Week 3 Official Game Thread - DAL @ CHI, 9/21, 325pm, CHI -1, O/U 48.5, FOX

[adam]

Crazy to think the opening line has the Bears favored, but they do. My assumption is that will slide to DAL being the favorite as the week goes on and DAL gets hammered with money.

At this point, it is probably another loss until something happens with the defense. If they can't get pressure, they can't have Stevenson out there trailing WRs by 5 yards on every play. I don't even know what type of coverage he is playing, but he has been one of the worst players on the defense, and teams just start targeting him on every play.

Hopefully the offense decides to get the TEs involved because they combined for only 3 targets against DET. 2 for Kmet and 1 for Loveland. 

Right now the target share by position group is:

1. WR - 46
2. RB - 12
3. TE - 9

[adam]

I am actually shocked the line has not moved, Bears -1. With the JJ news and DAL having Lamb and Pickens, I would've thought that the line would shift to DAL. 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Not sure where else to put this but a Detroit friend of mine shared a screen grab he found.  It was sorta funny and I'll paraphrase.

'Caleb Williams texted Bears punter Tory Taylor in April 2024:  "You're not going to punt too much around here."  Since that time, Taylor has punted a league leading 92 times.  His total yards punting are 4,177 to Williams' passing yards of 3,958.'  

The question I have is, who will rack up more yards this year and who's getting to 4,000 first?

[Bears4Ever_34]

Bears are going to win this game, because they have to.

I like the way the offense is trending. Through the first 2 weeks, they are 2nd in the NFL in explosive plays. Penalties are holding them back. Everything is setting itself up well for a breakout performance against an atrocious DAL defense, and I think they will.

[jason]

I saw a thing on some site that said Poles is gone after the Bears lose to Dallas. That would be surprising, but probably warranted.

[AZ54]

2 hours ago, jason said:

I saw a thing on some site that said Poles is gone after the Bears lose to Dallas. That would be surprising, but probably warranted.

That is not happening.  

[AZ54]

I liked Ben's press conference today.  He's not afraid to call out players, or coaches for that matter.  Yet he does it in way without degrading players.  Nobody is getting compliments from Ben unless they've earned it.  His comment on Wed that this team had yet to have a single championship caliber practice seems to have made the rounds of Halas Hall.  Today he was much more complimentary of the practice effort and focus even if it was still short of championship caliber.     

You won't win games just because Ben Johnson is your coach.  You win them because you put in the work.   At the same time Ben is well aware that it will be a journey to get back to playing winning football.   Although his pained facial expressions make it blatantly obvious he doesn't want this to be a long trip.  

Hopefully this team has more fight in them this weekend when things go wrong.  

[Pixote]

8 hours ago, AZ54 said:

His comment on Wed that this team had yet to have a single championship caliber practice seems to have made the rounds of Halas Hall.  Today he was much more complimentary of the practice effort and focus even if it was still short of championship caliber.     

My question: How many practices does Johnson need to run to identify this issue? Since he was hired, how many practices has he put the team through? 20? 30? 40? Shouldn't this have been addressed before we got our asses handed to us by Detroit?

[Mongo3451]

17 minutes ago, Pixote said:

My question: How many practices does Johnson need to run to identify this issue? Since he was hired, how many practices has he put the team through? 20? 30? 40? Shouldn't this have been addressed before we got our asses handed to us by Detroit?

Good coaches build trust first.  I can imagine the asst coaches telling the players it's not good enough, very vocally.  Then BJ comes in and does the build up with a mention of the effort.  Lose the first game and BJ says, we were right there.  We had it and blew it.  Let's go!  Then, comes the ass whooping in Detroit.  Now it's time for the towel snap.  The public towel snap, after the first game, would have been deflating.  Now, the players have friends family asking them about working harder and being more resilient.  We should see some improvement after adversity this week.  Bear down!

[DABEARSDABOMB]

58 minutes ago, Pixote said:

My question: How many practices does Johnson need to run to identify this issue? Since he was hired, how many practices has he put the team through? 20? 30? 40? Shouldn't this have been addressed before we got our asses handed to us by Detroit?

I think the challenge is - it takes a lot to turn a culture - and you have issues that come from learning new systems and evolution of systems and then you start to dial it in - but the standard is still the standard. Quite frankly - some players may not buy in and do what it takes - they could be good players too - and those players will be shipped out and new ones will come in. 
 

For example - BJ made a point about how you play whether you have the ball or don’t have the ball - used Lions film to show the difference - but players have to fully buy in and it takes a lot - especially for guys who have learned one way. It seems basic to us - but very little things differentiate good to great teams from bad ones in the NFL. 

[Stinger226]

I had to take a break from all the negativity. I normally absorb all the Bears content I can but everywhere is blowing up. I felt bad after the game, I didnt want to keep robbing my positive nature by constantly tormenting myself. Im not saying, its not deserved but trying to find something positive to jump on and haven't found it. 

In saying all of that, I have hope we can put it together and punch out a win. I think Caleb and Rome have big games with the TEs actually getting involved this week. 34-29 Bears. Dallas's defense is as bad as ours, so we got a shot.

[AZ54]

10 hours ago, Pixote said:

My question: How many practices does Johnson need to run to identify this issue? Since he was hired, how many practices has he put the team through? 20? 30? 40? Shouldn't this have been addressed before we got our asses handed to us by Detroit?

 

10 hours ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

I think the challenge is - it takes a lot to turn a culture - and you have issues that come from learning new systems and evolution of systems and then you start to dial it in - but the standard is still the standard. Quite frankly - some players may not buy in and do what it takes - they could be good players too - and those players will be shipped out and new ones will come in. 
 

For example - BJ made a point about how you play whether you have the ball or don’t have the ball - used Lions film to show the difference - but players have to fully buy in and it takes a lot - especially for guys who have learned one way. It seems basic to us - but very little things differentiate good to great teams from bad ones in the NFL. 

You said very effectively what I'm thinking.   This is a process not a switch to flip.  Do we have the right guy to lead that process?  I think so because I see and hear the accountability, and the challenges to the players.  I also think that schematically he knows what needs to be done on the field even if his players aren't yet able to execute that.  The growth isn't everywhere on the roster for sure but the improvement I saw from Caleb and Rome between Wk 1 to Wk 2 makes me think it is starting to get better.      

[Alaskan Grizzly]

48 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

Do we have the right guy to lead that process? 

I think if the penalties go down significantly this weekend that will be a sign he’s able to not only call out players but hold them accountable. Small victories. 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

The thing with this team - with 3 of the teams top 4 corners out they are going to be in trouble. We have to hope Gordon is back and able to stay on field worse case following the bye week and ideally we have a positive surprise and JJ can get back midway into season (although sounds more likely he’s done for the year) and that somehow Stevenson or someone else on roster surprises us. 
 

This D is going to give up points - I also am hoping Turner and Booker will end up making a difference and that will carry over to helping guys like Swear and Dexter. 
 

Point being - it’s going to be hard to win a lot of games with a defensive backfield in shambles combined with a dline not generating pressure. 
 

Now on offense - I really hope we see them continue to trend up and start to really generate some huge offensive games and a lot of real good offensive games.

[Mongo3451]

Dang, we have a soft tissue epidemic.

[Pixote]

12 hours ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

The thing with this team - with 3 of the teams top 4 corners out they are going to be in trouble. We have to hope Gordon is back and able to stay on field worse case following the bye week and ideally we have a positive surprise and JJ can get back midway into season (although sounds more likely he’s done for the year) and that somehow Stevenson or someone else on roster surprises us. 

I noticed this on NFL.com this morning. It is the most positive news on JJ I have heard to date.

Quote

. CB Jaylon Johnson , who was ruled out for Sunday's game with a groin injury, plans to fly to Philadelphia early this week to meet with Dr. William Meyers of The Vincera Institute, with core muscle surgery the likely outcome, Rapoport reported, per sources. If that's the case, Johnson would have a chance to return during the second half of the season.

 

[AZ54]

1 hour ago, Pixote said:

I noticed this on NFL.com this morning. It is the most positive news on JJ I have heard to date.

 

Sounds more like a hernia than a groin injury.