BearFan PHX

Good analysis, I agree.

I think our D line was terrible, and it was, and it has been and will be all year, but I think we played pretty well in other phases?

I didnt mind the early penalties, I felt like we were serving notice that we were going to be more physical. And to be fair, int hat first Packer drive, where we gave them a tone of yards, we also knocked the ball out twice, got a hit on the QB and got a tipped ball that could have been an INT. Early penalties like that dont bother me - I like the tone setting, but false starts and stuff are dumb. Of course after the first bit, you dont want to keep seeing those penalties, but the early ones when we were all amped up? I kind of loved them. Let em know theyre in for a real fight.

THe way i see it, I feel like youre talking more about the offense. For example, if Caleb makes a good fast read, and delivers a catchable ball that's dropped, and we end up having to punt, thats the offense needing more consistency, but i give Caleb a + score for that play? Now Im not saying Caleb is perfect, but if you watch the best QBs, they arent either. The last couple weeks especially it feels like the game is slowing down for Caleb and he is playing in rhythm, and to me, that means he is becoming elite. Doesnt mean he cant still work on things, of course he has to, but I see him executing the offense correctly, calmly, in time, and now with accuracy (which is new to see) so i think he took that next step last night.

Even if you ignore the heroics at the end. Watch the drive where we eventually snapped the ball over Monangais head - Caleb was spectacular on that drive. The whole game he played with poise and rhythm. Of course there are plays where he has to throw the ball away, where the defense wins. There is no QB that doesnt have that. But Caleb has superstar written all over him, and I think he got to a new level last night.

and he is talented as hell, and the lightbulb is coming on for him as a pocket passer, just like we hoped. He wont need these heroics much longer. He's about to be a top QB. I think this was his breakout game. If you watch each play, he was magnificent. The offense sputtered, but Caleb was GREAT. Oh and here are his recent records: 1) #1 lowest interceptions for a QB in their first 1,000 passes of all time (since the merger) 2) Second highest career TD to INT ratio of all time. Rodgers is #1, Caleb #2, Mahomes and Brady are in the top 5 too. 3) Ties Payton Manning for most 4th Qtr comebacks (20) under age 25 And he is still improving - the signs are there. He is on the path to being a top QB for a long time. And I believe he took a huge step tonight. Much calmer, better accuracy, timing was fantastic, good reads, and a total winner at the end. Due to our D line being terrible we didnt have the ball much on offense, but that long early drive when we fumbled the trick play at the end? Go watch Caleb cook he was on fire, and so calm - it looked easy. And the end of the game too. A real winner and difference maker. If you could trade Caleb for ANY QB in the league to roll with for the next 5 years - cap aside, just straight up - who would you take? Id stay with Caleb. Thats who he is. The signs were there from the start, and its all coming together now as Ben Johnson teaches him how to actually play the position.

100%

its incredible and theres so much room for improvement too! And if we had a pass rush, wed have more possessions too

usually that's the kind of thing Rodgers did to us. Caleb is getting there. Im telling you guys - CW is for REAL.

We have a hell of a team here. Caleb is becoming elite right in front of us, right on schedule. And we are doing all of this without a shred of a D line. Imagine how scary we will be with an actual pass rush. We need to do whatever it takes, trade whoever is necessary; JJ, Moore whoever to get one. Draft them too. You add a pass rush to this train and we are real killers.

The stats wont tell the story (again) but Caleb had a fantastic game this week. Everything looked crisp & decisive. And of course what he did at the end. He's becoming elite right before our eyes.

yes! I didnt mean to be critical! i just was making sure i wasnt gonna miss the first 20 minutes?!

agree - I think all you can take from this is whether a QB is a one read or run QB, after that its too chaotic to really mean much. I suppose the extreme opposite too - if a QB is routinely throwing ti evenly to 1st 2nd and 3rd reads that might mean something too about reading the field. But if that QB is under pressure, it might just be the scramble drill and not even distribution by design?

I thought it was 6:20pm here?

There should be two versions of this chart - one when blitzed, or OL allows free runners, and the other when facing coverage. Teams have been blitzing Caleb a lot, more than most QBs, so we need to punish them for that with hot reads, screens, draws, jet sweeps etc.

And if we end up winning the division and being the second seed, our first playoff game would be hosting GB. If we end up as a wild card, our first playoff game would be at GB. There are other scenarios, but like 90% of the outcomes are playing GB one way or another.

This game may define where we are as a team culture, but without Odunze and Burden, we can make a gut check call, but we cant demonstrate how dominant our offense is, theyd have to go off too to do that. But can we win? Hell yes. I expect a lot of running, play action to TEs, and hopefully we can get Moore involved, but i bet theyll double him. I sure hope 12 and 14 are ready to go.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1873277293297823

ha love it without any evidence, just in my gut, I'll bet they will be more aggressive about this than we think. I have no idea what that will be though, but it wouldnt shock me to have two new starters on the DL, and even more new faces in the rotation.

for sure known to our scouts and Bienemy the NFL, but not to me! I only looked at film of like the top 8 or so HBs and that was it. I dont watch college ball. After we drafted him, my Dad, who does watch Big Ten Football told me "oh yeah that guy is a beast" so he knew, but I didnt lol

I personally was hoping for Cam Skatebo. He has definitely show that hes great, but I can't complain about Monangai at all - a real hidden gem. I didnt even know his name until we took him. So score one for the front office on that one. Was it Poles? Bienemy? Some scout who banged the table to tell us he was great enough that we were willing to wait for him?

Also, while it was originally designed to happen after June 1st, i THINK (and I could be wrong) that you can only use the June 1st designation a limited number of times, and you can use it before June 1st too, just designate it as such?

I agree. we need at least two new dogs on the D line. It's incredible the rest of the team has carried us here without a pass rush. Watching Jordan Love sit comfortably in a clean pocket for 5 seconds at a time was brutal. And when we try to create pressure blitzing, we get burned. The simple answer is we need a real pass rush from the front four. Add that to this team, and you can see where we are headed.

I think we will do both. We dont have those DE dogs on the roster right now.

not to mention half our losses were in the first 2 weeks of a new head coach and Caleb's development just beginning. It doesnt portend who we are now. I think the main thing is that we dont have a pass rush. That will probably limit how far we go this year, but we have a heck of a team otherwise, and will for several years with these core guys. I expect we will get a pass rush this offseason, and then watch out. But I wont say the Bears cant go all the way this year. They do find ways to win, even with this incomplete roster.