Bear(ing) the News – A Chicago Bears Blog

Defense

1. Looked to me like the Eagles thought they might be able to spread the Bears out and run up the middle. It didn’t work.
2. What did work was the mid range passing game. The Eagles burned the Bears passing over the middle and up the seam.
3. On a related note, Zach Ertz might be the best tight end the Bears played all year. It showed as he caused some trouble and had a good game.
4. Alshon Jeffery had a good game as well. He seemed like he wanted to show the Chicago crowd something.
5. I thought the Eagles did a pretty good job of protecting Nick Foles all things considered. As promised, Foles generally got the ball out early.
6. When he didn’t get the ball out early and when he threw deep he ran into the occasional problem. Two interceptions in the first half kept the Bears in the game.
7. Khalil Mack looked a step slow all night. Either he wasn’t feeling well or he didn’t show up. This reminded me of the Dolphins game.
8. As expected, the Bears generally did a decent job against the run in this game.
9. Some poor tackling in the fourth quarter reaered its ugly head and hurt the Bears as the game wound down. Some of those guys might have been getting tired.

Offense

1. The Bears started with a few good runs but the Eagles defensive line toughened up and it was rough going from there on out. Seemed like the Bears were trying a lot of trap blocks to take advantage of the Eagles aggressive, penetrating defensive line.
2. It was a lot of dink and dunk out there for the Bears. I understand the need to protect the ball when you have a good defense but I wonder if they are going too far. I’m not sure you are going to beat really good teams without an aggressive offense very often. And the Eagles are a good team.
3. Still wondering why the Bears insist on playing Taquan Mizzell.
4. What is the deal with Michael Bennett’s shoulder pads? They look like they should be on a 9 year old.
5. Supposedly the Eagles defensive backs were all hurt and the position was a weakness. They sure looked good to me.
6. On a related note, nice adjustment by the Bears by picking on Avonte Maddox in the second half with some double moves and some other trickery. He was very successful in the first half by being mighty aggressive. The Bears turned it against him.

Miscellaneous

1. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth did a nice job as usual of pointing out the major points during the game. Always enjoy listening to those guys. Collinsworth is a reasonably good teacher and I always feel like I learn something.
2. Well, Cody Parkey finally killed them. Pat O’Donnell had a nice punt out of bounds that trapped the Eagles on the one yard line in the first quarter. I’ve often wondered why more punters don’t use the old “coffin corner” kick. Having said that, a short kick with 5 minutes left in the game set the Eagles up with a short field. The Bears are going to have to take a close look at punter in the offseason.
3. Drop weren’t a major issue in the game.
4. Weird play at the end of the first half when Anthony Miller caught a pass and fumbled. The play was initially ruled and incomplete pass and no one recovered the ball after the whistle. Everyone expected the bears to get the ball at the point of the fumble. Instead they got a loss of down and the ball was moved back to the initial line of scrimmage. Here is the explanation. The referees let a lot of contact go in the defensive backfield this game. There could have been a lot more calls on both sides than there were. I guess that’s playoff football. We haven’t seen it around here in so long we wouldn’t recognize it.
5. Turnovers kept the Bears in this game in the first half with two interceptions, one by Roquan Smith and one by Adrian Amos. The Bears weren’t burned by turnovers but they played so conservative on offense through three quarters protecting the ball that you wonder if the Eagles came out ahead.
6. Its the NFL. Nobody died.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune suggests that its possible that the Bears could keep defensive coordinator Vic Fangio happy in Chicago:

“The Bears aren’t in the business of ripping up contracts for players or coaches but they might have to think outside the box if Fangio is weighing options in the next few weeks. If the Bears can pay to rebuild Halas Hall, they at least can make Fangio an offer that is hard to refuse. It wouldn’t be unprecedented — one of the reasons Josh McDaniels did a U-turn last offseason on his way to Indianapolis after the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss was because of a pay raise.”

It was one of the reasons. But by all accounts, McDaniels staying had more to do with speculation that there was an agreement that McDaniels would succeed head coach Bill Belichick.

And becoming a head coach is really what its all about.

I have a hard time believing that there is anything that the Bears could do to keep Fangio from leaving Chicago if a head coaching position was offered elsewhere. Its the pinnacle of the profession and there are few coaches who would feel fulfilled professionally with anything less if the opportunity to move up arose.

But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any hope. Right now the trend in the NFL is toward offensive head coaches. The success of Matt Nagy, Kyle Shannahan and Sean McVay, not to mention old hand Andy Reid, has undoubtedly put owners and general managers in the mood to follow the lead of these teams.

In particular, offensive head coaches who can coach quarterbacks will be in high demand. Because more and more it becomes evident that is what the game is about and there are few losing teams who won’t either be looking for one somewhere or who won’t be looking to develop one that they already have.

Team Potentially Looking for a Head Coach	Likely 2019 Draft Position*	Likely 2019 Quarterback
Arizona	1	Josh Rosen
New York Jets	3	Sam Darnold
Tampa Bay	6	Jameis Winston or draft pick
Jacksonville Jaguars	8	draft pick
Carolina Panthers	10	Cam Newton
Cincinnati	12	Andy Dalton
Miami	13	draft pick
Denver	14	Case Keenum or draft pick
Green Bay	15	Aaron Rogers

• from ESPN Dec. 23 projections

Of the nine teams either looking or who will be most likely to be looking for a head coach, only Carolina, Cincinnati and Green Bay have a firmly established starter and I’d say both the Bengals and the Packers may still take one with an eye towards developing him for the future.

Even the Packers, who are rumored to be interested in Fangio, are are said to be already happy with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and will undoubtedly be looking to inject some originality into what was perceived as a stale offense under former head coach Mike McCarthy.

Almost all of these teams certainly understand that the only way to keep a fertile offensive mind is to make him the head coach. Anyone else who is any good will almost certainly be pilfered the minute a head coaching position is open.

In this environment that even a very, very good defensive coordinator will ultimately be chosen for a head coaching position is not a given. And as a defensive coordinator Fangio seems happy in Chicago. I have to believe that the only place Fangio would leave for is his home in the bay area. And that would be assuming his contract was up as the Bears would almost certainly never give him permission to leave for such a position.

So it’s going to be an interesting offseason and Fangio will undoubtedly get his share of interviews for head coaching positions. But I would say that Bears fans shouldn’t give up hope that Fangio will happily stay where he is absent a better offer.

Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune comments upon Mitch Trubisky’s performance in their 24-17 win over the Packers at Soldier Field:

“No one should be surprised that Trubisky completed 20 of 28 passes in putting a division championship on his growing résumé. Or that he followed last Sunday’s career-worst rating of 33.3 with a 120.4 rating against the Packers. Or that he protected the ball and let the defense smother quarterback Aaron Rodgers all game.” “’I felt like (my game) was solid,’ he said. ’We were consistent enough on offense. We wanted to stay out of third downs because we know they’re really good at third downs. And just score when we needed to in big opportunities.”’

Trubisky wasn’t asked to pass deep much but his short passes were generally on point and he wasn’t sending the intermediate passes into orbit as has been his want at various times over the course of the season. His good comfort level was very evident as the game progressed. Packer’s defensive coordinator Mike Pettine had a slightly less aggressive game plan for the Bears than the last time the two teams played, a 24-23 loss for the Bears. The first game, he brought pressure from all angles and did everything he could to confuse Trubisky and it generally worked. This game he chose to mimic the plan that the Rams executed the week before, keeping a light box against the run and challenging Trubisky to throw with 5 men in coverage. He did so partly because what the Rams did worked but also undoubtedly partly because he saw that the same thing might not work against a more experienced Trubisky. In any case, Trubisky handled it well and when Pettine did call for a blitz, he countered with some nice throws, getting the ball out quickly. Anyone who watched both of these Packers games should be able to recognize Trubisky’s growth. Its been very gradual, game-by-game but the improvement should now be evident. Trubisky is pretty close to an average NFL quarterback right now. I don’t know where he is going to plateau off but it hasn’t happened yet. Its now evident that his emergence isn’t going to happen in leaps and bounds. But he’s continuing to very gradually get better. Its to be interesting to track it over the course of the rest of this season and next season.

Offense

1. It seems evident that the Packers wanted to play the game as the Rams did last week. They came out light in the box and dared the Bears to run. The Bear responded by running Jordan Howard right at them and complimenting it with short play action passes.
2. Mitch Trubisky generally threw the ball well early and as a result, the offense generally executed well.
3. Trubisky was moving really well in the pocket today. He looked like Tom Brady out there – in that respect, anyway.
4. Both Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard ran with good vision today. In Howard’s case that’s a significant improvement over previous games.
5. Trubisky did a nice job against the blitz today. For instance, he hit Cohen in the area vacated by a blitzer on a pass under pressure for the Bears second touchdown right before the half.
6. Trubisky was also reasonably accurate with most of his throws today. This is in stark contrast to last week when he had a miserable game against the Rams. He wasn’t asked to throw deep much but his intermediate throws didn’t end up in orbit.

Defense

1. Vic Fangio really has a gift for calling the blitz at just the right time. Third and two on the Packers first drive for a Rogers sack was a perfect example.
2. The Packers offense was notable for the good job they did blocking down field. That’s good fundamentals.
3. Once again the Packers copied other teams with this game plan. They executed the quick passing game to limit the Bears pass rush. Rogers did a decent job of executing it. You had to wonder if he would accept such a plan. He likes to get out and create rather than taking the short pass.
4. Roger’s deep ball accuracy just wasn’t there today for the most part. I have been told that this has been a chronic problem with him this year.
5. Khalil Mack really showed up today. Hopefully this means he’s going to be a Packer menace for years to come.

Miscellaneous

1. Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston and Laura Okmin were your announcers. Really superior job today by Johnston. He was making really good points right and left. For instance, when the Bears blitzed Sherrick McManis from the same side as Khalil Mack to get a free rusher, Johnston was right on top of it, pointing out what a nice job the Packers running back did getting across the formation to block McManis. Definitely as good as I’ve ever heard him.
2. Special Teams
   1. I can’t remember the last time a Bears returner took a ball out of the end zone. Knowing Anthony Miller, you have to wonder if he defied orders when he took it out on the opening kickoff.
   2. Tarik Cohen had a and timely nice punt return in the fourth quarter. It resulted in a field goal after Cohen failed to turn up field and came up just short of a first down. So Cohen giveth and Cohen taketh away.
   3. Just once I’d like to see the Bears get through a game where special teams didn’t hurt them. This time it was a stupid fake punt up 14-6 near mid-field that the Packers stopped cold in the third quarter. the Packers eventually scored a touchdown. The two point conversion tied the game. This is a real problem. I’ envisioning some tough playoff games where special teams has a bad habit of making the difference. This looks like a poorly coached aspect of the team that could burn the Bears is a big spot.
3. Drops have been a Packer trait for years. It usually doesn’t burn them too bad because the offense is good enough to overcome them.
4. Turnovers
   1. The Bears finally got burned trying to execute a fancy gadget play and turned the ball over to Green Bay in Packer territory with the game tied. This looked like it was the result of an inexperienced Cohen taking a direct snap and trying to run an option play. He simply made the decision late and blew the exchange.
   2. Big, big interception by Eddie Jackson in the end zone with three minutes left. I thought he went down on purpose to avoid a turnover and let the Bears run some clock up two scores. But it looks like he got hurt on the play.
5. I’d like to personally thank everyone involved in making sure that Bears football got played this week on a Sunday afternoon as heaven intended it.
6. This was a big win for the Bears against a team that has had their number in Soldier Field, winning eight in a row there. Some will say that the Bears should have won but they should have won with Brett Hundley quarterbacking the Packers last year. They didn’t. So they’ll take this one and consider it to be a major accomplishment.

It’s a little early with what we all hope will be playoff football yet to be played but Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune gives some brief consideration to some things that the Bears need to consider in the offseason:

“The Bears don’t have many holes to consider in 2019. They will likely prioritize re-signing nickel cornerback Bryce Callahan, who will be an unrestricted free agent. Right tackle Bobby Massie and strong safety Adrian Amos are in the final year of their contracts, and Matt Nagy will likely want a running back to replace Jordan Howard.”

It all depends on the budget but I’d agree that Callahan is the priority. Though I would agree that the Bears need to do something at running back, I’m not ready to give up on Howard, either. I’m not sure what the problem is but I’ve seen running backs pull out of slumps before after an offseason of healing and training. Howard doesn’t seem to have the vision this year that he had last year but given that he’s done it before, I’m guessing its fixable. I’m also not ruling out the possibility that there’s an injury there that’s affecting his explosiveness.

So, assuming that they resign Callahan (a big assumption), that’s one hole at running back to be filled. They’re likely going to see if either Massie or Amos can be signed to reasonable contract. Both are solid but not spectacular and you could look to upgrade either or both positions.

The one position that’s bugging me, probably because its a point of weakness right now, is guard. It looks like James Daniels, Cody Whitehair and Kyle Long are your starters there but its now evident that the Bears have no depth behind them. Just one injury to Long exposed the Bears at this position. Its obvious that Eric Kush isn’t as good as they thought he was and Bryan Witzmann has been a problematic replacement. So, though it isn’t as obvious as the potential holes in the starting line up that Biggs rightly prioritizes, the interior of the line is going to need to be addressed some how.

Phil Rosenthal at the Chicago Tribune continues to harp on one of FOX’s announcing teams even when they aren’t doing the game:

“Still unanswered is whether Mitch Trubisky will be healthy enough to play. But there’s a collective sigh of relief to news the broadcast team of Chris Myers and Daryl “Moose” Johnston have been assigned to call the Packers-Cardinals game.

“Myers and Johnston have worked Fox’s last two Bears telecasts.

“It’s likely the third time would have enabled them to work out the finer points of the Bears lineup. You know, as in Kyle Fuller, not Kurt; Javon Wims, not Williams; Bryce Callahan, not Brian; and Cody Parkey, not Parker.”

This is at least the third article where Rosenthal takes shots at Myers and Johnston.  OK, I get it. The name thing is a little problem. But enough is enough.

Let’s keep things in perspective here. What’s important isn’t that Myers pronounces names most Bears fans who care already know. Its funny but its not that big of a deal.

What is a big deal is how the game is described. Do the announcers actually tell you things that you wouldn’t know otherwise as they do the telecast? Does Myers clearly describe these things so everyone understands? Does Johnston teach you anything about football? Do both do those jobs in an unbiased way?

These are the things that delineate good broadcasting teams from bad ones, not the occasional mispronunciation of a name. And I would say that Myers and Johnston have done a pretty decent job in those areas.

They aren’t Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels.  But they aren’t exactly the bottom of the barrel, either, and they don’t deserve to be bashed continually in a major metropolitan newspaper.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions:

“The Bears’ interceptions have skyrocketed this season. They’ve only had one game this year without one. If you assigned responsibility for this improvement, how much credit would go to the scheme, the pressure up front and the improvement of the individual players, respectively? — @chriscremer5

“The Bears have been very opportunistic on defense this season and that’s been one of the real keys to their success. Their plus-14 turnover differential is tied for best in the league and few statistics are more central to success than the turnover margin on a week-by-week basis… I would attribute the spike to a much improved pass rush. The more disruptive the front seven, the more chances the defensive backs will have. The scheme hasn’t changed. Yes, the defensive backs are catching the ball more when they get chances to this season but the biggest difference has been the improved pass rush.”

There’s no doubt that the addition of Khalil Mack has made a difference in the turnovers. Just the ones he has accounted for directly by causing the quarterback to fumble are significant. But it goes farther than that.

Teams have taken to getting the ball out quickly against the Bears because of the pressure that Mack and the rest of the front seven has been putting on defenses. This has effectively neutralized the pass rush in that there have been fewer sacks but it has also made offenses predictable. Bears defensive backs don’t have to live in constant fear of getting beat deep on a double move because quarterbacks can’t afford to hold the ball. This has allowed players like Eddie Jackson to jump short routes at key times during the game.