Week 6: Bears at Falcons, noon central on Fox

[UMFan83]

I was looking at the Football outsiders statistical breakdowns and I found it interesting that the Bears offensive line was still ranked 29th in the league. I hear analysts on the radio say that the offensive line is holding its own this year, but honestly it really hasn't. The Bears have succeeded in spite of their O-line.

[Magnetic Curses]

Grossman was actually much better than Kyle over the first 5 games of '06. But somehow I have hope Kyle will be able to sustain better. I don't get the sense that teams will be able to rattle him just by blitzing. They might get to him, but Kyle.....I don't know....he seems more oblivious to pressure than Rex. Actually he seems more oblivious to the world in general :mrgreen:

 

I think that's a good thing.

 

I'd say the opposite. I think Orton can detect the pressure a lot better than Rex, and sets up the blocking scheme to handle it.

 

this is exactly it. grossman's downfall was that he sucked at avoiding pressure. i honestly saw him brace himself for impact when no one was coming a couple of times.

[Banedon]

I was looking at the Football outsiders statistical breakdowns and I found it interesting that the Bears offensive line was still ranked 29th in the league. I hear analysts on the radio say that the offensive line is holding its own this year, but honestly it really hasn't. The Bears have succeeded in spite of their O-line.

 

Not to pin too much expectations on a rookie coming off of an injury, and not to pretend that he's going to be a miracle savior or anything, but if we can play like this with a bad O-line, imagine what might be possible with Chris Williams in there.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Grossman's scouting report coming out of college gave him good/high marks on his pocket awareness (dont have time to look it up) and avoiding the blitz, but the NFL has changed that. the Minny injury was propbaly the biggest reason, if I can speculate.

 

If it was an injury, my guess it was the STL preseason game, when he got hurt in the pocket, rather than MINN, when he got hurt running down field.

 

no, your right, if any thing it is anything to do with iunjury, it likely had to do with his multiple injuries. In any event, this is the closest I could find on a scouting report:

 

http://profootball.scout.com/2/60436.html

[Handlebar McSkullet]

I was looking at the Football outsiders statistical breakdowns and I found it interesting that the Bears offensive line was still ranked 29th in the league. I hear analysts on the radio say that the offensive line is holding its own this year, but honestly it really hasn't. The Bears have succeeded in spite of their O-line.

 

Not to pin too much expectations on a rookie coming off of an injury, and not to pretend that he's going to be a miracle savior or anything, but if we can play like this with a bad O-line, imagine what might be possible with Chris Williams in there.

 

If the bears season was a madden franchise for me, the minute he was healthy he would be in the lineup with Dan Buenning. I am irritated he is not in there already. Our run blocking is atrocious, but the pass blocking has been real good. We will see this weekend how much they improved.

[minnesotacubsfan]

I was looking at the Football outsiders statistical breakdowns and I found it interesting that the Bears offensive line was still ranked 29th in the league. I hear analysts on the radio say that the offensive line is holding its own this year, but honestly it really hasn't. The Bears have succeeded in spite of their O-line.

 

Not to pin too much expectations on a rookie coming off of an injury, and not to pretend that he's going to be a miracle savior or anything, but if we can play like this with a bad O-line, imagine what might be possible with Chris Williams in there.

 

If the bears season was a madden franchise for me, the minute he was healthy he would be in the lineup with Dan Buenning. I am irritated he is not in there already. Our run blocking is atrocious, but the pass blocking has been real good. We will see this weekend how much they improved.

 

williams is known as a stand-out pass protector, his run blocking needs work

 

I dont know about Buenning, but all the hype was he was a good-all-around gaurd

[Handlebar McSkullet]

Grossman was actually much better than Kyle over the first 5 games of '06. But somehow I have hope Kyle will be able to sustain better. I don't get the sense that teams will be able to rattle him just by blitzing. They might get to him, but Kyle.....I don't know....he seems more oblivious to pressure than Rex. Actually he seems more oblivious to the world in general :mrgreen:

 

I think that's a good thing.

 

I'd say the opposite. I think Orton can detect the pressure a lot better than Rex, and sets up the blocking scheme to handle it.

 

this is exactly it. grossman's downfall was that he sucked at avoiding pressure. i honestly saw him brace himself for impact when no one was coming a couple of times.

 

Grossman's downfall was a garbage offensive line, runningback, and an impatient media and fan base

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

lol, not really.

[Soul]

The factors HM mentioned were certainly all in play.

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

1) Forte is a huge upgrade over Benson. No doubt. That being said, Grossman had no trouble stinking up the field in the 2nd half of 2006 with a quite caplable back named Thomas Jones

 

2) Talent wise, this offensive line is about at the level of last year. We are stronger @ RT, but probably weaker @ LT. LG w/ Beekman might be slighlty better than last season.

 

3) Our WR talent is signficaltly weaker this year.

 

Bottom line, the downfall of Grossman was that he could not handle the blitz. To make excuses for him is silly.

[rchap24]

1) Forte is a huge upgrade over Benson. No doubt. That being said, Grossman had no trouble stinking up the field in the 2nd half of 2006 with a quite caplable back named Thomas Jones

 

2) Talent wise, this offensive line is about at the level of last year. We are stronger @ RT, but probably weaker @ LT. LG w/ Beekman might be slighlty better than last season.

 

3) Our WR talent is signficaltly weaker this year.

 

Bottom line, the downfall of Grossman was that he could not handle the blitz. To make excuses for him is silly.

 

You make great points with the 3 points out of his 4 points. You are forgetting that the media and fans tore him apart. When you get treated like that not many players can come back from that anyways.

[jersey cubs fan]

1) Forte is a huge upgrade over Benson. No doubt. That being said, Grossman had no trouble stinking up the field in the 2nd half of 2006 with a quite caplable back named Thomas Jones

 

2) Talent wise, this offensive line is about at the level of last year. We are stronger @ RT, but probably weaker @ LT. LG w/ Beekman might be slighlty better than last season.

 

3) Our WR talent is signficaltly weaker this year.

 

Bottom line, the downfall of Grossman was that he could not handle the blitz. To make excuses for him is silly.

 

I don't think the WR talent is weaker. Berrian was nothing special, and Moose dropped far too many balls. Plus you have more receiving options in 2nd year Olson and Forte. I don't think JSC is weaker at LT, certainly not enough to come close to counterbalance the improvement from Miller to Tait. Fred Miller was absolute garbage.

[UMFan83]

Did anyone realize that Moose is 15 catches, 212 yards, and 1 TD behind last season's numbers? What does that say about the Bears organization? No really, I'm asking as a legit question? I just assumed he was washed up.

[Banedon]

Did anyone realize that Moose is 15 catches, 212 yards, and 1 TD behind last season's numbers? What does that say about the Bears organization? No really, I'm asking as a legit question? I just assumed he was washed up.

 

What good receivers did Moose play alongside in Chicago? Maybe Berrian? Maybe?

 

Teams have to do so much coverage on Steve Smith, that Moose can probably get open a lot easier. I haven't watched enough of the games to be sure that's what's going on, but it seems pretty likely.

[Soul]

1) Forte is a huge upgrade over Benson. No doubt. That being said, Grossman had no trouble stinking up the field in the 2nd half of 2006 with a quite caplable back named Thomas Jones

 

2) Talent wise, this offensive line is about at the level of last year. We are stronger @ RT, but probably weaker @ LT. LG w/ Beekman might be slighlty better than last season.

 

3) Our WR talent is signficaltly weaker this year.

 

Bottom line, the downfall of Grossman was that he could not handle the blitz. To make excuses for him is silly.

 

I don't think anyone should make excuses for his poor play, but that doesn't mean you ignore the other deficiencies that made his development much more difficult.

[Soul]

Did anyone realize that Moose is 15 catches, 212 yards, and 1 TD behind last season's numbers? What does that say about the Bears organization? No really, I'm asking as a legit question? I just assumed he was washed up.

 

What good receivers did Moose play alongside in Chicago? Maybe Berrian? Maybe?

 

Teams have to do so much coverage on Steve Smith, that Moose can probably get open a lot easier. I haven't watched enough of the games to be sure that's what's going on, but it seems pretty likely.

 

Moose would drop easy throws again & again. I think part of this is that Grossman stopped throwing his way. Who would? Regardless of how he does in Carolina, he didn't live up to his end of the bargain here.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Did anyone realize that Moose is 15 catches, 212 yards, and 1 TD behind last season's numbers? What does that say about the Bears organization? No really, I'm asking as a legit question? I just assumed he was washed up.

 

What good receivers did Moose play alongside in Chicago? Maybe Berrian? Maybe?

 

Teams have to do so much coverage on Steve Smith, that Moose can probably get open a lot easier. I haven't watched enough of the games to be sure that's what's going on, but it seems pretty likely.

 

Smith has been suspended most the season, but like Soul says, who cares what Moose does in Carolina, he stunk here.

[Vanilla Ice]

Muhammed was wide open all game against the Falcons, and it seemed to be that we were keying on Smith.

[Banedon]

Did anyone realize that Moose is 15 catches, 212 yards, and 1 TD behind last season's numbers? What does that say about the Bears organization? No really, I'm asking as a legit question? I just assumed he was washed up.

 

What good receivers did Moose play alongside in Chicago? Maybe Berrian? Maybe?

 

Teams have to do so much coverage on Steve Smith, that Moose can probably get open a lot easier. I haven't watched enough of the games to be sure that's what's going on, but it seems pretty likely.

 

Smith has been suspended most the season, but like Soul says, who cares what Moose does in Carolina, he stunk here.

 

Smith was suspended for the first 2 games of the season. Not close to "most of the season".

[Vanilla Ice]

Did anyone realize that Moose is 15 catches, 212 yards, and 1 TD behind last season's numbers? What does that say about the Bears organization? No really, I'm asking as a legit question? I just assumed he was washed up.

 

What good receivers did Moose play alongside in Chicago? Maybe Berrian? Maybe?

 

Teams have to do so much coverage on Steve Smith, that Moose can probably get open a lot easier. I haven't watched enough of the games to be sure that's what's going on, but it seems pretty likely.

 

Smith has been suspended most the season, but like Soul says, who cares what Moose does in Carolina, he stunk here.

 

Smith was suspended for the first 2 games of the season. Not close to "most of the season".

 

and in the first two games of the season he averaged 57.7 yards per game and no TDS.

 

Then week 3 he was bad. (25 yards)

 

The only two good games he has had are the last two (109 yards and a TD per game)

[Handlebar McSkullet]

lol, not really.

LOL nice retort

[minnesotacubsfan]

Did anyone realize that Moose is 15 catches, 212 yards, and 1 TD behind last season's numbers? What does that say about the Bears organization? No really, I'm asking as a legit question? I just assumed he was washed up.

 

What good receivers did Moose play alongside in Chicago? Maybe Berrian? Maybe?

 

Teams have to do so much coverage on Steve Smith, that Moose can probably get open a lot easier. I haven't watched enough of the games to be sure that's what's going on, but it seems pretty likely.

 

Smith has been suspended most the season, but like Soul says, who cares what Moose does in Carolina, he stunk here.

 

Smith was suspended for the first 2 games of the season. Not close to "most of the season".

 

for some reason I thought it was 3. in any event, with only 5 games played, a 2 game suspension is significant

[Banedon]

for some reason I thought it was 3. in any event, with only 5 games played, a 2 game suspension is significant

 

Fair enough. However, as Vanilla Ice pointed out a couple posts above, Mooses performance really didn't skyrocket until games 4 and 5...after Smith was back in full force. Maybe it's coincidence, but it strikes me as a more likely explanation than Moose suddenly remembering how to play football again.

[jersey cubs fan]

Page 2 people, come on.

 

Bears need this game. 4-2 would be a nice cushion if they are going to fight for a playoff spot. Even if they come up short of the division, a wild card slot might open up with the NFC East teams knocking each other around. My only concern with this game is whatever mentality they have going into it. There was clearly a letdown after week 1. They got a little lucky against Philly, and thankfully did not let up against Detroit. They should beat Atlanta, even if the Falcons are fairly decent.

[UMFan83]

Page 2 people, come on.

 

Bears need this game. 4-2 would be a nice cushion if they are going to fight for a playoff spot. Even if they come up short of the division, a wild card slot might open up with the NFC East teams knocking each other around. My only concern with this game is whatever mentality they have going into it. There was clearly a letdown after week 1. They got a little lucky against Philly, and thankfully did not let up against Detroit. They should beat Atlanta, even if the Falcons are fairly decent.

 

You thought there was a letdown after week 1? I respectfully disagree. I thought the Bears played really well and looked focused in that game.