Day: September 22, 2024

Quick Game Comments: Bears at Colts 9/22/24

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.