Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears Game Thread

Like i just said to varder, objectively a bad pick 6 that he shouldn't have thrown. Can we all look at this play objectively and agree that this mistake was borne of trying to do too much? Fields knew it wasnt on, he was trying to force it to make something out of nothing. Can we all objectively agree that Fields has to do exactly that, make something out of nothing, on way WAY too many plays with this Offense? Its isn't quite every other play but it does feel like it. Put into that mindest that often, he's gonna get one wrong now and then. Its a fine line. Fields extends plays and escapes in situations other QB take sacks for huge losses. I guess he needs to learn to pick and choose more, to take a little l on a play to avoid a big L.

But i hope getting more help around him in future, paired with maturation, will improve that mindset that he cant/doesnt have to make a mind blowing move on every play.



Having covered that mistake, would you like to objectively heap praise on Fields for one of the many outstanding plays he made yesterday? You prob have between 10-15 to choose from.

 

There was an overhead camera angle of that play. The defnder covering Mooney was meant to get rubbed but didnt, he was all over it. Mooney wasnt open and it was the right choice not to throw it. I really didn't like the play design, if the rub doesnt come off perfectly it seems the whole play is blown. Nothing backside apparently and no big guy at the back of the endzone option either.

 

Seriously, I’m confused. The bears don’t pick their opponents and neither do I. Refs fucked up plenty yesterday, but that minimizes me summarizing that refs are going to be bad whether we like it or not…how exactly?

The bears shouldn’t have lost to the lions and the refs shouldn’t have even been a factor? If’s, buts, candied nuts…

Fields was trying to do too much, but at the point he was at, already rolled out of the pocket and heard footsteps of the guy Jones whiffed on blocking behind him, and Hutchinson took away your flat/safety valve short route instead of risking having his ankles being shattered in pursuit of a sack—throw the damn ball away. That’s textbook and it was beyond frustrating because on many other plays in games prior and even in this one Justin throws the ball away and lives to fight another down. Bad timing for a critical lapse in attention and decision making.

From the easy TD missed to Griffin earlier this year to this play, fields can’t lob a pass over a short defender backpedaling to an open guy in the middle with a db over the top. And I want to see him stop trying at that, especially when he’s in a pinch as I listed above.

Throw the damn ball away means you don’t make it a 1 score game and give the lions (with assist from the refs) a chance to get back in for the lead when your bum ass kicker kicked like he got drunk by halftime.

And yeah, I’m harsh, when fields otherwise was solid and produced unlike many of this on the 53 man playing yesterday. However I was able to objectively distinguish (and even said earlier) I put the vast majority of this loss is on Eberflus, who was a walking zombie on the sidelines watching his team unravel and give the game away to an inferior opponent. Then Getsy, then Santos, then Williams/the defense, then Braxton Jones, then fields. Fields otherwise was great all things considered with the shitstorm tornado around him, again with his legs and even incremental improvement in passing, but I want more from the passing side. I still want a 300+ yard passing performance from Fields. Yesterday should have been an easy day for that because short of one bad block from Reiff, he handled #2 overall for most of the game. Jones looked passable in pass protection at LT on a few passing plays. Some guys were open he didn’t see. And yes, I want this game to be one of those ‘growing pains’ we look back in the future and chuckle at when the offense has more talent.

 

What I saw was a young QB that made one big mistake and then did everything in his power to make up for it. Tried to do too much at times and when he absolutely had to stand in the pocket and deliver a pass.....his pass protection simply wasn't there as it hasn't been most of the season.

Mooney was covered and if he throws that ball it's at best an incomplete and at worst a pick.

100%

 

I objectively slandered it seconds after it happened. Can't make that throw. Simple. Fields said the same after the game.

You can't. Plain and simple. And I'm sure Poles knows that. And knew what he was doing when he made the trades he made. This season was never about wins.

 

I am not typically someone that lumps on officials. Players have to control what they can control, this is true.

But in a game where a phantom hands to the face calls nullifies a complete game changing INT and leads to the other team scoring a touchdown......fuck you...the refs fingerprints are all over the result of this one.

What we saw yesterday does not fall under the refs are humans and make mistakes. There were multiple game altering calls/non calls. Completely unacceptable in a season where we've seen games the Bears had a chance to tie or win late also have questionable non calls in them. I'm struggling to just shrug it off.

 

Admittedly this is not the All-22s and its just from the TV angle but it looks like the throw can be made if its made in the direction of the pylon, even with the coverage. If anyone else has a better angle of it I'll change my opinion.

 

Everyone sees what they want to see. I see a covered receiver. Not pictured is the 11th defender who I believe is at that moment is somewhere around the C in Chicago with eyes on Fields.

 

I'm pissed about the calls too and I'm sure we'll hear from the league office that we got fucked over again. But you're suggesting that this had nothing to do with human error. Cuz yeah the league wants the Lions to do better but not us? I don't get it. Unless you are suggesting that this particular crew rigged the game for their own interests. Yeah I'm not willing to go down that road.

I don't "want to see" that he missed a TD throw. I want to see what actually happened and that's why I said I'll change my opinion if someone has a better angle of it.

 

I'm sure it's human error. But this is a narrative every season and it seems like every season there's a team or two that gets it worse than others while some teams seem to routinely benefit from it.

PI calls and non calls are ruining games. Packers got away with PI at the end of their win yesterday. It's not okay. And there's a simple fix by allowing PI back into challenges in some capacity.

Refs are human. They make mistakes and can't see absolutely everything. But if a fan at home can see a call is wrong seconds after it happens.....why can't an official in the booth radio to the crew chief and say hey that call was wrong, reverse it. Or hey that's PI throw a flag. the broadcast sometimes has a chance to replay a play 3 times and slow it down and break out the chalk to explain a play before the next snap....does anyone think an extra official with authority to right wrongs from booth is gonna slow down the game too much?

Fix it. I love the NFL. I love football. But this sport has had too many officiating controversies over the years. From what is a catch to what isn't to the Vikings/Saints PI that wasn't all the way back to Yancy Thigpen running out of bounds before catching a playoff touchdown. It's not okay.

What you should see is a defender on Mooney and a step away from him. What you will see if someone does post the video or different angle is a second defender behind both guys on top of the play. And that is what Fields is looking at.

Now what really matters is the result of the play. Fields could have throw the ball. It might have been a touchdown. It might have fallen incomplete. It's certainly as least somewhat possible a pick is thrown.

What Fields did was run it and score a touchdown. Which begs me to ask.....what the fuck are we even talking about it for? Fields shit out gold and you're upset it wasn't platinum instead?

 

I've got to catch up on today's conversation, but I just wanted to add something that I believe I saw when watching some plays back.

On the long Kmet touchdown - the PA max protect - I believe that Detroit only had ten men on the field. I know that I'm tired as hell, so maybe I'm wrong, but... the Lions were working to give that game away.

 

There was another play where Detroit had a late sub with the 11th guy running on the field with the ball already set and the Bears ready to go at the line....and Fields paused way too long while staring at the defense. He needs to just snap the ball and take his chances against a defense a man down. It was, I think, the DT who was late getting on the field.

Those are the little things good vet QBs do. Fields hasn't gotten there yet.

Bears were definitely the dumber team on the field and that's saying a lot.

 

Yeah I'm with you on all this. There should be an official in a booth that immediately communicates to the head ref that a flag should have been thrown or not.

It was brought up by me as I saw indecisiveness yesterday. Yeah of course I'm thrilled it was a TD, but I thought this was another example of a play the ball should've been thrown. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong.

 

Now, hang on. I watched that first TD pretty closely. Yes, Mooney is running a switch at the LOS and the play is meant to go to him - the other WR is running a pick. But two things happen there that I think would've made it a highly risky throw to Mooney, so I don't blame him for not throwing:
1) they ran a PA. Fields wasn't set to throw at the point where Mooney would've been open. The PA made no sense there. If you're gonna run that play, let Fields just throw it. This pisses me off.
2) If I remember right, the CB's either switched coverage or the one covering Mooney didn't get slowed much by the pick. So it was a really tight window right after the snap.

 

Ev beats me to it, as usual.

 

I think if that play is ran effectively and executed well that's a layup pass for a touchdown. I just don't believe it was executed right by anyone involved including Fields.

Fields had quite a few plays yesterday where he was too slow to read what was happening and threw the ball late even though most of them were still completions. It's the one thing Butt Fumble mentioned during color commentary that he was actually right about.

He definitely needs to be more decisive, quicker.

 

This is right. That play isn't meant to be a 50/50 ball, it's meant to be an open man shallow in the end zone. If Mooney were running it more vertical, I could buy Blang's argument about putting the throw ahead of him, but as it was Mooney was running flat along the goal line with his head turned around. If try and throw that past a driving defender, that's an easy pick. Fields might've gotten this out in the momentary window he had if he wasn't also running a play action, but based on the play design and the execution, I can't fault Fields for not throwing that ball. He made something out of a play that was destined to go nowhere based on everyone's execution.

 

But this is what I alluded too earlier. Matt LaFleur is in the refs ear after every other play when you see the camera change when the players line up again or break to huddle for the next play. So is Pete Carroll, Belichick, and the rest of the other teams that I see when I watch other games get the same calls you talk about.

Flus doesn’t do that. He just stands there looking stern. And I’m not looking for him to go full Sweet Lou Pinella on them, but do something. Say something. Get in the refs ear. We see the pettiness of bad calls be given back in the form of a gift call. Happened a few times earlier in the year against Minnesota. Guess what Kevin O’Connell did after the bears got a couple cheap calls? Hint: he didn’t look stern with his arms folded doing nothing.

It’s an entirely stupid thing to talk about because if it were up to fans, there would be no flags. But there is nuance to being a coach that goes beyond being the ‘silent types’ who players like to play for and their sHITS principles.

This is something I don’t think reviews or challenges of penalties (that’s been tried and didn’t matter because refs won’t admit they’re wrong) fixes. It’s not going to get better if you hope for that. I fully admit I could be wrong, but this is something I think only gets better if Flus does something about it.

 

A clip of the Blackson hold i was talking about last night. Bear in mind this call took place off the back of basically non existent holds that had already been called in this game against Braxton Jones and Ryan Griffin. Thats the bar now.

Not just a massive hold, but similar to the PI on Kmet, short of flat out tackling someone this is as easy of a holding call as an official will get. Once the OL's arm gets up over the shoulder pad and wraps around stopping the pass rusher in his tracks, thats a clear and obvious hold. Blackson was barrelling right down Goff's throat on that play, no chance the pass is completed at the very least but that doesnt matter cos the RG went full koala bear.

Blackson gets to within 2-3yards of Goff at the end of his dropback and is directly in front of him. No way in hell an official should be missing a hold like that. And again, this play brought up 1st & 10 at the 40 when it should've been 2nd & 20 at the 10. Total joke.

 

Well said.

I remember that exact play. I was yelling at them to just snap the ball and go. If i recall Fields took ages looking at the D before finally audibling into something else(didn't the left slot come in tight perhaps expecting edge blitz?).

I like that Fields is trying to do this, its just very laborious and slow at this stage cos he's still learning. I also don't know why he needed the late DT to get set before making the call, he really doesnt tell you anything about coverages/blitz, the back 7 are more important for that.

Its all a work in progress, just hope he can pick these things up quickly.