Nothing good came from last night except for the fact that at least Trubisky is starting and getting experience. - Trubs confidence waned over the course of the game, after looking great on the first drive up until the holding call. He and the offense could never recover from it and he was flat and shaky as the game progressed. Part of his decreasing confidence was the o-line, which got progressively worse and he stopped going through all his progressions. Of course, he got no help from the WRs who ran horrible routes and couldn't get open. - Cut Marcus Wheaton. That holding penalty on him was BS, but cut his ass anyway. - The TD to Zach Miller was the right decision but a bad throw. That ball should be thrown higher and towards the back of the end zone where only Miller can catch it. Lucky it wasn't an INT. - Tarik Cohen had a horrible game, both offensively and as a returner. Reversing field and changing directions works well in a D3 school, rarely works in the NFL. His instincts aren't great and he avoided several running lanes that were available to him by trying to get too fancy. He should be permanently removed from PR duties, as called for by many of us since week 1. - Once again the D is a bottom 5 unit. 11 total turnovers last year, only 3 this year and 2 of them came on special teams. Zero interceptions. Anyone know the NFL record for longest streak of games without an INT for a defense? We have to be approaching it. They made Keenum and McKinnon look like Pro Bowlers. - Credit Fox for the fake punt call, almost made up for the botched 4th and 1 non-play in the first half. - Leonard Floyd had 2 sacks, one of which was on Bradford (the safety). Still, my patience is wearing thin with his lack of production, especially when I see how shitty our left tackle situation is and how solid Laremy Tunsil appears to be. - Pat O'Donnell sucks as a punter, is probably better than Glennon as a passer. - I didn't like hearing reports from the locker room that the team was upbeat after the game. That moral victory crap is the stuff of losers, but what else would you expect from a head coach with a 10-27 record. - We're so bad and so uninspiring that even Trubisky's debut seemed to generate little buzz among the fanbase. Maybe part of that was because of the Cubs game. Still, pretty damn depressing.
For me just to be brief your 10-27 pretty much says it all ... last night the Fox calls a time out on like 4th and 2 , then they take to much deciding on what the hell to do so the run out the O last second and get a delay of game ...WTF !!! .... and then they show Fox laughing about it . Trubisky look like I expected , some good and some bad but the talent is there , he will be the leader of this team for years to come I believe . Back to the smuck HC , his best call ever while in Chicago is a fake punt , good for you John well done. Yes the team lacks elite NFL talent , but we see the same mistakes game after game and all we here is " We will look at the film and get better " yet things simply never change. I would think Fox knows he's on his last leg but who know's , who would be the right HC moving forward ???? I just know it's not someone who's close to collecting SS checks that's something we can all agree on.
I decided last night watching the game that its not just Bears apathy Chicago is experiencing. I have changed my mind, I think the recent downturn in ratings actually means something with the NFL. These games are just getting worse and worse to watch. Shit is not fun anymore. You cannot enjoy a game when the ref crew is the most important phase of the game. I can't believe I'm saying this - but I think its actually worse than the NBA officiating right now. As for the Bears, well... Oh well. I dont think our defense is a bottom 5 unit like you do, but the lack of turnovers is definitely astounding. I know fangio teaches his DBs to watch the WR/their hands and not so much the QB/the Ball. I think we are seeing what happens when you have that philosophy with below average DBs. It worked in San Fran when he had elite talent, but not here. Trubisky looked like a rookie out there. IT really did feel like the flags just killed his momentum. Gotta remember this Vikings Defense is one of the best in the league, so can't be TOO disheartened by his play last night. He was definitely using is feet a little *too* liberally, but that tends to be what rookies do. Happy he is in there, and that 2pt conversion was awesome.
I agree the flow of the game is just down right pathetic , 3 calls on the Bears were questionable and 1 late against Minny was borderline as well , even when they score a touchdown with no possible reversal they have to look at it in the booth to verify . The refs are way to much a part of the game , unfortunately I don't see that changing any time soon.
To a point that was made above: I was excited to watch this game. I turned it off at half, and never turned it back on. I got much needed sleep, instead. No matter how excited for Trubisky I am, no matter how much I love the Bears... The NFL is a bad product, right now. I just don't have the motivation to watch it. It's not good. I recognize that's not what this conversation is about. I don't mean to derail things. But it's the truth.
I disagree that Trubisky’s confidence waned as the game went on. Loggains did a bad job of putting him in good situations. I get that running is the strength of the offense but the 1st and second down runs in the second half into stacked boxes was horrible. You have a QB that can throw USE him. I also disagree with how bad you feel the o line played. Yes Leno got burned for the strip sack but great players like Griffin are going to do that every now and then. It wasn’t their best game but they weren’t horrible by any stretch. I agree that Wheaton needs to go. He sucks. Can’t catch for shit. If you can’t get separation then you need to be able to catch in traffic or on the sideline. He failed at both. It’s Gentry time. He can’t be worse. I think your being a little harsh on Cohen. He is getting fewer reps with Cunningham deign used as the 3rd down back and he is trying a little too hard to make something out of nothing. To say he missed open running lanes is false. The box was stacked. Another fail by Loggains to utilize him better in the passing game. Kind of what the Vikings were doing to us. Outside of the fuckup against the Bucs he has had some nice punt returns. I don’t know why anybody would be against him returning punts. When it comes to the defense outside of creating turnovers, which they suck at, no sane person calls this a bottom 5 unit. The offense gifted them 2 FG which in itself is a testament to how good they are playing keeping them out of the end zone twice after turnovers deep in there own end. The league is built for offense and I think the defense has done well against some pretty good offenses. Give the Vikings credit for exploiting the MLB position that has just been destroyed by injury. Floyd is coming around. In addition to the 2 sacks he drew a nice holding call and should have drawn a few more. He seems to be getting past the sore back. If you think our tackles suck you don’t watch football. Teams would kill for our starting tackles. You can’t expect perfection. I get your mad but what did o’Donnell do?
It wasn't just the strip sack. Trubs had very few clean pockets to step up and throw. He had to move around too much and I think he got a little flustered. I still like the kid, but he was awful last night. He needs to stop overthinking which direction he's going and just go, then the open field moves will happen naturally. He shouldn't be returning punts either. Would rather save his body for the offense. As if you didn't notice, I get pretty emotional during games so things that I say on game threads or in the aftermath shouldn't always be taken literally. Still, this unit is highly disappointing in the turnover department and given the state of the offense, they need to understand that we do rely on them a little to help us win games. Turnovers do that. I'll take a bend but don't break D if they can get the turnover. Otherwise, we're not allowing a ton of yardage but not getting them off the field and allowing too many points. Had so many opportunities in the first half to pin them inside the 10 and only did it once I think. Brad Maynard had no leg but he was a great directional punter. O'Donnell needs to work on it. Especially since Fox loves turning every game into a field position battle.
Name a Bears QB that has a longer completion this season than the Bears punter? Remember Danieal Manning he would just get it and go North in a hurry as he didn't try and fuck the chicken like Cohen did with the east, west, and south shit he's not a fucking compass. ^^^^^This right here, since none of the Bears receivers can get separation get the one guy that possibly can, and get him out in space and with fewer guys out in front of him to confuse him less. Work on it instead of ST's. Keep the defense honest a little playaction would of been nice there once in a while.
Agree with most of what you guys are saying. I’ll add: Was I drunk, or was that a catch on the sideline? I couldn’t hear the announcers at the bar, but I was explaining to some dudes that don’t watch and had never played, “see he had the ball, two feet in, then his knee hits, and on top of that because it’s called a pass on the field you don’t have indisputable evidence so this will stand, or the refs are on the take and I give you guys money”. Five minutes later I’m handing out some dollars. Despite the questionable calls, Fox has this team undisciplined. The 4th and 2 and laughing about it. False starts at fucking home. I’m so done with this asshole. If they really were upbeat after the game he should have been fired on the spot. That’s some juice box level shit. Blang is spot on on the turnovers. Hell remember when special teams knocked the ball out on that return, but the bears players didn’t even look for the ball as it went out of bounds? I do. At least you were competitive doesn’t fly. To me at least trubs got some experience and hopefully he can learn from it and not try to force things. Forcing things is how you end up with Cutler. Hell they could have won all the way up until trubs int. He can learn from that and it was a rookie mistake, but it was still a back breaker.
Hell they could have won all the way up until trubs int. He can learn from that and it was a rookie mistake, but it was still a back breaker. Out of all the shitty calls the one that pissed me off the most was the holding call on Floyd at the end. Kid throws a pick. Defense says don’t worry we got you and forces a FG attempt with 1:54 left in game. Would have been nice to see the kid get a shot at redemption and maybe get them into FG range. But no. Refs decide game over. I don’t usually complaIn about bad calls. That one really stung.
It's interesting that you mention that, VV: I watched Trubisky go from confident and relaxed, in the first few series, to "I have to do this on my own", after his receivers dropped balls, the penalties brought back play after play, and the running game didn't carry them. I call it the "Cutler syndrome". When Cutler had to win the game, and the pressure was on, you knew it was over. When he was down by two scores, and needed a TD, he threw an INT. Trubisky started looking shaky only after his team failed him, and it was obvious that he was going to have to make some real plays during the game. I'm not saying that was the only factor, but it didn't help.
Yes, and I hope he can learn to keep that calm, and not try to carry the team. Maybe someday he can "Erin Rodgers" his way to a win, but that day is not your first start on national TV. It does make me worried what some were concerned about. That starting him might stunt his development because the support cast is not great. Or maybe because Frodo is a goddamn retard.
I was encouraged by Trubisky's play. He was no where near great....but his throws were good. He needs someone on the other end to make a play. Aside from Kendall Wright and Zach Miller....there's nothing there. And both of them are average on their best day. - If Sims isn't gonna catch a pass.....play Shaheen. - Overall, I was happy with how our defense played against their offense. The secondary has played above what I thought they were capable of playing all season so far. - The officials were pure crap but this team continues to draw way too many penalties way too often. That's a coaching and discipline issue. - I continue to see no reason John Fox should have a job after this season is over. - If you do fire Fox....your next hire HAS to be a good one...the right one. You can't do to Trubisky what was done to Cutler and have him learning a new offense every couple seasons with a new OC and HC dictating the plays. A big part of Aaron Rodgers success is the fact he's been running the same offense since he took his first snap. Continuity is everything. - When Leonard Floyd is used strictly to rush the passer....he does a really nice job. He's been used in coverage quite a bit this season, I believe. The skills are there....he just needs to keep working. - I think Trubisky has a much, much better game this coming Sunday.
Seriously. But given that Cohen has seen so much playing time, it's possible that Shaheen is just not better than Sims in terms of blocking/route running/catching. I'll be there live, hopefully he does.
I think Shaheen probably just sucks right now. They are showing with Cohen they have no problem featuring a rook. Shaheen probably just does NOT have everything together right now. Still, he needs to be in on all goal line plays.
Sims hasn't shown me anything as a blocker. Or a route runner. And he's done his best Kellen Davis impression every time the ball is thrown to him...he has 4 catches while being targeted 9 times and I can think of at least 3 times the ball hit him in the hands and then fell to the turf. Play Shaheen. He doesn't have to start...you have Miller. Just play him....what's the worst that can happen? He drops a pass?
Cohen did well in the first game because he got a lot of snaps do to Cunningham being out. It was too much too soon because yes he showed some good running and pass catching but bad in that he was a total liability in pass pro. That is why his snaps have gone down in favor of Cunningham. Hopefully he will get more third down snaps as the season goes on. Shaheen will get his chance when Miller goes down for his yearly season ending injury. Until then TE is the toughest position to transition to coming from college. Especially since he came from a small program. We want him to be a good all around TE not just a pass catcher. He is getting more and more reps each game and has shown improvement as a blocker. You need to be patient with rookie TE’s. That being said one positive from Fox is that he makes changes when players are not getting it done. Gentry being brought up puts Wheaton on watch. If Sims continues to struggle I feel confident Shaheen will get his chances.
TE is tougher to transition coming from college than QB is? Than LT is? Than SS or FS and calling shifts is? Than MLB and calling plays is? Than C and sliding coverage and calling blitzes is? My ass. WR is tougher.....the route tree is far more complicated as a wideout than as TE. Stop making stuff up.
There is overwhelming evidence against the claim that Fox puts in new players when their alternates are playing poorly. Howard didn't see the field until Langford got injured. Meredith didn't see the field until the entire WR position got injured. Glennon is only out because God himself was shouting for him to be gone (we can all debate whether or not this was due to Fox or the front office). Gentry is only on the active roster because other guys keep getting hurt. Even his inclusion in the Bucs game was due to injury, before being sent back down. There are other examples. Fox is not a "best man up" type of guy. If anyone wants to say, "He could be worse", just remember: he's bad enough that the best offensive players on our team have all sat for way too long behind way too shitty players. It's a running theme.
http://amp.si.com/nfl/2017/08/28/rookie-tight-ends-struggles-learning-curve I felt it was obvious that QB is the hardest position in the sport. Excuse me for not saying that. It is a fact. Not an opinion that TE’s have the hardest time with early success. They need to learn both the blocking assignments and the passing assignments.
