Alaskan Grizzly

Lots of Twitter chatter (nothing solid though) involving Robinson to Pats for a 2022 draft pick. And Mack to Buffalo. Allegedly the Bills were heavy into trying for Von Miller but lost out to the Rams.

Mahomes seems off ever since the SB loss. I’m not sure if it’s him, coaching or the scheme. In watching a few of the Chiefs’ games lately Mahomes just doesn’t seem to have ‘it’ anymore. The quirky off balance throws aren’t connecting and even those more traditional throws are sailing off target. The whole team seems just -bleh-. Of course you pair that with a bad defense (an Achilles heel for them in the last few years) and that doesn’t help. As much as I love Andy Reid it’s looking more and more like his style of football is getting passé. Just a few years ago (when Nagy was nominated for coach of the year) I was heralding his coaching tree successes. Those that have or are succeeding are coaches like Sean McDermott and John Harbaugh. McDermott is more defensive inclined and Harbaugh got his experience as a ST coordinator. Then there are his most recent former OCs Doug Pedersen and Nagy. Pedersen is currently not coaching and Nagy soon won’t be either. Its possible that the NFL has caught up to Reid’s style of offense and he hasn’t been able to adjust accordingly . Either way, the Chiefs and Mahomes don’t look like the team they once were.

The team has really just become sloppy and embarrassing these last few weeks. Im not sure whose to blame, the WRs or the play calling? Fields did look better but about 50% of his mid-long range throws were off target (to include the late desperation INT at the end). I know the Oline hasn’t helped a lot but he did have some time to throw at least early on, especially when the run game was clicking. And the successful throws were to TEs. Why did the team abandon throwing to them in the short-mid range game? And more frustrating, why wait this long to use them? There is no case to be made to keep Nagy or Pace at this point.

This was a game of who would struggle less. SF has managed to get their collective sh*t together late in the game where the Bears have petered out.

And the defense gives up again. Garrapolo runs for a second TD to seal the game. Game over.

And now Herbert is out. ??

All things considered, Borom has been holding up well so far. Even with Bosa lined up on him from time to time.

‘Good as Gold’ Santos. ??

‘Former 1st round pick’ Williams. ?

Both Daniels and Whitehair struggling mightily today. The most tenured, and usually solid, players on the o-line. Here I thought Mustipher was the problem.

Curious, is this a penalty? ?

Where have the TEs been this year? Why, why, why haven’t they been using them more?

Surprised to see Borom back out there this soon off injury. Holding his own so far. Williams out. Pierce and Nall time?

Have to think he’s gonna run at least one back before long. He’s got some straight line speed. Needs a little more peripheral vision to look like Hester.

Absolutely.

It’s like the second coming for Quinn. Most would’ve had him written off after last year including me. Dude is playing balls out. Making former 1st round pick Williams look like an UDFA. Maybe nothing but I really like Tabor’s intensity.

Not sure about dumping money on Montgomery mostly due to his running style and now having a leg injury on his resume. That smash mouth style of playing AND not wanting to give up on the play adds up to significant wear and tear and quickly…that is unless you’re Henry. On the other hand, Herbert shows what a running back can do when zone blocking is done correctly and you have an RB that has the quickness and vision. I suspect Nagy will be moving on so I really wouldn’t be able l say without knowing who the new coach will be. Are they zone run or more traditional? Do they do a lot of Play action or RPO? I think either (Montgomery or Herbert) would succeed but suspect Monty would run down quicker. For what it’s worth whomever is scouting RBs needs to stay on the team.

This seemed like as a good place as any to lament the extremely lucky (Packers) while unfortunate (Cardinals) win last night by the Cheeseheads. (What happened AJ Green?). While the meme circulates around showing Rodgers all jacked up after being hit, we’re reminded how comfortable Rodgers is in assuming refs will call every petty penalty in his favor.

Eegad…

And in otherwise disappointing news…

I recalled Kreutz being high on Mustipher last year and when looking around for any recent update on what Kreutz had to say, I found the below podcast from 'Windy City Gridiron' and whelp, Olin had plenty to say. He actually bristled at the suggestion Mustipher was the weak link or the problem with the o-line. Keep in mind Olin has been working with Mustipher since he was in college at Notre Dame and approaches the question almost like a proud parent. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2021/10/27/22749494/olin-kreutz-chicago-bears-offense-still-lacking-explosive-plays-with-justin-fields-sam-mustipher A summary of some of the comments about Mustipher in particular: Kreutz says the offense has "problems top to bottom". They "went out last offseason to get explosive players" and are still not an explosive team but are a strong run team. Kreutz suggests that those who think Mustipher is the problem don't know the Bears offense. He openly admits "Sam needs to improve" but is an UDFA making the league minimum. Kreutz says something to think about is that Mustipher is playing Center and that Whitehair and Daniels are not and "Halas Hall knows why that is". Kreutz believes why the Bears rushing offense is 7th or 8th in the league (averaging 120 yards per game on the ground) is because of the things Mustipher is doing from the Center position. He thinks when a team cannot pass the ball like the Bears can't it has to do more with pass protection from the edges (Tackle or TE) more than the interior linemen. (Which to me makes sense). He noted that in the last game against the Bucs, Mustipher was able to make the recognition calls he needed while going against a player like Vita Vea and was still key to helping Herbert get 100 yards against TB (a first so far this season).

And just because I’ve suddenly become a big fan of Peters. He adds this encouraging bit of info. In a separate article he expands on it by saying Borom was talking to him about when he’d be back and that “Larry” (Borom) wanted to work with him to get fit and be ready.

Seems Peters is more in tune with what the fan base is concerned about and fueling the fire. Which normally I’d not be a fan of, but in this case it’s warranted. And he’s probably become a de-facto spokesperson for the rest of the team by showing how mismanaged they are right now. Like you said, he’s really got nothing to lose.

And this little nugget from Peters. Damn! That’s what my daughters would refer to as “spilling the tea”. Is Peters working to become the new team PR man?

I’m torn on this. Yes I agree it is important for someone like Fields to learn under fire but at what cost? At this point all teams need to do is focus on pressuring him and not give him any time to process anything. And what’s worse with him being sacked as much as he has been its only a matter of time before he gets injured. A few times now while scrambling he’s taken some awkward steps that at some point won’t end up well. This is not at all good for him. At this point I think having Dalton take over would be better for Fields’ development. He would need to understand that due to the current circumstances he’s be better off learning from watching and learning than by being under constant fire. I think he’s mature enough to understand that. I don’t think Nagy should be the one making that decision or call but rather whomever the interim HC is. Preferably Mike Pettine.