Bears Worse Than Mediocre

November 18, 2019

Came home from a Blackhawks game for a late night viewing of a recorded Bears game. I would have  been better off going to bed, as the script remained the same. The Bears lost to the L.A. Rams 17-7. The Bears continue to lose to mediocre teams. This can only mean that they are just plain bad.  The players and more so coaches shoulder the blame.

We’ll start with the offense. Even if Eddy Pineiro hits his field goals, guru coach Matt Nagy’s offense failed to reach 20 points for the 16th time in 27 games. Problems in running the football are partially due to the coaching.  In past games, David Montgomery has looked good with a fullback leading the way. I may have been blurry eyed but I don’t recall seeing this formation once. Montgomery is not in the weak Big 12 college football conference anymore. He seems to have no vision and isn’t quick to the line. He averaged less than three yards per carry. Contrast this to Tarik Cohen who averaged over 4. It didn’t help that Nagy called a run on almost every first down.

QB Mitch Trubisky didn’t look too bad. He also had his usual struggles. Nagy’s first down calls were setting up 2nd and long for first downs. Trubisky was able overcame this to put the Bears in field goal position. Pineiro missed badly on a 47 yard attempt. Nagy, who weekly loses more trust in his players, eschewed the field goal from the same spot on the next possession. He later let Pineiro try from 48 yards. While the first one was wide left, this was way off to the right.  This led to the Bears being shut out in the first half.

Trubisky looked really good and directed an 80-yard touchdown drive on the Bears first second half possession. After that, the Bears reverted to their three and outs. Nagy, who had no trouble calling first down runs, lost faith in his running game and was sending in pass plays in short yardage situations.  My favorite was the pitch option that Trubisky completely botched.

Last year the defense was scoring on takeaways or setting up short scoring drives. The 17 points they gave up Sunday were good. However, this year’s team needs to limit opponent offenses to 12 points.  There were a couple of unexpected glaring weaknesses. Cornerback Kyle Fuller let a pick- 6 interception go right through his hands. He also made a bad decision in coverage that led to the decisive touchdown. Making matters worse, Khalil Mack is akin to finding Waldo.  He has been invisible as of late. The Bears figured out how to stop running back Todd Gurley. Rams erratic QB, Jarrod Goff, was forced to pass and had no pressure on any of his throws. I’m not sure if the absence of Akiem Hicks is the problem. It is inexcusable for Mack and Leonard Floyd not to have any tackles.

The Bears Harry Hiestand is supposed to an excellent offensive line coach. If so, why can’t he teach them how to block on a running play? Maybe they need to reconstruct the offensive line. Eddy Pineiro has joined the likes of Cody Parkey, Connor Barth and Cairo Santos. Since Robbie Gould’s departure the Bears have missed 19 field goals. In that same time span Gould has missed only 3.  Bears have no first round pick to draft a quarterback. Therefore, with their second pick they should choose the best college kicker. Availability will not be a problem.