I'd like to think Poles would trade down in this scenario and use all the additional capital on OL and WR. Were it up to me I'd look to trade Fields too though by the end of this year his value won't be worth much on the open market. If we actually end up with the worst record and Bryce Young is there, yes I would take him. I've seen a few Bama games the last couple years and am much more impressed with him than with Fields at OSU. But I don't think even Poles and Flus are going to move on from Fields this quickly.
I'm 100% fine going for it there. But the play should be either a QB sneak or let Monty try, he's tougher to bring down in that scenario than Herbert. I actually don't hate Getsy's play calling so far (seriously have people already forgotten how bad our play calling was the last 4 years?) but he is too often putting the wrong personnel on the field at the wrong time.
Personnel is my issue. We can argue how plays are called situationally / one into the next, but make sure the play and your personnel go together. Running the ball on consecutive plays behind the left side of your line? That's how they started the game. And you wonder why you don't go anywhere. I know you can't exclusively run behind the right side all game, but if you're gonna start running, might as well start with the guys who can get you a push.
Re the chat about next year's draft, they look very like a future top5 pick to me. And wot Poles chooses to do will be very telling, about next year and this year. Personally I think if he has a shot at a top 1-2 qb next year he'll do it. Either poles is incredibly bad at his job or he's gonna move off Fields at the first opportunity. I'd be getting my hands on as much draft capitol as possible and using it to give Fuelds a fair chance and if he fails that support will be there for the next guy. Don't see it happening tho
Earlier this week it was reported the Bears are now shopping Robert Quinn. Why they didn't move him before the season is beyond me, but I can't imagine his value has gone *up* since.
Yesterday's game was a big loss but not unexpected. I'll leave it up to you guys to itemize the many disaster areas the team has. My thoughts on the game are my own. No one paid me to post this. My thoughts are that there was a definite improvement in Fields' play during the game, with the exception of 2 glaring plays. Despite the problems on the defence, the Bears still managed to stay ahead of the 'oh fuck is that a train coming' score. I know you guys talk about garbage points but the fact is that it showed that they were still trying to tie/win, at that point. One thing I haven't seen yet is any sign of resignation on Fields' face, unlike on Cutler's face when things went downhill on him. Maybe one of Fields' strengths is rallying this team around him. When he puts his feet on the ground and runs the ball, it's obvious he's willing to do anything to move the score up.
If you told us on Saturday we were going to score 29 points against the Cowboys defense, all of us would've taken that no matter what our defense did. Right now, other than the glaring lack of talent, the thing pissing me off is our failure to take care of the football. We muff punts, we drop easy catches, we fumble the ball. And it's not one person, it's anyone who touches the ball on offense or special teams. We're at least a 5-3 team if we didn't have this problem. Learn to take care of the damn ball. This team needs to be drilled repeatedly in how to catch and hold onto the football. I said it on the game thread, but I'm fine with 4 new WRs on the roster next year. And possibly 3 new TEs too. Kmet, who never misses a game, finally gets a TD for the first time in 2 years. He's a #2 TE at best. A solid route running, pass catching TE would be a great help for Fields. We've run for 200+ yards in 4 of 8 games. Wow. Of course we're still 32nd in passing. Priorities for draft in order: o-line, d-line, WR. EJax still is and always will be a horrific tackler, ball hawking skills aside.
It was just a game that exposes the lack of talent the Bears have. But I don't even walk away all that mad because Justin Fields played well against a good defensive team. And he's now stacking good performances on top of each other. That's immensely important. And it provides a sliver of hope for the future.....if Poles doesn't fuck it all up. Huge offseason looms for that man. There aren't enough words to describe my absolute hatred for Dante Pettis. And Sam Mustipher. Two clueless cuntwads. I have no problem giving Velus Jones time to figure himself out. But next year he needs to do that as like the #5 option that runs a few end arounds per season. That offer to Roquan gets smaller each week. At this point trading him seems attractive. But I'd rather find a good MLB for him to play next to and keep him in all honesty. This team so badly needs a big ass nose tackle that eats blockers. Does Ted Washington have a kid or nephew that's NFL ready? We have a pretty good punter. So there's that. Twitter is gonna lose their shit when Poles drafts a DL with his first pick in the draft. And maybe his second. Dante Pettis sucks donkey balls. Mustipher is the donkey. Getsy was a mixed bag for me. Some good....some really, really bad. I didn't mind him ending the game with mostly runs....that was him protecting his QB when the offensive line couldn't in a game that simply wasn't winnable. Wow Cole Kmet caught a touchdown. I think I'll wet my pants. He did just enough for some idiot on social media to make a Travis Kelce comparison. Dante Pettis sucks at everything he does. I'm kinda a Matt Eberflus fan at the moment. I enjoy his interactions with the media. I kinda like his sideline demeanor. I don't hate this guy so far. Justin Fields is winning me over. Not just the better play. But he's actually looking, or trying to look, through progressions lately. He looks more confident and deliberate in his throws. And his ability to leverage the edge and pick up first downs via his legs is fun. He's picked up a lot of critical 3rd down conversions lately. Imagine if he had any talent whatsoever around him. Could be really good.
This is where I'm at. He hasn't given me a reason to hate him either with his attitude or in-game decisions.... yet.
Yeah and the team makes in game adjustments. Maybe weekly game planning is something that needs to be talked about....but even that they definitely changed the offensive gameplan from the Commanders game into the Patriot game. So there's actual discussions taking place at Halas Hall and we are seeing evolution on gameday from it. That's rare in these parts. I don't know what to think of Alan Williams as I don't know how much influence Eberflus has on either the gameplan or playcalling. Based on observing him on the sideline....it seems like Eberflus is letting his coaches coach. The majority of my early evaluations of the coaching staff is pretty positive. Even with Getsy. He's definitely had some pretty awful playcalls. But overall I probably like more than I hate.
The state of our fanbase today kind of disgusts me this morning, with the moral victories and "improving draft position". Yes, I didn't expect to win, but I also despise getting our ass handed to us, no matter how much better the team on the other side is. The Bears Defense allowed them to score a TD on the first 4 drives of the game. They ran on us at will. They almost put up a 50 burger. I'm not going to be ok with that Mel Tucker like performance. There is a difference between losing by a TD, and getting blown out of the fucking water. Yeah, we had a good comeback midway and got it within 5, so the offense did enough for a while there, but that shouldn't make everyone fucking happy. Fields looked better and has continued to improve now, and he's starting to speed up the clock, and the design of using his legs on rollouts, changing the launch point, designed runs....all of these things are helping him, which is fantastic. Improvement is what we wanted to see and it's what we are finally getting, so from that perspective, that's a good thing. I like Brisker still and Jenkins is just nasty, I love it. I really believe we can keep Monty and Herbert. The book is really out for me on all of the coaches, Eberflus seems....fine. I like the HITS stuff, but that isn't translating to not making boneheaded mistakes like fumbles, drops, jumping over a down player. Getsy is a mixed bag. I don't know how much to put on Williams and how much is just a lack of talent. It's a question mark but I'm not down on them at all. HOWEVER, the run defense has been a problem all year and it's going to get worse as teams start keying on it (though it's kind of funny, in this pass oriented league teams having to run is kind of counter to some of their cultures). And the pass rush was non-existent. We are going to have to invest draft capital into the front 7 on defense. We still need tackles and a center on the line. Hell add backup fucking center to the list because I don't want to see Mustipher anywhere near this team next year. Our WRs are pure garbage except Mooney who should be a #2/#3. We are seeing that there are a lot of holes to fill (more than before the season started?) and to me it feels like people are glossing over that because Fields looked better and the offense put up 29 in a losing effort. And who's calling protections? There were several plays where a defender had a free run at Fields. One I remember was a fucking 2 point conversion! How does this even happen?
I need to rewatch that 2 point conversion...that was bad. Still not sure what happened or what the concept was. I did see one play where Mustipher was clearly supposed to help Jenkins block his man and instead did absolutely nothing. Literally stood there and blocked air and the right side of the line got blown up. Saw another where it looked to me like Schofield was supposed to pull and again....he's just standing there blocking air and there's a free defender in Fields' face. I have no idea what to make of the offensive line. The run blocking isn't bad. It's good at times. There are other times when the line hands Monty and Herbert chicken shit and they somehow make a delicious chicken salad out of it.
I wouldn't say people are happy today. But most of us, including myself, aren't pissed/disgusted. Perhaps it is an indicator that we are bunch of losers resigned to a shitty performance from a team that has sucked for years. Had that game yesterday been against the Packers I would've been livid because I have no patience for losing to them no matter what the circumstances or excuses are. Am I happy we lost? No. Am I happy Fields played well again? Yes. Am I happy that our draft position improves with every loss? Yes.
Either Reiff or Kmet blew their assignment on that one. You dont give Lawrence a free run, someone should've been on him. Reiff joined a double team he didn't really need to and Kmet kinda chipped a LB on his way out on a route without ever looking at Lawrence. I tend to think Reiff maybe blew it but this being the Bears they both could've. Either way it gave the play no chance.
This is something that I've been worried about, and it keeps showing up. It's one thing to say that this OL doesn't have the talent to pass block, but they're failing just on the communication front, regardless. If you don't know who to block, or who's blocking with you, it doesn't matter how good you are. I didn't see the game (went to tune in, saw the score, figured I'd spare myself), but I'm curious to see who was making calls. Mustipher? Schofield? I know that they've put a large burden on Fields in directing his OL, and he's struggled with that. I'm curious to see just what they're doing to help that front / the QB out.
There seems to be quite a lot of positivity after last night due the Fields/the offense putting up good points. And i get it. But holy F the defense was a disgrace last night. I mean that was pathetic. Run over all night, no pass rush at all. You gave up 25yards on a QB sneak!!! How the F is that possible?? This felt like a game where some players showed who they were, mostly on D but also on O. - Al-Qudain Muhammed is a fucking bum. This is a guy who started in Indy, who Eberflus brought with him. He knows the system, he's now a veteran in this league and with Quinn gone thats a guy who needs to step up. Wanna know his stat sheet last night? ZERO! Fucking zero. Not 1 tackle, not one pressure. You turd. - Noquan i don't have to waste time on now some other mugs took him, but i am gonna point how crap he played last night. Got run over AGAIN, this time by Tony Pollard lol. Also failed to make a play in the backfield which led to Pollard's 50yard run. Good riddance asshole. - Kindle Vildor had been playing to level recently that had me asking myself "has he quietly become a legit #2 CB?". Maybe not. He got worked last night and had no answers. - I liked bww's description of Dante Pettis in the game thread. A human trash can who gives you nothing and has no business being out there. Its a total indictment that he gets so many snaps. - This was a game that ESB could've really made his mark with 2 huge plays. Instead he went home with 1 catch for 6yards. The first play bomb was to him. I rewatched that play, he's watching that ball all the way and is so late realising its underthrown that its almost comical. A real WR goes back to it way earlier and its at worst a regulation PI. The throw to the endzone, holy shit, you're 6ft 5"!! The DB's not even 6 ft, the QBs put the ball up there for you get off the ground and fucking go get it!! - Mustiwhore, i cant even talk about him anymore. Slip in the bathtub. Take a bad fall while peddling your unicycle to practise one day. Anything, just please get the F off my screen. - At this early stage Velus Jones looks destined for a ceiling of Cordarelle Patterson. Maybe he'll play RB one day. His hands are fucking awful. That deep shot he dropped has GOT to be caught. Again, its not a bucket throw but Fields has put it out there for you and you've got two solid hands on it. That has to be a catch. Even one of the jet sweeps he bobbled! Ultimately though the QB played well and anytime the QB plays well its a pretty good day this season. It does feel like there's more consistency coming into his game. I think tailoring the game plan around his running abilitites has prob made his whole all round game better. Please continue.
Justin Fields: Well done kid. That was a really great game from #1. Poised and ready to do whatever needs to be done to win. Had a couple bad passes....the deep ball needs to improve. It was actually better last season. But that's gonna come. He just looks decisive right now...far cry from what we saw the first 5 to 6 weeks of the season. And he's fun to watch. Luke Getsy: Mixed bag again. Some really good playcalls. Really good ones. I like the concepts and we see some things that just make total sense....and then we see head scratchers. The 2nd down call on the second to last drive when they need 15 yards....you don't call a quick out to Mooney there. You need 7 to 9 yards of a pickup to make 3rd down manageable and make it a down where the Dolphins have to be prepared for Fields to run. But instead you call that awful play and the drive is just dead in the water there. I don't hate this guy....but I don't like the inconsistency. I want to see some more downfield plays. That has to open up. And I get why he hasn't called a lot of that but at some point you have to throw the ball past the sticks more often. I don't like not getting Herbert and Monty to the edge more often. Too many gut runs. But in total...more good than bad for sure. Hard to grade Alan Williams because of the lack of talent but asking Sanborn to cover Tyreek Hill? Why? The Dolphins were exploiting the soft spots of the cover 2 defense and I didn't see nearly enough attempt at adjustment. Maybe the talent disparity is just too large but it would have been nice to see an attempt. Good to see Kmet get involved and find the endzone a lot. Still need another TE that can catch passes. I don't like Braxton Jones. I don't know what his ceiling is but I'm guessing it's not that high and I don't see what the coaches love about him. He stops moving his feet and lets rushers just bully his upper body instead of leveraging back into them and pushing with his legs. I just don't see much to like about the kid. Why was Khalil Herbert in on the punt team and asked to block? He's not a good blocker....it's why he's not an every down back. Makes no sense. Really piss poor officiating. Two should be grounding calls...one way more egregious than the other in my opinion. A running back that is actively blocking is not an eligible receiver. Throwing the ball at his feet when he's not even looking and is actively engaging a defender is intentional grounding....literally. You're throwing the ball at the ground to avoid a sack. That's a massive miss. The PI on EJax was questionable and the non-call on Claypool was criminal. As was the noncall on the attempted rape of Muhammed on the 4th down stop. It's bad enough when you lack talent against a good team....you shouldn't have to play against the officials as well. But hard to be upset this morning. Fields is playing really well and the Bears have an offseason ahead of them with money to spend and draft picks to utilize. Optimism isn't something we are used to around here.
Same thing Lovie saw with J’Marcus Webb, frank omiyale, and Fox/Nagy with Leno. He’s “their guy” no matter the deficiency, which shouldn’t be because LT is the 2nd most important position on the field after QB. I think Getsy did a masterful job until the mid-2nd half masking Jones’ deficiency, and Justin using his legs helped a lot more. Miami helped with their pisspoor management at times. Chubb made Jones his bitch in the 4th, yet for most of the 1st half—even being on a “pitch count” per McDaniel they put him on Reiff, who short of one holding penalty did a great job. Why not put him on Jones every play? Again I won’t shit all over jones. he’s a 5th round pick for a reason. And it’s no secret I want Peter Skoronski starting left tackle next year. I fully expect the bears to fuck things up though. I’m feeling a lot better about Fields. We may not see it yet this year, but I’ll be over the damn moon when he starts passing for 300+ yards a game instead of people putting his total yards up. Till then him being Lamar Jackson 2.0 will have to do. There was a vignette of Mike McDaniel walking up to Fields after scrambling for a 1st and telling him to ‘stop it’ made me chuckle. Especially when Justin just had a shit-eating grin. Cut Al Quadin Mohammed and sign Alex Okafor for the rest of the year. Whatever the plan is at DE isn’t working. Robinson, Mo, and Gipson all forgot what the fuck backside contain is or just ran into blocks. Justin Jones and Angelo Blackson are the only 2 DL who can penetrate and that’s not good, because they can’t do it every play. Teams are throwing on Jaylon Johnson and figuring out he can’t cover everybody. This was the kind of game I feared from Alan Williams. There was more Mel Tucker-esque retardation than I wanted to see
