Week 8: Bears (3-4) @ Patriots (5-2) Noon Fox/780

[apete6]

The salary thing is not too relevant. The past decade, any new deal for a really good player is tops in the league until a few more guys get extended and you're middle of the pack again. Until the league stops growing that will be the case.

 

 

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Fair. For this year, though, he is taking up a TON of their cap room--by design. His original number was a bit lower, but got bumped up when they signed other free agents to longer term deals.

[jersey cubs fan]

The salary thing is not too relevant. The past decade, any new deal for a really good player is tops in the league until a few more guys get extended and you're middle of the pack again. Until the league stops growing that will be the case.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Fair. For this year, though, he is taking up a TON of their cap room--by design. His original number was a bit lower, but got bumped up when they signed other free agents to longer term deals.

Yes, a lot of cap space this year, by design. But that doesn't really have anything to do with anything. It didn't prevent them from getting somebody they wanted. It didn't force them to cut somebody they wanted. He didn't hold out looking for the top dollars.

 

There's no point in holding his contract against him at all right now. He had a shitty game. Focus on that if you want to criticize Cutler.

[Brian707]

This old lady called into the Mully and Hanley show this morning, telling all of Chicagoland how she told them so in that the Bears should have kept McCown instead of Cutler :banghead: I only wish she would have called Boers and Bernstein.

 

Cutler has had some costly turnovers, but the offensive play calling and clock management has been baffling so far this season. Im starting to think Trestman is in over his head. I wonder why the hell Shea Mcclellin is even a starter other than the fact he was Emery's first draft pick.

 

Patriots win Sunday but don't cover 31-27

[WrigleyField 22]

It's really not hampering the team though. We still had a very active offseason. And with the replacement/cost analysis it's a home run.

 

 

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[Splendid Splinter]

All absolutely fair. But when you are now the highest paid player on the team (and, in a technicality, the league this year), you still have to be better than that. He's 13th in the league in QBR and 11th in rating. When the overwhelming majority of your talent/payroll are on offense, you have to be better than that.

 

Obviously he's far from the biggest problem, but the defense is middle of the pack, and if everyone would have known that going into the season, you'd think the Bears would be 5-2 (which you could argue they would be if not for terrible Cutler turnovers in the Bills and Panthers games).

 

Here's my issue with this. Ok lets say he HAS to be better. You do realize what that means right? That means he's playing at the same level as Brady/Manning/Rivers/Rodgers. To be better basically means he got a 100 QB rating consistently. He's just not going to be that. Sure if it all came together for his career year in an ideal world, he can do it. He got the talent for it, but he lacks the mental part to do it consistently. Compared to his career, he HAS been better this year. It's maybe not as much as what most of you guys thought it should be, but I think the expectations were just too high for a QB like Cutler. I really don't care how much $$ he makes because A) it's not long term B) Bears had the cap space for it and it's not stopping them from signing other players C) we had no other option in FA and McCown wasn't going to be one regardless of how good he was last year and D) do you really want to start a rookie QB

 

I've been trying to think of how I would compare Cutler and his game in other ways, but the only thing I can think of is me at golf. I'm a 6 handicap. Now I'm pretty inconsistent for someone to shoot that well. I can shoot anywhere from 72 to 85 on any given day. I'm like Cutler in a sense where I can hit a long way (he got a cannon), but my short game/putter is very iffy/meh/below average (mental game/play recognition) and I'll risk for a penalty or a bad score if I think I got a good chance at making an eagle for example (gunslinger). Sometimes it works, but more often I should have played it safe. I once shot a 41 on 9 holes with a 10. The 41 really isn't a bad score. It's good, but I could've turned in a GREAT score and the 10 is mind boggling because you're wondering where that come from. Then there are days when everything comes together and I shoot a 68-71 (68 is my best score so far). It's probably why I'm still of a fan of his because I feel like I can relate to Cutler somewhat and still think he can win/take us to the playoffs. That and I don't want to go back to the Grossman/Orton/Miller/McNown/Stewart/Chandler days.

 

Basically what I'm trying to say is that Cutler really has played well this year so far, it's just those 4-5 passes/plays per game (out of 45 or so) are so cringe-worthy that everyone want to REALLY focus on that and just kinda ignore the other 40 plays that he was actually pretty good. Like your example of "you'd think the Bears would be 5-2 (which you could argue they would be if not for terrible Cutler turnovers in the Bills and Panthers games)". Yes, Cutler had terrible turnovers in those games, but Panthers scored 31 points and Cutler scored 3 TDs in that game. Not sure what else he could honestly do and lets not forget about Forte's fumble here. EJ Manuel look like Aaron Rodgers plus the D couldn't stop the run if they wanted to in the Bills game.

 

The defense is NOT middle of the pack IMO. They're giving up 24 points a game and 29.8 in losses. Given up 38/31/13/27 the past 4 weeks and they're 1-3. You should expect that record. We could have won the Bills/Panthers/Dolphins maybe, but they still gave up 23/31/27 in those games. They let Manuel/Tannehill/etc looks like All-Pro against us. Defense also give up a score on 42.7% of their drives which is the exact same % as last year. Defense just aren't stopping anyone for the most part. Sure they're in the middle of the pack if you look at yards allowed, but they give up scores too often/easily. Sure Cutler's turnovers play a good part of it, but the D is still not doing their part. Have they improved though? Sure, but it's minimal at the moment.

 

EDIT: Sorry for the long post.

[jersey cubs fan]

apologize for comparing your golf game to Cutler's professional footballing before you apologize for the length of the post.

[UMFan83]

If anyone is interested in the Phil Emery chat, its mostly very vanilla and obviously he doesn't directly address anything remotely controversial but:

 

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-lunchWithLarry/Live-Chat-with-GM-Phil-Emery/af3f5820-ac86-4187-83a7-b7ce46cef5ba

 

About the Soldier Field turf:

 

Comment From Andy

I understand that there's a lot of red tape and back-and-forth regarding the Soldier Field sod, and at one point I believe you declared the Bears organization's pursuit of turf to be over, but it's clearly an eggshell issue for the entire organization. Are there ANY plans to pursue something with the Park District to install field turf and better protect the athletes who rely on it for footing?

12:17

 

Phil Emery: No. 1, the Chicago Bears in the last 10 years have about a .625 winning percentage at home. We are below .500 on the road. We're in the top 10 in the NFL in home wins over the last 10 years. If I had my druthers, I'd bring the Soldier Field surface with us on the road, based on that record. That doesn't mean that we don't constantly research what is best for our players and wouldn't make an adjustment in the future.

[jersey cubs fan]

Oh god, it's the same way Jim Hendry looked at stats.

[Banedon]

I am no longer confident in Phil Emery's ability to draw reasonable conclusions from statistical analysis.

[cubbyvirus00]

Haha, every week now a Cutler supporter here turns his back.

 

Truth be told I'll probably have faith in the guy until the day he hangs up the helmet, not because I'm close-minded or trying to prove a point, but because I, with all my being, believe in him as a QB. Seen him do too many great things to lose hope that he could be all I want him to be (lead the Bears to a Super Bowl, not be an MVP or even elite). Unless he wakes up one day completely devoid of all his talent, or at the very least shows an indisputable regression in level of play, it'll likely remain that way. Always with the relentless desire to focus/obsess over the QB. Especially here in Chicago.

 

If that makes me a meatball then [expletive] it.

 

This. 100% This.

 

 

At what point do you join the loud chorus of people who have given up on Cutler? Just curious. Obviously from a national perspective, pretty much everyone already has. I think this is the first year that locally I've seen the beat reporters and the radio guys starting to dump on him and think of him as a wildly erratic and inconsistent starter.

 

Apparently you've paid as much attention to local sports press as you do to Cutler's actual numbers; it's been a cliche shtick on the radio shows alone to have one goon be pro-Cutler and one goon be anti-Cutler for years now. The papers and blogs have had plenty of anti-Cutler pieces over the years. None of it's new.

 

I don't think one can lean on Cutler's improved statistics and point to that as a reason for optimism nor can you say for sure that he's clearly better this year then last year in terms of leading the offense down the field and making the right reads.

 

Regarding The Score, I think they're usually pretty reasonable in terms of opinion and last year, they gave Jay/Trestman a free pass for their first year in the offense. This year with the new contract and the consistency on offense, everyone expected better then what is displayed right now. This is different, whether you want to believe it or not. A mash-up of flaws in offensive playcalling, personnel and execution.

 

Also you're unable to make a point or opinion on this board without subtly attacked another poster or come off as a giant turd. 46ks posts of trying to be the smartest guy in the room. We get it.

Edited October 21, 2014 by cubbyvirus00

[Guest]

I am no longer confident in Phil Emery's ability to draw reasonable conclusions from statistical analysis.

 

I'm not sure if you're only basing it on that chat response but if so, I wouldn't put much stock into something from that setting. Especially given all the political ramifications of that question.

[cubbyvirus00]

I am no longer confident in Phil Emery's ability to draw reasonable conclusions from statistical analysis.

 

I'm not sure if you're only basing it on that chat response but if so, I wouldn't put much stock into something from that setting. Especially given all the political ramifications of that question.

 

 

I've come around to really liking Emery's ability to address needs on this team. The two bad moves he's made so far is hiring Trestman and picking Shea in the 1st round.

[Banedon]

I am no longer confident in Phil Emery's ability to draw reasonable conclusions from statistical analysis.

 

I'm not sure if you're only basing it on that chat response but if so, I wouldn't put much stock into something from that setting. Especially given all the political ramifications of that question.

 

I was being somewhat facetious.

[apete6]

The Bears have given up 16 scoring (FG or TD) drives of under 50 yards this season. 6 of those have been because of special teams (field position, long return, short punt, blocked punt, etc..)--ironically all in the wins.

 

That means that the Bears have given up 10 scoring drives because of INTs/Fumbles--there have been 2 more that would have been but the opponent missed a FG. That's an average of ~1.5/game. None of these have come in games they have won.

 

Football is an easy sport to analyze. Turning the ball over will kill you. That's obviously not all on Cutler, but the majority of it is. There's also an element of luck involved (he's lost a higher % of fumbles than usual), not to mention the fact that the defense isn't good enough to stop the opponent on a short field.

 

Edit: 50 yards. Also, by comparison, the Bears only have 6 such drives total all year (1 via ST, the other 5 off turnovers).

[Sammy Sofa]

Regarding The Score, I think they're usually pretty reasonable in terms of opinion and last year, they gave Jay/Trestman a free pass for their first year in the offense. This year with the new contract and the consistency on offense, everyone expected better then what is displayed right now. This is different, whether you want to believe it or not. A mash-up of flaws in offensive playcalling, personnel and execution.

 

Also you're unable to make a point or opinion on this board without subtly attacked another poster or come off as a giant turd. 46ks posts of trying to be the smartest guy in the room. We get it.

 

There's nothing subtle about it; I think you're terrible.

 

Yeah, the radio meatballs are disappointed with the way the offense has underperformed, and rightly so, but to try and say there's haven't been a bunch of people that have been railing on Cutler for years is just ridiculous. From day one you had people who thought they gave up too much to get him and it's just spiraled from there. And yes, there's plenty of reasons to be critical of Cutler, but to say that widespread anti-Cutler sentiment in the local press is a new thing is just flat out wrong.

 

And no, the Score isn't reasonable, and how did they give Cutler and Trestman a "pass" for the offense last year? The offense was good last year; that's why we're all so frustrated with how bad/inconsistent it's been this year.

[JonJayCutler]

I don't think one can lean on Cutler's improved statistics and point to that as a reason for optimism nor can you say for sure that he's clearly better this year then last year in terms of leading the offense down the field and making the right reads.

 

Even if he hasn't improved this year, does it matter? He easily played well enough to take the team to the playoffs last year, all while quarterbacking a Top 5 offense. Not his fault a whole bunch of [expletive] went against his team in the GB game.

 

The fact that his stat line is better this year but the offense is worse should be your first clue that he's not really the problem.

[Sammy Sofa]

If anyone is interested in the Phil Emery chat, its mostly very vanilla and obviously he doesn't directly address anything remotely controversial but:

 

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-lunchWithLarry/Live-Chat-with-GM-Phil-Emery/af3f5820-ac86-4187-83a7-b7ce46cef5ba

 

About the Soldier Field turf:

 

Comment From Andy

I understand that there's a lot of red tape and back-and-forth regarding the Soldier Field sod, and at one point I believe you declared the Bears organization's pursuit of turf to be over, but it's clearly an eggshell issue for the entire organization. Are there ANY plans to pursue something with the Park District to install field turf and better protect the athletes who rely on it for footing?

12:17

 

Phil Emery: No. 1, the Chicago Bears in the last 10 years have about a .625 winning percentage at home. We are below .500 on the road. We're in the top 10 in the NFL in home wins over the last 10 years. If I had my druthers, I'd bring the Soldier Field surface with us on the road, based on that record. That doesn't mean that we don't constantly research what is best for our players and wouldn't make an adjustment in the future.

 

http://guycodeblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/clutch/2012/04/speechlessTH.gif

[Guest]

they've become masters of deflecting that question

 

it's especially embarrassing since the players all clearly want to bitch about it whenever it's brought up

[rawaction]

So, Chandler Jones is out for a month. #break

[Butterscup1679666578]

/remembers Bears could've had Chandler Jones instead of Shea

 

:(

[minnesotacubsfan]

/remembers Bears could've had Chandler Jones instead of Shea

 

:(

 

stfu

 

 

stfu

 

 

stfu NOW

[Guest]

To be fair to the Patriots, the Bears should sit McClellin out.

[gscool89]

I am no longer confident in Phil Emery's ability to draw reasonable conclusions from statistical analysis.

 

I'm not sure if you're only basing it on that chat response but if so, I wouldn't put much stock into something from that setting. Especially given all the political ramifications of that question.

 

 

I've come around to really liking Emery's ability to address needs on this team. The two bad moves he's made so far is hiring Trestman and picking Shea in the 1st round.

Lamarr Houston and Jared Allen have been pretty shitty signings so far. His drafts have been pretty craptastic so far as well although he's for sure done better than Angelo.

[rawaction]

I am no longer confident in Phil Emery's ability to draw reasonable conclusions from statistical analysis.

 

I'm not sure if you're only basing it on that chat response but if so, I wouldn't put much stock into something from that setting. Especially given all the political ramifications of that question.

 

 

I've come around to really liking Emery's ability to address needs on this team. The two bad moves he's made so far is hiring Trestman and picking Shea in the 1st round.

Lamarr Houston and Jared Allen have been pretty [expletive] signings so far. His drafts have been pretty craptastic so far as well although he's for sure done better than Angelo.

 

Uh, he's drafted a pro bowl guard, WR, and DROTY at CB. Jury is still out on Bostic and trending up. And that doesn't include Mills who at least has been worth a 5th round pick and the rest of the 2014 draft.

[Chocolate Milk]

I am no longer confident in Phil Emery's ability to draw reasonable conclusions from statistical analysis.

 

I'm not sure if you're only basing it on that chat response but if so, I wouldn't put much stock into something from that setting. Especially given all the political ramifications of that question.

 

 

I've come around to really liking Emery's ability to address needs on this team. The two bad moves he's made so far is hiring Trestman and picking Shea in the 1st round.

Lamarr Houston and Jared Allen have been pretty [expletive] signings so far. His drafts have been pretty craptastic so far as well although he's for sure done better than Angelo.

Houston has been one of the reasons the Bears D has improved against the run. While he doesn't have sacks, he has gotten to the QB. Before the last game, he was second on the team in QB disruptions (sacks/QB knockdowns/QB hurries). He's been solid but I would agree that I thought he would have a bigger impact.