Not Ready For Prime Time

 

September 13, 2021

The Chicago Bears made it close, trailing only 13-7 at halftime. The L.A. Rams outscored the Bears 21-7 in the second half and routed the Bears 34-14. I can’t understand why NBC would choose to televise a game between a Super Bowl contender and a really bad Bears team. The Bears’ flaws I envisioned were in full bloom Sunday night.

I’m not used to a Bears defense surrendering 34 points. With no pressure whatsoever, Rams QB Matt Stafford carved up the Bear defense. He completed 20 of 26 for 321 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had an incredible 123 passer rating. The third offensive play by the Rams was a harbinger of things to come. Stafford connected on a 67 yard touchdown to Van Jefferson. Jefferson caught the ball at the 12 yard line. Safeties Tashaun Gipson and Eddie Jackson failed to touch him down and Jefferson got up and ran into the end zone. Stafford then picked apart the Bears secondary, leading to two field goals, putting them ahead 13-0. Among the three Ram touchdowns in the second half was a 56 yard bomb to Cooper Kupp. Eddie Jackson was in a different time zone than the wide open Kupp.  The Bears overvalued Jackson and rewarded him with a 5 year, multi-million dollar deal. Just think, if the Bears offered less and dumped TE Jimmy Graham’s $7 million dollar deal, they could have resigned All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller.

Once again offensive guru Matt Nagy’s offense failed to reach 20 points. Bears QB Andy Dalton completed 27 of 38 for 206 yards.  That averages to a paltry 7.5 yards per completion. The problem is not the quarterbacks, it's Nagy’s system. Running back David Montgomery had a great game gaining 108 yards. However, Nagy only ran him 16 times. His 6.75 yards average per carry were longer than most pass attempts. He also caught a pass out the backfield that gained 13 yards, yet Nagy didn’t call that play for the rest of the night. Rookie QB Justin Fields came in and completed a nine yard pass, something Dalton failed to do. Fields also scored a touchdown. No matter, Dalton probably starts next week.

Some of Nagy’s decisions were mind numbing. The Bears have trouble on fourth down when needing only one yard. Nagy inexplicably went twice on fourth and six, turning the ball over on both occasions. The one time he punted, the Rams were buried inside their ten yard line which led to a Bear touchdown. What’s amazing, the Bears could have cut the lead to ten with a field goal. Instead, Nagy went for a first down on fourth needing 15 yards. This blew up as well. Wait there’s more! With the Bears trailing, they needed the ball. It seemed as if the Rams were going to settle for a field goal. However, Nagy accepts a 10 yard penalty replaying third down, wasting valuable time. On third and 17, the Rams gain a first down. With 7 minutes to go and trailing by 20 points Nagy sends Dalton on the field. This would been an excellent time to put Fields in.

The offense isn’t going to get better with Dalton. Fields should start now. He can be real good especially if he changes Nagy’s play call at the line. The defense is no longer the Bears calling card. They will get beat up by good offensive teams, like next week’s Cincinnati Bengals.