Morning after thoughts *WEEK 3 FIRST PLACE EDITION*

I don't know about you guys but I went through several different stages of drunkenness yesterday. There was the holy crap the Vikings and Packers are both gonna lose stage. The here we go it's kickoff...let's go Bears! stage. Then the oh fuck...why are we losing to this team stage. The fire Nagy...Trubisky is garbage and I hate the McCaskeys stage. The...this defense is awesome and we might actually be able to win this game if Trubisky doesn't shit himself stage. The we're winning now don't blow it stage. Capped off by the holy shit we just won and we are in first place stage that was tempered with this would feel better if we hadn't blown it week 1 stage.

Ugly game. But thank Gruden for Khalil Mack, again. Have you noticed that getting a sack is Mack's second option on every pass rush? He's always looking to get the ball first...it's a priority for him. Compare that with Clay Matthews who keeps going for big sacks and pile driving the QB and then throwing his hands up in frustration when he draws a flag. The Bears are leading the league in sacks...and they are getting flagged much at all. That tells you that Fangio and the coaches are doing a good job and it shows the Bears have good football IQ.

Khalil Mack has a sack and forced fumble in 3 straight games. The last player to do that did it in 2016...and it was also Khalil Mack.

Teams aren't scared of the Bears limited passing game at all. Trubisky can't get the ball down the field. The gameplan is simple...stack the box and shut down Howard and then keep the screens and side to side passes in front of you.

There is a way to combat that and it's with slants and crossing patterns with bootlegs. But you gotta trust Mitch to deliver the ball accurately.

Maybe Trubisky is the type of QB that is going to develop really slow...kinda like an Alex Smith. Anyone have that kind of patience?

There's nothing wrong with his arm. This isn't a strength problem. It's really not an accuracy problem either because he can throw strikes. His deep ball accuracy needs work but when he sets his feet that isn't awful either.

It's partly a mechanical problem and partly an inability to read and respond to the defense. One of those is coach-able and the other is an intelligence thing.

In the Packers game I thought Nagy's playcalling and coaching was getting in Trubisky's way. But now that I've seen the Seahawks game and yesterday's game against the Cardinals...it's clear to me it's the other way around. Trubisky is getting in the way of the playcalling.

Hopefully the injury to Amukamara isn't serious. I originally thought Anthony Miller broke his arm the way he was holding it and then it looked like his shoulder popped out of place and may have popped out again after he went back in the game. But I was drunk and screaming too much to actually hear the TV so I didn't hear what the actual injury was.

Kyle Long might be playing the best football of his career and he's doing it on an ankle that is probably 75% at best.

Massie continues to be garbage and Leno ranks just above garbage in my opinion.

Sherrick McManis played 5 snaps yesterday. In those five snaps he is credited with a sack, TFL, interception, QB hit, and a pass defended. Not bad.

I'll leave you with this...

 

Like it or not this offense should be centered around a conventional rushing attack with Jordan Howard as the focal point, though receiving frequent support from both Cohen and Cunningham. Most of Howard's carries should be between the tackles, with the occasional sweep with blockers in front to get him running downhill. Between the 3 RBs, I'd like to see at least 30 carries a game, with at least 20 going to Howard. The passing attack should consist of short quick throws that rarely go 5 yards past the LOS. Think John Shoop. Trubisky may not be capable of winning a game on his own but he is sure as hell capable of losing one on his own. Don't let him make mistakes, don't let him sit in the pocket so he can inevitably freak out and run backwards when the pressure comes. Make the game easy for him. Quick/short throws, quick reads, no thinking involved. I think this can help him gain confidence in the long run. Yeah, it would be wasting some of the talent we have at WR, but I'd rather win games now.

And no, we're not going to be scoring a lot of points this way. As you point out, teams will be stacking the box against the run and possibly playing press coverage on the WRs to throw off the timing of the short quick hitters. 17-20 points per game with this defense might get you 8 or 9 wins. That's how you have to play it.


Other thoughts:

- Nagy wastes timeouts worse than Shitwad used to.

- Floyd has gotten little pressure on the QB this season but he's been ok and he's healthy for now. Mack alone has made the defense legit, even with inconsistent play in the secondary and LB.

- I don't trust Cody Parkey. He's no Barf. But he's no Gould either.

- Josh Bellamy > Kevin White.

 

It’s not an accuracy problem? Brother, you’re still drunk.

Go back and count how many missed receptions were directly accountable on him over/underthrowing his receiver.

I said I wasn’t excited about the Mack trade, because if Mitch sucks, we’re in for another 3-5 year ride of a great defense being wasted by a shit offense, AND I don’t believe a defensive player can impact a season the way QBs do. I predicted 6-10 BM, and I changed to 7-9 AM, believing Mack could shift a maximum of 1 L to a W over the course of a season.

Well, I still worry about the offensive offense under Mitch, but I cannot doubt the Bears would not only be 0-3 without him, we woulda been slaughtered in the asspackers game without him. So that’s already 2 games he’s turned Ls into Ws.

 

There is definitely still a high amount of alcohol in my blood.

He has had inaccurate throws...don't get me wrong. But, generally, his accuracy is good. When he sets his feet and his mechanics are correct he can throw strikes.

He can't make a good read...his timing is piss poor...and his pocket footwork is inconsistent.

His arm isn't the issue. His brain and the lower half of his body is.

 

Bears completed 8 passes behind the LOS yesterday. They completed 7 of those last week and 9 against the Packers. That's 24 of Trubisky's 72 completions. 33%.

 

Of Trubisky's 24 completions....all but 3 them came from within 10 yards or less.

17 of them were 5 yards or less.

This isn't an NFL offense right now.

 

I still say the playcalling in Game 1 was a major factor in the loss.

You can't play prevent defense combined with run-the-clock out offense for 30 minutes an expect to win.

 

Agree.

 

Nagy realizes that this is the types of plays he can call to limit Trubisky's insecurities and mistakes. We're going to continue to see these plays as the season progresses.

 

8 completions behind the LoS for -20 yards, 3 completions of 2 yards or less. That’s 11 completions for -16 yards.

FUCK that’s asking your receivers to do a lot.

 

I hate being so down on our QB but at least we keep it realistic here.

Take a peak at the Browns board....Baker Mayfield has played 1 half of football and they're already electing him to the Hall of Fame.

 

I was about ready to do this with Trubisky after his first preseason game last year. Jokingly the next day at work I put a vacation request in for August 2035 so I could attend his induction into Canton. Kind of sad, Trubisky peaked in his first preseason game and really been downhill since.

 

It's entirely possibly he could progress but just slower. It's just hard seeing him and then seeing so many other young QB's lighting it up.

 

Prince get's new deal ... pulled hammy game 3 , hope I am wrong but may see him on the sidelines with a cap on for a while collecting check after check , just sayin.

 

One of the reasons why I don't hang around the game thread is because I am an eternally optimistic kind of person. You guys ALL know a lot more about the game than I do but I do think I have some logic. Well my husband and friends would disagree but I think it's true. I think it's entirely logical that Trub is going to have to have some time to find his rhythm in the game. He has some weapons but he hasn't figured them all out yet. He's been good in the pocket and then he's been bad. He can throw like a sonofabitch and then he doesn't even try. I really think this guy is going to find his football maturity and soon.

 

They were electing him to the HOF when he got drafted. Most posters there have admitted to being massive homers, but lose their minds when you try to point it out. That's alright... I have always liked Mayfield, and expect him to do well. That said, QB's notoriously hit a wall in their second year starting (Trubisky has been fighting the same wall, I guess), so it will be interesting to see how he progresses.

While the hype over the win is deserved, what doesn't get talked about is the easy INT he threw in the endzone (defender dropped a complete gimme), and the fact that he didn't really win the game for them - he picked up a crucial first down or two. Now, that's better than the crap we've got, but it's a far cry from what some are proclaiming. I'm a Mayfield fan and always have been - I just want to see how it plays out before I lose my mind...

An important point for us all to keep in mind - we shouldn't be comparing Trubisky to QB's outside his draft class. I know the temptation is easy, but realistically, Chicago was taking a QB in that draft, and not before or after. We're right to compare him to Mahomes, Watson, etc., but guys like Goff, Mayfield, etc., should be off the table. It might save us from a little extra personal torture.

As for Trubisky, let's just say that he's never struck anyone as the brightest bulb in the shed. I think I said it a couple times immediately after they drafted him - he seems like he doesn't have the head of a franchise QB. I hoped I was wrong then, I hope I'm wrong now.

 

Something else I'm wondering this morning: would we be 0-3 without Mack on the roster? I think so.

 

Yes.

 

I think there’s no doubt.

 

I think it's fair to compare him to any other QB Pace could have drafted in any draft since he came on board as GM. Pace didn't make finding the QB of the future a priority from the beginning...that was a mistake. He zeroed in one draft to get his guy and made a trade to acquire him. That could be a mistake.