DABEARSDABOMB

Happy Holidays to you and your family!!!

I can't believe Cowboys have a strong defense and the top rated offense and have the record they do. I would be honestly happy if Bears went 2-2 in this final stretch of 4. Doesn't work for playoffs but I think these are all "playoff" teams that they are playing so if they finished the year with that run and a positive trend (most importantly in QB play). It would be huge. I'd feel better about this game with Hicks but I get worried about playaction and Ezekiel and what it could do, combined with the fact that the Dallas pass rush is really good. God I wish the Bears could consistently run the football and do the little things that helped QB's have an easier time adjusting.

Well I was always in the minority on Howard (in fact I thought I was the only one who consistently blasted that move)...but the past is the past.

I agree with you. I think people overreact to Trubisky's lows and we need to just recognize he is probably not a QB who will be at the elite level, but he can still be good and I am not ready to state that you can't win with him. The key to me is the Bears need to keep blinders on, ignore the outside meeting and recognize that this season isn't what we thought it would be, but the team can absolutely tilt the trajectory going into the off-season. Steadily improving offensive performances while the defense stays sharp (although ideally improving turnovers) is exactly what I would like to see. Would be a hole lot nicer saying...you know what, lets upgrade our TE position, improve the line, and add draft picks, because we can win with this guy (Note: I did not say we can win because of him). I of course would add a good veteran back-up for competition (either way). Note: No matter what, I see the Bears changing OC's in the off-season and going to a more experienced guy or at the very least finding someone who could be a "run game" coordinator. Getting the run game fixed is critical to the Bears success. If you are going to build around the strengths of a defense, you need to have a physical ground game to compliment that (helps from a TOP possession and it also can help settle a young QB). The one thing about Nagy I like is, I truly think he will take the opportunity to self reflect on what went wrong and use it to respond positively and be a better head coach.

Mitch was quoted after the game and it is very evident how much more trust he has in Whitehair. This is a permanent change and hopefully Whitehair's snapping issues don't burn us too much. This line has talent so to me there is a huge coaching/scheme issue at play when it comes to the teams inability to consistently run & pass block.

McVay also has 2 years of a track record before this year and they have experienced a ton of injuries and turnover on their oline. One huge thing is the Rams oline has been bad and Goff can not scramble. Bears better take advantage of this and put heat on Goff, otherwise, Rams can be dangerous. But they are also missing a number of playmakers. League is definitely adjusting to McVay but I'd take him over Nagy all day. He has shown he can call and run a pretty good offense over 2+ seasons. Now I would take the Bears roster structure more so as their cap situation is a total disaster. Also, people ignore how important strong oline and protection can be. Goff was all world for 2 years and now he stinks and a lot of that has to do with the fact that he is seeing things after getting hit so much (it causes him to play slower, etc).

I think his personality works as a head coach. The real issue to me is, he needs a guy who can be 100% focused on the offense as well, who will truly challenge him and/or could be a really good run coordinator. Maybe it would work a bit better. I think Nagy is smart...but he's been too cute and too stubborn on things.

I do agree the lack of a good (heck even mediocre TE) is a huge hinderance in this offense. You think of a QB's best friends and its a TE and a running game. Bears have none of them (including zero committment to even trying a running game). Only time they did and Mitch had a pretty good game (albeit didn't convert red zone trips to TD's and had a bad 4th quarter pick/fumble).

The reality is Nagy needs someone who is going to push him and help him with the concepts he struggles at. He needs to relinquish some of the rains...but Helfrich isn't the guy...Childress probably could do it.

Nagy doesn't even know how to design good rushing concepts. The blocking schemes used and the run designs are just horrific.

No you are not. The play calling is absolutely horrendous. I can't put all of the blame on him though, but he gets a ton of it. Mitch is broken and while part of that is on his shoulders as well and he is absolutely responsible for his play...his head coach (a so called QB whisperer) has done nothing to support him...at all. Boggles my mind.

I agree with everything you said about the head coach.

We need a run-control, play action passing, physical offense. That includes a strong oline, etc. I don't think they need an elite QB to win, but they do need an offense that will protect the ball, play physical, win the TOP battle, and get enough points to allow the defense to play to its strength. I truly think Mitch could have absolutely been that guy, but he's been completely broken.

Floyd is a starter on most teams in this league and someone will give him a decent contract for his athleticism. He would have been a good guy to trade at the deadline, but I don't think the franchise was ready yet to basically imply they are punting on the rest of this year. That said, I would trade him this off-season and I do think you could get something of value for him (say a 3rd round pick or so). Maybe more, maybe less. I think they might have been able to get like a 3rd and a 4th if they traded him closer to the deadline.

Right now...I would focus on just being the best game from here on out in the season. Start at 0-0 and build each and every week. Likely means it is less about this year and more about next year, but start fresh. There is plenty of time for Mitch and Pace to change the narrative and through that this team can get the right fight to end the season on a nice run to ensure they are well positioned for next year. Essentially...this is a moment that matters in the franchise...yes the season hasn't and won't go as expected, but from here on out, they still have time to right size the long-term trajectory of the ship this year (i.e., Mitch and the offense building on last week and taking the necessary steps to create real swagger vs. hype) so that the team is still pointed LT in the right direction. This also means they need to measure development over now a bit more as the season goes and through all of this find a way to maintain the culture. There are plenty of scenarios where the exact opposite could happen and this team could turn into a hot mess and we could see a sinking ship fast. I liked how they responded in general last week. There were some mistakes that got in the way and they lost a game they should have won, but it was by far Mitch's best game of the season (pick and fumble be damn), the QB made quite a few really nice throws, good reads, and stepped up under pressure and converted quite a few 3rd downs. It was a major step in the right direction and I hope he can use that as a building point and this entire offense can build from here on out (maybe in a few years we look at the New Orleans game as rock bottom, but also the point in where Mitch rose from the ashes like a Phoenix). Would I bet on it, no, but the best thing that could happen for the Bears is Mitch getting his confidence back....at that point, I still think he can be a top 10 QB in this league. The way he was playing against the Saints, was hopeless...guy had zero mojo / swagger. Emotionally and psychologically broken. And if Mitch doesn't play good enough, you obviously have this off-season to invest in a veteran QB and take a different route of drafting in mid round QB's and see if they can convert that way.

Most of them should be gone now. Google had made a random change. The ads are there to cover the cost to host the site, however, something switched in google's settings and I've tried to adjust back to where it was. Let me know if it is better. As a caveat, it might take 24-48 hours for the new settings to kick in on there side.

Cohen looks like he lost a couple steps and he is a player who couldn't afford to lose anything. He no longer looks like a joystick and his entire skillset relied on his super-human speed and ability to change directions / make guys miss. That skill is completely gone at this point. This is just ugly. We have a QB who looks like a robot who is trying to overanalyze every throw who is incapable of playing fast (some his fault some I think on the coaching staff) and a scheme that is completely broken. Oh and zero running game...AT ALL.

Fantastic news. Now rest of the team needs to play up to snuff so that we can be in a good position to capitalize from getting Hicks back.

It sounds like Hicks' injury is pretty serious. They indicate he is likely back by the end of the year, but even than, I don't hear that as coming off with a high degree of confidence, so he very well could be done for the year. I am really curious to see where Mitch is. Ideally he's healthy cause I at least have some optimism that he could help our flailing offense (yes...he could also do nothing, but I do think he has plenty of traits that could allow him to take a big step forward). Having Gabriel , Larsen and Nichols back will help but man, the Hicks loss is huge. That dude is such a disruptive force in the middle. Roquan is going to need to play strong...Kamara is a beast.

Heck of a career and a ton of heart. I hope he can somehow get right physically to go at it again, but either way, I think him for leaving it all on the line during his tenure with the Bears.

I think a huge part is the oline play and the lack of a running game (to go with Burton being a shell of who he was last year and Miller being completely unreliable with his route-running, that he literally needs to be wide open for Mitch to be confident throwing him the ball). I literally think last year, teams respected Howard enough that they game planned the run a bit and didn't adjust against it until later in the year (and at that point, Howard had a couple good games). This year, with all of the tape and much more unproven running backs, the Bears are totally one-dimensional and when you combine that one-dimensionality with unimaginitive play calling, including 2 of what should be your top 3 weapons on offense being shells of who they can be (Burton - Injuries / Miller - Lack of Discipline / Impact Offseason Surgery & Injury had on his preperation) and it snowballs into something bad. The good part of this is, I think some of these things could be fixed. Miller can get better (if he has the right attitude...I do question whether he has the attitude to respect the details of the game) and Burton is a question-mark (as I don't know how bad his injury really is...however, a bye week should help). Oline was, Long was such a shell of his former self, that I can't see things getting worse there and if anything we see some improvement (Daniels & Whitehair both getting better adjusted and Leno can't keep being as penalized as he has been...just doesn't line up to his historical play at all and there isn't anything about his game that would project some huge regression).

I don't really think I saw a bunch of wideouts open with Daniel either. I think we have a pretty lousy receiving corps and scheme at this point, a bad oline, mediocre to poor QB play, and a poor rushing game (most likely due to the line and scheme). All in all a terrible offense. People overhyped them all off-season, but both the coaching staff and individual players need to step up and fast. The only optimism I have is Leno has never been flagged like he has recently and Daniels/Whitehair should get better as they adjust. On the WR / TE front, we can only hope that at somepoint Miller & Burton emerge as playmakers opposite Robinson (who has been the only good player on offense). I kind of like Wimms as well. Seperately, the coaches need to man up and get better. QB play also has to get better too. Daniels has severe limitations and we know Trubisky had struggled out of the gate as well (albeit...some of that is chalked up to all the items outlined above).

I heard a report that he wore the jersey on the sideline, so if that was the issue, it would seem odd to still wear the jersey.

It is interesting. I don't think this saga is over yet with Matt Nagy declining to confirm that Smith will play. Implies it is the coaching staff's decision vs. players. This could also be Matt Nagy putting some gamesmanship out there, but I doubt it (as it will force more questions). That said, I don't get why Bears would put Smith in front of the media yesterday, only to have the coach back track from it today.

The interesting part is he has been at Halas Hall everyday. I wonder if this is a real personal issue (LT health / family / friend, etc) and the Bears are essentially being there for him and making sure they provide a family environment and treat him right while he gets things situated (some of which includes the fact that being close to his teammates is something that can help him as he deals with whatever the situation is).