You Can Kiss the Playoffs Good-Bye

 December 7, 2020

The Bears played the lowly Detroit Lions in what was a must win to keep their playoff aspirations alive. The Bears were upset by the Lions, losing their sixth straight game 34-30. In the first meeting, if a Lions receiver hadn’t dropped an end zone pass as time expired, the Lions would have swept the season series. It’s amazing how a team can hit new lows week after week. The only positive is, this should cost Coach Matt Nagy his job. I’m hoping GM Ryan Pace is not far behind.

Mitch Trubisky continued to play well against Detroit. This is not saying much considering most teams score at least 30 points against this injury riddled defense. He completed 26 passes for 296 yards. Detroit QB Mathew Stafford completed 27 passes for 400 yards. I also saw Mitch throw a couple balls away when there was no one to throw to. Gee, it only took him three years to learn this. Mobile Mitch had only one run play called and he gained only 3 yards. Mitch is not very mobile in the pocket, as he hasn’t learned to step up to avoid pass rushers. This was especially evident when he fumbled late to cost the Bears the win. It wasn’t some blind side hit. He saw the pass rusher and didn’t step up and fumbled. When deep in your territory, your main task is not to turn the ball over.

Nagy’s fingerprints are all over this loss. Passing on second and third down were not the right calls. The proper calls were to run the ball and make Detroit use their timeouts. If you don’t get a first down, you punt and give them a longer field. He said after the game he was being aggressive. Passing deep your zone when trying to use up the clock is just plain stupid as you also risk an interception. The way the defense played it may not have mattered. For the second game in a row, the defense was atrocious. The only thing that stopped Stafford was Stafford. He completed a number of passes on third down with seven yards or more needed for a first down. Aside from two sacks, Stafford had all the time in the world to throw. The Bears also had blown coverages which led to deep connections. Maybe defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano could have made some adjustments as Detroit was having no problems getting big chunks of yardage. On Detroit’s final drive it might have made sense to call a timeout to slow things down. Detroit went 96 yards with the Bears never putting them in a third down situation.

So Nagy should be gone and you only have to look at this last off-season to see that Pace has to go as well. He signed Eddie Jackson for five years and big money for his ball hawking ability. He has zero interceptions and is a bad tackler. Pace signed Ted Ginn Jr. who’s only success has been as a kick returner, something the Bears don’t need. With rookie receiver Darnell Mooney having a breakout season, Ginn couldn’t crack the receiver rotation. The Bears tried him as a punt returner with disastrous results and he is no longer with the team. Pace signed over the hill tight end Jimmy Graham.  He had some touchdowns early but has worn down and is not able to separate from defenders. Rookie tight end Cole Kmet is now getting more playing time than Graham. Pace also signed outside linebacker Robert Quinn. This sack specialist has one and has made no impact in any games. Currently, Pace is dicking around Allen Robinson, the Bears best offensive player. He should be signed pronto before he gets disgruntled. There should be no need to put a franchise tag on him.