Monstrosities of the Midway

 December 7, 2022

I have been on hiatus as writing about the Bears’ flaws has become very difficult. The games give me a sense of déjà vu. Quarterback Justin Fields has rejuvenated the Bears’ offense, putting up multiple points that fans have not seen in years. The porous defense gives up more, with opponents averaging 34.6 points in the five previous games.  The Bears get the ball at the end with the game in reach, but can’t get over the hump. Throw in a few special teams mistakes and that’s how you lose six straight games.

Opposing quarterbacks are having no problem throwing against the Bears. There is no pass rush and they have all day to find open receivers. Even injured Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, put up 28 points. The Bears went their third straight game without a sack and had no quarterback hits. It would be hard for any team, no matter how good an offense, to overcome this defense.

The only reason to watch the Bears is Justin Fields. He is a prolific runner with blazing speed. Against the Packers he avoided getting sacked. With protection he completed 20-25 passes for 254 yards. In the closing minutes he was intercepted twice. On the first, much of the blame should go to wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown. The second was inconsequential as it came with the Bears trailing by nine with under a minute left. Offensive coach Luke Getsy gets a lot of credit for Fields' growth. Now if only he can stop making questionable play calls. More play-action, roll-outs and less David Montgomery.  

The Bears won’t win another game this year. With the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills next up, things will get ugly. The Bears are miles away from being mediocre, let alone good. The Bears have close to $123 million in salary cap space. Some of this should be spent in free-agency on a bona-fide number one receiver. You may like the Bears to revamp the offensive line but there are more pressing needs on defense. The most pressing need is improving the front four. Getting a good pass rush makes other players' jobs easier. It will be very interesting to see what GM Ryan Poles will do with the number two or three overall pick.

Worse Than I Thought

 November 15, 2022

The Detroit Lions are supposed to be the antidote for struggling teams. They have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. With the Bears offense clicking, I thought the Bears would win this game. The Bears scored 30 points, yet lost the game 31-30. The Lions have won two road games since December 2020, both against the Bears. This loss was a total team effort. They committed nine penalties for 86 yards, many on crucial plays, one negating an interception. Even the usually consistent kicker, Cairo Santos, missed
an extra point. He also had a kick-off go out of bounds, plus a five yard penalty, giving the Lions the ball at their 45 yard line. One positive is they now stand to have the third pick in the draft.

Once again Justin Fields was spectacular and is worth watching. He led the team with 147 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns. On the first, he broke tackles and barreled into the end zone. The second one he eluded defenders and used his blazing speed for a 67 yard touchdown. The only problem is, a lot of these runs are predicated by breakdowns in pass protection and receivers not getting open.

The Bears are a predominately running team and lead the league in rushing yardage. That being said, Fields only got off passes 20 times completing 12 for 167 yards. These are pedestrian numbers however, when he gets time and moves in the pocket, he is pretty good. Being a young QB, he is going to make mistakes. An ill-advised pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

Fields has started to form a connection with tight end Cole Kmet. He had the most targets and four receptions for74 yards including two touchdowns. It was also nice to see Khalil Herbert get more carries than David Montgomery. Montgomery will have a new home next year. Darnell Mooney also had four catches. It would be nice to add a couple of play making receivers.

The defense again was awful. The pass rush was non-existent making it easy for Lions QB Jarred Goff. They made Goff look like Peyton Manning in his prime. Goff completed 19 of 36 passes for 236 yards with no interceptions and, for the second game in a row, the Bears had no turnovers. It didn’t matter what the distance was as they converted tons of third downs. Bear penalties also contributed to extending Lions scoring drives. Jack Sanborn, who started the year on the taxi squad led the Bears with 12 tackles and their only two sacks. With the exception of Sanborn, Jaylon Johnson, Eddie Jackson and rookies Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon no other defensive players could start on other teams. 

I feel sorry for head coach Matt Eberflus. It’s hard to win games with the talent deficient roster put together by GM Ryan Poles. I’ve criticized Poles for not doing anything to improve the offense. I don’t think he envisioned Fields to be this good. He’s gutted the defense and replaced starters with second tier players. When the season started the four highest salaries were dumped and he didn’t use the savings in free-agency. The Roquan Smith situation became a fiasco. They said they weren’t going to be able to agree on the terms of a new contract. For the Bears, it all comes down to money which Poles should know is why he got the job. He has so much work to do, so I think the Bears will suck for a couple more years by which time fans will be calling for his ouster.

The Growth of Justin Fields

 

November 8, 2022

 

The Bears lost to the Miami Dolphins 35-32 last Sunday at Soldier Field. Disregard the won and lost record. Fields has started to put things together and it seems we have found the quarterback of the future. In all my years of watching the Bears I’ve never been so excited about a Bears quarterback. I can’t remember the last time the Bears scored four touchdowns two weeks in row. 

Fields is the primary reason the Bears‘ offense is on a roll. He ran the ball 15 times for a record 178 yards. The only downside is the Bears called a quarterback run only about 8 times. Fields picked up a majority of his yards on scrambles.  Fields showed off his elusiveness and speed which was fun to watch. His passing numbers weren’t great as Fields was 17-28 for 123 yards.

 Fields’ results are the fault of receivers who can’t get open or catch passes. Just imagine how good he could be if he had some help. The Bears had a couple of chances in the closing minutes to tie the game or take the lead. They would have been in field goal range if the ref doesn’t blow a pass interference call. The game ended when Bear receiver Equanimeous St. Brown dropped a pass right in his hands which, if caught, gives the Bears a first down. This game was also a coming out party for tight end Cole Kmet. He had five catches, two for touchdowns. He also ran the ball once for eight yards and picked up a first down on a direct snap.

 The defense is a joke. Miami scored on four out of five possessions to start the game. The only time they didn’t score was on a missed field goal. There was no pressure on Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and he had all the time world to hit wide receivers Tyrek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Most every quarterback can look good with no pressure, and good offenses will run up multiple points. The only positive is that rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn replacing Roquan Smith had seven tackles.

The Bears defense is so bad that they can’t win a game when scoring 30 points per game. This is okay this year however, they need to fix their talent deviancies heading into next year. In the meantime watching Fields continue to grow should be exciting.  

Back to Earth

 October 31, 2022

The Bear defense gave up 42 points yesterday. The first thing the Bears did to address this problem was trade their best defensive player, Roquan Smith. I have the sneaking feeling the Bears didn’t want to pay him.  This is just the latest of many bad moves by first time GM Ryan Poles. The Bears gave up touchdowns on the Dallas Cowboys first four possessions. However, the Bears were able to score enough to tighten up the game but ultimately got blown away 49-29

If you’re looking for a silver lining it is the improvement of QB Justin Fields. He had his best quarterback rating of 120.0. He was 17-23 for 151 yards. He also gained 60 yards on eight carries. Down 28-7, Fields engineered two touchdown drives. With a Cairo Santos field goal in between, the Bears were within five points. The Cowboys increased their lead to 12. The Bears tried to come back when David Montgomery fumbled. Fields' only mistake was not touching down Micah Parsons who got up and rumbled 36 yards into the end zone. This is not the first the Bears failed to play until they heard the whistle. Down 20 points the Bears went to their ground game. This was a big mistake as the offense was having a good game and you need to pass the ball when you are trailing by a lot.

The defense was atrocious as Dallas pounded them on the ground and in the air. They applied no pressure on Dallas QB Dak Prescott who went 21-27 for 250 yards. Running back Tony Pollard gained 131 yards averaging 9.4 yards per carry. This led to easy third down conversions A big part of the problems is this is the worst tackling team I’ve ever seen.. The defense hasn’t been very good and yesterday was their worst performance of the year.

The Bears have played five of eight road games. The return for two games against Miami and Detroit. They aren’t any good but neither are the Bears. I still can’t get my head around the Roquan Smith trade. Poles is all in on his plans to build this team from the ground up.  So he better be on target with free-agent signings and in the draft.

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.