. 

I am giving Trubisky the benefit of the doubt to the bye. He really needs to show something against WAS and OAK, and be good enough against MIN. I want 4-1 into the bye. The Offensive Line needs to play better, receivers need to run the correct routes and get some separation. Nagy needs to call a balanced game and give Montgomery, Cohen, and Patterson the ball in space so they can make some plays. 

Our Special Teams is a top 5 unit right now, coupled with our defense, we really are a tough out. 

Grizz, you are correct, there are so many teams in bad shape right now, we have a great opportunity to go on a run.

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I'm giving Trubisky the benefit of the doubt too.  I was optimistic like most after hearing how well he understands the offense and I still believe that's true.  However, calling the plays, knowing the plays, blocking schemes etc. does not directly translate to reading a defense.  With that said, last year Trubisky was completely lost in the first few games.  Despite all the uproar this year he's nowhere close to looking like that QB.  If he was, and with all the other issues on offense we'd be in even worse shape.  I guess means we'd be ranked 32nd instead of 31st :(.   Overlooked are many of the good throws Trubisky made that were well defended.  It's a mixed bag for sure but he's making more accurate downfield throws than he was at this time last year.  

Anyway, everyone has had a hand in the poor offensive play.   Assuming Nagy was trying to bring in version 202 of the offense this year it's clear his entire unit wasn't ready for it.  So now we reverted back to the basic plays, something Vic was probably ready for after seeing the offense go through this last year.   We all saw an improved running game in Denver albeit an inconsistent one.  Assuming we stick with that early on against Wash, we should start seeing a bit more of the 202 offense on passing downs.  Especially with Burton back on the field.     

I'm optimistic too in part because Shaheen started playing like a man this past week.  Plus we're already leaning more on Montgomery as opposed to the overweight Davis.  If this continues it should help get the short passing game going when plays break down (outlets) or they pull away a LB who could be spying on Trubisky enabling him to scramble for more yards.  That freelancing ability is where Trubisky has the most value at this stage in his career.  He didn't make the Pro Bowl as a pocket passer so Nagy has to allow him to use that.  For his part Trubisky has to become more comfortable taking the easy underneath reads earlier in the play and enabling his playmakers to do their thing.   

 

 

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I understand that Trubisky is the guy all this year and next.  But guess I'm the negative Nancy here.  I just don't see him as a franchise QB.  And  I don't believe you can win a SB without one.  We had the greatest defense in the late 80's early 90's and one of the best in the mid 2000's.  We only made it to two SB's and won one.  We could not even get back to one in the Ditka era because we had no consistant QB play.  And that was in a era that you could win with a great D and serviceable QB.   In todays game it takes a lot more that just a great defense.  Just to much offense allowed.

 

And I agree there is a lot not clicking yet this year.  But as good as everything was working most of last year is still not going to be enough with Trubisky.  With all the teams that have a Fran. QB that are so far ahead of where Trubisky is. And where I think he is going to get.   I hope I'm way off, I have waited for 60 years to have a great QB.  We have had great everything else.

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2 hours ago, Bill said:

I understand that Trubisky is the guy all this year and next.  But guess I'm the negative Nancy here.  I just don't see him as a franchise QB.  And  I don't believe you can win a SB without one.  We had the greatest defense in the late 80's early 90's and one of the best in the mid 2000's.  We only made it to two SB's and won one.  We could not even get back to one in the Ditka era because we had no consistant QB play.  And that was in a era that you could win with a great D and serviceable QB.   In todays game it takes a lot more that just a great defense.  Just to much offense allowed.

 

And I agree there is a lot not clicking yet this year.  But as good as everything was working most of last year is still not going to be enough with Trubisky.  With all the teams that have a Fran. QB that are so far ahead of where Trubisky is. And where I think he is going to get.   I hope I'm way off, I have waited for 60 years to have a great QB.  We have had great everything else.

If Trubisky doesnt improve this year, they will find another QB for next year. Maybe a rookie who starts by week 5 or something.

Im not saying Trubisky wont improve. I see it as like 50/50, and Im not making a prediction.

What I am saying is that he doesnt have this year AND NEXT to prove it. He has to show big growth soon or its over. Our team is too stocked, and the window is open now. Pace and Nagy wont wait two more year if the light doesnt come on.

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Hey Bill (and others).  I hear what you're saying and like you have suffered through too many disappointing years to believe this is the year...until I'm proven otherwise. But in order to be a true Bears fan you 1) have to stay on the bandwagon even when the wheels appear to be ready to fall off 2) be a pessimist and 3) have eternal faith in your team.  With this, you are not alone. 

Similar to what NYC said, this is essentially a 'prove it or lost it' year for Trubisky, but I wouldn't think  that holds true as much with Nagy...and here's why.  

Besides all the maladies I illustrated with the other teams above you have a TON of prima-donna, 'me-first' players on other teams that are dismantling the integrity of the league and in some cases, ruining the teams they are on or were on. Look no further and you'll see Antonio Brown and his ridiculous shenanigans,  or Jalen Ramsey and his wanting off his one year removed playoff team, or Minkha Fitzpatrick jumping the sinking ship that is the Miami Dolphins, or Zeke Elliott pouting in Cabo (or wherever the hell it was) before he got is $90 million payoff, or Melvin Gordon essentially doing the same...but with no results...yet.  

From the coach's perspective, look no further than last week and you'll see Nagy learned his lesson from the week one loss where he tried to be too cute and instead changed the script and pace to match more where his players were for week two. They still looked shaky in some cases but I got the idea improvement was being made, if only incrementally.  Then from the team's perspective, take a look at all the young 'up and coming' players within the Bears. To include some high caliber superstars and solid character veterans among them and you'll find not a one thinking about themselves first.  I think it safe to say that Nagy and to some extent Pace have to take the credit for that.  The team isn't outwardly expressing their dissatisfaction or frustration and focusing on "stacking the wins" and working towards that common goal. I think Adam is right that as the team progresses they will meet the challenge accordingly and surprise a lot of us, even those of us who are more pessimistic than others.   

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Grizz, agree, and Nagy will get a pass if Trubisky fails, bec ause he wasnt part of the team that drafted him. Pace will take the hit, but he has done enough to probably be able to weather that, especially with Nagy's support.

So, either Trubisky wakes up, or we will be trading too much to draft a QB again, and honestly if that's what happens, Im Ok with it - I think Pace and Nagy will pick a winner.

So I dont trust Trubisky or know which way he is going (Im rooting for him, but I dont have rose colored glasses about it) but I DO trust Pace and Nagy to bring us a championship.

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Interesting that the RBs are getting a free pass in all of this. If Trubisky is at fault for averaging 174 yards per game passing behind that O-Line, why is Davis off the hook for his 2.5 yds/carry and Montgomery off the hook for his 3.3 yds/carry? I love Montgomery, and he looks legit, but we need more production out of everyone. One of the reasons we have 3rd and longs is our running game has been crap too.

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17 hours ago, BearFan NYC said:

Grizz, agree, and Nagy will get a pass if Trubisky fails, bec ause he wasnt part of the team that drafted him. Pace will take the hit, but he has done enough to probably be able to weather that, especially with Nagy's support.

So, either Trubisky wakes up, or we will be trading too much to draft a QB again, and honestly if that's what happens, Im Ok with it - I think Pace and Nagy will pick a winner.

So I dont trust Trubisky or know which way he is going (Im rooting for him, but I dont have rose colored glasses about it) but I DO trust Pace and Nagy to bring us a championship.

We should be drafting a QB every few drafts anyway. The Packers, when they had Favre, drafted Brunnell, Brooks, Hasselback, Peterson and Rodgers.  

Peace

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1 hour ago, adam said:

I love Montgomery, and he looks legit, but we need more production out of everyone. One of the reasons we have 3rd and longs is our running game has been crap too.

Why...in retrospect and at the time it happened I still haven’t seen why the Bears got rid of Howard.  Between Davis and he, Howard is the better back.   Between he and Montgomery, he’s definitely a change of pace back and will almost unquestionably get the short yardage needed.  I don’t feel the 3rd and longs would have been quite as long.  

And before you say ‘but the stats’, remember that Wentz is a heck of a lot different QB than Trubisky.  He’s getting passes downfield (and scoring TDs) where Trubisky is not. 

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23 hours ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Why...in retrospect and at the time it happened I still haven’t seen why the Bears got rid of Howard.  Between Davis and he, Howard is the better back.   Between he and Montgomery, he’s definitely a change of pace back and will almost unquestionably get the short yardage needed.  I don’t feel the 3rd and longs would have been quite as long.  

And before you say ‘but the stats’, remember that Wentz is a heck of a lot different QB than Trubisky.  He’s getting passes downfield (and scoring TDs) where Trubisky is not. 

I believe the team thought Howard was too one-dimensional for the offense. Basically when he was on the field, they were running the ball or the defense didn't have to worry about him in coverage (outside of a checkdown). That made it very easy to defend. That is my assumption. Montgomery, Davis, and Cohen all can catch the ball out of the backfield in an actual route. 

Stats aside, Howard is now Philly's short yardage back. Sanders is the lead back and Sproles is the 3rd Down back. 

The common thread between our anemic passing and running game is Nagy and the O-Line. I will put most of the passing woes on Trubisky, but for overall offense, it's Nagy and the O-Line. We rarely have running lanes as Montgomery is juking guys in the backfield to get a 3 yard gain out of a 2 yard loss. In the passing game, there is rarely a clean pocket, and when there is, no one is open, or Trubisky air mails a pass. To me, it can't get any worse. We survived two games of bad offense and the only way to go is up. The preseason regular season games are over. We should see a huge improvement over what we saw the last two weeks on offense.

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2 hours ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

In other news; how about that cat Gardner Minshew?  Looked pretty sweet in last nights convincing win over Tennessee?  Was 20 of 30 for 204 yards and 2 TDs. He’s looked solid over the last 2 1/2 games he’s started in.  And the round he was picked in?  6th.... hmmm

 

He looks legit. Seems pretty confident, and is doing it without a great supporting cast. With Foles coming back later this year, he may be an option for some teams (Bears *cough* *cough*) next season.

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10 hours ago, adam said:

He looks legit. Seems pretty confident, and is doing it without a great supporting cast. With Foles coming back later this year, he may be an option for some teams (Bears *cough* *cough*) next season.

He was ok.  He has talent along the lines of Chad Pennington and he was very accurate at times and horribly inaccurate anytime he was on the move.  

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