Month: September 2024

Offense

1. One of the first things that I noticed was that Khari Blasingame was inactive. I can’t figure out why. I can only assume that they thought that they could get the same production out of other more versatile players like Gerald Everett, Doug Kramer and Cole Kmet. Having said though he wasn’t assigned a game status, he was on the injury report this week for hand/knee issues.
2. The Bears attacked the edges early, especially to the right where Darnell Write and Matt Pryor were lined up. It seemed to work. Tevin Jenkins eventually exited and Nate Davis took over at right guard. But it appears the the Bears continued to run that way.
3. In the end, the Bears ran the ball 28 times (54% of the total snaps) for 131 yards and 4.7 yards per carry. I can’t complain about that.
4. The Bears are continuing to struggle when blocking on screen passes. This is just poor fundamentals. Even when they had good blocks, the receiver seemed to be running the wrong way.
5. It hard to watch Caleb Williams hold the ball forever in the face of a heavy pass rush. People talk about the hits that he’s taking like its all the offensive line but he’s got to get rid of the ball. I’m wondering if the coaching staff isn’t largely to blame for this. After three turnovers last week, you kind of wonder if they didn’t pound away at the fact that Williams couldn’t afford to turn the ball over this week. It’s possible that it took the aggression out of him. IN fairness, Williams did better dumping the ball off to Deandre Swift later in the game.
6. I pointed out last week that Braxton Jones seem to be struggling. I think he struggled again this week, admittedly, against a good pass rusher in Jared Verse. You could argue that he could’ve used some help. But I really think he should’ve been able to handle it better than this. I’ll ask again. Is he healthy? Are any of the offensive linemen other than Coleman Shelton healthy?
7. I like the way that the Bears used Deandre Swift in the passing game today (7 catches for 72 yards). We need to see more of that. Roschon Johnson also ran well though it was mostly in short yardage situations.
8. It was funny watching Williams trying to get the ball to DJ Moore over and over again. They just couldn’t get on the same page. They finally broke through with a touchdown late in the third quarter after a very frustrating game to that point.
9. The Bears were only 3 for 9 on third down and you’d like to see that number come up.

Defense

1. The Rams came out running the ball well, averaging more than 5 yards/carry on the first series. They used that and faked a handoff for play action on each pass. I’m not really understanding why the Bears don’t do this when a running back is lined up in the backfield. The back just runs out with no fake.
2. I said last week that I thought the Bears defense were down against the run despite the fact that the Bears offense dominated time of possession. I have a feeling that Sean McVay agreed. The Rams ran the ball reasonably well today at 4.6 yards per carry.
3. I thought Jaquan Brisker’s almost interception in the second quarter was really interesting. It looked like the Bears switched up and went from their predominant zone defense look to man-to-man. I think Matthew Stafford didn’t pick up on it and had his target in mind before the ball was even snapped. He threw it right into Brisker’s gut.
4. I also thought that it was interesting that the Bears chose to blitz as much as they did this game. I didn’t see that coming. It hurt the run defense and but it was effective enough, I thought.
5. Though they did have one or two big plays, for the most part I didn’t think that the Rams screen game was any better than the Bears. Pretty pathetic.
6. Pick away at the Bears defense as much as I might, you have to give them credit for playing well enough to win today.

Miscellaneous

1. Mark Sanchez and Adam Amin made a big deal of the fact that the referee did a good job of explaining why Brisker’s interception didn’t stand. Unfortunately FOX did nothing to help. The failed to show the replay so that we could actually see it.
2. Velus Jones was inactive again. I’m having a bit of a difficult time understanding what the plan is for him. Perhaps they’re hoping that he’ll develop into a better running back as the season goes on. Otherwise I don’t see much reason for him to be on the roster.
3. I saw someone submitted a question to the Chicago Tribune this week moaning about the fact that Bears chose to draft a punter in the fourth round rather than an offensive lineman. I think this game did a pretty good job of demonstrating why that was a pretty good pick. Tory Taylor is a wonderful player.
4. Even as a Bears fan, I have to say that that was an awful non-call in the end zone on the Rams last offensive play. That was roughing the passer all the way.
5. Having harped away at the Bears coaching staff above for hampering Williams’ aggressive instincts, you have to admit that the Rams two turnovers were probably the difference in this game.
6. We need some sort of a way to filter political commercials out of my TV broadcasts. Something like the “muted words” that X has.
7. I’d like to thank the NFL for once again putting the Bears on at noon on Sunday next week against the Panthers so that we can watch football in the way that God intended.
8. You take your wins where you can get them but it was brutal watching these two teams take turns blowing opportunity after opportunity. Penalties, poor timing and poor execution and, in the Rams case, two very costly turnovers. The Bears had 10 penalties for 84 yards. The Bears are not a team that simply cannot afford to give up yardage like that. They’re not good enough offensively to make up for it.

Getting to the most important point, I thought Williams took another incremental step forward today. As the game wore on, he got more and more comfortable taking the easy throw and moving the chains. It was something Justin Fields could never quite get right and its not something that can be under appreciated.

Offense

1. The second play the game and there was a miscommunication between Caleb Williams and D.J. Moore. It was one of many times when members of the offense didn’t look like they were all on the same page to me. The timing always seems to be off. The offense is very uncoordinated right now.
2. The Bears ran the ball pretty well for the first couple of sets of downs. Then they stalled out as the Colts started loading up the line of scrimmage and stopping the run. Indianapolis was trying to force Williams to throw the ball as much as possible and the Bears were in trouble whenever the Colts forced them into a passing situation.
3. Williams was passing up some easy throws underneath in order to hold the ball for the big play. Admittedly, he didn’t have a lot of time anyway but when he did, he was wasting the chance to move the chains to go for the home run. It wasn’t as bad as it was in his first game. But it was still noticeable.
4. In fairness, Williams does throw an excellent deep ball. The 47 yard pass to Rome Odunze in the second quarter couldn’t have been better.
5. Williams still seems to be holding the ball an awful lot on occasion. Not all of that pressure that he saw in this game was on the protection.
6. I’m not one to question play calling but fourth and 1 with less than 2:00 left in the first half and the Bears pitch the ball to Deandre Swift for a 12 yard loss. The offensive line was a sieve but in fairness I think the Colts knew what was coming. They read those outside runs like a book all game and it was evidently a pretty transparent fourth run in a row. I’m all in favor of not giving up on the run but calling it over and over and getting nowhere is going beyond just keeping the defense honest.
7. Then its third and four near mid field late in the third quarter, and the Bears go empty backfield. Not even a run fake to slow the pass rush? Just a running back in the backfield to make a whiff of a threat of one? That just ain’t good.
8. Braxton Jones really struggled this game. He looked like he was getting overpowered. I’m starting to wonder how many players on the offensive line are healthy.
9. The Bears were a miserable 11/23 in combined third and fourth down efficiency. More tellingly, they ran for just 2.3 yards per carry against what has been a miserable Colts run defense. The Bears aren’t going anywhere until they figure out how to run the ball.

Defense

1. Tough start for Anthony Richardson. He doesn’t look very accurate. I saw him play last week and you look the same. He air emailed a lot of balls. Some very questionable decisions. He’s obviously struggling as a rookie.
2. I remember thinking when Richardson was drafted that he was an athlete that might not be a very good quarterback. But, then, again, I thought the same thing about Lamar Jackson. So this time I think I’ll keep my mouth shut.
3. Completely broken coverage set up the Colts deep into Bears territory in the second quarter. They it looks like the Bears got caught playing a light box on the first Colts touchdown. Then the players on the backside didn’t fill correctly, and Jonathan Taylor was off to the races. The offense isn’t the only unit on this team that looked a little uncoordinated today.
4. The Bears defense had to know that their primary mission in the second half was going to eliminate the big plays that they had given up in the first half. It was therefore very disappointing to see the very first play of the second half be a pass to a wide-open receiver to the Colts left-hand side. Richardson overthrew yet another pass, and Jaylon Johnson picked it off. But it was a bad sign. This team doesn’t look very well coached at the moment.
5. The Bears were well up in time of possession this game. The Bears time of possession was almost double the Colts at half time. They game ended with the Bears up 35:00-25:00. There was no excuse for the way that they wore down against the run in this game.

Miscellaneous

1. The CBS crew of Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, and Jason McCourty. I won’t say that there was a lot said that was particularly insightful as these broadcasting teams go. But there were times when it was like three guys on the couch talking football.
2. Kudos to Bears fans who made themselves heard pretty well this game.
3. A brutal interception in the end zone by Richardson saved at least 3 points for the Bears. But Williams almost immediately followed it with one of his own and there was another terrible interception for Williams in the third quarter as he tried to force the ball into Odunze. Finally, Williams was also stripped from behind as he attempted to pass the ball in the midway through fourth quarter. This was truly a match up of young quarterbacks who both struggled at times.
4. Pretty funny moment when Williams and Odunze were fighting over the football on the touchdown in the fourth quarter. The first NFL touchdown for both of them.
5. Watching this game was a pretty tough way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For much of the game both offenses were quite miserable. At least until Indianapolis started to run the ball. The entire Bears offense looks uncoordinated. Certainly the timing isn’t what it needs to be and they can’t run the ball.

But let’s not lose sight of the fact that this season is about Caleb Williams’ development. And turnovers aside, I thought he looked better today than he did the first two games. He was 33/52 of 363 yards. That was more than double what second year quarterback Richardson had. The Bears out gained the Colts and they dominated time of possession. He’s still holding the ball but I see progress.

Defense

1. The Bears obviously, correctly, expected the Titans to be run heavy today. They played a lot of 7 man, base fronts. Unfortunately, they didn’t do a great job in the first half, allowing more than 7 yards per rush. It looked to me like the Titans started to attack the Bears around the edges and off tackle in the second quarter and they were off to the races. Kudos to the the Bears as they made some corrections and did better in the second half, shutting the Titans out.
2. The Bears were getting pressure from their front four without help. New pass rusher Darrell Taylor looks to be the real deal. His weakness, however, is reportedly stopping the run. See my first point. Nevertheless, Taylor looks like he can apply enough pressure opposite Montez Sweat to cause trouble for opposing offenses this year.
3. The Bears had a tough time covering Calvin Ridley out there. They weren’t doing anything special to stop him, probably thinking that Jaylon Johnson could handle him. Indeed, Johnson should have been able to handle him. He didn’t.
4. The Bears defense held the Titans to 4 for 16 on third and fourth down which is excellent.

Offense

1. The game plan for the Bears was to run the ball and protect Caleb Williams. The offensive line flat out let them down. The Bears ran for only 3.8 yards per carry and it looked a lot worse than that before the fourth quarter where they started having some success running around the edges.
2. There were several instances where the Bears had poor protection including one where Coleman Shelton let a defensive lineman through like he was a turn-style. They lost the battle at the line of scrimmage and that nearly lost them to war.
3. Williams had third down and short at least three times in the first half where, instead of taking the short throw, he went hunting big plays that didn’t connect. This is the NFL, baby. We’re begging you. Take the first down like a professional. Otherwise you’re just Justin Fields out there.
4. Williams had his share of troubles today with timing. He was frequently late with his throws. And the longer this game went on, the more inaccurate he got. I think the Titans might have been in his head a bit.
5. It’s worth noting that the Titans defense didn’t do anything fancy for the majority of this game. They were getting pressure with their front four and didn’t need to. It’s notable that they did start to do some more in the second half to perhaps keep Williams head spinning a bit and they thought they’d be going for the throat.
6. The number of tipped passes was notable today. Williams isn’t a very tall quarterback and you wonder if this is going to be a chronic problem.
7. Jeffrey Simmons was a monster in this game. The Bears interior linemen basically couldn’t block him. Guy is an all pro and looks it.
8. I kept hearing all week about how offensive coordinator Shane Waldron needs to be a better play caller than Luke Getsy was last year. I don’t think people understand that being an offensive coordinator isn’t just about calling plays. By far the most important job the offensive coordinator has is to “coordinate” the offense. The Bears offense didn’t look very coordinated today. It was partly having a rookie quarterback. But that wasn’t all of it.
9. Looking at Williams feet, they weren’t very calm in the pocket. He saw a lot of pressure and there’s a reason why that may have been the case. But I never thought he looked comfortable. The good news is that I did occasionally see him drop back and hit his back foot foot and fire to the correct receiver the way that you see the best quarterbacks in the league do. That was definitely when he was at his best.
10. It sounds like I’m picking on him but Williams also has to work on that body language. It was very evident that he got frustrated during the game and you really shouldn’t let that show. Not if you’re going to be a leader on the team.
11. The Bears were 4 for 15 on third and fourth down which isn’t great. I’d say they did OK in the red zone because they were rarely there. The swing pass to DeAndre Swift for the two point conversion on the last touchdown was a good play.

Miscellaneous

1. You never quite know what’s going to come out of the mouth of Mark Sanchez. He is a different kind of dude. Not necessarily bad. Just very different.
2. As far as special teams goes, Velus Jones muffed a kick return. Again. He barely saw the field after that and not at all on kickoff returns. DeAndre Carter has 66 yard kick return. He looks like a good pick up. The Bears had a number of penalties on special teams and they’re going to want to clean that up.
3. One of my favorite players from the preseason was Daniel Hardy. It was great to see you and get a blocked punt. Jonathan Owens picked up the ball and took it to the house. Nice play.
4. The Bears finished with 7 penalties for 55 yards. Nothing horrible.
5. Turnovers were, of course, the reason the Bears were in this game. The Will Levis fumble, the blocked punt for a touchdown, Jaylon Johnson’s interception with about 2 minutes left and Tyreek Stevenson’s pick 6 were basically the reason the Bears scored. They’ll need to keep that up unless they start playing better.
6. The win was nice and I know that the team is feeling pressure to do that. But as far as I’m concerned this season is 100% about Caleb Williams and how he progresses.

He had a rough day today at 14 of 29 for 93 yards passing with a 55.2 quarterback rating. He had some good streaks of play and he also missed some throws and did some things that I’m sure he’d want to have back. There were times during the game when he was very evidently frustrated. I think those kinds of ups and downs are what you get from a rookie quarterback. And despite the fact that many fans in Chicago seem to think that this guy was going to come out of the womb as an All Pro, he’s got a way to go.

So here we have the benchmark. This is where Williams begins the journey. Now we get to watch and see how he develops and gets better over the course of the season. If he’s significantly better halfway through the year and in the top half of the league by the end of the season, that’s going to be a hell of a good year for the Chicago Bears. Let’s all hope that’s the way it progresses and that the fans and media are smart enough to know that.

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions:

“Are you surprised by any of the roster moves they made or players they kept? — @jtbcubs

I don’t think anything the Bears did in establishing an initial 53-man roster Tuesday was a surprise, and I’ll get into some specific questions folks submitted below. I had projected that **Velus Jones** would be waived, but the Bears kept the 2022 third-round draft pick. That probably signals they have plans for him beyond returning kickoffs and other areas on special teams.”

“Perhaps Jones can have more success than he did the previous two seasons. It’s difficult to give up on a Day 2 draft pick, especially one with Jones’ combination of speed and strength.”

I hope I have to eat these words, but if Jones had anything to give on the field, he would have shown it by now. His value is as a kick returner and he couldn’t even do that. The very first kickoff of the pre-season he bobbled it. Statistically he’s not bad in this capacity but can you think of a single kickoff return last year where you thought, “Wow. That guys is a difference maker.”?

He’ll probably be a better running back than he was a wide receiver but, even if he develops, he’ll be nothing more than what amounts to a gadget guy for a long time yet.

• Biggs continues:

“Will the Bears try to sign a veteran quarterback to help with development? — @dillonbirch__

“When the team did not re-sign **Brett Rypien** to the practice squad, my hunch was he was hunting an opportunity on a 53-man roster elsewhere. That happened when the Minnesota Vikings signed Rypien on Thursday. Plan B for the Bears was adding undrafted rookie **Austin Reed** to the practice squad. I’m not surprised the Bears opted for Reed instead of a player with more experience.

Nor am I. But when Reed and Rypien were both released my first thought was that the Bears would try to find a better option on the street for this spot.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Reed fine. But I don’t see the upside that I would like to in a developmental quarterback. But perhaps the Bears were impressed with how he played in the preseason games despite getting almost no snaps in practice.

• Biggs also has a thought about the status of fullback Khari Blasingame:

“Unless I missed one, the last fullback (at least a dedicated fullback for the full season) **Shane Waldron** worked with was **Heath Evans** in 2008 with the New England Patriots.

Waldron was an offensive quality control assistant that season — his first in the league — and was promoted to tight ends coach the next year.

It’s something I have been wondering about since **Matt Eberflus** hired him because Waldron didn’t have a fullback in his offense the past three seasons as the Seattle Seahawks coordinator. Before that, he worked for the Los Angeles Rams under **Sean McVay**, who went away from having a fullback on his roster. When McVay and Waldron were assistants for Washington in 2016 on **Jay Gruden**’s staff, there wasn’t a fullback (I’m not counting the time Waldron spent between stints when he was in the United Football League, at UMass and spent one season at the prep level.).

Sixteen years after Evans and Waldron were together in New England, will there be a fullback for the Bears offense?

That question will be answered as we move toward Tuesday’s roster cuts. I think there is a decent chance Khari Blasingame is on the team — a projected 53-man roster is below — but there are myriad factors to consider.”

I was glad to see that Blasingame was, indeed, signed to the practice squad with the evident idea of elevating him on game day this week.

One thing I’ll say for certain. Last year under Luke Getsy the running game always looked better when blasting game was in the game. I always thought Getsy was underrated when it came to designing run plays to begin with. And good things seemed to happen when he had a fullback on the field. I was often left to wish he had used Blasingame a bit more often.