Upsets are Fun

 October 27, 2022

The Bears faced off against Bill Belichick and his New England Patriots Monday night. Prime time hasn’t been good for the Bears. Not only do they lose, they often embarrass themselves before a national audience. The Bears got off to a good start and scored on the first two possessions for a 10-0 lead. The Patriots replaced QB Mac Jones for rookie Bailey Zappe who had been outstanding in previous weeks. In a little over three minutes later, the Bears trailed 14-10. All I could think was the Bears will be embarrassed once again. However, to my surprise, the Bears flipped the switch from previous games. They dominated in all phases of the game and crushed the Patriots 33-14 in a stunning upset.

Kudos go to Matt Eberflus and his coaching staff for taking full advantage of a mini-break in the schedule. They were able to talk with all players and came up with a great game plan. The execution was almost flawless.

Justin Fields may have had the best game of his career. The Bears showed what they should have done all year long. Fields showed how good he can be in a moving pocket. This allowed time for receivers to get open for some long gains. Fields was 13-21 for 179 yards. The Bears dominated the running game, racking up 243 yards. With designed quarterback runs and his scrambling ability, Fields led the way with 82 yards. My favorite play of the evening was with a third and fourteen yards to go, Fields escaped pressure and ran for 20 yards. The Bears also finally realized a quarterback sneak can get you first down in short yardage.

The defense was fantastic. After the Patriots got their touchdowns in the first half, they didn’t come close the rest of the game. Though I have been critical of GM Ryan Poles, his first two picks, Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon
have been really good and should get better. Each had an interception as did Roquan Smith. The Patriots were held to 260 yards and converted only 5 of 10 third down opportunities.

When the season started I thought Cairo Santos could be their most valuable player. He was named Special Teams player of the week. He went 4-4 on field goals. He is now 11-11 and has a streak of 17 dating back to last year. Dante Pettis was installed as the new punt returner.  He almost bobbled one away but did have a 27 yard return.

I couldn’t remember the last time the Bears scored 33 points. Therefore, I looked it up and in 2020 the Bears scored 40 points against a pitiful Jacksonville Jaguars team. Monday showed a glimmer of light and if Fields keeps getting better this could be a more exciting season than I thought.. Let’s see how they do against a sack-happy Dallas Cowboys.

Just Pathetic

 

October 14, 2022

 

Bears QB, Justin Fields, had the best half of his career as a Bears rally fell short against the much more talented Minnesota Vikings. Therefore, I thought the Bears could pull out a victory against a bad (1-4) Washington Commanders team.  Velus Jones Jr. fumbled a punt to thwart any comeback against the N.Y. Giants two weeks ago. He did it again against the Commanders, which cost the Bears the lead and eventually the game, 12-7. The Bears still had ample opportunities to win this game.

The Bears not only reached the red zone three times, but had first and goal from the Washington 6-yard line three times without scoring. Justin Fields was 14/27 for 190 yards. I would venture to say he got hit on at least 20 of his attempts. Fields also racked up 88 rushing yards. However, he made some crucial mistakes which have to be cleaned up. On the first drive, he had a pass tipped and was intercepted. On the second drive, he missed a wide-open Ryan Griffin in the end zone. So far I am not enamored with Luke Getsy’s play calls. On three roll-outs avoiding pressure, Fields was able to make completions downfield. What is confusing is all other plays had Fields in the pocket where he was a dead duck.  Fields was moving gingerly, getting up after the offensive line failed to protect him. He will probably end up injured. Getsy also has to be more creative near the goal line. How about an option play? A quick hitter to a sitting down receiver? When you only need a yard, why not try a quarterback sneak?

Trailing in the fourth quarter, the Bears turned to their running game. When you do this you take time off the board and if you don’t, you decrease the chance of winning. Sure enough, the Bears turned the ball over with 2:43 left in the game. The defense, which was pretty good, got the ball back. Washington coach Ron Rivera helped by going for a field goal that missed, instead of pinning the Bears deep in their territory. The Bears had life and a Fields’ run gave them first goal at the 6 yard line. Dante Pettis got his hands on a pass but couldn’t corral it. A pass to Darnell Mooney was a bit underthrown and he didn’t make the end zone. Game over.   

 

Future Looks Bleak

 

October 3, 2022

The Bears blew a golden opportunity to start their season with three victories in four games. The New York Giants, mediocre at best and riddled with injuries, beat the Bears 20-12. There were not many positives in this game. The Bears looked dazed and confused.

I used to always complain about Matt Nagy’s team offense never scoring 20 points. Take away the Houston game and the Bears are averaging 10 points per game. Quarterback Justin Fields was better but still not good enough. He completed 11 of 22 passes for 174 yards. He was sacked six times and I imagine he got hit on almost all of his passing attempts. The offensive line gets most of the blame. However, the fact that the receivers don’t get open is a bigger problem as Fields holds on to the ball too long. GM Ryan Poles made no attempt to improve one of the worst offenses in the league. Fields isn’t given much of a chance with Darnell Mooney being the only competent receiver.

New offensive play caller Luke Getsy said he would tailor his plays to Fields strengths. However, there were no roll-outs, bootlegs or play-action passes. Fields sets up in the pocket and gets pressure on almost every play. The play calling in the red zone left a lot to be desired as the Bears settled for four measly field goals from replacement kicker Michael Badgley. It’s time to get more creative when in position to score.

The defense looked out of sorts in the first half. They bit on a faked hand off to Saquon Barkley.  Giants quarterback Daniel Jones rolled out and with no one near him, ran 21 yards for the TD. The Bears got fooled by this play repeatedly and Jones scored a second touchdown from eight yards out. The defense continued their trend of not giving up a touchdown all year in the second half.  It’s too bad they didn’t make in game adjustments. Before you get excited, the Bears gave up 262 rushing yards on only 44 runs. The defense was supposed to be Coach Matt Eberflus forte, yet they rank near the bottom of the league in stopping the run.

The Bears offense will need to greatly improve. Even the best defense in the league can’t win games for teams with no offense.  The Bears will have trouble getting any victories on the road. Three of the next four games are on the road.