Bear(ing) the News – A Chicago Bears Blog

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.

I’m not the only one that has noted that the Bears defense seems to be getting tired in the fourth quarter. Bears defensive back Kyle Fuller admits it himself, albeit in a back handed way:

“Fuller said the defense’s ability to come up with a big stop late during their third game in 12 days showed ’just how focused we are.’

“’(It was) blocking out how tired some people may say you are,’ he said. ’It’s just locking in, going out there, doing what we do, playing hard and getting a win.’”

I don’t know who these “some people” are but given that the game is going on, it must be someone close during the game.

And it is generally evident that the Bears are getting tired. In ten fourth-quarters alone, the Bears’ defense has surrendered 92 points, almost the same number as the total through the first three quarters (96).

There are a lot of reasons for this. For instance, they have often been playing soft coverages while protecting a lead. But generally speaking, the eye test tells me that they look tired and have looked tired since the debacle in the heat in Miami earlier in the year.

I’m not sure what the answer to this is but my gut tells me that the Bears have to have more faith in their back ups. The statistics weren’t available for the Lions game but Khalil Mack played 93% of the defensive snaps in the Vikings game last Sunday. Leonard Floyd played 84%. Kyle Filler, Adrian Amos, Prince Amukamura, Roquan Smith and Eddie Jackson all played every defensive snap and Danny Trevathan only missed one.

I get it. You want to keep your best players on the field. But as I’ve previously written, the Bears appear to me to have more depth than in previous years. Perhaps its time to take advantage of it by playing some of the back ups just a little bit more to give the defensive players a breather and allow them to finish strong.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions:

“Which aspect of this Bears team has exceeded your expectations the most? — @kylebeckrich

“The Bears have exceeded expectations in a lot of areas to begin 7-3. One area they’ve been much better in is health. After battling through injuries for much of the last three seasons, they’ve been far more durable in Nagy’s first year, and that is a credit to the entire organization. That’s been one of the big reasons for the Bears’ success to this point.”

Biggs is, of course, quite correct in that this is a major factor in the Bears success. But I wouldn’t say that they exceeded expectations in this area in that I had no expectations beyond the usual number of injuries.

And even then, I’d argue that the loss of personnel like Kyle Long for the season should count for something. Losing Khalil Mack for two games (effectively three and a half as he wasn’t healthy for part of the Dolphins game and all of the Patriots game) was a big blow. I’d also point to the loss of Adam Shaheen for long periods of time this year as a factor as the Bears were obviously counting on him to play a major role in the offense as the blocking tight end who could also do some damage in the passing game. In this, Dion Simms has largely been a disappointment, at least in terms of the passing game. Losing Mitch Trubisky (it appears) to injury against the Lions is a factor that will have to be overcome as well.

So, though they have been relatively healthy, they haven’t been that healthy.

The thing that has exceeded my own expectations the most has been the Bears depth. Before training camp, I repeatedly cited this as a major factor for why the team wouldn’t be able to compete in the NFC North this year. But as soon as the preseason started it became evident that I was under-estimating them.

James Daniels and Eric Kush have done a credible job at guard and, along with the acquisition of Bryan Witzmann, they have done a pretty good job so far of making up for the loss of Long. Roquan Smith has effectively added depth to the linebacker position in the form of Nick Kwiatkoski.

But what has really stood out is the unexpected quality play of the back ups at the defensive line and the outside line backer positions. From the very start of the preseason, players like Roy Robertson-Harris, Jonathan Bullard, Bilal Nichols, Kylie Fitts and Isaiah Irving impressed me with the degree to which they developed. In the case of Nichols and Robertson-Harris, that has translated onto the field during the regular season. The others like Fitts and Irving will undoubtedly prove their worth as their chances to do so increase.

It now evident to me that the Bears have the depth to withstand a reasonable number of injuries at most of the positions on the team. To me, that’s the biggest surprise.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune comments on the situation at left guard:

“The rotation at right guard ended as Bryan Witzmann started and Eric Kush was relegated to backup status. Witzmann was signed five weeks ago.

“’Obviously there are a lot of things to improve on, just like in any game, but it’s good to get back out there,’ Witzmann said. ’Good to just get the game like feel. You can kind of correct things quicker because if we are rotating the other guy might get a look that is new to you when you’re out there. You can adjust better as the game goes along.’”

The Bears had only 54 yards rushing on 22 carries last week against a Lions defense that ranked near the bottom against the run going into the game. Bears head coach Matt Nagy has commented several times over the last few weeks about how the Bears need to do a better job getting the running game going.

The situation at guard may be a major problem here. For several weeks before the game against the Bills two weeks ago, Kush was rotating with James Daniels at right guard while Kyle Long played on the other side. When Long went on injured reserve, Daniels “won” the job and Kush started rotating with Witzmann.

None of these guys has impressed me much. Both Witzmann and Kush are inconsistent and., though Daniels may have a bright future, he’s a little light at less than 300 pounds right now. He needs an offseason in the weight room.

If the Bears are going to be more than a one dimensional passing team down the stretch, they’re going to need better guard play. they may not have the horses to do it.