Bears4Ever_34

He looked awful today. On two of the touchdowns by Oakland, you can see Roquan weirdly with his back to the play as the ball carrier is running right towards him. Whatever happened, it definitely seemed like there was some carry over into this week, because he didn't look like himself. His whole situation is one of the most bizarre stories since Jay Ratliff showed up at Halas Hall calling himself the devil while threatening to kill everybody in the building. For Roquan's sake, I sure hope it's not some kind of deranged mental health or substance abuse issue that's beginning to take hold of him.

I'm not sure Montgomery has had more than 3-4 runs all year longer than 10 yards. They are almost at the point now where they might be better off just throwing on every down and using the screen game as their version of a run. Leno and Long are unplayable. One can't block anybody, and the other holds or false starts every other snap. I've been saying it since week 1, but Harry Hiestand has to go. Ever since his arrival, the Bears have not been able to run the ball effectively. They changed their blocking schemes from the Adam Gase zone blocks to more of a physical man on man style, and it has failed miserably. As far as I'm concerned, both him and Tabor could be gone tomorrow, and I'd be thrilled.

I'm done with this team as Superbowl contenders. Team came in totally unprepared to play, caught 3 lucky breaks between the Carr fumble, the McManis punch, and the Daniel INT that was called back because of a bogus roughing the passer penalty.Oakland ran all over them with impunity. Absolutely zero pressure on Carr. It was just a horrible game from start to finish. The offense was bad, as usual, but they scored 24 points and had a lead late in the game until the defense choked the game away yet again in a clutch moment. This is now the 3rd consecutive time the defense hasn't been able to stop a team from taking back the lead in a do or die situation (PHI, DEN, OAK). As talented as they are, we need to stop referring to them as the best in the NFL. They are most certainly not anymore. Lastly, I'll just say this about the offense: Their run game is one of the worst I have ever seen from an offense. David Montgomery has like 2 or 3 runs for over 10 yards this year. That's it! They're so bad that they are even committing holds on plays where Montgomery is losing yards! Between Leno and Long, I'm not sure who's been worse for them this year, but the penalties are an absolute killer. Allen Robinson has been the only consistently good performer on offense for them this year. He's a beast. 3-2 heading into the bye. Their schedule is brutal now. This loss very well could be season defining if they follow it up with another loss to New Orleans. So disgusted with this team.

They're definitely going to bring up Bray, at least for next week, but if Trubisky is going to be out for an extended period of time, they'll have to sign another guy to replace Bray. Maybe Miami will trade us Fitzpatrick for a conditional 7th, lol.

The Bears have the best D-Line and LB unit in football. I had never heard of this Nick Williams until he made his 1st sack of the year, but he's been making plays left and right. I think he already has 4 sacks in 3 games. He and RRH have been one of the big reasons why I think this defense is going to be a little better than last year's. It's always nice to see some improvement from within. Heck of a win against a good team today, and totally unexpected given the injuries. Even before the Trubisky thing, it was looking like Dalvin Cook may go off for over 100 with Hicks and Roquan Smith not playing. Hats off to the team for fighting through all of that and getting a win. Having said that, it's becoming clearer by the week that this offense is not going to be good this year. They do not open up any holes in the running game, and they don't stretch the field vertically at all to challenge defenses. Just as I said I think the defense is a little better than they were last year, I think the offense is probably a little worse, too. I would be surprised if Trubisky doesn't miss most of the season now. I suppose the only silver lining to his injury is that it's to his non-throwing shoulder, but that looked like a broken collarbone or separated shoulder that may need surgery -- which could cost him the next 8-10 weeks. They're definitely going to have to bring in another quarterback. Colin Kaepernick anybody?

The offensive line has been brutal all year. They've made incremental improvements in pass protection, but the penalties and not being able to open up running lanes for their RB's has had a hugely negative impact on the entire offense, including QB. Kyle Long looks like he's about done. The injuries have taken their toll on him. He doesn't look the same. He doesn't move the same way he once did. James Daniels hasn't been good either.

The Bears rarely ever make it look easy. Without Keenum's boneheaded play late in the game that caused a fumble, that most likely would have turned into a 1 score game with over 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter. The Bears defense, once again forgot how to play football in the 2nd half, and it seems to be a reoccurring theme that they start allowing these big cushions to receivers while they gash the defense for 15-20-25 yard plays on every pass attempt until they are in the redzone. I didn't like what I saw from either side of the ball in the 2nd half, and that definitely dampens the mood after what should have been a complete curb stomping after the way the Redskins played to start the game. Mitch had his best game of the season, which should have been expected against a terrible opponent. He wasn't very sharp all night, even on the throws that he completed I thought his ball placement wasn't very good. His best throw of the day was the last TD to Gabriel. Those are the kinds of plays we need to see more of. He did a tremendous job slithering his way through the pocket and throwing on the run to a guy downfield. I think all of his touchdown throws were outside the pocket, which should tell you something if you're Matt Nagy: He's good at throwing on the run--call more plays like that. The biggest thing this win does is that it buys more time for the offense to figure things out. Next week isn't a must win, but it's pretty close. The NFC North looks like it's shaping up to be the toughest division in football after every team won this week, and the Bears are still sitting in last place, despite being 2-1. They need to keep pace with everyone else, and the easiest way to ensure that is to beat your division opponents. The injuries to Hicks and Piniero could be huge for the game next week, especially with Dalvin Cook and that zone run blocking scheme the Vikings run with now. Hicks is the Bears best defensive run stopper, and not having him out there might be exactly what the Vikings need to continue running as effectively as they have been all year. That concerns me greatly. The Piniero injury also is a major concern, because he can't kick outside of XP range right now, and injuries to your nerves take a long time to heal. I really hope it's not something that lingers far into the season, because the Bears will not be able to survive very long if they have to get inside the 30 for every FG attempt. All in all, they won, and that's a good thing, but there's still a lot they need to improve on in order to take back control of the division. A win next week would be huge, especially going into a game against Oakland (who they should beat).

Eddy has EASILY been the MVP of the team this year, and that's not a good thing. He scored all their points against GB and added another 9 to Mitch's 7. So he's outscored the actual offense 12-7 through 2 games. Yikes... Leonard Floyd has been a beast, as has Roquan Smith. Those two look like budding pro bowlers. You know Mack is going to be there. Allen Robinson has been the only weapon on offense to do anything of consequence so far. Patterson showed off his speed on that one run, and Montgomery looks like a solid RB even though he never has any holes to run through.

Now, for the rest of the team... Defensively, I was not very impressed. I thought they played worse than the score indicated. I was angry all game watching them sit back and play soft coverage when it was so obvious all Denver was going to do all day was the quick passing game to eliminate the pass rush. They gave up way too much space to Denver's receivers, and would have lost the game had it not been for Eddie Money's heroics and the 1 good play Mitch made all day. I noticed the 2pt conversion Denver ran was the exact same play Philly used against the Bears in the playoffs last year. That's the Golden Tate play. I guarantee Fangio influenced that call, knowing the way Kyle Fuller likes to play off his man. They need to figure that play out sooner or later, because it's a copy cat league. Everybody is going to be running that play against the Bears in critical situations. Onto the offense... Pretty brutal day all around again for Mitch and the offensive line. Mitch is getting all the blame, but quite honestly, the Bears offensive line has been just as bad through 2 games. They cannot run the ball and get push up front. Ever since Hiestand took over, they have been ass in the run game. I miss the zone blocking stuff Adam Gase implemented when he was here. The OL was good in pass blocking last year, but this year they have been bad in both categories. It's not possible to be a consistent offense with bad offensive line play, no matter who's at quarterback. That's not an excuse for Mitch, because he's been terrible, but it's just stating a fact. Without improvement up front, the Bears are not going to be able to run the ball, and it's going to force Mitch to complete a lot of 3rd and longs, which is something you absolutely don't want to happen. All in all, 1-1 looks a hell of a lot better than 0-2, so you'll take the win. But you have to be concerned about the ceiling for this team when you see what kind of offense it appears they have now. This is not a championship level offense. It's not even NFL worthy, frankly. They really can't get much worse than this.

Eddie "Money" has a nice ring to it. What a hell of a kick. I have to be honest, I expected him to shank it, but looking at that replay, he may have hit that one from 60. The ball touched the back of the net before it came down! Kudos to him. The Bears may actually have a kicker now. 3/3 for the day, including two 50+ yarders, and obviously one of them as a game winner. It doesn't get much better than that. I also want to give props to Patrick Odonell. Easily his best punting day as a Bear. I think he's mostly sucked for most of his Bears tenure, but he stepped up today while the offense struggled once again. Without the special teams today, the Bears would have lost that game by at least a touchdown.

At some point, Nagy is going to have to realize Trubisky isn't a pocket passer and start playing to his strengths more - which means getting him outside the pocket and having him run around with his legs. A good way of protecting a limited quarterback is to have a strong running game. Give the ball to Montgomery and see if he's capable of being a bell cow back. There's no way Trubisky should be throwing the ball 45 times in a game they score 3 points and never went beyond a 1 possession game.

I wish to live in a world in which Ryan Pace chose Patrick Mahomes instead of Trubisky... God wouldn't that be a sight to behold. It's becoming more and more clear that Pace chose the worst quarterback of the 3 and probably saved his job when he traded for Mack. Trubisky has not progressed beyond a 1 read quarterback. He doesn't see the field well (He missed wide open receivers downfield several times against GB). His arm strength is pedestrian, at best, and his down field accuracy is still garbage. At this point, I'm almost ready to say that him becoming Alex Smith would be a compliment to him at this point. The more I watch him play, the more Blake Bortles/Tim Tebow I see in his game. He's going to play against an even tougher defense next week against Denver - where, historically, they've been nearly unbeatable at home early in seasons. I am not confident he will bounce back, but I'm also not super confident Denver will be able to put up many points against this Bears defense with Joe Flacco playing quarterback. If the Bears are going to win, it's likely going to have to be because of turnovers or a defensive score.

I hate looking at silver linings after a game like that, but I was really impressed with the way Trubisky handled the spotlight late in that game. There were a lot of people, myself included, that wanted to see how he'd play having to bring the team back from a deficit in the 4th quarter. He didn't have many opportunities to do that this year, because the Bears were usually playing with a lead, so at least when it comes to that, I thought he made some impressive throws in big moments, and hopefully that bodes well for him going in to next season. I also just want to say that Roquan Smith is the real deal. What a game for him. That interception was incredible. He just flat out took it from the guy and nearly ran it back for a TD had he not been down by contact. There wasn't anybody catching him. And for a LB'er to be able to run stride for stride with a receiver the way he did on that deep ball that wound up being an incompletion is insane. I think he's got All-Pro potential written all over for him. I think Pace nailed that pick. Lastly, I'll just say that going into next year, the Bears need to address the RB situation, because I think Jordan Howard needs to be replaced. He struggled to break tackles all year, and looked slower than usual on plays where he would get to the 2nd level. The Bears really need somebody more explosive who can take it the distance when he gets past those LB'ers and into the secondary. They need to find the next Kareem Hunt without the character issues. To me, that's going to be the most important thing the Bears do all off-season, because it could change the dynamic of the offense completely and make them a hell of a lot more explosive.

Robbie Gould is a free agent.

They also had the easiest schedule in the NFL this year. Don't look at who they play next year, because it's not going to be pretty. This was their year to take advantage of things that fell their way with the Packers uncharacteristically faltering, the schedule, and the injury luck they were afforded all season long.

It's amazing how all 3 phases had signature bad moments in this game that contributed to the loss. The offense couldn't score more than 15 points against a defense that isn't very good; the defense blew a 4th quarter lead in the final minutes on the most critical drive of the game, and then the kicker missed another chip shot of a FG that should have given them the victory after a brilliant drive by Trubisky to put themselves in position.

What a waste of a season. Bears blew it when they didn't cut Parkey 3 months ago. Came back to bite them after Mitch Trubisky leads them to what should have been his 1st playoff win.

This game has been so bad on all levels. The officiating has been absolutely atrocious. Bears offense going backwards, the defense forcing turnovers, but still can't get to the quarterback. It's really going to come down to these next 3 weeks to determine how legitimate this team is at making the playoffs. If you had to ask me today, my gut tells me they're no better than the 3rd best team in the division.

It's so fitting that Kevin White, the guy Matt Nagy has benched in favor of the special teamer Josh Bellamy, almost tied up the game with a big-time catch near the goal line in the final seconds. Favoring Josh Bellamy over Kevin White is so indefensible it makes my head hurt. I get that White isn't the guy the Bears projected him to be coming out of the draft, but the guy can still run down the field and make contested catches in traffic. He doesn't have to run amazing routes, he just has to run really freakin fast and make plays down the field. Infuriating. I sure as hell hope those last few plays White made may change the coach's mind about the depth chart going into the next few games. Give the kid a chance.

Next two weeks are must wins. You usually only get 6 losses to make the playoffs most years. If the Bears lose 4 games before getting into the bulk of their divisional games in the coming weeks, you can pretty much say goodbye to your post-season hopes. They also have the Rams, which is almost certainly a loss as well. That's why that Miami game was so crucial, because you expected this Patriots loss. 4-2 looks so much better than 3-3.

This is not a playoff team.

You're not kidding. I had the same reaction. Why do our DB's look so freakin slow? It's not just this game either. Everytime there's a receiver running down field with the ball with a bit of space, it's like he blows by anybody and everybody within the general vicinity like they're not even there. Eddie Jackson, in particular, takes some of the most atrocious angles I've ever seen. He was brutal all game. Fuller has never been good when he trails a play. I'd have to watch it again, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did give up.

Yeah, I'm not sure what to say about Leonard Floyd anymore. The "he was hurt", or the "He's doing the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet" excuses are running a little thin right now. It's starting to feel a little Shea McClellin-ish to me the way people are talking about him now. "Well, he ALMOST got there!" Dude is invisible out there. The Bears didn't draft him #9 overall so he could wrap up ball carries 5 yards down field. With Mack and Hicks taking all the double teams, there is no reason in the world why Leonard Floyd should not have at least a few sacks by now. If this trend continues, you might have to label him the second clear bust behind Kevin White. The only time I've heard his name all year were the two penalties (which should not have been penalties, btw) he was called for in this game. He had a fumble recovery in the Seattle game. That's literally it.

Defense was the main reason they lost the game. That was even worse than the Packer's game. It looked like the beginning of the Arizona game, except it lasted for all 4 quarters. When 80 year old Frank Gore gashes you for almost 7 YPC, and you give up 380 yards and 3 TD's to a god awful quarterback, who is now 4-0 in his career against the Bears, you deserve to lose. Trubisky was terrible in that first half. Missed a touchdown to Anthony Miller on the first drive of the game, and wasn't really able to get anything going until he started connecting with Gabriel down the field in the 3rd quarter. The interception was really bad, but it never should have happened if the officials don't take it away after a ridiculous call against Trey Burton that negated a touchdown. In reality, the Bears left 14 points on the board between that play and the Howard fumble at the 1 yard line. 28 points still should have been enough to win that game. I think what we are starting to find out right now is that this defense is definitely not worthy of elite status, and I'm starting to wonder if they wouldn't be downright bad without Mack playing otherworldly. He was a no show all game after he messed up his ankle. Guys weren't getting off blocks, RB's were falling forward and gaining positive yards on every run, nobody could tackle.. After that Dolphins first TD, I said to myself this was going to be one of those games. These types of games are the reason I find it impossible to be a glass half full guy as a Bears fan. Anybody who's been watching the Bears over the years knows how rare those Tampa Bay games are. There's been a hell of a lot more bad than good. It just seems like, for whatever reason, this franchise can't handle any success. The minute they win a couple in a row, they almost always follow it up with a clunker. The worst part of this loss is that they have to follow it up next week against the Patriots. It's almost like 2 losses. I'd be shocked now if they win that game next week. But if they do, it could yet again change the narrative of the season. I think it will determine how the rest of the season shapes up.

Welp, that was pretty much a perfect game on both sides of the ball. Trubisky FINALLY had one of those high ceiling games, and the Bears defense continues to dominate. Never would have anticipated this, but this is the kind of stuff I needed to see, particularly on offense, to allow me to relax a bit about this teams playoff chances. 3-1 heading into the bye. Should be 4-0, but still #1 in the division. They need to take care of business against Miami, but that NE game is already getting me excited.