Alaskan Grizzly

Man that is an intriguing question. I don’t think straight up I would; Fangio for Pagano. But if you were to suggest promote Pagano to HC then bring Fangio back for DC, yes I might consider it. It frankly concerns me that Fangio will probably be a DC for another team if not by next year, soon after.

Funny, was thinking very similar thoughts these last few days. Thought that maybe his being too 'family oriented' although not a bad thing makes it difficult to make the tough calls. Like Burton, like Long, like others we (as fans) have seen struggle and wonder why it is they're still on the field playing. With Trubisky its a similar quandry but a tad more complex because not only can he not get him to perform, but he feels obligated to make him good. Both for his own ego/resume and for Pace's viability. As a few of us have pointed out, Pace put quite a bit of his own credibility and draft capital on the line to trade up to get Mitchell. (By the way what was the concern again with SF possibly drafting Trubisky ahead of the Bears that precipitated Pace making that call? And how are they doing these days?). Anyone who has had the opportunity to supervise and lead people knows one of the biggest struggles is making the tough personnel calls. Usually its in the realm of discipline or letting someone know they aren't cut out for the job. Less than more are successful at doing this; it goes against human nature and is difficult to balance while still keeping your respect intact. Which brings me to another thought I had earlier today. Pagano is similar to Nagy in his 'good guy' persona and wonder if the defense's falling off isn't partially due to their being coddled..if only a little? Sure I get the fatigue factor and loss of a player like Hicks but when the defense was run by strict disciplinarians like Fangio and Marinelli they rarely accepted mediocre performance, let alone complete break downs. Don't get me wrong, Pagano is a great coordinator and coach (his record proves that) but maybe there is TOO much of a good thing/vibe going on? I read recently that in the last three losses Mack was nowhere to be found after the game. The media, who he usually doesn't mind jawing with, noted he's become absent after each loss and 'not available' for comment. You'd think a leader on the team should be willing to take the heat in trying times like this, if only to give the pat answers of 'we need to stay focused' and 'we have to move onto next week and get ready for (enter next opponent's name)'. "Club Drub" is an excellent title for this post and to be honest I'd be OK not to ever see another "club dub" again, even if they do win.

Remember seeing this play live and went crazy when I saw Montgomery make it to the second level untouched. My wife said he didn’t have ball and said Trubisky still did (she usually is tricked by plays like this, not this time, it was me - lol). What’s more I watched highlights and again fell for it. Anyhow, agree that it was a well designed play. Trubisky’s inability to do his progressions is killing his ability to succeed. This is where Daniel is better. Maybe can’t throw the deep ball but can read the field.

Great overall post!!!

I’ve never really been set on Pace but Nagy I’m still hoping will figure it out. The thing is I wonder if he weren’t able would you consider to can him before this season ends and put in Pagano? We know he’s had success as a head coach elsewhere. Letting him be interim this year would be better than waiting to see what happens after the season ends and he gets let loose. Problem with it is that Pace will remain; we know how unpopular it is to keep coaches and not GMs...been there done that, no one except me liked it Again that was a total ‘what if’ moment for conversation only and I’m still not given up on this year ... yet.

Problem is, Trubisky can’t hit the deep ball with any consistency or accuracy. I can think of two attempts yesterday where he “tried” and both times the receiver was double and triple covered. In one instance he under-threw the receiver. Adam is better at stat gathering than I but I’d be willing to bet his deep ball (anything 15 yards or more) accuracy or completion rate is pretty low. He wasn’t even able to hit the intermediate passing routes with any consistency, unless the receiver was named Robinson.

Agree on ‘no’ for Kaepernick. He had one decent season...nearly 7 years ago. Disagree with letting Trubisky play the rest of the year. It seems all hope is lost at 3-3 but like some have pointed out this was where the team was this time last year. Right now all the team needs is a rhythm; and that can be had on offense. The piece most needed to change; QB (with a heavier dose of running). It’s probably too late (with the bye week behind us) to make an out of team change but I really think Chase could get this team pointed in the right direction if even he plays as pedestrian as expected. That right now is a whole lot better than what Trubisky is doing. Last night the Eagles and Cowboys were both 3-3 as they squared off to play one another; some had started to write off Dallas, they were saying things like Garrett would get fired and all that. Then Dallas comes out and blows away the Eagles 34-10 and its the Eagles who are suddenly looking lost (Nagys last team and a team only 1 1/2 seasons away from winning a super bowl ... hmm). Anyhow the point being, I believe the team can recover from this. It’s a simple adjustment here or there and grasping hold of some positive mo-jo and things will get better. As Aaron Rodgers once said; “R-E-L-A-X”

Agreed. Who knows maybe he’d be a good option for the Bears offense? I think he’s a bit smarter (and has had a more prolific college career) than our current “Franchise QB”.

Probably not a popular discussion topic but I seriously think Daniel would do better at running the offense for the foreseeable future. He’s more an Alex Smith type player who can manage the game well enough to keep the defense off the field more than Trubisky has. I know he didn’t look all that hot against Oakland but to be fair, no one did (he did help the team come back and lead after the half if that’s worth anything). If he’s able to play his game manager style and give the defense more time to rest, the season isn’t quite lost yet. His ability to manage the offense will allow players like Montgomery (and anyone not named Robinson) a chance to produce. And maybe, just maybe if Trubiksy were to have a Mariota like moment and be benched maybe he’d get a clue...

Was just about to post this idea . Had seen some chatter recently about this. Makes sense. He knows this offense and has done well in it.

Ha!! They just said that this is the first time since 1975 that the Bears haven’t been able to produce more than 300 yards offense through the first five games. You may be into something.

And there is something wrong with Smith. He seems to be a shell of himself. Totally out of position on several of these up the middle run plays.

Agree with you Adam, time to blow the team up again. Trade Mack to someone like SF (he deserves better), dump Trubisky, shit-can Pace and find a GM that doesn’t try to get cute and draft D2 players or 1 year collegiate starters at QB because he’s smarter than everyone else. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C

Time to sit Trubiksy. There may be some offensive play calling shortfalls on Nagy but half the time the plays where significant gains can be made; they’re being blown by Trubiksy.

Oline doing their job...Trubisky uhm.... And why isn’t the team running more with Montgomery?

9-0 Saints... go offense!!! I was premature but a turnover nevertheless. Ugh...

I think as the season wears on we’ll see more of Horstead and/Holtz. At TE I don’t think the answer is Burton any longer and it never was Shaheen.

I do more than consider it! ?????

Upon further review... I’m more amped about an internal promotion in the form of Nall too. Makes more sense and he has shown he belongs on the big field. Davis hasn’t done it for me and I’m still skeptical of Montgomery. But with better oline play its possible they might get better. Heck, Trubiksy might even improve. ??

So was the oline...good question.

I think is stuck... lol.

Agree that the oline has been key to some of the offense’s issues. But do you really, honestly think Davis is a complimentary back? And realistically speaking we haven’t seen Montgomery do much. Yes I know he’s been hampered for the most part but still he’s the only (potentially) legit back the Bears have (unless Nall is still on the PS?). I’m not convinced that Cohen is much more than a one-trick pony. If the coaches were not to like what they see in practice from any of them, then maybe it’s a consideration? I think NYCs point on draft capital might be the only reason not to consider it at this point...but that’s just me.

Saw a story pop up on NFL.com from an analyst on Thursday night football suggested Chicago should make a trade for current Charger back Melvin Gordon. He made a compelling point about Gordon’s versatility (think similar to Forte and maybe older version of Montgomery). This guy seems to be alone in his thoughts on Gordon becoming a Bear (at least for now). In looking for some corroborating stories it appears there was some similar talk last July/August. Would it make sense financially to get a player like this? I could see the need solely at the position. If the Bears were intent on getting a new RB I’d personally like to see them go for a player like Kenyon Drake currently with the Dolphins. He seems to me more like a Jordan Howard type player, better at between the tackles. And if memory serves can catch too. He’s had two +100 total yard games in recent history with 198 versus NE and another 140 against Denver. I’m mostly a fan due to his being a former ‘Bama RB similar to Josh Jacobs and Derrick Henry.

In case anyone was curious, Titans QB Mariota was benched in favor of back-up (and former Miami starter) Ryan Tanehill yesterday. Many will say it was a lateral move and many would be right. But for me the interesting part is how similar Mariota and Trubisky are to one another. Not just by the 'eye test' but also statistically. Mariota started his career in 2015 (after being drafted in the first round that year and second overall....hmmmm). Overall his percentage completion rate (because I know we've used that as a measure in the past) is 62.2%. In 2015 he threw for 2818 yards with 19 TDs and 10 INTS. 2016 - 3426 yards with 26 TDs and 9 INTs. 2017 - 3232 yards with 13 TDs and 15 INTs. Last year was his highest rated completion rate at 68.9% with 2528 yards with 11 TDs and 8 INTs. This year he has been able to throw for 1179 yards with 7TDs and 2 INTs (and a career low 59.1% completion rate). Trubisky (also drafted second overall in the first round) stared his career in 2017. His overall completion rate is 63.7%. In 2017 he threw for 2193 yards with 7 TDs and 7 INTs. Last year he threw for 3223 yards with 24 TDs and 12 INTs (and his highest completion rate of 66.6%). And so far this year he has thrown for 588 yards (for a so-far completion rate of 65.1) with 3 TDs and 2 INTs. I'm sure the argument will be made that they had different receiving, different running, different offensive schemes maybe even better oline coverage in one instance and not the other but when you go back to the simple 'eye test' it seems to be A LOT of parallels can be drawn between Mariota and Trubisky.

So I really think it boils down to how well our offense performs against their defense. And looking at things on paper, its possible the Bears could win. The Saints defense is currently ranked 10th overall (to the Bears 2nd). They have (Saints)10/(Bears) 17 sacks, 4/4 forced fumbles (even), 2/4 interceptions, 2/1 defensive TDs, they allow 23 to the Bears 11.3 pts per game, 295/265 yards passing and 112.5/61.5 yards rushing per game. I think that last stat is the most telling. The Bears (so far) have been able to stifle most running games and should be able to with Kamara possibly limited (although we have to remember RB Latavius Murray isn't all that horrible himself). The fact they give up 112.5 yards rushing per game tells me that the Bears need to be 'coming off the bus' ready to run. I'm hoping with the recent/potential changes on the oline with Montgomery having some time to think about what lies ahead, they'll be dominant in that regard. I think it'll come down to running the ball ultimately. And I'm thinking whether it be Trubisky or Daniel at QB we'll see a lot of 'game manager' type plays with short and intermediate passes sprinkled in. Their pass defense, although not prolific, still has CB's Apple and Lattimore who aren't necessarily slouches. And MLB Kiko Alonso can be a force to reckon with … if he ate his Wheaties that morning. I'm thinking a low-scoring game and somewhere in the neighborhood of 13-7 or similar to your prediction.