InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
I read an article yesterday about how Nate Davis just doesn't practice. That is unacceptable for a guy making $10mil a year. It also makes sense as to why he looks absolutely lost at times during games.
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***Chicago Bears Thread*** Ben Johnson hired. The Resurrection Begins! (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter flapgreen
- Start date
FarFromHome
Footballguy
It's weird that message board posters fully understand how important offensive line is for these young QBs and it sure appears not all GMs understand that. They make these splash pick playmakers when they need to be investing in the 300 lb guys from the Midwest. Protecting the most important position in sports should always be priority 1. Imo
Max Power
Footballguy
I like Odunze the person more than the player right now. He's a great talent and seems to be an outstanding young man. But you're right, his presence on the field is negated by the fact Caleb doesn't have time to throw. Goes back to the issue of teams building from the outside-in. That's typically not a successful strategy.
Max Power
Footballguy
They need to bench him and slide Jenkins to RG. At least this way we can run the ball to one side.
Max Power
Footballguy
Listened to a clip of Lance Briggs basically calling Waldon a bad OC. He was shocked the Bears would keep trying to run to the edges when Houston has elite DEs hitting the edges hard every play and blitzing LBs through gaps up the middle. That style of defense wants the offense to run wide. Quick hit runs up the middle would hit for large gains and force the defense to be less aggressive, but Waldron never did it. This is football 101 stuff.
calcinorjones
Footballguy
If Swift can’t get it going this week its going to be a long year. All of this is looking like the typical Bears tuck pointing dung into the cracks of the dam again. I didn’t expect much from Allen outside of possession catches and pulling coverage his way to free up DJ snd Odunze. Did not expect an injury this early into the season and this is a significant injury that needs time. The TE is rendered useless trying to support a line that is clearly in the cross hairs of the fanbase. Waldron is ineffective thus far and all offensive coaches need to figure it out or every FA signing on this side of the ball will be a bust. They have to stay at .500 and get the issues on offense ironed out before the division games hit. Emphatically, Poles cannot do something stupid w the draft capital. More tuck pointing. If this thing continues to crater they can get to the draft and fix this OL but they are not going to fix vad coaching
I have major concerns about Waldron, but after two games there is a lot that we don't yet know. No matter what, there were going to be growing pains. The NFL, and just the game of football, will humble everyone. The best players and coaches in the game get humbled at some point. Success is not easy, even when it looks like it is. Given the lack of practices under the current CBA and the lack of playing time in the preseason, I am going to try to reserve judgement on the coaching staff until mid season and reserve judgement about the QB until I see him with a functional OC and offensive line. In my wildest dreams the Bears continue to grind and learn from their failures, ending the season like the 2021 Detroit Lions. They were 3-13-1 that year but they seemed to be getting better every game. Their final game against Green Bay you could just feel the unstoppable momentum of their team - that was one of my favorite Packers losses because the lowly Lions were absolutely alpha-dogging the division-champ Packers, who went on to lose to the 49ers in the divisional round. The Bears play the Packers in the last game of the season. If they can win and bring some of that same momentum that the Lions had, I will be happy. A mediocre record this year could benefit them in the draft; 3 picks in the top 50 could do a lot to help this team. The defense is good enough to make me really happy to watch the games this year, even if they lose, I just want to see progress and learning on offense.
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
Sunday Gravy
Footballguy
It's something.Matt Pryor to start at RG in place of Nate Davis. Not shocking given the level of play Davis has show so far this season.
x.com
x.com
Max Power
Footballguy
I can't believe how inept the coaching is. That game was gifted to the Bears and they worked extra hard to lose it.
Flus has got to go and Waldron is a bum. Every season under Flus the Bears are screwing up the little things week to week and costing them games. I don't even know what to say about that game. Anthony Richardson might be the worst QB in the NFL and he just beat the Bears. Shameful
Flus has got to go and Waldron is a bum. Every season under Flus the Bears are screwing up the little things week to week and costing them games. I don't even know what to say about that game. Anthony Richardson might be the worst QB in the NFL and he just beat the Bears. Shameful
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
Here's my annual, "it's time to fire Chris Morgan" post.
Max Power
Footballguy
The worst run game in the NFL.
Technically the Getsy led Raiders are worse, but the Bears are saved by Caleb's scrambles.
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
Make no mistake. The OL is bad. But the truth is these guys are all skilled linemen. The sheer comical ineptitude displayed has more to do with the schemes and preparedness (or lack thereof) than anything. Former Bears OL are playing well on other teams. At some point, the rubber has to hit the road and coaching needs to be held responsible.
Max Power
Footballguy
I agree. The running from shotgun hasn't worked all year, so the fact the Bears did it twice at the goal line is brutally stupid. Then to top it off with a speed option on 4th ang goal from the 1. I was speechless after that series of events.
rschroeder1
Footballguy
The most disappointing part of the game (and there's a lot to choose from) was the crystal clear decision that Caleb Williams was not going to throw the ball in a 1st-and-goal to 4th-and-goal sequence of plays.
The creep of "we are trying to win games, not develop our rookie QB" is always lurking around the corner, and it showed its ugly face here.
The creep of "we are trying to win games, not develop our rookie QB" is always lurking around the corner, and it showed its ugly face here.
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
Absolutely. That series should have been the death knell of Shane Waldron in Chicago. It was unlikely to work with the best line in the NFL. If Waldron can't mold his system to the talent that's in the building, then he needs to go.
Max Power
Footballguy
I like the progress the offense made this week. They still looked really sloppy at times though. I can't complain about the results and that was the first "Fun" game to watch all season.
Run D was pretty disappointing. The punt game finally showed up, so that was cool.
These type of wins are the ones that worry me about the future. The Rams aren't a good team. They have no deep threat, a depleted OL, and a below average Defense. The Bears beat a banged up team and looked better doing it. It wasn't a well-coached game, but its enough to get Flus and Co. off the hot seat. I'm just over this staff at this point and want the Bears to go in a new direction with HC. My fear is the Bears win 8-9 game beating the bad teams along the way and Poles keeps Flus which will limit long term upside IMO.
Run D was pretty disappointing. The punt game finally showed up, so that was cool.
These type of wins are the ones that worry me about the future. The Rams aren't a good team. They have no deep threat, a depleted OL, and a below average Defense. The Bears beat a banged up team and looked better doing it. It wasn't a well-coached game, but its enough to get Flus and Co. off the hot seat. I'm just over this staff at this point and want the Bears to go in a new direction with HC. My fear is the Bears win 8-9 game beating the bad teams along the way and Poles keeps Flus which will limit long term upside IMO.
Sunday Gravy
Footballguy
Caleb was more efficient. Big concern right now though is his accuracy on deeper throws. It's almost as if his arm is too strong and he hasn't figured out how to harness it.
Line played a little bit better outside of Jones getting abused by Verse all day.
Line played a little bit better outside of Jones getting abused by Verse all day.
Unless 8-9 wins leads to the playoffs, I think Eberflus would be gone. I very much think its playoffs or bust.
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
OL Coach Chris Morgan needs to go now. The line and blocking schemes, while better, still look like a keystone cops skit much more than it should.
Sunday Gravy
Footballguy
Hate that we're going to have to do this a year late but the entire staff needs to go.
Although I'd love Flus as DC. That's where he belongs unfortunately.
Sunday Gravy
Footballguy
Watching Montgomery really hurts me. Should have been the next great Bears rb. He does everything well and is an amazing guy off the field. Leader in the locker room when he was here. Another huge blunder by Poles.
Max Power
Footballguy
I want Flus gone. But I think the reality of the situation may be winning 9 games with a rookie QB is viewed as a decent job in the NFL. Then Poles has the same decision to make as last year. If he chose to "not change course mid-stream" then, why would he not say the same thing again this year? Almost a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.
Are we sure Poles job is all that safe?
Max Power
Footballguy
I still like Poles. Even if he lucked into the best trade of all time. I think he's done a decent job building up this roster, but he's made some poor moves as well. He's sitting at B- for me. My guess is that he has another 2-3 year window easily, but the team needs to be a contender at that point.
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
Same thoughts here. Poles is safe. By all accounts, he didn't have a whole lot of say in the coach hiring process. He'll need to hire an offensive minded HC and a young DC. Honestly, with the talent on the team, I could see both positions being in high demand.
Max Power
Footballguy
agreed, Ben Johnson and Bobby Slowik are both appealing options.
Max Power
Footballguy
Overdue at this point, but there are some rumblings the Bears are seeing what the market value for Herbert and possible Velus are. It was silly to keep 5 running backs from the start.
I feel bad for Herbert and think the Bears would be best served by trading him for a 6th round pick. They aren't playing him and they aren't resigning him.
I don't know what you do with Velus at this point. I'm happy cutting him, but he was a mistake Poles isn't ready to admit yet. Its starting to look bad on Poles now.
I feel bad for Herbert and think the Bears would be best served by trading him for a 6th round pick. They aren't playing him and they aren't resigning him.
I don't know what you do with Velus at this point. I'm happy cutting him, but he was a mistake Poles isn't ready to admit yet. Its starting to look bad on Poles now.
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
Agreed. From a front office perspective, we need to get any value we can from Herbert now while there is a market. That ship has sailed for VJJ. I doubt he'll be a cut until offseason because he can fill in at RB and WR if needed.
ZWK
Footballguy
The Bears' defense has been good so far. It has also been very concentrated, with the starters playing a ton of snaps. Here are the snap rates, from PFR:
100% LB T.J. Edwards
100% LB Tremaine Edmunds
100% CB Jaylon Johnson
100% SS Jaquan Brisker
100% FS Kevin Byard
99% CB Tyrique Stevenson
87% CB Kyler Gordon
84% DE DeMarcus Walker
72% DT Gervon Dexter
71% DE Montez Sweat
67% DT Andrew Billings
44% DE Darrell Taylor
27% DT Chris Williams
20% DE Austin Booker
13% LB Jack Sanborn
10% DT Byron Cowart
3% DT Zacch Pickens
0.4% DE Daniel Hardy
0.4% CB Jaylon Jones
0.4% CB Josh Blackwell
0.4% CB Terell Smith
The top 11 players are averaging a 89% snap rate. On average there are:
1.19 players on the field who are not among the top 11
0.74 players on the field who are not among the top 12
0.47 players on the field who are not among the top 13
0.28 players on the field who are not among the top 14
The back 7 is extremely stable, with the same 7 guys on the field about 87% of the time. 13% of the time they bring in a 3rd linebacker (Jack Sanborn) instead of CB Kyler Gordon. Other than that, we're just looking at a couple snaps with different CBs.
The front 4 has more of a rotation, but it's a pretty concentrated rotation. 8 defense linemen see the field each game, but it looks like they're relying as much as possible on a 5 man rotation of the starters plus DE Darrell Taylor. Those 5 have all played well, each grading out above average for their position according to PFF. On 20% of plays a player listed as "DE" has played DT, which has helped them lean on a 5-man rotation with 3 DEs and 2 DTs. I don't have player snap counts by alignment but I think that's mostly DeMarcus Walker, who is on pace for a career high snap rate by a wide margin. Other guys are just eating a handful of snaps each game: recently acquired DT Chris Williams, rookie DE Austin Booker, and sometimes practice squadder DT Byron Cowart. They have graded poorly. Zacch Pickens took Cowart's role the one game he was healthy enough to play and did better on a small sample.
This defense looks more reliant than most on keeping their top 12 guys healthy.
100% LB T.J. Edwards
100% LB Tremaine Edmunds
100% CB Jaylon Johnson
100% SS Jaquan Brisker
100% FS Kevin Byard
99% CB Tyrique Stevenson
87% CB Kyler Gordon
84% DE DeMarcus Walker
72% DT Gervon Dexter
71% DE Montez Sweat
67% DT Andrew Billings
44% DE Darrell Taylor
27% DT Chris Williams
20% DE Austin Booker
13% LB Jack Sanborn
10% DT Byron Cowart
3% DT Zacch Pickens
0.4% DE Daniel Hardy
0.4% CB Jaylon Jones
0.4% CB Josh Blackwell
0.4% CB Terell Smith
The top 11 players are averaging a 89% snap rate. On average there are:
1.19 players on the field who are not among the top 11
0.74 players on the field who are not among the top 12
0.47 players on the field who are not among the top 13
0.28 players on the field who are not among the top 14
The back 7 is extremely stable, with the same 7 guys on the field about 87% of the time. 13% of the time they bring in a 3rd linebacker (Jack Sanborn) instead of CB Kyler Gordon. Other than that, we're just looking at a couple snaps with different CBs.
The front 4 has more of a rotation, but it's a pretty concentrated rotation. 8 defense linemen see the field each game, but it looks like they're relying as much as possible on a 5 man rotation of the starters plus DE Darrell Taylor. Those 5 have all played well, each grading out above average for their position according to PFF. On 20% of plays a player listed as "DE" has played DT, which has helped them lean on a 5-man rotation with 3 DEs and 2 DTs. I don't have player snap counts by alignment but I think that's mostly DeMarcus Walker, who is on pace for a career high snap rate by a wide margin. Other guys are just eating a handful of snaps each game: recently acquired DT Chris Williams, rookie DE Austin Booker, and sometimes practice squadder DT Byron Cowart. They have graded poorly. Zacch Pickens took Cowart's role the one game he was healthy enough to play and did better on a small sample.
This defense looks more reliant than most on keeping their top 12 guys healthy.
Donnybrook
Footballguy
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
ZWK
Footballguy
I found another source for snap count data here from FantasyPros. It has slightly different numbers which I'd guess are less accurate, but it has the advantage of including all teams in the same table.
It has CHI as the most concentrated defense in the NFL, by various metrics:
Chicago's top 11 defenders have played 91% of their defensive snaps, most in the NFL (2nd CIN 86%, NFL avg 79%)
Chicago's top 12 defenders have played 95% of their defensive snaps, most in the NFL (2nd CIN 89%, NFL avg 83%)
Chicago's top 13 defenders have played 97% of their defensive snaps, most in the NFL (2nd HOU 92%, NFL avg 86%)
Chicago's top 14 defenders have played 99% of their defensive snaps, most in the NFL (2nd HOU 96%, NFL avg 89%)
Chicago's top 15 defenders have played 99.6% of their defensive snaps, most in the NFL (2nd HOU 98%, NFL avg 92%)
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
Neat. Does that take into account injuries?
I also thought that Flus was a stickler for running a strict rotation on the DL. Specifically, I remember a few times last year where a key defensive player was on the sideline for a crucial play and Flus stated that it was due to the rotation. Does this mean that the Flus DL rotation is now defunct?
Sunday Gravy
Footballguy
I think the biggest issue hurting the offense is the line, even more than the coaching. That's on him.
There is nothing worse for a hot shot rookie QB that you've invested so much in than not being able to protect him. That is on Poles.
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
The individual players are not great, that's for sure. But think back to last year and the year before that. The OL all three years started off awful. Last year, they kind of came together after 4 games or so and it seems like they are doing the same this year. Also consider that the players we've had on the line that have been REALLY bad are elsewhere playing pretty well. I think the OL coaching is the biggest issue right now, but the Bears absolutely need to upgrade the interior OL via the draft in 2025.
Sunday Gravy
Footballguy
Look good today but consider the opponent. I'll take it though.
Sunday Gravy
Footballguy
Caleb was great today. This is a team we should have smacked around and we did. Very encouraging day.
InDitkaWeTrust
Footballguy
-Solid line play
-Caleb was accurate and poised
-defense was outstanding
-offensive play calling was on point
-receivers looked to be on the same page as Caleb
All in all a solid week all around. Granted, it was against a team who will likely get a top 3 pick in the 2025 draft. This is definitely a win to build upon.
-Caleb was accurate and poised
-defense was outstanding
-offensive play calling was on point
-receivers looked to be on the same page as Caleb
All in all a solid week all around. Granted, it was against a team who will likely get a top 3 pick in the 2025 draft. This is definitely a win to build upon.
Sunday Gravy
Footballguy
On to London......
Another very winnable game. Lawrence was better today but that team is a mess overall.
Another very winnable game. Lawrence was better today but that team is a mess overall.
Max Power
Footballguy
I like the matchup. Hate that its in London. Anything that changes preparation around a rookie QB is worrying. Jags OL is pretty bad though.
Max Power
Footballguy
Sounds like the Jags did not optimize their travel plans to London. Bears flew out Monday night to get adjusted to the time change.
Jags planned for Thursday but were delayed due to weather. They now have a compressed schedule after landing and possibly lose their walkthrough because they have to prioritize media day in London. I think its asking a lot for the Jags to come out sharp Sunday Morning.
Jags planned for Thursday but were delayed due to weather. They now have a compressed schedule after landing and possibly lose their walkthrough because they have to prioritize media day in London. I think its asking a lot for the Jags to come out sharp Sunday Morning.
nittanylion
Footballguy
Jaguars Owner Shad Khan describes London as the Jaguars 'home away from home'.
They've played a London game every year (except 2020/COVID), since 2013, including a back-to-back doubleheader in 2023, as they will do this year.
While it's likely that the travel delay may have some ramifications, I'll bet they've got the London thing down pretty pat.
They've played a London game every year (except 2020/COVID), since 2013, including a back-to-back doubleheader in 2023, as they will do this year.
While it's likely that the travel delay may have some ramifications, I'll bet they've got the London thing down pretty pat.
doeseatplace
Footballguy
To clarify:
"The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to arrive to London later than expected Friday because of Hurricane Milton, the team confirmed ahead of Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.
A team spokesperson said on Thursday that the team's departure time has been "slightly" delayed.
The Jaguars canceled a Friday press conference at the team hotel outside London and rescheduled it for Saturday morning. They play the Bears the next day at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
For their London games, the Jags regularly depart on Thursday night and arrive Friday morning. They've played in London 11 times."
Good luck Bears fans!
"The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to arrive to London later than expected Friday because of Hurricane Milton, the team confirmed ahead of Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.
A team spokesperson said on Thursday that the team's departure time has been "slightly" delayed.
The Jaguars canceled a Friday press conference at the team hotel outside London and rescheduled it for Saturday morning. They play the Bears the next day at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
For their London games, the Jags regularly depart on Thursday night and arrive Friday morning. They've played in London 11 times."
Good luck Bears fans!
Sunday Gravy
Footballguy
Schedule is going to get extremely difficult in a few weeks, so this play will certainly not hold, but I am feeling like we have a legit star quarterback.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Overall number one pick quarterbacks who have started their career 4-2:
- Caleb Williams
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Also, Cole Kmet coming in to LS and not only sending fastballs back there but with accuracy - wow.
Respect
Respect
Max Power
Footballguy
Bears are rolling and decent time for a bye week with all the secondary banged up.
Looks like Fields is on his way to playing 51% of the Steelers offensive snaps. Watching those two play the same day confirms the Bears made the right move.
Raiders fans hate Getsy already. Can't say we didn't see that coming.
Looks like Fields is on his way to playing 51% of the Steelers offensive snaps. Watching those two play the same day confirms the Bears made the right move.
Raiders fans hate Getsy already. Can't say we didn't see that coming.
