The Misery in a Victory

September 20, 2018

The Bears won their first game last Monday. Is everybody happy? The Bears beat a bad Seattle Seahawks team that has limited offensive weapons and had two defensive starters sitting out with injuries. The Bears should have crushed this team, but twice let Seattle get within seven points. In what was eerily similar to the last game against the Packers, Seattle closed the gap to seven for the second time in the fourth quarter. The Bears went three and out, giving the ball back.  Thankfully, Prince Amukamara intercepted a pass and ran it back 49 yards to ice the game

  

BUT any optimism I had is fading fast.

The defense for the most part was excellent. The low point was Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s touchdown pass to the back of the end zone, similar to the Aaron Rodgers TD strike in the opener. Wilson was under constant pressure and was sacked six times. Khalil Mack was solid, causing a fumble. When called upon, Bryce Callahan played really well. Danny Trevathan was a solid player when he came to Chicago from Denver. Last year you could see the how much better they were as opposed to when he was out. The presence of Mack makes him even better. The Bears haven’t had a pro bowler on defense for years. This year they should have two. 

In all my years following the Bears, their calling card has always been defense. No matter how well they played, the offenses lacked a good quarterback, and you can’t win running the ball on every play. These teams never make the post-season. You can’t win if you don’t score. The only time they had an offense was is mid 1980’s. The great Walter Payton was running the ball, while Jim McMahon was passing to Dennis McKinnon and Willie Gault. That team also had one of the best defenses in history.

 After a dumb fair catch, the Bears started at the 4-yard line on their first possession. They went 96 yards for a touchdown, with a nifty 3-yard shovel pass for the score. Just like the last game, after the scripted plays Matt Nagy’s offense staggered. It didn’t help that the quarterback, Mitch Trubisky, was lousy. With the defense providing good field position, Trubisky couldn’t lead them to a score. He underthrew his receiver and was intercepted. He had a ball tipped for another one.  He should have had a third pick. While scrambling he threw into double coverage and a Seattle defender just knocked it down. He will learn to throw that ball where no one can catch it. Trubisky did throw his second touchdown on a short drive. Anthony Miller got himself wide open in the end zone for a 10-yard score. Seventeen points and multiple three-and-outs against this team is terrible.

This Bears team is being built around Trubisky. He was supposed to be taught by the coaching staff how to not look only at his primary receivers. Once in the opener and twice against Seattle, wide-open Trey Burton was screaming for a pass. Watching the film, Trubisky should learn how to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack. Throw it away! What can’t be taught is accuracy, which is supposed to be his strong suit. With the faith I have in General Manager Ryan Pace, I’m almost certain he traded up for the third best quarterback in the 2017 draft. There are going to be growing pains with Alan Thicke being replaced by Matt Nagy.